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Interstellar Empire
Venture SF series No. 4
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1976
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About the author
John Brunner
572 books480 followersJohn Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Rosamond Sauer on 12 July 1958
At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of media popularised by Marshall McLuhan.
"The Jagged Orbit" (1969) is set in a United States dominated by weapons proliferation and interracial violence, and has 100 numbered chapters varying in length from a single syllable to several pages in length. "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America. Brunner is credited with coining the term "worm" and predicting the emergence of computer viruses in his 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider", in which he used the term to describe software which reproduces itself across a computer network. Together with "Stand on Zanzibar", these novels have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the Club of Rome whose 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.
Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner, Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick, Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.
In addition to his fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and many unpaid articles in a variety of publications, particularly fanzines, but also 13 letters to the New Scientist and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in Physics Education. Brunner was an active member of the organisation Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the Aldermaston Marches.
Brunner had an uneasy relationship with British new wave writers, who often considered him too American in his settings and themes. He attempted to shift to a more mainstream readership in the early 1980s, without success. Before his death, most of his books had fallen out of print. Brunner accused publishers of a conspiracy against him, although he was difficult to deal with (his wife had handled his publishing relations before she died).[2]
Brunner's health began to decline in the 1980s and worsened with the death of his wife in 1986. He remarried, to Li Yi Tan, on 27 September 1991. He died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 25 August 1995, while attending the World Science Fiction Convention there
aka
K H Brunner, Henry Crosstrees Jr, Gill Hunt (with Dennis Hughes and E C Tubb), John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Keith Woodcott
Winner of the ESFS Awards in 1980 as "Best Author" and 1n 1984 as "Novelist"..
At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of media popularised by Marshall McLuhan.
"The Jagged Orbit" (1969) is set in a United States dominated by weapons proliferation and interracial violence, and has 100 numbered chapters varying in length from a single syllable to several pages in length. "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America. Brunner is credited with coining the term "worm" and predicting the emergence of computer viruses in his 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider", in which he used the term to describe software which reproduces itself across a computer network. Together with "Stand on Zanzibar", these novels have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the Club of Rome whose 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.
Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner, Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick, Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.
In addition to his fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and many unpaid articles in a variety of publications, particularly fanzines, but also 13 letters to the New Scientist and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in Physics Education. Brunner was an active member of the organisation Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the Aldermaston Marches.
Brunner had an uneasy relationship with British new wave writers, who often considered him too American in his settings and themes. He attempted to shift to a more mainstream readership in the early 1980s, without success. Before his death, most of his books had fallen out of print. Brunner accused publishers of a conspiracy against him, although he was difficult to deal with (his wife had handled his publishing relations before she died).[2]
Brunner's health began to decline in the 1980s and worsened with the death of his wife in 1986. He remarried, to Li Yi Tan, on 27 September 1991. He died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 25 August 1995, while attending the World Science Fiction Convention there
aka
K H Brunner, Henry Crosstrees Jr, Gill Hunt (with Dennis Hughes and E C Tubb), John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Keith Woodcott
Winner of the ESFS Awards in 1980 as "Best Author" and 1n 1984 as "Novelist"..
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 28, 2017
The question I kept asking was whether the entire premise, the fallen interstellar empire and the leftover spaceships of a lost nonhuman civilization, was even necessary. Only "The Altar on Asconel" relied on it. "The Man From the Big Dark" paid lip service to the idea while remaining planetside for the entire thing, and the unfortunately-named "The Wanton of Argus" strained at its genre, wanting desperately to be sword-and-sorcery (probably to its benefit, if not for a flimsy and outré ending).
"Wanton", despite being objectively a not-good story, was weirdly compelling and likeable. It never bogged down with its occasionally surprising political machinations, and sudden character revelations play with the reader's expectations. Brunner, in his introduction, appeared embarrassed by its existence and the way he threw the kitchen sink at it.
"Wanton", despite being objectively a not-good story, was weirdly compelling and likeable. It never bogged down with its occasionally surprising political machinations, and sudden character revelations play with the reader's expectations. Brunner, in his introduction, appeared embarrassed by its existence and the way he threw the kitchen sink at it.
March 1, 2018
aggiornamento vecchio libro letto chissà quando
February 26, 2019
A trio of science fiction stories from the 50s and 60s, this book is a great read if you're looking for some classic Space Opera. Though the book is only about 250 pages long, it has very, very small print, and would probably be half again as long, or more, if the print were at a normal, more readable size. As it is, it's eye-strainingly dense. The book also has a lot of typos for a professionally produced product. All that aside, it's very entertaining. The first story, 'The Altar of Asconel' deals with deposed royal brothers, a strange religious cult, and some very weird ideas. It also does a good job of establishing the universe and its rules. You've got the fading remnants of a Human empire, mutants getting shipped off to the frontiers, space technology based on found alien machines, etc. There are hints of Asimov's Foundation series, but from a very different angle. The second story, 'The Man from the Big Dark' deals with space pirates and planetary power struggles. More depth is added to the setting. This one feels kinda like something Andre Norton might have written in the 60s. The last story, 'The Wanton of Argos' was actually the first one John Brunner wrote (actually the stories are collected here in the reverse order of how they were written). There is a lot going on in this tale of rival sisters, strange conjurers, dubious dealings, and hope for the future. This gets a bit nuts with the twists, and the finale is somewhat confusing and odd. Still, there's a lot to like.
The book definitely made me want to dip further into science fiction of the 50s and 60s. That was truly a Golden Age for it. It also got me in the mood to play some Fading Suns or Traveller or something.
Fans of the genre should find plenty to like, and I'd highly recommend tracking it down. However, if you're not already a fan of Golden Age Science Fiction and Space Opera, this is probably not the best place to start. Also, while the book features some surprisingly forward-thinking treatments of female characters (I mean, compared to contemporaries, not to today), it also features some particularly off-putting racist stuff. It's not extreme, but it's conspicuous. Perhaps more so, because the book feels so modern in other ways.
The book definitely made me want to dip further into science fiction of the 50s and 60s. That was truly a Golden Age for it. It also got me in the mood to play some Fading Suns or Traveller or something.
Fans of the genre should find plenty to like, and I'd highly recommend tracking it down. However, if you're not already a fan of Golden Age Science Fiction and Space Opera, this is probably not the best place to start. Also, while the book features some surprisingly forward-thinking treatments of female characters (I mean, compared to contemporaries, not to today), it also features some particularly off-putting racist stuff. It's not extreme, but it's conspicuous. Perhaps more so, because the book feels so modern in other ways.
November 20, 2015
Three short novelas--- linked together by taking place in a common future instellar empire. A once-powerful human empire that survived off the use of spaceships from a long gone instellar race is in serious decline.
The stories are not particularly memorable, but could make for a pleasant read. In the first, and longest one, brothers join forces to retrieve their home planet from the clutches of mysteriously evil rulers. In the second, a space captain helps defend a planet from pillage and sacking. In the third, there is intrigue and politics -- and more than a little extrahuman mental powers --- fighting of the future of a world / human civilization.
The stories are not particularly memorable, but could make for a pleasant read. In the first, and longest one, brothers join forces to retrieve their home planet from the clutches of mysteriously evil rulers. In the second, a space captain helps defend a planet from pillage and sacking. In the third, there is intrigue and politics -- and more than a little extrahuman mental powers --- fighting of the future of a world / human civilization.
May 28, 2024
This review first appeared here.
This is number 4 in the Venture SF series, and it's not too bad. It's 50s-style space opera by one of its top producers.
It contains 3 pieces; 2 short novels and a novella -- The Altar on Asconel, The Man from the Big Dark (a novella at 40 pages) and The Wanton of Argus. The stories are set in a galactic empire centred on Argus. All are lean, straightforward adventure stories, with no pretences and a sensible economy of description.
Interesting also is the foreword, in which Brunner discusses the galactic history that might lead to the coexistence of swords and spaceships.
Wanton of Argus is replete with mysterious figures, beautiful women, swordsmen, robots in disguise, you name it, before it ends in a kind of confrontation between two mighty wills -- the kind of ending that renders much of what went before superfluous. A bit like a story in which much happens and then a comet wipes out the Earth anyway. Well, not quite as extreme as that, but that's the somewhat unsatisfactory sense it gives. It is most interesting because it is a very early work -- as a piece of fiction, it's pretty clearly little more than grist for the publishing mill of the time. Brunner wrote it when he was 17, and sold it and got paid for it, although the buyer slapped the terrible title on it that is completely unreflective of the content. It was republished as The Space-Time Juggler.
The other stories are better constructed, as you'd expect, especially Asconel, but nothing here is a major work, and there's really no reason to read the book unless you're interested in Brunner or a fan of SF from the 50s.
The omnibus is a good read if you like freewheeling, unselfconscious space opera in the 50s style. Very much not like Brunner's major novels of the late sixties and early seventies. More like this one.
Space opera
This is number 4 in the Venture SF series, and it's not too bad. It's 50s-style space opera by one of its top producers.
It contains 3 pieces; 2 short novels and a novella -- The Altar on Asconel, The Man from the Big Dark (a novella at 40 pages) and The Wanton of Argus. The stories are set in a galactic empire centred on Argus. All are lean, straightforward adventure stories, with no pretences and a sensible economy of description.
Interesting also is the foreword, in which Brunner discusses the galactic history that might lead to the coexistence of swords and spaceships.
Wanton of Argus is replete with mysterious figures, beautiful women, swordsmen, robots in disguise, you name it, before it ends in a kind of confrontation between two mighty wills -- the kind of ending that renders much of what went before superfluous. A bit like a story in which much happens and then a comet wipes out the Earth anyway. Well, not quite as extreme as that, but that's the somewhat unsatisfactory sense it gives. It is most interesting because it is a very early work -- as a piece of fiction, it's pretty clearly little more than grist for the publishing mill of the time. Brunner wrote it when he was 17, and sold it and got paid for it, although the buyer slapped the terrible title on it that is completely unreflective of the content. It was republished as The Space-Time Juggler.
The other stories are better constructed, as you'd expect, especially Asconel, but nothing here is a major work, and there's really no reason to read the book unless you're interested in Brunner or a fan of SF from the 50s.
The omnibus is a good read if you like freewheeling, unselfconscious space opera in the 50s style. Very much not like Brunner's major novels of the late sixties and early seventies. More like this one.
Space opera
March 3, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"John Brunner is rightly famous for his dystopic works Stand on Zanzibar (won Hugo for best novel), The Jagged Orbit, The Sheep Look Up, and Shockwave Rider but most of his output consisted of pulp science fiction space opera. The novella and two short stories (novelettes?) that make up this volume all take place in the same future world populated by a vast crumbling empire, slaves, and sword [...]"
"John Brunner is rightly famous for his dystopic works Stand on Zanzibar (won Hugo for best novel), The Jagged Orbit, The Sheep Look Up, and Shockwave Rider but most of his output consisted of pulp science fiction space opera. The novella and two short stories (novelettes?) that make up this volume all take place in the same future world populated by a vast crumbling empire, slaves, and sword [...]"
March 30, 2019
A good trio of stories from one of my personal favorite Sci-Fi authors. Each are separate stories written at different times, but all take place in the same "interstellar empire". The first one invloves some brothers and a telepathic mutant trying to save their home planet from a weird religious cult that has taken over. The second is about a space pirate trying to exact revenge. The third I don't remember that much. It was definitely the weakest of the three.
April 26, 2024
More like a fantasy collection, with spaceships replacing horses or ships. Some of the swords are replaced with energy weapons, but not all of them. I read the first story, started the second, then gave up. People somehow live in mid-2nd millennium conditions after the collapse of a galactic empire but still have spaceships left over by an alien civilisation.
October 18, 2022
Quite an entertaining piece of swords-and-spaceships, far more intelligent than most such fare (Brunner was a great writer, after all), but inevitably dated. Fun nevertheless, especially if you are interested in the history of the genre.
May 17, 2019
Very naive when reading right now...
November 25, 2024
A collection of 3 short stories that just are not special and are not bad.
December 2, 2025
pretty average sci-fi.
an enjoyable 3 stories that are seperate but in the same universe.
The first story was the best one.
Very strong finish to the third story.
an enjoyable 3 stories that are seperate but in the same universe.
The first story was the best one.
Very strong finish to the third story.
August 31, 2015
1979 Grade A-.
2015 Grade B+ (see below)
This is composed of three different stories related to the same basic universe and situation but not to each other. The universe is post collapse of a galactic empire with pirates and mutants on the outer rim, feudal planets a bit farther in, and the fragmented, nonfunctional, tattered remnants of the empire at the "core."
1)Alter On Asconel, 130 pages, grade A-. This is a "space opera" which travels to half a dozen planets and is quite a bit of fun. Very easy to read, never confusing, and a lot of fun.
2)Man From The Big Dark, 46 pages, grade C+. Fighting invading pirates on one of the middle ground feudal planets. It is unpleasantly and brutally realistic in places and I plan on skipping it in the future.
3)Wanton of Argus. 70 pages, grade C-. A confusing story of feudal court politics and futuristic abstract magic. Although well done, I found it confusing at times. I'm not fond of either topic and tended to forget where they were, who the person was, and what was supposed to be happening. I will skip this one too.
2015 Grade B+ (see below)
This is composed of three different stories related to the same basic universe and situation but not to each other. The universe is post collapse of a galactic empire with pirates and mutants on the outer rim, feudal planets a bit farther in, and the fragmented, nonfunctional, tattered remnants of the empire at the "core."
1)Alter On Asconel, 130 pages, grade A-. This is a "space opera" which travels to half a dozen planets and is quite a bit of fun. Very easy to read, never confusing, and a lot of fun.
2)Man From The Big Dark, 46 pages, grade C+. Fighting invading pirates on one of the middle ground feudal planets. It is unpleasantly and brutally realistic in places and I plan on skipping it in the future.
3)Wanton of Argus. 70 pages, grade C-. A confusing story of feudal court politics and futuristic abstract magic. Although well done, I found it confusing at times. I'm not fond of either topic and tended to forget where they were, who the person was, and what was supposed to be happening. I will skip this one too.
August 20, 2008
oh, the joys of cheesy sci-fi from a simpler time. Brunner ought to be as well known as Aasimov, Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke -- he's just as important. This particular book is sort of silly and moralizing a la Heinlein, but Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar remains one of the most important works of fiction that no one knows about.
August 2, 2015
The author plays with some interesting ideas, but the unpleasantness of the stories - above all, of the characters - left a sour taste in my mouth. Too much cruelty, even from the supposed heroes; not recommended.
January 5, 2011
Definitely not my favorite John Brunner book, but then I don't usually like the sub-genre of science fiction that this book represents.
November 21, 2015
Pulpy SF, readable but eminently forgettable.
May 5, 2013
Primitive sci-fi soap
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews