Statesman

Bio of a Space Tyrant #5

by Piers Anthony

From refugee to tyrant of Jupiter, Hope Hubris is an exile of the planet he once ruled in this sci-fi saga from the New York Times–bestselling author. This is the fifth in the series Bio of a Space Tyrant, featuring the stages in the life of Hope Hubris, the tyrant of Jupiter, and his beloved sister, Spirit. Child of flame and terror, born and bred to violence, Hope Hubris had ruled the solar system’s most powerful empire with a fierce, uncompromising passion. His was a white-hot flame of justice that scarred friend and foe alike. Yet now he left Jupiter as an exile, his autocratic rule overthrown by the one person he could not oppose. Deposed, disgraced, but forever unbroken, the tyrant’s greatest hour was still to come. For only he could shoulder the burden of humanity’s boldest to leave behind the confines of the solar system and journey outward to the stars. The epic of Hope Hubris comes to a blazing climax!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction

430 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Last Piers Anthony Book I Ever Read
6 May 2012

Well, all I can say is that I have finally reached the last of the Piers Anthony books that I have read and most definitely this is going to be the last one that I ever will read. To be honest with you I still wonder why I even bothered reading anything that he wrote, but I guess that it had a lot to do with a friend who just always seems to shove rubbish under my nose and tell me that it is really good and that I should read it. The thing with this particularly guy is that you cannot say no to him, because if you do then there is obviously something wrong with you and he will shove his nose up at you. However, you cannot do the same to him, because he will get really offended if you comment on the books that he reads. The problem is that most of the books that he attempts to show me are of little literary merit at all.

However he was not responsible for me reading this series, it was more a series that I have been seeing most of my life and decided that I would actually read. I somewhat regret actually reading these books because there was little in them that actually interested me, at least looking back on them ten years after I finished the series. Okay, I should be honest and say that they did keep me interested, despite all of the misogynistic sex. I suspect one of the reasons people read books that drip with so much sex is another form of escapism. In a way it is the same as pornography, though I would not necessarily say that these books (and pornography) are entirely the providence of those who are not getting any sex. I would suggest that it is more like people who have unsatisfactory sex lives that tend to be attracted and enjoy these series.

Let me explain; because one always wonders why married men still purchase pornography and attend strip clubs. I would not suggest that all of them have unsatisfactory marriages, but there is this strange idea that when two people are in a long term relationship then sexual activity begins to drop. Okay, a number of my Christian friends would dispute that, however I would suggest that Christians are well known to bend the truth, or simply hide the more unsatisfactory elements of their lives. Look, Christians not only get divorced, they also have affairs, so when a pastor stands on a pulpit and suggests that the only satisfactory sexual relationship is in marriage, I sometimes question the reality of the statement. However, that may not necessarily be the case, especially if sex is denied until marriage (and I will be honest and suggest that there is nothing wrong with that, but it comes down to how it is approached).

Consider this: if a young Christian is told that sex should only be in the province of marriage, and all of society around him tells him that he can only be a complete person if he is having sex, then their mind becomes to be dominated by getting married (and I speak of that from experience). So, the question that comes out (and nobody is going to give them an honest answer) is what are the reasons for getting married. If it is sex, then there is going to be a serious problem.

Look, I will not dispute that we are currently living in a sex mad society, and I am not advocating that Christians throw off their resistance to pre-marital sex. Living a sexually promiscuous life is not fulfilling, but what I would suggest is that marriage and sex should be downplayed a lot more than what some churches do. In fact many of these churches seem to have such a hang up about sex that their warnings end up having completely the opposite effect to their intention. It is like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. When you are underage then the forbidden fruit tastes so much better, however once you reach the age of majority, and the forbidden fruit is no longer forbidden, it becomes dull and boring. I would suggest that the same is true with sex. A difficult dilemma that we have here.

[Leanna Aker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do so love Piers Anthony in general and this series in particular. It is a fun blend of sci fi, politics, and romance. Hope Hubris is at the end of his life, and trying to help enact "The Dream" which is galactic plan to enable space travel to nearby stars so that factions have no shortage of space and thus, no need to fight. The Dream is really part of Khukov's plan, who is in charge on Saturn. The book entails Hope's diplomatic (and some not so diplomatic) efforts to get all of the planets on board.



As is usually the case, the character portrayals are a little flimsy, but it doesn't much matter. This is a fun read, and I would recommend it as I would the others in this series.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've finally finished the five Bio of a Space Tyrant books and I've got to admit I enjoyed them immensely. Yes they are the flimsiest of naive political wish fulfilment fantasies; the strong but fair (and sex mad) "tyrant" unified the solar system (an exact clone of cold-war era Earth). And sure he uses his "power" to instantly tame a sabre toothed tiger. But at its core these books are satire and have to be read as such.

All good sci fi is about the period it's written. It's not about the future at all. And these books are firmly embedded in the late 70s and 80s.

If you read the others you have to read this to see how the tyrant gets to narrate his own death. Hope Hubris indeed.

[Sean Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite going a little metaphysical this was a well-rounded end to the saga for its time.

[Jeremiah Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was slightly better than the previous one, but not nearly as good as the first three.
The Story wasn't very interesting to me. The historic parallels were far more obvious than they had been in the previous novels, but they seemed like page fillers with no substance.
Since Spirit is always been the true power behind the tyrant, I am still interested to read the final book in the series.

[Buggz79 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look. I can take the implausible pretty well in my stride but when this chap pulled a "dog whisperer" on a goddamn tiger, I was done. That was the last straw in the damn improbable series.

[Steve R]

This is the final volume in Anthony's series about Hope Hubris, whose life in the solar system of the future oddly parallels that of political and military leaders in the earth of the 1980s, during which the series was written. Then, he added another book to the series fifteen years later. In this work, Hubris is exiled after leaving office, but still works hard to bring unity and peace to the solar system and develop a new method of light-speed travel. Not remembered.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though interesting it seems to be written by a young idealistic man, who looked at the world no dreamed of solving the world’s problems while enjoying a variety sexual relationships ... it’s long been said the most efficient form of government is a benevolent dictatorship and add to that loyal relationships and being desired ... it’s a fantasy novel in more than one way!

[Justin Blomker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I read this only to complete the series I started long ago. Compared to the author’s other works, it is dry reading. I suggest this to readers who are looking for a liberal alternative to how several real world problems are currently handled by today’s governments.

[Vitaliy Hristyuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ending to an interesting story.

[Lance Sherrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this series. The meaning of 'hubris', 'logistics', and vindication...not so much the meaning of that last one but what it means to become.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

One gets tired of the Tyrant's many loves and how they are emulated.

[James Stockbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible end to the Space Tyrant series (Yes, I am ready to read about Spirit in the final book of the series). No spoilers.

[Michael Pilgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the last volume I think the story lost a lot of steam. I still enjoyed the book, it just wasn't as good as the rest of the series.

[J Grimsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best Story but still in the Piers Anthony tradition.

[John (Hey Y'all Listen Up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawed, but overall this was an enjoyable read. This is my favorite of the series so far.

[Ike · Rating 3 out of 5]

One word = forced

[Sondashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a fantastic read

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had it in my mind to read this book for 20 years. I read the first 4 when they came out, but somehow missed #5. My mistake. It's a pretty bad book. I've always thought Piers is hit or miss, and this is a miss. The two huge flaws in this book are way too much sex and a character introduced that has no affect on the story.

The Tyrant has sex in this book around 25 times. So the book would be 25% shorter if each mating were a couple of lines instead of several pages. Between the sexual demon and the sexual chameleon, the Tyrant has his hands full. At times it wanders into soft core porn territory.

The second huge problem with this book is the Tyrant magically gets a sabre tooth tiger, but the tiger doesn't do anything. There's lots of information about the tiger's cage and space suit and reaction to space flight, but the gd tiger doesn't do anything, nada, and then dies of old age. Why, Piers, why?

Good narrator.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't plan to ruin anything here but I fear I must start with this: mechanical yeti? Really, Mr. Anthony? The depths to which this series took me were, at times, highly uncomfortable, and yet I stuck with it because the beginning was so strong. To be quite honest, however, I wish I had left off with the third book. The fourth left much to be desired and the finale...well, it depressed me if nothing else. After the gloriously fought battles of the past I had expected a much more impressive end to Hope Hubris than what happened. Similarly, rather than give a truly solid closing Mr. Anthony opted to hint at his next book, an unofficial sixth in the series that follows Spirit through the years. It's upsetting, really, as I had such high hopes for the Hubris family and in the end it was a convoluted mess of old-man sex, taming deadly tigers, and being brought down not by a nation but by a robot in a yeti suit.

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hope has relinquished the dictatorship and gone into exile. He becomes a statesman, getting everyone to work together to complete a faster than light spaceship or jumpgate. He has sex with all the women who work for him, including one disturbing scene where his secretary, who is a master of disguise, changes disguises to look like his sister while they are having sex (so she can answer the phone), and it really turns him on. I did not like the way this book ended the series.

BTW, I don't think there is any truth to the rumor that Bill Clinton thinks of Hope Hubris as his hero and role model :-)

I give this book an XXX rating for the excessive and weird sex.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series was interesting because it followed a character through several stages of his life. With the blindfold off, you read about the character's shortcomings and how he feels about them himself. It humanizes the hero to the point that you understand and accept what he's done, but do not always like him. Basically, he's one of us with all our foibles. He's just a somewhat ordinary man raised himself to achievements in extraordinary circumstances.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Insert same "kindle formatting proof pass needed" whine here as in my other reviews]

Like the last book, this one isn't my favorite, but does wrap up the series well. What I liked about this one was the "Dream" and that, maybe, mankind could come together and work toward a single, yet bright and hopeful future. (But then again, this is called fiction for a reason... :| )

[Mike Norman · Rating 1 out of 5]

really poor waiting, took effort to get this far in the series. this far no further. poorly repackaged history strung together by mindless nonsense.I, like the author, lack the writing skills to get my point across, so I I'll put forward the same effort he did in his books: crap, really bad, tries to be edgy and ends up creepy, horrible, wish I could forget, really really bad.

[Kirk Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

BIO of a Space Tyrant series was one of the best, hard core sci-fi reads when I was in school, and has always remained one of my favorite stories. Loved the arc of the character from book one to book five...so amazing to develop a character so much over a series like this. It was really brave in retrospect, but so glad he did it this way. Was a brilliant, thoughtful, well-written series.

[Tim Greaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this entire series and reread it several times, though not in the last decade. My next reread, I will provide a detailed review. The evolution of the character and of the political changes he accomplishes are so beautifully modeled after the very problems we wrestle with on Earth each day.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing that stops this series from being porn is the total lack of pictures!

I poop on this book.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished the book to finish the series(I thought). Anthony has great ideas which he beats to death.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young adult 10-15