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The Book of Skaith #2
The Hounds of Skaith
Brackett, Leigh, Hounds Of Skaith, Vol 2, Book Of Skaith
183 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 1974
2 people are currently reading
423 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Brackett
400 books243 followersLeigh Brackett was born on December 7, 1915 in Los Angeles, and raised near Santa Monica. Having spent her youth as an athletic tom-boy - playing volleyball and reading stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H Rider Haggard - she began writing fantastic adventures of her own. Several of these early efforts were read by Henry Kuttner, who critiqued her stories and introduced her to the SF personalities then living in California, including Robert Heinlein, Julius Schwartz, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton - and another aspiring writer, Ray Bradbury.
In 1944, based on the hard-boiled dialogue in her first novel, No Good From a Corpse, producer/director Howard Hawks hired Brackett to collaborate with William Faulkner on the screenplay of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.
Brackett maintained an on-again/off-again relationship with Hollywood for the remainder of her life. Between writing screenplays for such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Hatari!, and The Long Goodbye, she produced novels such as the classic The Long Tomorrow (1955) and the Spur Award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind (1963).
Brackett married Edmond Hamilton on New Year's Eve in 1946, and the couple maintained homes in the high-desert of California and the rural farmland of Kinsman, Ohio.
Just weeks before her death on March 17, 1978, she turned in the first draft screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and the film was posthumously dedicated to her.
In 1944, based on the hard-boiled dialogue in her first novel, No Good From a Corpse, producer/director Howard Hawks hired Brackett to collaborate with William Faulkner on the screenplay of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.
Brackett maintained an on-again/off-again relationship with Hollywood for the remainder of her life. Between writing screenplays for such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Hatari!, and The Long Goodbye, she produced novels such as the classic The Long Tomorrow (1955) and the Spur Award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind (1963).
Brackett married Edmond Hamilton on New Year's Eve in 1946, and the couple maintained homes in the high-desert of California and the rural farmland of Kinsman, Ohio.
Just weeks before her death on March 17, 1978, she turned in the first draft screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and the film was posthumously dedicated to her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 19, 2019
In this second volume of Leigh Brackett's exemplary trilogy The Book of Skaith, Eric John Stark, having expelled the Lords Protector from their northern Citadel and released his friend and mentor galactic ambassador Ashton, heads south to find the wise woman Gerrith, to foment rebellion, and –in spite of the Wandsmen and the Lords Protector's wishes—to open the dying planet to star travel. Although he is outnumbered, he possesses one extraordinary advantage: he now holds mental mastery over the Hounds of Skaith, fierce mutant beasts that paralyze their enemies by the power of fear alone.
There is much warfare and considerable intrigue here to compel a reader's superficial attention, but the shifting alliances and bloody battles remain deeply interesting because of the precisely imagined and extraordinarily varied society of the many peoples of the planet Skaith.
This second volume is as enjoyable as the first. I eagerly anticipate the third.
April 26, 2025
This second installment of the author's outstanding Book of Skaith trilogy is every bit as good as the first, The Ginger Star; my review of the latter is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . All of my general comments there about the style, structure, messages, etc. apply to this book as well. Again, it's a quick, relatively short read (182 p.), action-packed, with a brisk pace that never drags. Like the previous one, it has hardly any bad language, no explicit sex, and very little reference to sex, period --actually, no reference as such. (There's a low-key romantic thread, in that one couple cares about each other deeply, and adult readers will infer in two or three places that they expressed that physically, but Brackett doesn't state that.) Our storyline here picks up immediately on the heels of the series opener, and the flow of events in both (and presumably in the third book as well) is all part of one continuous white-water stream; there are distinct hinges or pivots in the action, but like Tolkien's LOTR saga, it's really one overarching tale, with the fate of a planet and all of its various peoples hanging in the balance.
These books absolutely need to be read in order to really understand the characters and situation, though Brackett does do some recapitulating in the early chapters for the benefit of possible newbies. It's inherently difficult to do a very detailed review of this one without incorporating serious spoilers for its predecessor. I'm deliberately going to try to avoid that; so this review won't be extremely detailed. But I can say that there's no problem of "second-in-series slump" here; the action moves forward with significant new developments, so we're never just marking time. Also, Stark's developing quest will take him to parts of the planet, and introduce him to distinct races and cultures, that we haven't seen before (the new/expanded map is helpful!); and besides the continuing characters from The Ginger Star, we'll meet some equally well-developed new ones. (Not all of these are very nice cultures; this is a planet where human sacrifice and cannibalism are both fairly frequent practices....) And although Brackett's particular brand of Darwinism apparently assumed that, since humans are supposedly the "fittest" species to survive on Earth, some essentially similar race would evolve on every planet that started off as Earth-like (her Martians in Black Amazon of Mars are basically indistinguishable from humans, too), not all of Skaith's intelligent races are human-like. (A couple of them never were, being unrelated species that happened to also develop big brains and bi-pedalism; some are products of genetic re-engineering, with varying degrees of success, in the first days of the climate crisis when the planet's inhabitants still had high technology; and the predatory Runners of the northern wastes are a once human-like population which devolved in a very nasty direction.)
Brackett's world-building here is of a very high order (more so than in her Mars-set books, at least the one that I read, perhaps partly because the full novel rather than novella length allows more scope for it). She's especially insightful in bringing out the psychological challenges posed to highly tradition-bound people by an abrupt drastic revolution in --or, at least, drastic challenge to-- their view of their whole universe (in which they're suddenly no longer alone!). We're given an understanding of how the economy functions in the northern regions, with their dwindling resources. The various cultures are developed realistically, in terms of their lifeways, customs, material culture and dress, beliefs, etc., (especially the war-like tribespeople of the Seven Hearths of Kheb). Descriptions of both the natural environment and the varied cities and villages of the inhabitants are vivid and immersive. (It's amazing that Hollywood has so far never even tried to adapt these books cinematically, since they'd make great material; if some future producer ever does attempt it, I'll definitely be interested!)
At least one other Goodreader has classified this trilogy as fantasy. We're already shown in the first book that telepathy and precognition are demonstrated by some individuals on this world. We also learn here that one genetically-engineered race, the Fallarin, possess the power to rouse and direct the winds. (Stark himself isn't certain if they do this by magic or telepathy.) But I'm quite sure that Brackett would explain this as a genetically transmitted power of telekinesis, and that she would view all of these phenomena as natural. So I continue to regard these books as science fiction.
I'm now eager to read the series' conclusion, and hope to do that before the end of this year!
These books absolutely need to be read in order to really understand the characters and situation, though Brackett does do some recapitulating in the early chapters for the benefit of possible newbies. It's inherently difficult to do a very detailed review of this one without incorporating serious spoilers for its predecessor. I'm deliberately going to try to avoid that; so this review won't be extremely detailed. But I can say that there's no problem of "second-in-series slump" here; the action moves forward with significant new developments, so we're never just marking time. Also, Stark's developing quest will take him to parts of the planet, and introduce him to distinct races and cultures, that we haven't seen before (the new/expanded map is helpful!); and besides the continuing characters from The Ginger Star, we'll meet some equally well-developed new ones. (Not all of these are very nice cultures; this is a planet where human sacrifice and cannibalism are both fairly frequent practices....) And although Brackett's particular brand of Darwinism apparently assumed that, since humans are supposedly the "fittest" species to survive on Earth, some essentially similar race would evolve on every planet that started off as Earth-like (her Martians in Black Amazon of Mars are basically indistinguishable from humans, too), not all of Skaith's intelligent races are human-like. (A couple of them never were, being unrelated species that happened to also develop big brains and bi-pedalism; some are products of genetic re-engineering, with varying degrees of success, in the first days of the climate crisis when the planet's inhabitants still had high technology; and the predatory Runners of the northern wastes are a once human-like population which devolved in a very nasty direction.)
Brackett's world-building here is of a very high order (more so than in her Mars-set books, at least the one that I read, perhaps partly because the full novel rather than novella length allows more scope for it). She's especially insightful in bringing out the psychological challenges posed to highly tradition-bound people by an abrupt drastic revolution in --or, at least, drastic challenge to-- their view of their whole universe (in which they're suddenly no longer alone!). We're given an understanding of how the economy functions in the northern regions, with their dwindling resources. The various cultures are developed realistically, in terms of their lifeways, customs, material culture and dress, beliefs, etc., (especially the war-like tribespeople of the Seven Hearths of Kheb). Descriptions of both the natural environment and the varied cities and villages of the inhabitants are vivid and immersive. (It's amazing that Hollywood has so far never even tried to adapt these books cinematically, since they'd make great material; if some future producer ever does attempt it, I'll definitely be interested!)
At least one other Goodreader has classified this trilogy as fantasy. We're already shown in the first book that telepathy and precognition are demonstrated by some individuals on this world. We also learn here that one genetically-engineered race, the Fallarin, possess the power to rouse and direct the winds. (Stark himself isn't certain if they do this by magic or telepathy.) But I'm quite sure that Brackett would explain this as a genetically transmitted power of telekinesis, and that she would view all of these phenomena as natural. So I continue to regard these books as science fiction.
I'm now eager to read the series' conclusion, and hope to do that before the end of this year!
November 17, 2020
The Hounds of Skaith is a direct continuation of The Ginger Star, though that book comes to a satisfying enough conclusion that it can be enjoyed standalone in my opinion. There are few surprises here as Stark marches southward to his star ship in Skeg attempting to escape Skaith. He makes new allies desperate to flee their dying world, arousing revolt and fighting battle after battle, each more grand than the last, against the oppressive Wandsmen who cling to power by means of deceptions and lies.
Brackett's rich world building continues to captivate, with the Dying Earth type settings of new cities built atop the ancient and crumbling, and especially the bizarre human and semi-human races that inhabit Skaith, some chilling and even comical results of failed attempts at genetic engineering millennia ago. Stark continues to make for an interesting and divisive reluctant hero figure. Honorable and brave, yet doing heroic things for seemingly selfish reasons.
Largely overlooked, this is a rich and rousing sword & sorcery series well worth a look by genre aficionados.
Brackett's rich world building continues to captivate, with the Dying Earth type settings of new cities built atop the ancient and crumbling, and especially the bizarre human and semi-human races that inhabit Skaith, some chilling and even comical results of failed attempts at genetic engineering millennia ago. Stark continues to make for an interesting and divisive reluctant hero figure. Honorable and brave, yet doing heroic things for seemingly selfish reasons.
Largely overlooked, this is a rich and rousing sword & sorcery series well worth a look by genre aficionados.
May 19, 2022
Brackett is always a good option for fun, escapist sword and planet pulp and this is no exception. We first encountered Eric John Start on his mission to Skaith. Eric was raised by aboriginals on Mercury after his parents (miners) were killed and finally 'rescued' by Ashton, an agent of GU (galactic union) who trouble shoots problems on various obscure planets. Eric is a Conan-like person-- raised in the wilds with animal instincts, a warrior, but a space-fairer as well. When he learns that Ashton has been kidnapped on Skaith, he bones up on the planet and heads out ASAP. The first installment concerned his trials and tribulations to find and free his 'foster father' Ashton, which he finally does, but ends with his destruction of the Citadel of Skaith's rulers, leaving him and Ashton stranded far away from any spaceport...
The Hounds of Skaith chronicles his adventures back to 'civilization' if you will with Ashton. Now, Skaith is a dying world; an ancient (and remarkably human!) population are facing the wall as their sun weakens and weakens. The rulers of the planet worry that if an option to leave the planet exists, they will lose their iron grip on power and hence decide first Ashton and then Eric must go-- with extreme prejudice! Eric was able to overcome the 'hellhounds' of the Citadel who not only are telepathic, but have the ability to instill fear in others up to the point of death. Now, he leads them, and Ashton, on another adventure to help his allies and get Ashton off planet...
Brackett moves the story along at an almost frenetic pace, where Eric and Co. face one problem after another. Can they unite the dying northern tribes to cast off the iron grip of the Wandsmen? Fun stuff that was almost a homage to the Golden Age of scifi, except Brackett is a product of that era, before she went to write screen plays for Hollywood. Do not expect anything earth shattering here, just plan fun and adventure. On a final note, what was it with comely redheads in the golden age? Of course, one of the lead characters here is also a sexy redhead named Gerrith, a local seer, but one who of course falls for Eric. Was having a female redhead demanded by publishers during this time or just a standard trope? In any case, 3.5 pulpy stars, rounding up!
The Hounds of Skaith chronicles his adventures back to 'civilization' if you will with Ashton. Now, Skaith is a dying world; an ancient (and remarkably human!) population are facing the wall as their sun weakens and weakens. The rulers of the planet worry that if an option to leave the planet exists, they will lose their iron grip on power and hence decide first Ashton and then Eric must go-- with extreme prejudice! Eric was able to overcome the 'hellhounds' of the Citadel who not only are telepathic, but have the ability to instill fear in others up to the point of death. Now, he leads them, and Ashton, on another adventure to help his allies and get Ashton off planet...
Brackett moves the story along at an almost frenetic pace, where Eric and Co. face one problem after another. Can they unite the dying northern tribes to cast off the iron grip of the Wandsmen? Fun stuff that was almost a homage to the Golden Age of scifi, except Brackett is a product of that era, before she went to write screen plays for Hollywood. Do not expect anything earth shattering here, just plan fun and adventure. On a final note, what was it with comely redheads in the golden age? Of course, one of the lead characters here is also a sexy redhead named Gerrith, a local seer, but one who of course falls for Eric. Was having a female redhead demanded by publishers during this time or just a standard trope? In any case, 3.5 pulpy stars, rounding up!
February 9, 2016
After a solid decade of no new fiction from the pen of Leigh Brackett, the so-called “Queen of Space Opera,” the author released, in 1974, the first volume of what would ultimately be called her Skaith Trilogy. But fortunately, her fans would only have to wait a mere matter of months before the sequel to the first book, "The Ginger Star," was published. That second volume, "The Hounds of Skaith," managed to accomplish what all great follow-up novels should: enlarge on the scope of the previous story, introduce new and fascinating characters, clarify and enlighten what had come before while at the same time weaving new plot threads, and leave the reader wanting still more. The book is a total success in that regard, and fans who had thrilled to Eric John Stark's previous exploits should certainly be left more than happy here.
Book 2 picks up just hours after the first installment had concluded. In that initial work, Stark had come to the dying planet Skaith, in the distant Orion Spur, to locate his old friend and mentor, Simon Ashton, who had gone missing while on a diplomatic mission there. Stark, on his arrival, had found the planet to be in ferment, with the city-state Irnan in revolt against the planetary leaders--the Lords Protector and their underlings, the Wandsmen--in an effort to achieve the right to emigrate to other worlds. Stark had journeyed across many miles, accompanied by some Irnanese and the seeress Gerrith, before ultimately rescuing Ashton from the Citadel, beyond the Plain of Worldheart, and becoming the leader of the ferocious Northhounds. But Gerrith and Halk, the only surviving fighting man from Irnan, were in the hands of the Wandsmen, and the planet was still in chaos. (By the way, the events of Book 1 ARE sufficiently explained by Brackett in Book 2's opening chapters to allow for easy comprehension by newcomers, but a reading of that earlier work is, of course, recommended for a greater enjoyment here.) In "The Hounds of Skaith," we follow Stark and Ashton as they first rescue Gerrith and Halk, and later, unite the various desert tribes and assorted mutant races into an efficient army with which to capture one Skaith city after another, ultimately going on to assist the besieged city of Irnan.
Brackett throws at least six major set pieces into her story, nicely interspersed throughout. In the first, Stark and his small band must flee not only from the desert-dwelling Ochar tribesmen, but also from the cannibalistic, fleet-footed Runners AND a killer desert storm. But this storm is of a different nature to the one Stark encountered on Mars in 1964's "The Secret of Sinharat"; this one also creates a rolling tsunami of sand! In the second set piece, Stark and his allies--six desert tribes, the winged mutations known as Fallarin (who are capable of controlling the winds), and their servants, the four-armed Tarf--do battle with the Ochar and the Runners, and it is a marvel how Brackett manages to maintain control of this chaotic, multisided battle and clearly describe all the movements and formations therein; my main man, H. Rider Haggard, who always excelled in such martial descriptions, would have smiled here with approbation, I feel. Brackett delivers a one-two punch by quickly following this massive battle with another, as Stark and his ever-growing legions move on to capture the Wandsmen stronghold of Yurunna, utilizing spears, swords, battering ram and other archaic weaponry. (As in Book 1, this sci-fi tale almost reads like a Conanesque sword-and-sorcery epic at times, what with the medievallike setting and crude inhabitants.) Stark’s Northhounds--humongous canines who not only kill with claw and fang, but by also telepathically engendering fear--are invaluable in this battle. In the fourth major set piece, Stark and his army fight against the Farers (mobs of wanton revelers, akin to Earth's flower children but more vicious and deadly) outside the gates of Tregad. Next, Stark, alone, infiltrates the heavily guarded pilgrim city of Ged Darod. And finally, Brackett treats us to still another epic battle outside the gates of beleaguered Irnan. The book is tremendously fast moving, more so even than Book 1; more action packed, and with even more unusual characters. As I said, it is a tremendous sequel.
Brackett, I should perhaps add, was a wonderful writer, more so even than her husband, the great Edmond Hamilton, whose pulpier style I also love. But Hamilton would never have thrown a sentence such as "Her eyes were the color of a winter sea where the sun strikes it" into one of his books, as Brackett does here. As in Book 1, she utilizes archaic language at times ("…not one man of the Lesser Hearths dight himself for war"; " there was no more wood wherewith to burn them") to reinforce the notion of a primitive society on the decline. Imaginative as always, she peppers her story with any number of pleasing, throwaway grace touches, such as the severed fingers ceremony that the Skaith-Children submit to, and the bizarre group of pilgrims at Ged Darod, and the perfumed, luminous butterfly creatures to be found in the Pleasure Gardens there. And yet, Brackett often forces the reader to use his/her imagination, as well; her descriptions of the beasts that Stark and the desert men ride, as well as of the four-armed Tarf and the amphibian creature Morn, are vague, at best. As for Stark himself, he again comes off like a kind of Conan of the spaceways, but here, the author makes him seem something of a Tarzan type also, what with his alpha-dog command of the savage Northhounds. And as he gathers one desert tribe after another to his side, Stark almost comes off like a kind of interstellar Lawrence of Arabia...not that “El Aurens ever fought against such odds as Stark does here!”
I should also mention that "The Ginger Star" came with a nicely detailed map to assist the reader in visualizing Stark's winding journey north, and happily, Book 2 provides the same service, with another helpful map delineating the character’s epic march south. "The Hounds of Skaith" offers a bit more closure than had the first volume, but matters are still very much up in the air as regards Skaith's ultimate fate vis-à-vis the Galactic Union by the time the reader turns that final page. I suppose that I will just have to proceed on now to Book 3, "The Reavers of Skaith," to see what happens next....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Leigh Brackett....)
Book 2 picks up just hours after the first installment had concluded. In that initial work, Stark had come to the dying planet Skaith, in the distant Orion Spur, to locate his old friend and mentor, Simon Ashton, who had gone missing while on a diplomatic mission there. Stark, on his arrival, had found the planet to be in ferment, with the city-state Irnan in revolt against the planetary leaders--the Lords Protector and their underlings, the Wandsmen--in an effort to achieve the right to emigrate to other worlds. Stark had journeyed across many miles, accompanied by some Irnanese and the seeress Gerrith, before ultimately rescuing Ashton from the Citadel, beyond the Plain of Worldheart, and becoming the leader of the ferocious Northhounds. But Gerrith and Halk, the only surviving fighting man from Irnan, were in the hands of the Wandsmen, and the planet was still in chaos. (By the way, the events of Book 1 ARE sufficiently explained by Brackett in Book 2's opening chapters to allow for easy comprehension by newcomers, but a reading of that earlier work is, of course, recommended for a greater enjoyment here.) In "The Hounds of Skaith," we follow Stark and Ashton as they first rescue Gerrith and Halk, and later, unite the various desert tribes and assorted mutant races into an efficient army with which to capture one Skaith city after another, ultimately going on to assist the besieged city of Irnan.
Brackett throws at least six major set pieces into her story, nicely interspersed throughout. In the first, Stark and his small band must flee not only from the desert-dwelling Ochar tribesmen, but also from the cannibalistic, fleet-footed Runners AND a killer desert storm. But this storm is of a different nature to the one Stark encountered on Mars in 1964's "The Secret of Sinharat"; this one also creates a rolling tsunami of sand! In the second set piece, Stark and his allies--six desert tribes, the winged mutations known as Fallarin (who are capable of controlling the winds), and their servants, the four-armed Tarf--do battle with the Ochar and the Runners, and it is a marvel how Brackett manages to maintain control of this chaotic, multisided battle and clearly describe all the movements and formations therein; my main man, H. Rider Haggard, who always excelled in such martial descriptions, would have smiled here with approbation, I feel. Brackett delivers a one-two punch by quickly following this massive battle with another, as Stark and his ever-growing legions move on to capture the Wandsmen stronghold of Yurunna, utilizing spears, swords, battering ram and other archaic weaponry. (As in Book 1, this sci-fi tale almost reads like a Conanesque sword-and-sorcery epic at times, what with the medievallike setting and crude inhabitants.) Stark’s Northhounds--humongous canines who not only kill with claw and fang, but by also telepathically engendering fear--are invaluable in this battle. In the fourth major set piece, Stark and his army fight against the Farers (mobs of wanton revelers, akin to Earth's flower children but more vicious and deadly) outside the gates of Tregad. Next, Stark, alone, infiltrates the heavily guarded pilgrim city of Ged Darod. And finally, Brackett treats us to still another epic battle outside the gates of beleaguered Irnan. The book is tremendously fast moving, more so even than Book 1; more action packed, and with even more unusual characters. As I said, it is a tremendous sequel.
Brackett, I should perhaps add, was a wonderful writer, more so even than her husband, the great Edmond Hamilton, whose pulpier style I also love. But Hamilton would never have thrown a sentence such as "Her eyes were the color of a winter sea where the sun strikes it" into one of his books, as Brackett does here. As in Book 1, she utilizes archaic language at times ("…not one man of the Lesser Hearths dight himself for war"; " there was no more wood wherewith to burn them") to reinforce the notion of a primitive society on the decline. Imaginative as always, she peppers her story with any number of pleasing, throwaway grace touches, such as the severed fingers ceremony that the Skaith-Children submit to, and the bizarre group of pilgrims at Ged Darod, and the perfumed, luminous butterfly creatures to be found in the Pleasure Gardens there. And yet, Brackett often forces the reader to use his/her imagination, as well; her descriptions of the beasts that Stark and the desert men ride, as well as of the four-armed Tarf and the amphibian creature Morn, are vague, at best. As for Stark himself, he again comes off like a kind of Conan of the spaceways, but here, the author makes him seem something of a Tarzan type also, what with his alpha-dog command of the savage Northhounds. And as he gathers one desert tribe after another to his side, Stark almost comes off like a kind of interstellar Lawrence of Arabia...not that “El Aurens ever fought against such odds as Stark does here!”
I should also mention that "The Ginger Star" came with a nicely detailed map to assist the reader in visualizing Stark's winding journey north, and happily, Book 2 provides the same service, with another helpful map delineating the character’s epic march south. "The Hounds of Skaith" offers a bit more closure than had the first volume, but matters are still very much up in the air as regards Skaith's ultimate fate vis-à-vis the Galactic Union by the time the reader turns that final page. I suppose that I will just have to proceed on now to Book 3, "The Reavers of Skaith," to see what happens next....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Leigh Brackett....)
August 22, 2018
Second volume of The Book of Skaith. Serious spoilers ahead.
It opens with Kell a Marg getting a report about what Stark has done to the Citadel, and then Stark with the rescued Ashton and the title hounds attempting to make good their escape from the planet. Knowing that having exposed the Lords Protector, they may have ensured that no more starships are allowed to land.
It involves the hounds' having conflicting loyalties, a genetic modification that did not produce all that was intended, an attack on a city by tribes, an attempt by Wandsmen to use a city as a hostage and its results, a heretic Wandsman, and more.
It opens with Kell a Marg getting a report about what Stark has done to the Citadel, and then Stark with the rescued Ashton and the title hounds attempting to make good their escape from the planet. Knowing that having exposed the Lords Protector, they may have ensured that no more starships are allowed to land.
It involves the hounds' having conflicting loyalties, a genetic modification that did not produce all that was intended, an attack on a city by tribes, an attempt by Wandsmen to use a city as a hostage and its results, a heretic Wandsman, and more.
July 28, 2008
The second book in the Eric John Stark "Skaith" adventures. Also very good.
September 26, 2021
Eric John Stark is hated by practically everyone. Even his supporters are either allies of convenience or are allies by force of his formidable will. He is challenged on all sides and even relative victories come with complicated strings attached. And all these entanglements result from the single decision to come to Skaith to rescue his friend.
Brackett doubles down on the failing nature of the planet, with the empty cities and degenerate people and shrinking ecosystem. Even the prosperous city of Yurunna is only relatively so, a strange prize for the hungry tribes: squalid and half-inhabited, a cheerless place.
Brackett doubles down on the failing nature of the planet, with the empty cities and degenerate people and shrinking ecosystem. Even the prosperous city of Yurunna is only relatively so, a strange prize for the hungry tribes: squalid and half-inhabited, a cheerless place.
July 31, 2025
Leigh Brackett is an under-appreciated name within the realm of pulpy science fiction. Even among genre aficionados, many people know her only as an early screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back. A real tragedy, since Brackett's career appears to be a treasure trove of action-packed space opera, with notable titles running all of the way from the 1940's until her death in the late-70's. I just wish that I could've learned of her work prior to current year. The Book of Skaith is the first component of Brackett's sizable back-catalogue that I've had the pleasure of reading, and The Hounds of Skaith is the second installment in that trilogy. As with its predecessor, The Ginger Star, it's an excellent example of the "Sword and Planet" sub-genre. Highly recommended to fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter novels, or to anyone in the mood for fast-paced adventure fantasy.
The Hounds of Skaith continues the story of Eric John Stark- a human mercenary who has travelled to the primitive world of Skaith in hopes of rescuing his foster father, Simon Ashton. By the end of The Ginger Star, Stark had rescued Ashton from the clutches of the Lords Protector- false gods who command an army of fanatical priests known as the Wandsmen. Stark has burned the Lords' Citadel to the ground and taken command of their fearsome Northhounds, but he and Ashton now face the long trek back to Skaith's only spaceport. This requires a lengthy journey through the planet's desert wastes, where our heroes encounter nomadic Tribesmen, the bird-like Fallarin, and the core strongholds of the Wandsmen. Secondary storylines include Stark's struggle to maintain dominance over the Northhounds, with whom he communicates telepathically, and a popular revolt being led by a heretical Wandsman. Similarly to The Ginger Star, The Hounds of Skaith overlays the usual Sword and Planet tropes with aspects of the Dying Earth sub-genre.
I really enjoyed my time with The Hounds of Skaith and, if my schedule had allowed, I probably would've breezed through the novel in one or two days. First-class escapism. Similarly to The Ginger Star, I was most impressed by the novel's stellar pacing: few authors can pack so much plot into 200 pages without detracting from characterization. Stark also continues to reveal himself as a more nuanced protagonist than your typical pulp hero, with specific kudos for his tenuous "pack leader" relationship to the brutal Northhounds. Where The Hounds of Skaith most differs from its predecessor is via its greater number of action set-pieces, and this is mostly for the better. I'd ultimately rank The Hounds of Skaith as a slight step up from The Ginger Star, and that's primarily due to its grander scope and its wider variety of action scenes.
None of this is to say that The Hounds of Skaith is a masterpiece. It still very obviously qualifies as pulp. Apart from Stark's interactions with the Northhounds, there's also little here that feels genuinely innovative. It's simply an incredibly well-executed example of a usually formulaic style. The Hounds of Skaith is also beset by a handful of confusing plot choices. Foremost among these is the two-week jump that occurs immediately prior to the desert battle between the Ochar and the other Tribesman, which right in the middle of a chapter. It reads like an entire sequence was removed from the novel in order to satisfy length constraints. Such constrains would also explain the abruptness of the final battle and the strange lack of interactions between Stark and Ashton (or Stark and Gerrith). I'm forced to conclude that a lot of the secondary characters had their roles minimized in order to make room for the Stark/Northhound interactions.
Minor complaints aside, The Hounds of Skaith easily earns a 4-star rating and a solid recommendation for anybody who enjoyed The Ginger Star. Here's hoping that the trilogy is brought to a satisfying conclusion with The Reavers of Skaith. I truly have no idea of the where the plot will go now that the Stark/Ashton storyline has come to an end.
The Hounds of Skaith continues the story of Eric John Stark- a human mercenary who has travelled to the primitive world of Skaith in hopes of rescuing his foster father, Simon Ashton. By the end of The Ginger Star, Stark had rescued Ashton from the clutches of the Lords Protector- false gods who command an army of fanatical priests known as the Wandsmen. Stark has burned the Lords' Citadel to the ground and taken command of their fearsome Northhounds, but he and Ashton now face the long trek back to Skaith's only spaceport. This requires a lengthy journey through the planet's desert wastes, where our heroes encounter nomadic Tribesmen, the bird-like Fallarin, and the core strongholds of the Wandsmen. Secondary storylines include Stark's struggle to maintain dominance over the Northhounds, with whom he communicates telepathically, and a popular revolt being led by a heretical Wandsman. Similarly to The Ginger Star, The Hounds of Skaith overlays the usual Sword and Planet tropes with aspects of the Dying Earth sub-genre.
I really enjoyed my time with The Hounds of Skaith and, if my schedule had allowed, I probably would've breezed through the novel in one or two days. First-class escapism. Similarly to The Ginger Star, I was most impressed by the novel's stellar pacing: few authors can pack so much plot into 200 pages without detracting from characterization. Stark also continues to reveal himself as a more nuanced protagonist than your typical pulp hero, with specific kudos for his tenuous "pack leader" relationship to the brutal Northhounds. Where The Hounds of Skaith most differs from its predecessor is via its greater number of action set-pieces, and this is mostly for the better. I'd ultimately rank The Hounds of Skaith as a slight step up from The Ginger Star, and that's primarily due to its grander scope and its wider variety of action scenes.
None of this is to say that The Hounds of Skaith is a masterpiece. It still very obviously qualifies as pulp. Apart from Stark's interactions with the Northhounds, there's also little here that feels genuinely innovative. It's simply an incredibly well-executed example of a usually formulaic style. The Hounds of Skaith is also beset by a handful of confusing plot choices. Foremost among these is the two-week jump that occurs immediately prior to the desert battle between the Ochar and the other Tribesman, which right in the middle of a chapter. It reads like an entire sequence was removed from the novel in order to satisfy length constraints. Such constrains would also explain the abruptness of the final battle and the strange lack of interactions between Stark and Ashton (or Stark and Gerrith). I'm forced to conclude that a lot of the secondary characters had their roles minimized in order to make room for the Stark/Northhound interactions.
Minor complaints aside, The Hounds of Skaith easily earns a 4-star rating and a solid recommendation for anybody who enjoyed The Ginger Star. Here's hoping that the trilogy is brought to a satisfying conclusion with The Reavers of Skaith. I truly have no idea of the where the plot will go now that the Stark/Ashton storyline has come to an end.
February 19, 2022
This is the second of Leigh Brackett’s Skaith trilogy in which she brought back her legendary planetary-romance action hero, Eric John Stark, who is essentially a hybrid of John Carter and Tarzan. Skaith is a backwater planet where the Galactic Union has opened a starport for trade purposes. But this has also upset the balance of power for the local rulers, the Lords Protector – the tribe of Irnan wants to emigrate to the stars, partly to escape the oppressive rule of the Wandsmen (who enforce the rule of the Lords Protector), and partly because Skaith’s sun is dying.
In the first book, Stark travels to Skaith to rescue his foster father Simon Ashton, who was kidnapped by the Wandsmen whilst on a diplomatic mission there. This one takes up right where the first book left off as Stark – who is now in command of the Northhounds (the giant telepathic dogs who guard the Citadel of the Lords Protector) – now has two more tasks: rescue his love interest (the seer Gerrith) who was captured by the Wandsmen in the previous episode, and get himself and Ashton back to the starport in Skeg before the Wandsmen shut it down forever. For some reason, accomplishing both requires him to organize every desert tribe and mutant race in his path into an army to liberate Irnan and overthrow the Wandsmen once and for all – and by “organize” I mean “conquer them and take command”.
Consequently, much of the book is comprised of major battle scenes – great if you like that sort of thing, tedious if you don’t. I’m in the latter camp. Also, the battles seem gratuitous, as surely Stark could have found a way to get to the starport without literally starting a war everywhere he goes. So I didn't get as much out of this as I did the first one – and as I said before, this brand of sci-fi (basically Conan in space) was never quite my thing to begin with. And yet, Brackett writes this stuff better than most, and the bits where there isn’t a major battle going on are often entertaining – especially the parts where Brackett makes clear that while Stark is the hero of the tale, most of the people he uses to accomplish his goal don’t see him that way.
In the first book, Stark travels to Skaith to rescue his foster father Simon Ashton, who was kidnapped by the Wandsmen whilst on a diplomatic mission there. This one takes up right where the first book left off as Stark – who is now in command of the Northhounds (the giant telepathic dogs who guard the Citadel of the Lords Protector) – now has two more tasks: rescue his love interest (the seer Gerrith) who was captured by the Wandsmen in the previous episode, and get himself and Ashton back to the starport in Skeg before the Wandsmen shut it down forever. For some reason, accomplishing both requires him to organize every desert tribe and mutant race in his path into an army to liberate Irnan and overthrow the Wandsmen once and for all – and by “organize” I mean “conquer them and take command”.
Consequently, much of the book is comprised of major battle scenes – great if you like that sort of thing, tedious if you don’t. I’m in the latter camp. Also, the battles seem gratuitous, as surely Stark could have found a way to get to the starport without literally starting a war everywhere he goes. So I didn't get as much out of this as I did the first one – and as I said before, this brand of sci-fi (basically Conan in space) was never quite my thing to begin with. And yet, Brackett writes this stuff better than most, and the bits where there isn’t a major battle going on are often entertaining – especially the parts where Brackett makes clear that while Stark is the hero of the tale, most of the people he uses to accomplish his goal don’t see him that way.
September 5, 2022
Stark travels from community to community accompanied by a pack of huge dogs with psychic powers, leading one revolt after another, and accruing an increasingly motley alliance of compatriots. I enjoyed some of the weird new mutants that were introduced. Also, the climate change theme was occasionally pretty close to home despite the fact that Skaith is getting colder rather than hotter. Brackett’s economy of prose and breakneck pacing is still in full effect and somehow I got more into this than the first installment, probably because the stakes were more clear and there were all these cool set piece battles. Some of the best sword and planet escapism I’ve ever read.
July 30, 2013
This second book in Skaith series was enjoyable read and Stark is one of my favorite anti-heroes. I wish the story this was more focused on him even if the worlbuilding, the human cultures in this world is a fascinating read.
April 22, 2018
This one is more like a 4X game than an RPG.
July 4, 2018
I didn't find this quite as engaging as the first book; enough so that I have no real interest in concluding the trilogy.
The entire book is a "race to the starport" with a number of set piece battles along the way as Stark builds up his coalition in short order.
One reason I found this less engaging was simply because the stakes didn't seem to matter. Stark doesn't have some deep attachment to this world or the people on it. And it is hard to imagine the Galactic Union (or whatever it is called) really abandoning its citizens to the dictators of this planet; surely they'd either engage in diplomatic overtures or simply use overwhelming force to rescue Stark.
The relegation of the love interest to an even more secondary role was particularly disappointing. I think she spoke maybe one sentence in the entire book? They didn't have any conversations between one another. Yet she is supposed to be one of the main reasons Stark is doing what he's doing.
The entire book is a "race to the starport" with a number of set piece battles along the way as Stark builds up his coalition in short order.
One reason I found this less engaging was simply because the stakes didn't seem to matter. Stark doesn't have some deep attachment to this world or the people on it. And it is hard to imagine the Galactic Union (or whatever it is called) really abandoning its citizens to the dictators of this planet; surely they'd either engage in diplomatic overtures or simply use overwhelming force to rescue Stark.
The relegation of the love interest to an even more secondary role was particularly disappointing. I think she spoke maybe one sentence in the entire book? They didn't have any conversations between one another. Yet she is supposed to be one of the main reasons Stark is doing what he's doing.
January 4, 2025
Better than the first book. I think in memory that first book takes up more space, I remember it better, but it mostly skates by on good prose and worldbuilding. In this second book the action is driven by the main character. If it has a flaw it is that everything goes according to plan. I don't remember the next book well, but I suspect it all goes to shit in book three. In that sense this is a true trilogy, a three act story, which weakens each individual book, but will, I hope make a stronger whole.
It's well written, but in some indefinable way lacks a bit of the magic of her older works in the genre. Maybe because those short stories and novellas of a different time were all about the tone, the vibe. Those stories let the feel of those other worlds dominate. These feel plot driven. Poor Stark is walking all over this planet and he's got to get where he's going. The atmosphere of Skaith is not necessarily taking a back seat, but it's having to share the limelight.
It's well written, but in some indefinable way lacks a bit of the magic of her older works in the genre. Maybe because those short stories and novellas of a different time were all about the tone, the vibe. Those stories let the feel of those other worlds dominate. These feel plot driven. Poor Stark is walking all over this planet and he's got to get where he's going. The atmosphere of Skaith is not necessarily taking a back seat, but it's having to share the limelight.
November 17, 2024
I enjoyed this one too. I liked that the handful people Stark saved didn't change their point of view because of that, and still want him dead. Which I find realistic, though not in step with the usual fantasy meme where the enemies come around.
I like how Stark works with others and has his own set of ethics he brings through the story. The wars and sieges seems a little bit quick and unrealistic but I found it all generally interesting and satisfying.
Gotta say it is pretty annoying to have how dark Stark is be mentioned repeatedly, yet a musclebound white man is what's on all the covers of this series I've seen. I guess the publisher decided their readers were too racist to buy books otherwise, so they maintained the unequal status-quo in cover art.
I like how Stark works with others and has his own set of ethics he brings through the story. The wars and sieges seems a little bit quick and unrealistic but I found it all generally interesting and satisfying.
Gotta say it is pretty annoying to have how dark Stark is be mentioned repeatedly, yet a musclebound white man is what's on all the covers of this series I've seen. I guess the publisher decided their readers were too racist to buy books otherwise, so they maintained the unequal status-quo in cover art.
October 8, 2019
In the sequel to Ginger Star, the Lord Protectors of Skaith and their allies are still trying to shut down any chance of their dissatisfied people leaving the planet. Bad news for Stark, because he has no intention of staying. But there's a lot of planet to cross on foot to reach the spaceport and a lot of hostile races and forces...
3.5 stars, probably. It's not as dynamic as her earlier Stark novels, but it definitely kept me turning pages. I am curious what she does for the third volume in the series, as most of the conflict is wrapped up.
3.5 stars, probably. It's not as dynamic as her earlier Stark novels, but it definitely kept me turning pages. I am curious what she does for the third volume in the series, as most of the conflict is wrapped up.
August 13, 2020
In this sequel Ms Brackett relaxes her pulp/pulp satire tropes enough to let some real gems through--a fight between rival gangs of psychic hell hounds, e.g.. Additionally, she explores the fragility of the Burroughs-style pulp narrative: Stark is a heroic feature but he is betrayed at every turn, and tales of his heroism are often warped or forgotten because all information on Skaith travels through a medieval grapevine of rumor, bias and incomprehension. Much more fun than the first book, and contains much more of her gorgeous imagery than the first.
January 11, 2023
Good space-opera, though planet-based, on the forbidding world of Skaith, with its many kinds of genetically altered humans. Eric John Stark must battle back and forth across the face of the planet, seconded by the demonic Hounds, and various warriors. There's nothing new here, but Brackett knows how to tell a cracking tale. There's a third book in the series -- THE REAVERS OF SKAITH -- and I fancy I'll get to it one day. Stark is an interesting character, but there isn't much development here. An easy read, though.
January 23, 2019
Este segundo volumen del mundo de Skaith se adentra un poco más en la historia mostrando más del mundo. en ese aspecto la creación y descripción de las nuevas razas y lugares es mejor que el primero, pero lo que acontece es un poco más difuso y no consigue enganchar tanto, excepto en los capítulos finales. Será necesario esperar al tercer volumen para comprobar si estas sensaciones finales se mantienen en los episodios que quedan.
November 13, 2022
As good as the genre gets
Brackett writes with a direct, driving clarity that carries Stark southward once more with a growing cast of remarkably distinct characters, gathering an army on a planet whose Old Sun is dying, fighting to get himself and his mentor back to galactic civilization before the entrenched powers can send away the starships forever... an act that will also condemn the whole population to a slow death by Ice Age.
Brackett writes with a direct, driving clarity that carries Stark southward once more with a growing cast of remarkably distinct characters, gathering an army on a planet whose Old Sun is dying, fighting to get himself and his mentor back to galactic civilization before the entrenched powers can send away the starships forever... an act that will also condemn the whole population to a slow death by Ice Age.
April 14, 2023
Another excellent planetary romance by Brackett. Eric John Stark has burned the Citadel of the Lords Protector, but they have fled to the south. Stark, in pursuit, encounters many odd inhabitants of Skaith and recruits some of them to his cause. Brackett's prose is lean and evocative as always. The novel has clear antecedents in the works of writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and A. Merritt, but Brackett is a much better writer. Looking forward to the third book in the series.
February 12, 2019
7/10. Media de los 5 libros leídos de la autora : 6/10
La autora iba con media de notable hasta que leí suyo "La ciudadela de las naves perdidas", que bajó la media drásticamente.
En esta saga de Space Opera tenemos un planeta cuyo sol se muere y los jerarcas andan en que si dejan salir a la población o no.
Aventuras y personajes simples, mucha acción y poca ciencia. De los clásicos, vamos.
La autora iba con media de notable hasta que leí suyo "La ciudadela de las naves perdidas", que bajó la media drásticamente.
En esta saga de Space Opera tenemos un planeta cuyo sol se muere y los jerarcas andan en que si dejan salir a la población o no.
Aventuras y personajes simples, mucha acción y poca ciencia. De los clásicos, vamos.
October 23, 2020
Shelved this for awhile after getting roughly 80% through it. Just not as compelling as Ginger Star. Big battle royale at the end just felt meh
February 18, 2021
Great swords and planets read. Skaith is a fascinating creation.
March 1, 2022
Still an enjoyable pulpy ride.
April 10, 2022
La segunda parte flojea cosa mala.
August 9, 2025
I enjoyed this book moreso than the first. The action and intrigue of this book kept me turning pages fast. can't wait to start the third!
July 21, 2013
Part two of the Eric John Stark trilogy.
Eric drove North to the enemy citadel to rescue his friend in the first volume. In this volume they move South by a different route toward the Spaceport. This time Stark has new allies, namely several very powerful war dogs he commands with telepathy. This Southern journey is at first much like the journey in part one. It has an episodic structure in which Stark's group encounters various hostile life forms. The land itself and everything on it is hostile. Once again the reader may wonder how anyone could survive on such a hostile world. At least this time fewer humanoids are willing to eat travelers.
The corrupt priesthood of the first book is still active. They control a major city and a powerful army, and more of those fiercely powerful wardogs. As Stark journeys South he realizes that to reach the Spaceport he must bypass the enemy city. And to do that he must become increasingly involved in planet politics. So as he moves he gathers an army. An army of those wanting an end to the priesthood's power. The novel's big set piece is the battle for that city. Stark makes allies and enemies. Some of each group are lost in this struggle. And always Stark is the epitome of single-minded courage and unflinching drive. He is an impossible hero; but he is a great hero. It is this depiction of Stark, and the gritty, colorful depictions of the landscape, the many well drawn characters, and Brackett's endless imagination for people's and civilizations, which make this novel a good read.
Eric drove North to the enemy citadel to rescue his friend in the first volume. In this volume they move South by a different route toward the Spaceport. This time Stark has new allies, namely several very powerful war dogs he commands with telepathy. This Southern journey is at first much like the journey in part one. It has an episodic structure in which Stark's group encounters various hostile life forms. The land itself and everything on it is hostile. Once again the reader may wonder how anyone could survive on such a hostile world. At least this time fewer humanoids are willing to eat travelers.
The corrupt priesthood of the first book is still active. They control a major city and a powerful army, and more of those fiercely powerful wardogs. As Stark journeys South he realizes that to reach the Spaceport he must bypass the enemy city. And to do that he must become increasingly involved in planet politics. So as he moves he gathers an army. An army of those wanting an end to the priesthood's power. The novel's big set piece is the battle for that city. Stark makes allies and enemies. Some of each group are lost in this struggle. And always Stark is the epitome of single-minded courage and unflinching drive. He is an impossible hero; but he is a great hero. It is this depiction of Stark, and the gritty, colorful depictions of the landscape, the many well drawn characters, and Brackett's endless imagination for people's and civilizations, which make this novel a good read.
November 16, 2013
The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett is the middle book of her Skaith trilogy, and the 3rd Erik John Stark book I've read. Like the others, this is published by Paizo's Planet Stories line, and is a reprint of a classic sci-fi book that has been hard to find and not well known by modern readers. I won't repeat the info on the author or line of books, since I've mentioned them twice now, so scroll down to earlier reviews to read about them more.
The book picks up immediately after the end of The Ginger Star, and now that Stark has completed the prophecy and rescued his friend, he now needs to find a way off of the planet. With the rulers of the planet, the Wandsmen, wanting him dead, and controlling the only starport on the planet, Stark must recruit allies from the various native peoples to form an army and win the rebellion that he inadvertently started. Luckily for Stark, he still has the loyalty of a pack of telepathic Hounds who can kill with a thought. The hounds are one of the main plot elements of the book, and Stark uses them ruthlessly to accomplish his goals, all the while knowing that they are still dangerous beasts that can turn on him at any moment.
This is another great read and further explores the cultures of this backwater world, and introduces several new dimensions to the series. In addition to Stark proving his steely nerve and fighting prowess, he must also deal with conflicting political factions, and allies that would like nothing better than to see him as dead as his enemies would.
The book picks up immediately after the end of The Ginger Star, and now that Stark has completed the prophecy and rescued his friend, he now needs to find a way off of the planet. With the rulers of the planet, the Wandsmen, wanting him dead, and controlling the only starport on the planet, Stark must recruit allies from the various native peoples to form an army and win the rebellion that he inadvertently started. Luckily for Stark, he still has the loyalty of a pack of telepathic Hounds who can kill with a thought. The hounds are one of the main plot elements of the book, and Stark uses them ruthlessly to accomplish his goals, all the while knowing that they are still dangerous beasts that can turn on him at any moment.
This is another great read and further explores the cultures of this backwater world, and introduces several new dimensions to the series. In addition to Stark proving his steely nerve and fighting prowess, he must also deal with conflicting political factions, and allies that would like nothing better than to see him as dead as his enemies would.
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