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My Lord Barbarian
VILLAINY MOST FOUL
Valeron car Nadh swore violently. It was an impossible situation.
The Emperor was dead – killed by the vilest sort of treachery. And, if that weren't bad enough, his beautiful daughter, Aleysha, was being forced into marriage... a heinous marriage to her father's assassin!
Valeron had but a few days in which to halt these nefarious schemes... only a few days in which to rally the Kings on the other worlds of Carmeis... only a few days to catch the villain before he became the most powerful ruler of all.
Unfortunately, there was one small problem. Valeron car Nadh, Warlord of Branarius, was locked in prison, accused of murdering the Emperor... and they had left him there to rot!
Valeron car Nadh swore violently. It was an impossible situation.
The Emperor was dead – killed by the vilest sort of treachery. And, if that weren't bad enough, his beautiful daughter, Aleysha, was being forced into marriage... a heinous marriage to her father's assassin!
Valeron had but a few days in which to halt these nefarious schemes... only a few days in which to rally the Kings on the other worlds of Carmeis... only a few days to catch the villain before he became the most powerful ruler of all.
Unfortunately, there was one small problem. Valeron car Nadh, Warlord of Branarius, was locked in prison, accused of murdering the Emperor... and they had left him there to rot!
184 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 12, 1978
84 people want to read
About the author
Andrew J. Offutt
209 books72 followersAndrew Jefferson Offutt was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He wrote as Andrew J. Offutt, A.J. Offutt, and Andy Offut. His normal byline, andrew j. offutt, had his name in all lower-case letters. His son is the author Chris Offutt.
Offutt began publishing in 1954 with the story And Gone Tomorrow in If. Despite this early sale, he didn't consider his professional life to have begun until he sold the story Blacksword to Galaxy in 1959. His first novel was Evil Is Live Spelled Backwards in 1970.
Offutt published numerous novels and short stories, including many in the Thieves World series edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey, which featured his best known character, the thief Hanse, also known as Shadowspawn (and, later, Chance). His Iron Lords series likewise was popular. He also wrote two series of books based on characters by Robert E. Howard, one on Howard's best known character, Conan, and one on a lesser known character, Cormac mac Art.
As an editor Offutt produced a series of five anthologies entitled Swords Against Darkness, which included the first professional sale by Charles de Lint.
Offutt also wrote a large number of pornographic works under twelve different pseudonyms, not all of them identified. Those known include John Cleve, J.X. Williams, and Jeff Douglas. His main works in this area are the science fiction Spaceways series, most of whose volumes were written in collaboration, and the historical Crusader series.
Offutt began publishing in 1954 with the story And Gone Tomorrow in If. Despite this early sale, he didn't consider his professional life to have begun until he sold the story Blacksword to Galaxy in 1959. His first novel was Evil Is Live Spelled Backwards in 1970.
Offutt published numerous novels and short stories, including many in the Thieves World series edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey, which featured his best known character, the thief Hanse, also known as Shadowspawn (and, later, Chance). His Iron Lords series likewise was popular. He also wrote two series of books based on characters by Robert E. Howard, one on Howard's best known character, Conan, and one on a lesser known character, Cormac mac Art.
As an editor Offutt produced a series of five anthologies entitled Swords Against Darkness, which included the first professional sale by Charles de Lint.
Offutt also wrote a large number of pornographic works under twelve different pseudonyms, not all of them identified. Those known include John Cleve, J.X. Williams, and Jeff Douglas. His main works in this area are the science fiction Spaceways series, most of whose volumes were written in collaboration, and the historical Crusader series.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 8, 2020
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
A wild ride...
This book is about the dastardly plan to kill the emperor of the seven worlds and place the blame on the barbarian king Lord Valeron of Branarius. As the back cover describes "Villainy most foul."
Okay so right off, this book obviously takes place in a spin-off world of Robert E. Howard's Conan universe. That was in the beginning...
However as you read you find very peculiar things are going on in this universe. In the time and place of the story apparently we (now) are the ancient race that had perished long before their time. When they talk of the Kings arriving on ships I was thinking like Viking long ships. NO! Not at all. They meant SPACEships!!!! And as hard as the author tried to explain how it is that they come to use these spaceships, his explanation seemed to falter a bit as it came up short for the reader that these people are able to maneuver these ships but not know how they are doing it. They just press buttons. Have you ever seen the movie Krull? It's a lot like that. Ah, but I digress.
The story was pretty typical of a barbarian epic fantasy, which is a point that I definitely loved. The beginning sucked me right in but I have to say that the ending was a little less than satisfactory. And while the fighting scenes were very well described, some other scenes, such as the romantic exchanges, were lacking very much in detail. Some just cut clean to the chase without any detail at all.
As surprising as it was, this still was a very fun read for me and I would be happy to recommend it to those who enjoy epic fantasies and adventure stories.
A wild ride...
This book is about the dastardly plan to kill the emperor of the seven worlds and place the blame on the barbarian king Lord Valeron of Branarius. As the back cover describes "Villainy most foul."
Okay so right off, this book obviously takes place in a spin-off world of Robert E. Howard's Conan universe. That was in the beginning...
However as you read you find very peculiar things are going on in this universe. In the time and place of the story apparently we (now) are the ancient race that had perished long before their time. When they talk of the Kings arriving on ships I was thinking like Viking long ships. NO! Not at all. They meant SPACEships!!!! And as hard as the author tried to explain how it is that they come to use these spaceships, his explanation seemed to falter a bit as it came up short for the reader that these people are able to maneuver these ships but not know how they are doing it. They just press buttons. Have you ever seen the movie Krull? It's a lot like that. Ah, but I digress.
The story was pretty typical of a barbarian epic fantasy, which is a point that I definitely loved. The beginning sucked me right in but I have to say that the ending was a little less than satisfactory. And while the fighting scenes were very well described, some other scenes, such as the romantic exchanges, were lacking very much in detail. Some just cut clean to the chase without any detail at all.
As surprising as it was, this still was a very fun read for me and I would be happy to recommend it to those who enjoy epic fantasies and adventure stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2020
This is another entertaining sword & planet novel by andrew j. offutt. The settings are interesting; a group of planets thrown into iron age technology. The explanation isn't too clear, but offutt throws out hints and lets the reader speculate. There's a nice balance between political machinations and swordly adventures. There are some surprisingly sexist attitudes, bordering on misogynistic, but they are brief though jarring and don't interrupt the flow of the narrative too much. An interesting story, and I think it's surprising he never set any of his other novels there.
December 31, 2023
A one-off, in the tradition or Lin Carter who often wrote in the tradition of Burroughs... Imagine post-apoc lostech setting, "ancient lights" that perpetually 'burn', spaceships that fly on preset courses but no one can repair them, swords and brawn replace hitech warfare...wenching a-plenty! Hmmm...maybe I underestimated it...
February 10, 2012
loved this. something like a post-apoc sword and planet romp. space barbarians, "ancient" plastics, mechanical dragons, and space ships whose workings are long forgotten. awesome.
September 15, 2018
Although billed as a Sword and Planet novel, this one didn't have much of the feel of such a novel. It was indeed set on another planet (several in fact), and the setting is S & P--an artificial solar system created by an advanced human civilization which has fall into decay. Most worship "Siense" (Science) as a God now. However, the majority of the action fits the pattern of a more general sword & sorcery novel, as the title, "My Lord Barbarian" suggests. There's also almost no description of the worlds, which is not characteristic of S & P either.
As for the story, in which a newly minted conquering king comes to the capital planet to be honored but is instead betrayed and framed for the murder of the great king, I generally enjoyed it although it was too long in places and I would have liked more of a feel for the setting. The interactions between the main hero, Valeron, and women is very archaic and often wince-worthy for a more modern audience. The action is pretty well done, though.
As for the story, in which a newly minted conquering king comes to the capital planet to be honored but is instead betrayed and framed for the murder of the great king, I generally enjoyed it although it was too long in places and I would have liked more of a feel for the setting. The interactions between the main hero, Valeron, and women is very archaic and often wince-worthy for a more modern audience. The action is pretty well done, though.
May 10, 2020
4 stars for the rollicking good sci-fantasy tale, 1-2 stars for the extremely dated sexual attitudes, which are not uncharacteristic of the genre, but they became much more of a focus than the story demanded.
May 16, 2013
It plays in the same space as The Rebel of Rhada, The Planet Wizard, and Star Barbarian, and is therefore a book that I would leap into with the greatest of enthusiasm, especially because Offutt seemed determined to have more fun with the concept than the others.
What he produced is a fairly conventional sword-and-sorcery story with a veneer of setting that may ultimately have been more harm than good. I like the idea of an artificial solar system mysterously and catastrophically reduced to Iron Age technology (especially where the actual facts behind "The Wrath of Siense" and the Ancients in general are left murky), but the scale of it invites questions that Offutt wasn't prepared to answer, and offers opportunities he wouldn't take advantage of.
I'm not sure where Offutt is going with regard to his female characters, or at least the other characters' behavior towards them. At one point our hero Valerian, in verbally sparring with a romantic interest, makes some cutting remarks involving extreme sexual assault. It was unpleasant and unnecessary, and what's worse the target of this statement did not react in an appropriate manner (by removing herself from 'romantic interest' candidacy, at least). It stuck out obnoxiously in a work that seemed targeted for heroic adventure.
What he produced is a fairly conventional sword-and-sorcery story with a veneer of setting that may ultimately have been more harm than good. I like the idea of an artificial solar system mysterously and catastrophically reduced to Iron Age technology (especially where the actual facts behind "The Wrath of Siense" and the Ancients in general are left murky), but the scale of it invites questions that Offutt wasn't prepared to answer, and offers opportunities he wouldn't take advantage of.
I'm not sure where Offutt is going with regard to his female characters, or at least the other characters' behavior towards them. At one point our hero Valerian, in verbally sparring with a romantic interest, makes some cutting remarks involving extreme sexual assault. It was unpleasant and unnecessary, and what's worse the target of this statement did not react in an appropriate manner (by removing herself from 'romantic interest' candidacy, at least). It stuck out obnoxiously in a work that seemed targeted for heroic adventure.
January 24, 2016
A good entertaining read. I enjoyed how Offutt does a very good job of blending SiFi and fantasy elements into one story. If you are a fan of SiFi or Fantasy stories you will find something entertaining in this book. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews