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Viagens Interplanetarias #2
The Search for Zei/The Hand of Zei
The Search for Zei (143 p.)
Barely had Dirk Barnevelt finishing writing a publicity campaign for his boss, then he learned that he would shortly find himself isolated in the middle of the terrible Sunqar, a floating swamp on the planet of Krishna. Without scientific equipment and surrounded by deadly dangers, he must escape from a place he knows is impossible to succeed.
The Hand of Zei (113 p.)
Dirk Barnevelt, tame writer for Shtain Enterprises, is sent to Krishhna to find and bring home its company's explorer-founder, captive of the pirates of the Sargasso-like Sunqar. Zei, Princess of Qirib, is kidnapped from under Barnevelt's nose, and as this new book opens he is escaping across the floating weed beds on improvised skis, with the girl but without Shtain. The rest of the book is devoted to the process by which our hero finishes his original job.
These are the first two books of the Krishna series in one volume.
Barely had Dirk Barnevelt finishing writing a publicity campaign for his boss, then he learned that he would shortly find himself isolated in the middle of the terrible Sunqar, a floating swamp on the planet of Krishna. Without scientific equipment and surrounded by deadly dangers, he must escape from a place he knows is impossible to succeed.
The Hand of Zei (113 p.)
Dirk Barnevelt, tame writer for Shtain Enterprises, is sent to Krishhna to find and bring home its company's explorer-founder, captive of the pirates of the Sargasso-like Sunqar. Zei, Princess of Qirib, is kidnapped from under Barnevelt's nose, and as this new book opens he is escaping across the floating weed beds on improvised skis, with the girl but without Shtain. The rest of the book is devoted to the process by which our hero finishes his original job.
These are the first two books of the Krishna series in one volume.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
2 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
L. Sprague de Camp
757 books312 followersLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 6, 2015
Like The Queen Of Zamba, just way too dated. In every respect. The theories, the speculation, the plot, the characters, the humor... To the point where every sentence is either irritating, offensive, condescending, ridiculous, scientifically absurd, cliché, or just plain boring.
I will not continue with the Krishna series. I might give L. Sprague de Camp another chance, but not anytime soon. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO READ BAD BOOKS!
I will not continue with the Krishna series. I might give L. Sprague de Camp another chance, but not anytime soon. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO READ BAD BOOKS!
May 5, 2022
A classic interplanetary romance, written as a serial for Astounding back in 1950 and showing it's age. Yes, the hero Dirk Barnevelt with trusty sword in hand is off to rescue and eventually marry a princess. The story does have an incredible amount of paternalism, intelligent woman described as bright, young girls, women soldiers worrying about not attracting husbands because they're too masculine and the topper, matriarchy is an unstable form of government. After all, men were meant to rule! Unlike Burroughs though, the issue of children is solved via a solution that reminds a me bit of the Pirates of Penzance, so Dirk's princess doesn't lay eggs
On a positive note, de Camp doesn't subscribe to the 40/50s SF trope that space travelers must be WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) and the tongue in cheek humor with which the story is told takes some of the sting out of the sexist bits. The author had writing career that lasted more than half a century, and in his later books he lampoons the classic formula, in at least one, the princess rescues the prince, along with other silliness.
The book is a well paced adventure novel and de Camps characters are a bit better fleshed out than his contemporaries, if you're looking for a 50s example of interplanetary romance, give it a try.
On a positive note, de Camp doesn't subscribe to the 40/50s SF trope that space travelers must be WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) and the tongue in cheek humor with which the story is told takes some of the sting out of the sexist bits. The author had writing career that lasted more than half a century, and in his later books he lampoons the classic formula, in at least one, the princess rescues the prince, along with other silliness.
The book is a well paced adventure novel and de Camps characters are a bit better fleshed out than his contemporaries, if you're looking for a 50s example of interplanetary romance, give it a try.
August 17, 2011
I picked this book up almost soley because of the author. L. Sprague de Camp is one of the inspirational authors for Dungeons and Dragons, and I've been trying to read at last some of the various authors who influenced the game.
The cover strongly suggests that this is a fantasy novel. It's not. It's actually a sci-fi story set primarily upon a planet that hasn't developed much beyond the Renaissance. It has however been influenced by contact with aliens. The dinosaur on the cover? Alien. Guy with pointed ears, green hair, and antennae? Human, disguised as native. Because of this it took me a little bit to get into the story. It also didn't help that the titular Zei doesn't actually show up until the middle of the book.
Aside from that, it was a fairly good story, and the characters were really well developed.
The cover strongly suggests that this is a fantasy novel. It's not. It's actually a sci-fi story set primarily upon a planet that hasn't developed much beyond the Renaissance. It has however been influenced by contact with aliens. The dinosaur on the cover? Alien. Guy with pointed ears, green hair, and antennae? Human, disguised as native. Because of this it took me a little bit to get into the story. It also didn't help that the titular Zei doesn't actually show up until the middle of the book.
Aside from that, it was a fairly good story, and the characters were really well developed.
February 24, 2020
The two books together are about the size of a 50,000 word novel of the period. They're really one book, but Ace put it out as a "double", one of their better marketing ploys of the time.
If you like swashbuckling adventure, this will please you. Tough hero overcoming mother domination. Intellectual sidekick (and his boss). Pretty princess to rescue. What more can you ask for.
This is the second time I've read it and I'll put it back in my library to read in the future.
If you like swashbuckling adventure, this will please you. Tough hero overcoming mother domination. Intellectual sidekick (and his boss). Pretty princess to rescue. What more can you ask for.
This is the second time I've read it and I'll put it back in my library to read in the future.
May 1, 2023
Dirk Barnevelt was not a hero or a warrior, but a copywriter. But he finds himself on an alien planet, tasked with finding his missing boss. The planet, Krisha, has a mostly feudal technology (though they do have primitive rockets/fireworks) and it's illegal to introduce anything more modern. Since Dirk's mission soon has him pursued by assassins, involved in court politics, tasked with rescuing a princess from pirates and assigned to lead a fleet of galleys and rocket-propelled gliders in an attack on a nigh-impregnable pirate stronghold... well, he needs to learn to be a hero in the sword-wielding and swashbuckling tradition pretty quickly.
de Camp is at his best in this novel. He does solid world-building and tells a great adventure story, but also continually injects the story with dry humor and a sharp understanding of human (or Krishnan) nature. Dirk turns out to be an effective hero. He combines his knowledge of fencing and of sailing with newly discovered abilities as an innovative thinker and leader to survive one adventure or battle after another.
I also love the dialogue. The Krishnans have a naturally pompous and overblown style of speaking--imagine the writings of Tolkien sprinkled with Shakespeare and then injected with steriods. de Camp portrays this in part by constantly using obscure or obsolete words. Many of these words I knew and most others I could figure out through context. A few I had to look up. The end result is unusual dialogue that is great fun to read.
de Camp is at his best in this novel. He does solid world-building and tells a great adventure story, but also continually injects the story with dry humor and a sharp understanding of human (or Krishnan) nature. Dirk turns out to be an effective hero. He combines his knowledge of fencing and of sailing with newly discovered abilities as an innovative thinker and leader to survive one adventure or battle after another.
I also love the dialogue. The Krishnans have a naturally pompous and overblown style of speaking--imagine the writings of Tolkien sprinkled with Shakespeare and then injected with steriods. de Camp portrays this in part by constantly using obscure or obsolete words. Many of these words I knew and most others I could figure out through context. A few I had to look up. The end result is unusual dialogue that is great fun to read.
October 26, 2023
This might be De Camp's best thing.
March 24, 2020
Edgar Rice Burroughs was a favourite fantasy writer in my youth. Besides all that swashbuckling adventuring and exotic worldscaping, I loved the lightness of his storytelling, the humour. Not too many could out-do Burroughs, but L. Sprague de Camp accomplished that deed.
De Camp's "The Search for Zei/The Hand of Zei" is his best. Set on the medieval-level planet Krishna, the Zei stories remain a long-time fave. In addition, this Ace Double edition had wonderful cover art by Emsh.
"Twenty-five degrees north of the equator on the planet Krishna lies the Banjoa Sea, the largest body of water on this planet. And in this Sea is found the Sunqar, home of legend and Mystery." The writer of these words, Dirk Barnevelt, didn't know that he would soon be venturing across this "barbaric planet" himself. He was a writer, not a hero.
Rollicking adventure!
- Brian Alan Burhoe
www.CivilizedBears.com
De Camp's "The Search for Zei/The Hand of Zei" is his best. Set on the medieval-level planet Krishna, the Zei stories remain a long-time fave. In addition, this Ace Double edition had wonderful cover art by Emsh.
"Twenty-five degrees north of the equator on the planet Krishna lies the Banjoa Sea, the largest body of water on this planet. And in this Sea is found the Sunqar, home of legend and Mystery." The writer of these words, Dirk Barnevelt, didn't know that he would soon be venturing across this "barbaric planet" himself. He was a writer, not a hero.
Rollicking adventure!
- Brian Alan Burhoe
www.CivilizedBears.com
April 13, 2016
Not the best LSdC book I've read, but still entertaining, and I've been a sucker for planetary adventure since high school when I read ERB's Mars books. I did like the little business of the hero being disappointed as not being able to marry the heroine since he wants children and she's supposedly a Krishnan and thus oviparous (she eventually turns out to be human in disguise.) I read the Owlswick Press (George Scithers) edition that's been kicking around the house since we bought it at a library sale years ago; the Edd Cartier pencil illos are very fine, and Freas' colorized Cartier for the cover works well.
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April 7, 2012Ne abbiamo parlato sul blog nell'articolo sul planetary romance:
http://wp.me/p29Hyy-2w
http://wp.me/p29Hyy-2w
December 4, 2012
Ace Double F249
Search For Zei; series book 1, grade C+
Hand of Zei; series book 2, grade C
Search For Zei; series book 1, grade C+
Hand of Zei; series book 2, grade C
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February 28, 2015my copy is called "The floating Continent" but is described as "the second volume in the famous Krishna series"
June 20, 2016
I read this under the alternative title "The Floating Continent'
November 12, 2014
Excellent book!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews