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Space Relations
On a distant planet in the distant future...
When all the galaxies are colonized, John Craig, a young space diplomat, is captured by interplanetary pirates and sold into slavery.
On Kossr, where boredom and absolute power have driven the rulers to a special kind of madness, Craig is auctioned off to the exquisite Lady Morgan Sidney, a beautiful, sensual woman. He soon makes his way from the hellish slave mines into her bed in the tower of her castle. And it is here, under the strange castle, that he finds the secret that may bring about the end of man in the galaxy.
When all the galaxies are colonized, John Craig, a young space diplomat, is captured by interplanetary pirates and sold into slavery.
On Kossr, where boredom and absolute power have driven the rulers to a special kind of madness, Craig is auctioned off to the exquisite Lady Morgan Sidney, a beautiful, sensual woman. He soon makes his way from the hellish slave mines into her bed in the tower of her castle. And it is here, under the strange castle, that he finds the secret that may bring about the end of man in the galaxy.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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684 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 24, 2020
This dusty book has a connection to Jeffrey Epstein conspiracies!?!
I found out quite by accident. While browsing eBay for old paperbacks I stumbled upon a few listings for Space Relations at unbelievable prices. Like $300+. The cover seemed familiar--like something I might have picked up at a library sale--so I hunted through my boxes until, sure enough, there it was.
At first I thought Space Relations might be an exceptionally good out-of-print title since people were selling it for such extreme prices, but then I learned the juicy gossip behind it.
The facts are this: From 1964 to 1974, Donald Barr was headmaster for Dalton School in Manhattan. Near the end of his tenure at the prestigious institution, he published Space Relations. It was his first book and, though it hardly rocked the literary world, it did have a fair run that capitalized on the fad for slim, pulpy sci-fi novels.
It seemed novel-writing became Barr’s new passion, because within a year of being published he resigned from his post at Dalton. Curiously enough, Jeffrey Epstein also began teaching math and science at Dalton around this same time. Technically Epstein didn’t officially begin his position until the semester after Barr’s resignation, but the possibility that the two overlapped at some point isn’t too far fetched. Also, it’s worth noting that Epstein was completely unqualified for the job. He was still in his early 20s and a college drop out.
Another interesting fact: Donald Barr is the father of William Barr, Trump’s appointed Attorney General.
Now here’s where the conspiracy comes in: We all know that Epstein was involved in a horrific sex slave operation, right? Well, guess what Space Relations is about. Bingo, sex slavery!
Based on this information, the Internet is abuzz with many bizarre theories. Some read Space Relations like it’s the Da Vinci Code, with hidden clues that might even reveal who killed Epstein. Others marvel over loose connections between Barr’s plot and Epstein’s crimes.
Knowing all this in advance, I decided to read the book like that. Hoping to solve something sinister by analyzing the sentences of this old paperback. Unfortunately, try as I might, the only discovery I made was that Barr was a very poor writer and there’s a good reason why Space Relations fell out-of-print.
There is slavery in the novel, that’s true. And the slaves are taken advantage of for sexual purposes, so I get the conspiracy. But the problem with that logic is the story is about a slave’s quest for freedom. It’s abundantly clear, I think, that rape isn’t a good thing in this world. For example, soon after Craig is sold to slavery a man tries to rape him and our protagonist manages to cut off his dick.
That said, many will point to an uncomfortable scene where the evil overlords demand the enslaved Craig copulate with a teenaged slave girl so she will bear a child and produce more slaves.
The problem that people have with the scene is that neither character is traumatized by the act. The teenage girl doesn’t seem to mind hooking up with the muscular hunk, and he follows orders perhaps a little too agreeably. However, the scene isn’t particularly descriptive and it doesn’t relish the circumstances. Considering what other horrific things the slaves went through, I don’t know that the characters’ non-reaction to this particular task is so unbelievable.
While I don’t think there’s much to unpack in that infamous scene, I suppose the sexual nature of the book at large could be evaluated for Epstein connections. But, again, it seems to contradict. A powerful woman is the main sexual predator. She forces Craig to be her concubine, but again, it doesn’t come across as the worst job he’s ever had. Perhaps that’s the problem. Even though they’re two beautiful adults, the sex should be horrific and terrible given the circumstances.
I somewhat agree with that argument, but I’m sure there are plenty who don’t. Personally I think Anne Rice’s erotica series about sex slavery is disgusting. In Rice’s books, the protagonist is an under-18 aged girl who is shackled and subject to non-stop sexual situations. Sounds horrific to me. But the character thinks that’s hot and apparently so do many readers.
I’ll be honest I really struggled to understand all the space politics in this book, so I could have misunderstood key facts, but there is something generally pervy about the whole thing. For example, it seems every guy wants to bang Craig. There’s several random homo-erotic sentences and a really obscure trans-erotic moment. Actually, now that I think about it, the female characters are almost never described in sensual terms. I wonder - was William Barr’s dad gay?
Maybe I uncovered something after all!
Oh, there is one other thing. The book references a strange mineral called “Weinsteinite” a couple of times to no purpose. It seems like a thinly veiled excuse to refer to someone named “Weinstein.” Perhaps a friend of Barr? Could the real conspiracy behind this book be a connection to Harvey Weinstein?? Wouldn’t that be a twist!
Unlike the Barr-Epstein connection, where there actually is a reasonable trace to their crossing paths, I can’t find anything on Barr-Weinstein. But will that stop me from pushing this conspiracy theory? Certainly not!
All in all, generally a waste of time. Still, an interesting experience trying to treasure hunt for conspiracy clues within a poorly written space tale.
I found out quite by accident. While browsing eBay for old paperbacks I stumbled upon a few listings for Space Relations at unbelievable prices. Like $300+. The cover seemed familiar--like something I might have picked up at a library sale--so I hunted through my boxes until, sure enough, there it was.
At first I thought Space Relations might be an exceptionally good out-of-print title since people were selling it for such extreme prices, but then I learned the juicy gossip behind it.
The facts are this: From 1964 to 1974, Donald Barr was headmaster for Dalton School in Manhattan. Near the end of his tenure at the prestigious institution, he published Space Relations. It was his first book and, though it hardly rocked the literary world, it did have a fair run that capitalized on the fad for slim, pulpy sci-fi novels.
It seemed novel-writing became Barr’s new passion, because within a year of being published he resigned from his post at Dalton. Curiously enough, Jeffrey Epstein also began teaching math and science at Dalton around this same time. Technically Epstein didn’t officially begin his position until the semester after Barr’s resignation, but the possibility that the two overlapped at some point isn’t too far fetched. Also, it’s worth noting that Epstein was completely unqualified for the job. He was still in his early 20s and a college drop out.
Another interesting fact: Donald Barr is the father of William Barr, Trump’s appointed Attorney General.
Now here’s where the conspiracy comes in: We all know that Epstein was involved in a horrific sex slave operation, right? Well, guess what Space Relations is about. Bingo, sex slavery!
Based on this information, the Internet is abuzz with many bizarre theories. Some read Space Relations like it’s the Da Vinci Code, with hidden clues that might even reveal who killed Epstein. Others marvel over loose connections between Barr’s plot and Epstein’s crimes.
Knowing all this in advance, I decided to read the book like that. Hoping to solve something sinister by analyzing the sentences of this old paperback. Unfortunately, try as I might, the only discovery I made was that Barr was a very poor writer and there’s a good reason why Space Relations fell out-of-print.
There is slavery in the novel, that’s true. And the slaves are taken advantage of for sexual purposes, so I get the conspiracy. But the problem with that logic is the story is about a slave’s quest for freedom. It’s abundantly clear, I think, that rape isn’t a good thing in this world. For example, soon after Craig is sold to slavery a man tries to rape him and our protagonist manages to cut off his dick.
That said, many will point to an uncomfortable scene where the evil overlords demand the enslaved Craig copulate with a teenaged slave girl so she will bear a child and produce more slaves.
The problem that people have with the scene is that neither character is traumatized by the act. The teenage girl doesn’t seem to mind hooking up with the muscular hunk, and he follows orders perhaps a little too agreeably. However, the scene isn’t particularly descriptive and it doesn’t relish the circumstances. Considering what other horrific things the slaves went through, I don’t know that the characters’ non-reaction to this particular task is so unbelievable.
While I don’t think there’s much to unpack in that infamous scene, I suppose the sexual nature of the book at large could be evaluated for Epstein connections. But, again, it seems to contradict. A powerful woman is the main sexual predator. She forces Craig to be her concubine, but again, it doesn’t come across as the worst job he’s ever had. Perhaps that’s the problem. Even though they’re two beautiful adults, the sex should be horrific and terrible given the circumstances.
I somewhat agree with that argument, but I’m sure there are plenty who don’t. Personally I think Anne Rice’s erotica series about sex slavery is disgusting. In Rice’s books, the protagonist is an under-18 aged girl who is shackled and subject to non-stop sexual situations. Sounds horrific to me. But the character thinks that’s hot and apparently so do many readers.
I’ll be honest I really struggled to understand all the space politics in this book, so I could have misunderstood key facts, but there is something generally pervy about the whole thing. For example, it seems every guy wants to bang Craig. There’s several random homo-erotic sentences and a really obscure trans-erotic moment. Actually, now that I think about it, the female characters are almost never described in sensual terms. I wonder - was William Barr’s dad gay?
Maybe I uncovered something after all!
Oh, there is one other thing. The book references a strange mineral called “Weinsteinite” a couple of times to no purpose. It seems like a thinly veiled excuse to refer to someone named “Weinstein.” Perhaps a friend of Barr? Could the real conspiracy behind this book be a connection to Harvey Weinstein?? Wouldn’t that be a twist!
Unlike the Barr-Epstein connection, where there actually is a reasonable trace to their crossing paths, I can’t find anything on Barr-Weinstein. But will that stop me from pushing this conspiracy theory? Certainly not!
All in all, generally a waste of time. Still, an interesting experience trying to treasure hunt for conspiracy clues within a poorly written space tale.
January 8, 2012
This was my third reading of Space Relations and it stands up pretty well. I re-read very few books, but there is something about this one that resonates. Diplomat is kidnapped and sold into slavery, eventually thinks his way out of captivity and back to civilization. But truly, the book is a lot better than that sounds!
I've been re-reading some of the old classic SF spy novels (Stainless Steel Rat series, Retief, etc.) and they mostly seem kind of weenie on re-reading, not nearly as good as my 15-year-old self remembered them. The writing is a lot clunkier than I had recalled, the plots less credible, the humor a bit sophomoric, and well, standards in the 1960s just weren't that high. In contrast, Space Relations comes across as kind of the adult version of those books -- a bit more sophisticated, a bit better written, and considerably sexier.
I suppose it is also the sort of novel I'm trying to write myself, and Donald Barr is a good role model for me as he was also an Education professor who got around to writing a couple of SF novels at the end of his career. (Of course, he actually worked for intelligence during WWII, so has rather a better background than I for space spy novels.) There was one scene in particular that stuck in my mind for years after first reading the novel, and that draws me back: not to give away the scene, but the hero makes a comment early on that just seems intended to annoy his captors, but 15 chapters later he explains why the response he ellicited was the key to his being able to escape. It's a very nice little piece of business, and an approach I've adopted in my own novel -- sometimes the characters do something, and why its important or why they did it doesn't become clear until a couple of chapters later. (And one of the common problems I come across in novels I'm editing is that the writer will introduce a mystery and have the hero solve it two paragraphs later. How much tension can you generate in two paragraphs.) Seeing how Barr builds his character was helpful to me.
But mostly, just a very entertaining, fast paced read. Not great literature, but great beach read.
I've been re-reading some of the old classic SF spy novels (Stainless Steel Rat series, Retief, etc.) and they mostly seem kind of weenie on re-reading, not nearly as good as my 15-year-old self remembered them. The writing is a lot clunkier than I had recalled, the plots less credible, the humor a bit sophomoric, and well, standards in the 1960s just weren't that high. In contrast, Space Relations comes across as kind of the adult version of those books -- a bit more sophisticated, a bit better written, and considerably sexier.
I suppose it is also the sort of novel I'm trying to write myself, and Donald Barr is a good role model for me as he was also an Education professor who got around to writing a couple of SF novels at the end of his career. (Of course, he actually worked for intelligence during WWII, so has rather a better background than I for space spy novels.) There was one scene in particular that stuck in my mind for years after first reading the novel, and that draws me back: not to give away the scene, but the hero makes a comment early on that just seems intended to annoy his captors, but 15 chapters later he explains why the response he ellicited was the key to his being able to escape. It's a very nice little piece of business, and an approach I've adopted in my own novel -- sometimes the characters do something, and why its important or why they did it doesn't become clear until a couple of chapters later. (And one of the common problems I come across in novels I'm editing is that the writer will introduce a mystery and have the hero solve it two paragraphs later. How much tension can you generate in two paragraphs.) Seeing how Barr builds his character was helpful to me.
But mostly, just a very entertaining, fast paced read. Not great literature, but great beach read.
August 28, 2023
I read it again recently, with much pleasure, and enjoyed finding new tidbits therein re earlier readings. I give it 4 stars because it belongs to the pre-1990s major-league standard for SF genres, when the bar (no pun intended) was dramatically higher than in our benighted woke milieux. Its obviously not "poorly written". Why would anyone who actually read it say that? The Epstein-connection is TENUOUS at best, and most likely IMAGINARY, trumpeted by those who want to sell their copy for $1000+. There was a good deal of SF kink around when Barr was writing, esp John Norman's work. And that likely was a DIRECT influence on Barr pere. For prurient tastes, be aware that there is almost nothing explicit, although the zeitgeist-atmosphere here reeks of kinkiness - but again, a 1950s incarnation of that - all of which is incomprehensible to millennials and other products of Disneyana+STTNG....and of course Carter's Department Of Education excreted in the 1970s, and which begun the undeniable dumbing-down of education & kultur in the US (the world?).... .....
January 28, 2024
This happened to my buddy Eric
August 12, 2020
Choosing to give this a 4 stars. Here's why:
This book was written by the father of the current attorney general of the USA and headmaster of Jeffrey Epstein's school. If it was a normal book written by some Joe Schmoe, it would be ok. 3 stars. I enjoyed the plot and some of the bigger philosophical points made (which is often what sci-fi is about: hiding cultural ideas in some future society). The science fiction wasn't terribly strong. It was sort of like Treasure Island in space. But some of the plot lines (no spoilers) were like, well, messed up. Sort of things I could imagine on Jeffrey Epstein's island. It also read a bit like a female romance novel where I suppose the "gothic" comes in.
I think this would make a wonderful adaptation to some Netflix one-off film or even for (cable) TV.
This book was written by the father of the current attorney general of the USA and headmaster of Jeffrey Epstein's school. If it was a normal book written by some Joe Schmoe, it would be ok. 3 stars. I enjoyed the plot and some of the bigger philosophical points made (which is often what sci-fi is about: hiding cultural ideas in some future society). The science fiction wasn't terribly strong. It was sort of like Treasure Island in space. But some of the plot lines (no spoilers) were like, well, messed up. Sort of things I could imagine on Jeffrey Epstein's island. It also read a bit like a female romance novel where I suppose the "gothic" comes in.
I think this would make a wonderful adaptation to some Netflix one-off film or even for (cable) TV.
July 27, 2018
The green spine of the book stood out on the sci-fi shelves of the used bookstore, so I picked it up. I didn’t see a price, but it looked interesting enough, so I brought it to the counter with the few things my daughter had collected. The cashier didn’t see a price either, and after glancing over the cover crinkles and bent pages, he said, “Here, you can have this one for free.”
It was fantastic. Easy to read, fluid action, political intrigue that never skirted boring - the hero was an ideal Space James Bond in a setting akin to Burroughs’s Mars saga, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Donald Barr wrote a near perfect novel for the genre, followed by a second as obscure as the first, and then seemingly disappeared from the fiction scene, which is a shame. I’ll look up the second, but it will be a tall order to surpass Space Relations. It’s well deserving of 5 Stars.
It was fantastic. Easy to read, fluid action, political intrigue that never skirted boring - the hero was an ideal Space James Bond in a setting akin to Burroughs’s Mars saga, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Donald Barr wrote a near perfect novel for the genre, followed by a second as obscure as the first, and then seemingly disappeared from the fiction scene, which is a shame. I’ll look up the second, but it will be a tall order to surpass Space Relations. It’s well deserving of 5 Stars.
November 2, 2020
A belated selection for the r/Fantasy 2018 Bingo for the 'Subgenre: Space Opera' square. I'm well aware of the controversy behind this book. The author is the father of William Barr and was headmaster to a young Jeffery Epstein. There is speculation that Epstein was obsessed with this novel and it was a force in defining the person he was. And because of that, there are numerous reviews on Amazon by people who have clearly not read the book, but have decided that because of the names mentioned above, that it deserves a one star review. Sellers are also asking a ridiculous amount of money for it. Yes there is slavery (including sex slavery). There are perverse sadistic (and masochistic) people and slave punishment. There are therefore slaves and slave owners and the implications based on that premise. The book was published in 1973, and there is language appropriate to that time. But that's only part of the book. There is also a really good story behind all of this. As the blurb on the back cover (quoted from the review in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine) says, it's a "rip-roaring space romp", and I enjoyed it.
Read
February 4, 2016I just came across this book (hard-cover) in my bookcase and when I checked my goodreads list, I realized I had never added it. I remember picking it up from a remainder bin while I was in university. I also remember that I really liked it, (but my standards were a lot lower then ;-). I have no idea if I would admire it as much as I did then, but I suspect I would. I do know that I have re-read it at least once.
July 29, 2025
If you’re like me and you’re the only reader in the vicinity of Epstein theorists, and they really wanted you to read this for them or it was the first book they’ve suggested to you, hello! You’re not alone! After this will be spoilers, so trigger warnings for slavery, rape, pedophilia, and generally bad writing.
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Luckily, this is a short book. Of course, I had to read it because of severe curiosity given who the author has fathered and the alleged connections to recent despicable matters. This book is gross, but you’re not going to find any hidden secrets or meanings, I’m afraid. I went into this with the assumption that it’d be largely a waste of time, so it is even more annoying to find how poorly it was written on top of that. It was a little over 250 pages of kinks and truly disgusting acts. Master/slave love, hermaphroditism via experimentation, slave breeding, rape of a minor, etc. You’ll be getting exactly what you expect from a dime store science fiction novel from the 70s. Nothing in this book is incredibly detailed, so a fainter heart will survive, but won’t enjoy it, by any means. I would highly recommend it to the local troglodyte community.
One thing I did appreciate was the use of the term weisenheimer. I haven’t heard that since I was a small child and it brought back memories :)
—
—
—
Luckily, this is a short book. Of course, I had to read it because of severe curiosity given who the author has fathered and the alleged connections to recent despicable matters. This book is gross, but you’re not going to find any hidden secrets or meanings, I’m afraid. I went into this with the assumption that it’d be largely a waste of time, so it is even more annoying to find how poorly it was written on top of that. It was a little over 250 pages of kinks and truly disgusting acts. Master/slave love, hermaphroditism via experimentation, slave breeding, rape of a minor, etc. You’ll be getting exactly what you expect from a dime store science fiction novel from the 70s. Nothing in this book is incredibly detailed, so a fainter heart will survive, but won’t enjoy it, by any means. I would highly recommend it to the local troglodyte community.
One thing I did appreciate was the use of the term weisenheimer. I haven’t heard that since I was a small child and it brought back memories :)
March 16, 2025
This book needs much more attention…Keep in mind that it is a “science fiction” book written in 1973. The author, Donald Barr, was the man who gave 21 year old Jeffrey Epstein is first job at the Dalton Institute private school in Manhattan… Donald Barr’s son is William (Bill) Barr who was attorney general in 2019 when Epstein mysteriously took his own life… Now the plot of the book is an interplanetary civilization that has created a multi planetary network that is involved in slavery and sex trafficking…. Weird given the authors ties to Epstein and even weirder that it was written in the 1970s… But hey, it’s just a “sci-fi’ novel with no connection whatsoever to any events that happened in the future following the release of the book… Very odd.
November 24, 2019
I was not expecting much, but it turned out to be a pretty solid sci-fi space opera. It was amusingly dated. Computers are big whirrring machines, flight controls on planes are very analog, etc. The action scenes were solidly written. Anyway, a good easy read and a trip back to the classic days of sci-fi.
November 16, 2019
Donald Barr is William Barr's father and his book is rather a good vs evil story. Sort of like William Barr's idea of conservatism triumphing over liberal evil excess.
February 8, 2021
Read it because it was mentioned on an episode of The Good Fight and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the book at all.
February 22, 2025
As much as I want my copy to be worth hundreds of dollars, I didn’t see any great conspiracy here.
December 24, 2025
Nothing related to Epstein, sex slavery etc, it’s just a quaint sophomoric novel that was an ok read
September 21, 2016
EDITED this review space to remove a deleted review from me somehow still displaying.
My ratings should be the only review of books from me showing on goodreads. They are my unincentivized, unconnected consumer product opinions.
The star rating reflects solely my subjective reading experience and resulting opinion of the book according to the rating scale used by goodreads. It's not intended to destroy anyone's livelihood nor to churn out book promotions for them — just my opinion/reaction shared with other readers and a means to track my reading, provide book comparison data and aid in book recommendations feature.
I rate here according to goodreads scale meaning that because goodreads determined most readers choose books they think they will enjoy, the goodreads average/okay rating on a 5-unit scale (2½) is rounded down to 2 stars where other sites like retailer Amazon round up to make 3 stars the average/okay read.
[A briefer way to put that is that yes I rate books one star lower on goodreads than on Amazon without in any way considering that to be bullying anyone or restriction of trade—I just do look to see if a site's scale runs 1-5 or 5-1 then what each unit means in that site because that's how I was taught to use scales.
I'm too durn old to be convinced otherwise, too durn ornery to believe that the only correct way to do anything is how it's done on Amazon.com site, and firmly remain convinced only people—not inanimate things like commercial products aka books—can suffer the psychological trauma of being bullied.]
My ratings should be the only review of books from me showing on goodreads. They are my unincentivized, unconnected consumer product opinions.
The star rating reflects solely my subjective reading experience and resulting opinion of the book according to the rating scale used by goodreads. It's not intended to destroy anyone's livelihood nor to churn out book promotions for them — just my opinion/reaction shared with other readers and a means to track my reading, provide book comparison data and aid in book recommendations feature.
I rate here according to goodreads scale meaning that because goodreads determined most readers choose books they think they will enjoy, the goodreads average/okay rating on a 5-unit scale (2½) is rounded down to 2 stars where other sites like retailer Amazon round up to make 3 stars the average/okay read.
[A briefer way to put that is that yes I rate books one star lower on goodreads than on Amazon without in any way considering that to be bullying anyone or restriction of trade—I just do look to see if a site's scale runs 1-5 or 5-1 then what each unit means in that site because that's how I was taught to use scales.
I'm too durn old to be convinced otherwise, too durn ornery to believe that the only correct way to do anything is how it's done on Amazon.com site, and firmly remain convinced only people—not inanimate things like commercial products aka books—can suffer the psychological trauma of being bullied.]
July 24, 2025
The parallel between this book's planet "Kossar" and Jeffrey Epstein's island become all the more chilling when one considers that this same author hired Epstein to teach at the school he ran, despite having no degree and zero qualifications. Better yet, this same author's son would go on, years later, to investigate the "suicide" of Epstein and, of course, ruled that there was nothing to see there.
At worst this is a bold-faced, audacious indictment of the Barr family; and at best it is an incredibly creepy work to have come from a man who, at the time, oversaw the care of minors at an elite private school.
And on top of all that, the writing is atrocious, the plot is dull, and the characters all utterly forgettable. Zero stars.
At worst this is a bold-faced, audacious indictment of the Barr family; and at best it is an incredibly creepy work to have come from a man who, at the time, oversaw the care of minors at an elite private school.
And on top of all that, the writing is atrocious, the plot is dull, and the characters all utterly forgettable. Zero stars.
March 11, 2011
Grade B+
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews