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Kar-Chee #1
The Kar-Chee Reign / Rocannon's World
Ace Double G-574
The Kar-Chee Reign by Avram Davidson (117 pgs)
Rocannon's World by Ursula K. LeGuin (117 pgs)
The Planet Scavengers
It was the distant future of Earth, and the mother planet of a glaxy-wide empire had been forgotten by her far-flung colonies. Forgotten, tired, old and stripped of her ores and natural fuels, Earth and the scattered bands of humans left behind were totally unprepared for the invasion of the strange, monstrous Kar-chee from the depths of the stars.
The Kar-chee had come to strip Earth of the few natural resources the planet had left--to crack the marrow of the aged planet and scavenge whatever of worth was left there. It was a massive, planet-wide operation in which continents were sunk and oceans drained, and if the tiny, insignificant humans died in these holocausts, what did that matter to the Kar-chee?
It mattered to the humans...and, at last, they began to fight.
The Kar-Chee Reign by Avram Davidson (117 pgs)
Rocannon's World by Ursula K. LeGuin (117 pgs)
The Planet Scavengers
It was the distant future of Earth, and the mother planet of a glaxy-wide empire had been forgotten by her far-flung colonies. Forgotten, tired, old and stripped of her ores and natural fuels, Earth and the scattered bands of humans left behind were totally unprepared for the invasion of the strange, monstrous Kar-chee from the depths of the stars.
The Kar-chee had come to strip Earth of the few natural resources the planet had left--to crack the marrow of the aged planet and scavenge whatever of worth was left there. It was a massive, planet-wide operation in which continents were sunk and oceans drained, and if the tiny, insignificant humans died in these holocausts, what did that matter to the Kar-chee?
It mattered to the humans...and, at last, they began to fight.
256 pages
First published January 1, 1966
3 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Avram Davidson
431 books94 followersAvram Davidson was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis and was a Nebula Award finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 22, 2008
Earth is played out and nearly abandoned. The Kar-Chee are galactic exploiters taking apart played out worlds for their remaining usable elements. This in not a repair and reuse this is wholesale mining to destruction. Of course the inhabitants take exception.
The other book is part of LeGuin Hainish cycle dealing with the impact of relativity on space travelers and dictatorial world domince.
Semley travels to recover her family treasure residing in an offworld museum. Her trip has successful in finding the treasure but her family are grown and her husband dead during the planetary time passage. She had never understood the cost of the trip so for her it was as if time had stopped while in the company of fairies.
While in the museum she met Rocannon who becomes interested in her planet and society for study so he follows her. Her planet ha become the base for power hungry War Lord bent on using this primitive society on his way to battle the League of Worlds.
The reason the two books make a good pair is both are about world exploitation.
The other book is part of LeGuin Hainish cycle dealing with the impact of relativity on space travelers and dictatorial world domince.
Semley travels to recover her family treasure residing in an offworld museum. Her trip has successful in finding the treasure but her family are grown and her husband dead during the planetary time passage. She had never understood the cost of the trip so for her it was as if time had stopped while in the company of fairies.
While in the museum she met Rocannon who becomes interested in her planet and society for study so he follows her. Her planet ha become the base for power hungry War Lord bent on using this primitive society on his way to battle the League of Worlds.
The reason the two books make a good pair is both are about world exploitation.
August 8, 2008
I read this in the old Ace double format and I thought both books were really good. I belive LeGuin's "Rocannon's World" is a bit better but both are well worth reading.
November 9, 2020
Loved Rocannon's World. 4 stars.
The Kar-Chee Reign was a 'meh'... 2.5 stars. It felt all over the place. I never had a solid sense of what was going on. Some strong moments and some strong writing mask what is ultimately a pretty standard earth invasion story with flat characters. I could've used way more... or way less... this fell right in the 'no' part of the equation for me.
The Kar-Chee Reign was a 'meh'... 2.5 stars. It felt all over the place. I never had a solid sense of what was going on. Some strong moments and some strong writing mask what is ultimately a pretty standard earth invasion story with flat characters. I could've used way more... or way less... this fell right in the 'no' part of the equation for me.
March 30, 2023
Kar-Chee : A-/A
Rocannon’s World: B/B+
https://youtu.be/fuM7f-fxLww - my video review of Kar-Chee
https://youtu.be/KZrWNtOgIO8 - my video review of Rocannon’s World
The Kar-Chee Reign review:
I have only read The Kar-Chee Reign so far. I really enjoyed this book, I had trouble putting it down. It is epic in scope and in general. Liam (the main character, more or less) occupies this odd wild-eyed messianic figure seemingly borne not of the future, but from our primordial past. The Knowers are great as secondary villains. The aliens are not terribly fleshed out but they seem to be worthy and interesting adversaries. There is a lot of exposition in this book but it is all poetic and well-done. The ending is foreshadowed nicely and feels earned in a way that other books I’ve read recently couldn’t pull off. The book is easy to follow and visualize while still featuring beautiful writing, some depth, and heady action set pieces.
This book reminded me of Wolfe’s BOTNS a good amount: both are dying earth stories featuring aliens exploiting the remains of Earth and humanity scattering themselves to the stars and forgetting where they came from (although that is more the subject of Wolfe’s Long Sun and Short Sun sequences).
The quote from Davidson, “There can be no right action without right knowledge” reminded me so much of Ascian Correct Thought from Wolfe’s New Sun that I cracked open Citadel of the Autarch right after finishing Kar-Chee to check and see if Wolfe outright stole it. He did not, I was wrong, but whatever, I could definitely see Kar-Chee being at least a slight influence on New Sun.
This book would make a great action packed movie and the book’s ending, if used in the movie, would set up a seemingly endless number of sequels featuring Liam as some kind of Conan type reconquering the world.
This book, while solidly science fiction, does have some weird fiction and climate fiction aspects.
I only recently became aware of Davidson but I am already a massive fan.
Rocannon’s World review:
I enjoyed this book a good amount. It features a nice mix of science fiction and fantasy and has that je ne sais quoi that Le Guin always includes: the book reads like it is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.
The prelude is dream-like and enjoyable. Part one, full of rising action and worldbuilding, is quite readable. Part two ends the book in a fitting and well earned manner. The epilogue ties the book together and explains the title of the book.
This book did remind me of The Left Hand of Darkness (my introduction to Le Guin beyond her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”). The reason for that comparison is the fact that both feature journeys through a hellish wintry landscape that lead to a climactic finale. Some descriptions in Rocannon’s World also seemed similar to some parts in Left Hand, particularly the description of the Winged Ones’ city and the descriptions of urban life in Left Hand.
It is notable (and astounding) that this book was Le Guin’s full-length debut and only initially featured in an Ace Double rather than on its own.
Rocannon’s World: B/B+
https://youtu.be/fuM7f-fxLww - my video review of Kar-Chee
https://youtu.be/KZrWNtOgIO8 - my video review of Rocannon’s World
The Kar-Chee Reign review:
I have only read The Kar-Chee Reign so far. I really enjoyed this book, I had trouble putting it down. It is epic in scope and in general. Liam (the main character, more or less) occupies this odd wild-eyed messianic figure seemingly borne not of the future, but from our primordial past. The Knowers are great as secondary villains. The aliens are not terribly fleshed out but they seem to be worthy and interesting adversaries. There is a lot of exposition in this book but it is all poetic and well-done. The ending is foreshadowed nicely and feels earned in a way that other books I’ve read recently couldn’t pull off. The book is easy to follow and visualize while still featuring beautiful writing, some depth, and heady action set pieces.
This book reminded me of Wolfe’s BOTNS a good amount: both are dying earth stories featuring aliens exploiting the remains of Earth and humanity scattering themselves to the stars and forgetting where they came from (although that is more the subject of Wolfe’s Long Sun and Short Sun sequences).
The quote from Davidson, “There can be no right action without right knowledge” reminded me so much of Ascian Correct Thought from Wolfe’s New Sun that I cracked open Citadel of the Autarch right after finishing Kar-Chee to check and see if Wolfe outright stole it. He did not, I was wrong, but whatever, I could definitely see Kar-Chee being at least a slight influence on New Sun.
This book would make a great action packed movie and the book’s ending, if used in the movie, would set up a seemingly endless number of sequels featuring Liam as some kind of Conan type reconquering the world.
This book, while solidly science fiction, does have some weird fiction and climate fiction aspects.
I only recently became aware of Davidson but I am already a massive fan.
Rocannon’s World review:
I enjoyed this book a good amount. It features a nice mix of science fiction and fantasy and has that je ne sais quoi that Le Guin always includes: the book reads like it is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.
The prelude is dream-like and enjoyable. Part one, full of rising action and worldbuilding, is quite readable. Part two ends the book in a fitting and well earned manner. The epilogue ties the book together and explains the title of the book.
This book did remind me of The Left Hand of Darkness (my introduction to Le Guin beyond her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”). The reason for that comparison is the fact that both feature journeys through a hellish wintry landscape that lead to a climactic finale. Some descriptions in Rocannon’s World also seemed similar to some parts in Left Hand, particularly the description of the Winged Ones’ city and the descriptions of urban life in Left Hand.
It is notable (and astounding) that this book was Le Guin’s full-length debut and only initially featured in an Ace Double rather than on its own.
April 25, 2021
This is just a review of The Kar-Chee Reign. I rated Rocannon's World in a previous review as I liked it a lot more.
December 22, 2025
I enjoyed Rocannon’s world well enough but I didn’t like the writing style of the kar-chee reign and did not finish that story.
Currently reading
January 20, 2010Currently reading the Kar-Chee Reign. Davidson is such a good writer! I can see why Ace paired him with LeGuin.
Want to read
February 21, 2017Avram Davidson / Ursula K. LeGuin
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews