Masters of the Fist

by Edward P. Hughes

Science fiction

Genres: Science Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, underrated book about a post-WW3 rural town in England, where a former Master Sergeant brings his tank and troops to the old castle -- and has other talents. Make love AND war! Recommended. More like 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Read circa 1992, I think. Review from memory, and some notes I found in passing. I'd reread, if I found another copy.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories previously published in a science fiction magazine and anthologies from 1980 to 1987. The book is by Edward P. Hughes and was published in 1989. It includes stories written for the book. I had read one of the stories before and was intrigued by the concept, so was interested to pick up this book.
It seems there has been a war or wars and maybe also environmental disasters. One result is that civilization has collapsed--and most human males have become sterile. Our hero is Patrick O'Meara, an Irishman who was a sergeant in the British Army. One fine day, he steals a tank in Belfast and sets off to find his family in western Ireland. His family is gone and he finds himself in the small village of Barley Cross. The Irish villagers are trying to live normal lives--but they are under constant threat from raiders. They offer O'Meara a home if he will stay- with his tank- to protect them. Moreover, there's a castle near the village which he can live in and use as a headquarters. It's called "the Fist," and the sergeant is made the Master of the Fist. And, as it turns out, he's the only man around who can fertilize women and so he is also made the Lord. And like feudal lords before him, he has "droit de seigneur"--the right of the lord to have sexual relations with a female subject, particularly on her wedding night...
I enjoyed the stories. I'd rate the book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. UP THE IRISH!

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories, post-apocalyptic with a sexist twist. Only one man is apparently fertile, what will the small village do about it? They wrestle with contemporary morals, as an undefined apocalypse has them bending them with medieval concepts to keep living.

I was amused with the original story when I ran across it in a collection while in college, grabbed the book as soon as it came out. Given its premise, I liked it.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1054965.html[return][return]A rather dismal Baen collection of short stories about a village in post-Holocaust Ireland where the head honcho is the only fertile man left in the world, and has to grapple with the awful responsibilities of impregnating the local women. Oirish and sexist clich

[Ike · Rating 3 out of 5]

One word = droits