The Super Barbarians is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by John Brunner

John Brunner (novelist)

John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...

.

It was first published in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 by Ace Books

Ace Books

Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...

in 1962.

Plot summary

On Qualavarra, humanity was enslaved by the Vorra, a race of technologically-advanced barbarians who had conquered space.

However, there was a place called "The Acre" where humans lived in relative freedom, and there they had uncovered a secret about the Vorra: there was something connected with Earth that the Vorra could not abide—and yet could not do without.