Star Rider

by Doris Piserchia

Jaks claim humans as their ancestors, but have developed, along with their mounts, the power to jump through dimensions and kip across the spaces between the stars. There are other inhabitants of the galaxy and they have their eyes on one young jak: the dreens want to imprison her in motherhood, the varks grin and stay inscrutable. But Jade of the Galaxy has a razor sharp mind and a faithful mount called Hinx. Where will she skip to? Who will she take with her?

A gripping tale of plot and counter-plot that shows the future of the galaxy held in the balance by one young woman.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

220 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1974

About the author

Also wrote under the psudonym Curt Selby.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this science fiction novel on my shelves since the late 1980s. It was part of a series published by the Women’s Press. It was Piserchia’s second novel published in 1974. It is set in the very distant future. Humanity has gone in three different directions.
There are jaks who are nomadic and often solitary. They have developed along with the ancestors of dogs and the two have a strong psychic link. Jaks are able to move great distances almost instantaneously across the galaxy by means of something called jinking (it’s best not to overthink it as it doesn’t really make sense). There are gibs, who live on a planet called Gibraltar. They are more similar to humans as we know them and are pretty much oppressed and do as they are told. Then there are the dreens who are effectively a policing and monitoring class who manage the gibs and who believe in order. They seem to fit neatly into modern notions of order and oppression. The Varks are a separate species who are effectively humanity’s guardians and have to see that they don’t get into too much trouble.
I must admit, it took me a while to connect with this and to suspend logic and follow the story. It is narrated by Lone (later called Jade), an adolescent female jak. Like all jaks, she is looking for a planet called Doubleluck, which is supposed to by a sort of utopia: an El Dorado type search. This turns out to be earth which is uninhabited and a bit of a mess. Jade has a series of adventures with her mount Hinx and spends most of her time wondering why everyone wants to lock her up, contain her, marry her, limit her powers and the reader (and she) gradually learns why. The ending has a bit of a communal, if we work together it might work out ok feel about it (very 60s).
There is something of a feminist feel to this and Jade has to resist various types of male attention. Jade turns out be very independent. It’s a bit fuzzy and optimistic at times and who wouldn’t want a loyal telepathic dog for a companion and sidekick! It wasn’t a challenging book, but it was quite fun.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was always a question of where this was going, in a sort of Barrington J Bayley sense. There was the same effervescent originality and deliberate knocking-down of convention. A space opera without spaceships, where instruments of any kind were held in disdain? Where the main character isn't a strong-jawed action hero, but an under-educated, flighty teenage girl? Where the end of human development isn't knowledge or hard work or rising to greatness, but the deliberate opposite of such?

Perhaps not approachable in its early sections, and perhaps strung together with a disregard for setting or logic, but the writing and dialog and the intriguing intelligence of the main character Jade carry one through, and it all rides the shockwave of its lunatic premise.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piserchia's second novel was an excellent science fiction adventure that was far ahead of its time. The setting, style, and viewpoint were all against the grain of novels contemporary with it, yet it was a very satisfying read. It was a part of Frederik Pohl's excellent editorial program at Bantam.

[Littleblackcart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going through a spate of re-reading old SF authors, and was reminded of this, one of my favorite books as a teen that I haven't read in decades. Am in the middle of Doomtime atm, and Piserchia is such a wild author . Her writing is so breakneck, you just have to find something to hold on to and go where the ride takes you.

So I guess the anarchy connection I'm alluding to/figuring out is the chaos, as well as implicit *and* explicit questioning of assumptions, that I found in SR. And of course the girl heroine was appealing to me and a lot less common in science fiction in the 70s. (edit: Also how affection was expressed, ha! Kicking in the head with love... )

This will be the next book I re-read, fingers crossed that I haven't forgotten something terrible that sullies it. (Although if I've forgotten something terrible then I can still celebrate that I got something good out of it despite itself. Triumph of the will!)

edit: still love it. yay!

[Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Jade of the Galaxy. Jade is a jak, a distant descendent of Humanity who can skip between the stars with her mount. Jade is young, but a chance encounter leads her to the mythical planet of Doubleluck, which all the jaks in the galaxy are looking for and that sets her and her mount, Hinx, off on a series of adventures and reveal just how special that Jade is.

I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book to start with. It throws you in at the deep end, with lots of jargon, and takes its time about explaining it, but I did grow to like Jade. She's an intelligent and active young woman. When she is captured (as happens often in the book), she doesn't wait to be rescued, but deals with the situation herself.

The other races and characters that Jade interacts with are interesting as well, especially the gibs - a different descendent branch of humanity to the jaks, albeit with similar powers, if not as developed.

This is a nice coming of age tale, as Jade learns something from every encounter, grows up substantially and steps up to face her destiny full in the face.

[King_In_Yellow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more than I did. The far-future world of the book, where advanced humans zoom through dimensional space on creatures descended from dogs, is fascinating and bizarre and Piserchia succeeds in selling it by not over-explaining anything, no matter how strange.
The result has that dream-like, surreal future-shock feeling that makes great Sci-Fi.

Where it all goes wrong is in the plotting. This might have done better as a couple of shorter pieces, because as it is the plot meanders and becomes tedious. The motivation of the characters are often obscured and inconsistent. Just when you think things are finally set up for a strong resolution, the story downshifts and slows down into another detour.

The writing wasn't bad at all, striking me as a cross between the humane voice of Simak and Van Vogt's "high weirdness". The strange and sometimes beautiful worlds presented make this one a strong two stars, very nearly a three, and I'm not at all discouraged from reading more by Piserchia.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd bit from the tail end of New Wave, it's rather like a wild, SFnal version of "On The Road"---Piserchia wrote in a vivid stream-of-consciousness style that clung lightly to the kind of mimetic realism that usually defines science fiction. It chronicles a stage in the evolution of the human species at the end of a long period during which humans have lost much of their dependence on material artifacts. The jaks can "jink" and "skip"---telepathically divine their surroundings, communicate with each other and their mounts, and travel at will through interstellar space. What seems initially as more a fantasy concept gradually acquires a kind of material rationale, but the point of the book is the liberation of the human imagination from one more stage of self-imposed limitations. Piserchia's style drags you along frenetically and if you don't look behind the curtain it's an intriguing parable of adolescence on the verge of maturity.

[Bhakta Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one, and read it more than once. The setting is the far future where humans have evolved into creatures called Jaks that can travel between the stars on "mounts", which are intelligent animals. There is a legend of a place called Doubleluck that many are searching for, and a lot of other stuff is going on too. I haven't read this for over thirty years, but I probably should find my copy and read it again. No doubt I'd understand parts of the story that were mysterious when I first read it.

I have tried reading many other Doris Piserchia novels, but this is the only one I like even a little bit.

[Lori Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't ask me why, but this is probably my favorite book. I have had the same copy since around 1985 and have read it over and over. There is just something about it. Maybe because Jade is head strong and never follows the rules and always does exactly the opposite of what she is told to do (I was like that at her age also).

[Justin Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loopy 70s SF that was awesome and silly. Reminded me of the more optimistic Tiptree stuff like The Starry Rift, and also a bit of Bester and Hoban.

I recommend it.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book again recently, wrapped up in a book cover so I couldn't see its title. Once I opened it up, I made a sound not unlike a child finding a favorite missing toy. Also hoped it would live up to my memories when I reread it.

It did. And then some.

I wish I could get this book reprinted and shoved into the hands of young women everywhere.

The story is about a teenage girl and we see everything through her eyes. It's a very close person narrative, not just because its in first person POV but because Lone, aka Jade, aka "I" is pretty much amazing.

The year is unknown in this science fiction story but Jade is a jak - a person with the ability to travel through space by using jink but only if they have a mount. Mounts are descendants of dogs the same way jaks are descendants of mankind. Jade and Hinx, her mount - a big black muscular creature with ears long enough to use as reins if necessary - are skipping in D2 (travel mode) when they fetch up on an asteroid that has something very, very weird about it. But before they can really figure out why the asteroid is so hinky, another jak and his massive mount come boiling into view and force Jade and Hinx to help him haul a guy to a safe place. Jade is reluctant but does it anyway - only to get captured by the big jak (aka Big Jak) by throwing a heavy duty rope around Hinx so he can't leave the planet without taking the tree with him - and no, he can't take the tree with him.

Let me talk about this book as a whole. Sort of a Gulliver's Travels, if you will, with Jade experiencing different worlds and different cultures and we get to experience it along with her. Jade (we) wind up on multiple planets where Jade (we) have to stay until Jade figures out a way to leave her captors behind. Jade is an unreliable narrator. She figures out things that we seeing through her eyes do not (or if we do, I'm missing the clues). While captive on these worlds, Jade experiences solitary confinement, she experiences a society where the worker drones don't realize their captives and how well their captors are making out, she experiences a male-dominated society where she thinks (paraphrased) "If they could figure out how to breed out some of the female intelligence, they'd be thrilled" but it would affect the men as well and we can't have that, she experiences a 'city of gold' that is beautiful and amazing and possibly very, very deadly...and she and some of her acquaintances (as well as Hinx) might be the way to save the entire race of jaks, as they're suddenly dying off in droves.

A product of its time and subtly (very) Feminist-oriented, Jade's an EveryGirl who just wants to travel with her dog and people keep locking her up for it. She doesn't want a boyfriend (possibly she's Ace? though she does say at one point jaks aren't considered mature until they're thirty and she thinks she's about fifteen); kissing Rulon makes her mentally sick. It's also sort of "Hippies vs Establishment" with the jaks being the hippies and the dreens being the establishment and the gibs being the ones who're the poor working drones who can't/don't have the time to lift up their heads and think that something could be changed for the better.

I still love this book. I have one other Piserchia book somewhere in my collection that I hope to find and reread sometime soonish.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. This book. Written back in 1974 so it's older than I am.

So, it really drives home how authors now a days differ in some ways... She leaves it to you to figure out what "jink" is, what D.2 and D.3 are, it's never explained. Best I can figure, jink is like a psychic ability. To jink it is to look at and understand/know, to pull, to push, to feel. D.2 and D.3 I'm fairly certain refer to dimensional levels? Maybe?

Anyway, it was an... interesting story despite that. Main protagonist is a 14 year old teenager who doesn't think she's all that special, she gets hoodwinked by Voldrun (aka Big Jak... and since a jak is what they are (not capitalized), it basically means... Big Person). Doesn't start out with a name, she's just Lone. It's just her and her mount (which are, by the by, dogs... that took me awhile to figure out too eh) popping about the universe looking at things and trying to find the mysterious lost planet Doubleluck.

Except it turns out she's actually quite special in her jink prowess and she winds up kidnapped and living on a world called Gibraltor with people who repress their ability to jink and some soul-dead folks called Dreens. One of whom has decided that her in all her 14 year old glory is what his race needs to become better as they've become inbred and she's All That And Then Some. Kind of creepy. I like her mettle. She's in some ways a typical 14 year old, she's undefeatable, fearless, cocky... frustrating, irritating, foolish. At one point she asks her would-be-rapist/husband if he'd be a kind husband and if he'd beat her when she's sick, and he asks why she'd be sick when they have the best medical technology... to paraphrase, "Because when you come near it's an uncontrollable urge to just puke up all my cactus, I don't know what it is, just bleeeeh!"

Good ending, not expected, liked the book. Not sure I'd read it again but I'm really glad I read it once.

[Jack Deighton · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Star Rider humans have differentiated into different strains, jaks and dreens. Narrator Lone, or Jade as she becomes, is a Jakalowar (jak.) Along with her dog-ancestried mount Hinx she can teleport easily across space. This is an ability which seems to be mixed in with a sort of telepathy/awareness called jink. All jaks are searching for the lost planet of Doubleluck, finding which would make their fortune. Jade is dogged by Big Jak, who knows where Doubleluck is and wishes to stop her finding it. He traps her but they are attacked by dreens and Jade is imprisoned, without Hinx, on a planet called Gibraltar. Separation from a mount normally makes a jak go mad but Jade manages to stay sane. This middle part of the novel is tonally somewhat at odds with what came before and what is to come. Eventually Jade persuades a dreen mount to let her jink, escapes, finds Hinx again and heads for old Earth where she uncovers Doubleluck inside a mountain. She is chased there by the dreens, whose leader Rulon wants to force her into marriage but who are eventually overcome in a sort of space battle and Jade then reveals to the victorious jaks her ability to jink to other galaxies, a jak goal for millennia.


The twists and turns of the story don’t seem to follow much logic and the text is occasionally embellished with unusual syntax which either I got used to as the novel progressed or, more likely given my attention to the minutiae of text, Piserchia tended to forget about. Neither are the characters very memorable; Piserchia’s focus is more on ongoing plot, with the occasional feminist aside. I would hazard Star Rider is not among the best SF from the 1970s.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and wish the writer had not stopped writing. This is not a book about war in space which far too much sci fi is. In some ways it is more fantasy than science fiction. Imagine finding another species that you can bond with and skip through space to distant planets and perhaps.... but let's not spoil it. Some of my favorite sci-fi is actually a western in space clothing. This might be closer to that. When I grew up almost all fiction was about men (white men) doing great things. They had mothers, maybe even a wife or mistress females were for window dressing or stage settings. I read sci-fi because it was on of the few genre where a female could be the center of story and a hero. I read this in 1974, almost half a century ago. It did not disappoint.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like eating an omelette full of gummy bears. One bite, yummy, huh, what’s a gummy bear doing in here. Next bite, delicious, I guess if it was more recent she’d have tried to make it vegan but in 1974, they only had real eggs, oh man, another gummy bear. Another bite, what is up with these gummy bears? But i kept eating because the eggs were so good.

Absolutely bizarre. I have no idea what or even if all this stuff was supposed to mean, and it all kept switching around. Well, not all, but big chunks of world building would suddenly come undone and go the other way. Lots of philosophizing in cowboy talk that I couldn’t say if I agree with or not. The main character is such a delight though.

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't intending to give this book such a high rating as I read it but as I went on my reading pace, mimicking my enjoyment and enthusiasm, accelerated. Now, having just finished the book I feel joyous and expansive. Not many books leave me with such a lingering buoyancy. This book was a booster shot, expunging those existential nihilistic moods that hover in the background- for now, if only temporarily.

"[we] came from the sea, stood upon the ground for a brief moment and then leaped into the air."

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the most chaotic books I've ever read. The first time I started I DNFed it because I just couldn't make out what the hell was happening. The trick is not to try to follow the story but just to let it happen. It's not terrible but very scattered and all over the place and the writing style is annoyingly adolescent. The main character is a pain in the ass. However some of the social commentary is pretty sharp and that makes the whole ordeal worth the read.

[Sybil Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its the year 80000 and humanz have evolved in to 3 kind, The Jak who have been naked and feral ever since they learned how to space fold, The Gib who all live on one titan planet and dotn space fold, and the Dreen,AKA THE SPACE FOLDING POLICE. NARRATED BY A MISSBEHAVING 14 year old jak girl !!

[Kimberly Karalius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was totally here for the weirdness, but I had such a hard time finding meaning in the jargon and connecting with the characters.

[Charlie Topnik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it page 117 before I had to give up trying to decipher the insanity and put it back on the shelf. 😅

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An almost YA sort of book, particularly in structure only with vastly better writing and character development written in an episodic format all whilst Piserchia relentlessly conjures inventive and imaginative scenarios. It reminds me a lot of R a Lafferty and to only think that she got better and this is her second novel is a testament to how talented Piserchia was.

[Marirose Vernalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. It's good sci-fi, the kind that's largely unrecognizable, sharing almost no tropes with anything else. Easy to read but totally original.

It's also really entertainingly paced, just marvelously weird, and secretly has an absolutely killer love story that is so not forefront. It's unusual in all the right ways. I never saw anything coming, but every turn satisfied. thank you dusty new mexico bookstore who yielded this paperback up to my hands. i bought it for the ridiculous cover on my edition but thought it was awesome.

50 cents spent. A gem hiding in the dime-a-dozen novels.

[Frank LaCroix · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a strange fast paced YA tale. Of her work this I think is the best. Loved it!

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't remember what directed me to this one. It is...odd. Kind of plotless, up until the point where it is largely plot driven. Absolutely a product of its time (late 70's). Meandering story with some beautiful thoughts in it but it never added up to something I loved. There were parts of it that I really liked where I said to myself "well, now this is going somewhere". and then it didn't go anywhere.

Ok, what's it about? The main character is a "jak", unnamed (at least until later). Jaks roam the galaxy on their mounts (giant dogs), "jinking" their way to different places almost instantaneously. How this works or the mechanics of it are largely unexplained, which is ok. The main character meets up with other jaks, searches for a lost city, is captured, rescued, tricked, captured, rescued, tricked, captured, rescued, tricked, captured, rescued, tricked...you get the idea. Until the end when some cool stuff happens.

I can't recommend it, it's pretty dry and I didn't really enjoy it all that much. But I'm not sad I read it. Always good to explore new old things.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the beginning premise for the character and universe is pretty unique and interesting, definitely something I hadn't read before.

I felt the overall story wasn't particularly strong or engaging. The book is written in the voice of what is an essentially adolescent space/dimension traveler, which is amusing at times, but also perhaps why the story didn't feel as compelling. It was a quick read and because it had some cool ideas I might check out more work by this author.

I loved the old school art on the cover of this particular paperback, with the classic beautiful girl on her mount, this time riding through varicolored interdimensional space. I have to note though, it clearly states in the book the mounts are canine-descended, not equine-descended. Neigh problem.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Sci-Fi book I found at a used book store. Always fun reading sci-fi before my time, as it was more sci-fi, less fantasy. This was an after-earth type book with the main character and others like her who could travel the stars with a horse/dog type animal, by forming an air bubble around them and moving to wherever they wanted to go. In this case they were looking for an "El Dorado" type home.

Fun, quick read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because someone had recommended it as a really bizarre science fiction story, and yeah, it's bizarre, but it's also got a kind of rambling, crazy, all-directions-at-once style of narration that draws out the sort of short plot in long, dull, and unfollowable passages. There are some cool ideas in the book, but they're sort of lost among all the babbling.

[Mely]

Initially energetic and surreal, but so disjointed in the second half that it loses most of the energy. Possibly more like R.A. Lafferty's weird tall tale surrealism than anything else, though not so strongly plotted.

[L.T. Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my all-time favorite sci/fi books.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, unusual approach to science fiction. The Earth is long dead, and humans are something else entirely. A different kind of novel. Stunning in its originality.