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Post by Finarvyn on Oct 4, 2010 16:37:29 GMT -6
I grabbed this from another thread and thought I'd start a new one rather than hijack that one. Burroughs by no means had a monopoly on envisioning the setting. Leigh Brackett's was personally preferred, to be honest, as was Weinbaum's solar system; albeit that's maybe a bit too weird for some playability tastes.  I've never read Brackett's work. I'd like to know more about it. |
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terje
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Post by terje on Oct 5, 2010 7:21:13 GMT -6
In my eyes Leigh Brackett is the single best author in the planetary romance / sword and planet genre. Its thrilling pulp adventures just like those written by Burroughs and the other boys but Brackett has a really enchanting language that makes her stories set on Mars, Venus and the extra-solar Skaith stand out from the rest. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_BrackettA quick search on Amazon will give you many titles to choose from. |
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Post by stevemitchell on Oct 5, 2010 8:04:17 GMT -6
Paizo Publishing has reprinted several Brackett adventures recently through their "Planet Stories" line, mostly notably The Secret of Sinharat and The Sword of Rhiannon. The Gollancz collection Sea Kings of Mars and Otherwordly Stories is a huge British (but readily available in the US) collection, over 600 pages of wonderful stories.
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Post by harami2000 on Oct 5, 2010 9:57:38 GMT -6
Paizo Publishing has reprinted several Brackett adventures recently through their "Planet Stories" line, mostly notably The Secret of Sinharat and The Sword of Rhiannon. ^^ Good call! The Sword of Rhiannon is an excellent stand-alone read in its own right: classic, evocative planetary romance wrapped up in a fast-moving narrative - familiar territory, perhaps, but an individual viewpoint rather than trawling others' works derivatively. How much spoiler do you need before reading, Fin'?  The review on www.sff.net/people/richard.horton/aced30.htm strikes a reasonable balance, I think, and www.erbzine.com/mag17/1783.html is a pretty good overview (as might be expected) for her works in the genre. Hmm; did Paizo need to have "Author of The Empire Strikes Back"? Never mind, if it brings in more readers. Difficult to think of that one other than in the old (much read!) UK hardback format which speaks volumes... ^^  *borrows pic from abe* |
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Post by kesher on Oct 5, 2010 12:27:12 GMT -6
I am shamefully unfamiliar with Leigh Brackett---thanks for starting this thread and providing links! *and, glancing on Amazon in the Kindle store, there's some available both instantly and inexpensively! |
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Post by The Fiendish Dr. Samsara on Oct 5, 2010 19:22:31 GMT -6
I was a Burroughs fan from way back. Until recently, I had never read Brackett (although I had admired her work on the The Big Sleep). I read the Secret of Sinharat aka Queen of the Martian Catacombs and Mars will never be the same again.
Brackett's stories are almost uniformly dark. The hero virtually always fails in some fashion or another even if he "wins". So imagine the basic sketch of Barsoom - dying, desert world; magnificent ruins of an ancient majesty; fierce Martian tribes and scheming Martian city-states - but make it all a lot less happy. Throw in a sort of Colonial Terran presence that isn't exactly helping things and that's a bit of Brackett's Mars.
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Post by gloriousbattle on Oct 6, 2010 6:16:44 GMT -6
Thanks for this! Another author to check out.
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terje
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Post by terje on Oct 6, 2010 16:29:20 GMT -6
I think Brackett's Mars (and Venus) was one of the most important sources of inspiration for WEG's charming Space 1889 rpg.
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18 Spears
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Post by 18 Spears on Oct 6, 2010 18:26:09 GMT -6
Wasn't tat GDW not WEG?
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Post by The Fiendish Dr. Samsara on Oct 6, 2010 20:11:52 GMT -6
Yeah, GDW. BTW, there is a gorgeous map of Brackett's Mars at the Fantasy Atlas (and many others to boot). |
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terje
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Post by terje on Oct 7, 2010 6:12:20 GMT -6
Yes, GDW, I got them mixed up somehow.
Thanks for the link to the Fantasy Atlas, really neat!
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Post by stevemitchell on Oct 7, 2010 7:35:31 GMT -6
The Gollancz collection I mentioned above, Sea Kings of Mars and Otherwordly Stories, also has a good map of Brackett's Mars, kind of a "flattened projection" showing the planet from pole to pole, with the canal network indicated.
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Post by kesher on Oct 7, 2010 8:07:32 GMT -6
Holy crap! Why have I never heard about that Fantasy Atlas site before?? Thanks for posting that!
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Post by aldarron on Oct 7, 2010 9:22:03 GMT -6
I haven't read Bracket yet either, but I find it more appealing than ERB, who's version of mars gets all the attention and I think that's unfortunet. I've only read one of ERB's Mars books - Chessmen. I loved his jetan game so I forced myself to read it but, my god it was painful. Even so, Mars the dying world is a great idea for a setting, even for a few D&D adventures and some of hese other authors definetly deserve more attention from gamers. Heck, even the old comics and movies can be mined for some cool ideas like Steve Mertzky did with Leather Goddeses of Phobos www.gamefaqs.com/pc/564467-leather-goddesses-of-phobos/faqs/45103 |
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Post by The Fiendish Dr. Samsara on Oct 7, 2010 14:57:16 GMT -6
I haven't read Bracket yet either, but I find it more appealing than ERB, who's version of mars gets all the attention and I think that's unfortunet. I've only read one of ERB's Mars books - Chessmen. If you don't like ERB ,then you don't like him, but I have to say that the first three books (Princess, Gods, and Warlord), which form a lose trilogy, are the best. Yeah, I just stumbled on it a while ago. It's keen. |
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Post by aldarron on Oct 7, 2010 18:59:16 GMT -6
Actually its not ERB's writing per se; as I enjoyed the coupleTarzan novels I read, and I'm not saying some of his other mars books aren't better reads - I sincerely hope they are - but I do think he is over sampled in the Mars genra when there are other sources that can be tapped to enrich the setting.
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Post by stevemitchell on Oct 8, 2010 8:06:31 GMT -6
Hormads, Kaldanes, Banths, Apts, Plant-Men, Calots, Radium Pistols, and a basic plot so durable it could sustain eleven books: "Kidnap the Princess."
Really, how can you improve on that?
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Burroughs by no means had a monopoly on envisioning the setting. Leigh Brackett's was personally preferred, to be honest, as was Weinbaum's solar system; albeit that's maybe a bit too weird for some playability tastes. 
