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About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

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janxious (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Modules, Planet Stories Subscriber), Mon, Feb 25, 2008, 08:57 PM

Yosh!
More Stark!

Erik Mona (Publisher), Tue, Feb 26, 2008, 12:27 AM

Indeed!

And there is more to come after this!

Barsoomian White Ape, Tue, Jun 3, 2008, 12:07 PM

Why do you wait so long to put out the different parts of the series you're publishing? Since Planet Stories is releasing a new book monthly, wouldn't it make more sense to put out first one book in a series, then another, then another back to back till the series ends? That's the way the pulp serials in the early twentieth century did things with great success.

Kata. the ..... (Paizo Charter Superscriber), Mon, Jul 21, 2008, 11:08 PM

Barsoomian White Ape wrote:

Why do you wait so long to put out the different parts of the series you're publishing? Since Planet Stories is releasing a new book monthly, wouldn't it make more sense to put out first one book in a series, then another, then another back to back till the series ends? That's the way the pulp serials in the early twentieth century did things with great success.

I am on both sides of this argument. I want to read as many different aspects of these genres as I can, but I would like to finish certain story arcs and Stark is one of the better that Planet Stories has published. I have been reading Planet Stories books at a rate of close to a once/month level. I am fortunate to live in an Arizona city with decent bus service and I get to read for about 1 hour/day and have been reading these, F&SF and SciAm as well as the occasional other book.

Just keep them coming.

Erik Mona (Publisher), Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 02:31 AM

The pulps also had other stories in them, often a half-dozen or more, to appeal to a wider audience. Some series will be to the liking of some readers more than others, and I want to keep things interesting for everyone. Three months in a row featuring an author who is not your favorite is a better incentive to cancel a subscription than I'd prefer to offer at the moment.

Prime Evil (Planet Stories Subscriber), Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 07:23 AM

I read the Skaith trilogy a couple of years ago in tattered second-hand paperbacks that still lurk somewhere on my book collection. I am really, really looking forward to getting shiny new copies with covers that don't suck. I think that the UK covers by Chris Achilleos were some of the worst peices of artwork ever to cover a SF/Fantasy novel - and they've got some tough competition.

If you haven't read any Leigh Brackett before, you must buy this book - she is truly one of the genre's forgotten greats.

I'm looking forward to a Planet Stories version of the Sword of Rhiannon one day - it's probably my personal favourite of her novels....

kenmckinney, Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 07:34 AM

I read the science fiction book club version of the Skaith books back in the late 70s or early 80s. I reread them a few years ago and they hold up well. These are great books!

Ken

Prime Evil wrote:

I read the Skaith trilogy a couple of years ago in tattered second-hand paperbacks that still lurk somewhere on my book collection. I am really, really looking forward to getting shiny new copies with covers that don't suck. I think that the UK covers by Chris Achilleos were some of the worst peices of artwork ever to cover a SF/Fantasy novel - and they've got some tough competition.

If you haven't read any Leigh Brackett before, you must buy this book - she is truly one of the genre's forgotten greats.

I'm looking forward to a Planet Stories version of the Sword of Rhiannon one day - it's probably my personal favourite of her novels....

Vic Wertz (Technical Director), Wed, Jul 23, 2008, 06:26 PM

Prime Evil wrote:

I'm looking forward to a Planet Stories version of the Sword of Rhiannon one day - it's probably my personal favourite of her novels....

"One day" may be sooner than you thought!

Insert Neat Username Here, Wed, Jul 23, 2008, 07:03 PM

Is that Ezren on the cover? It looks a lot like him.

Vic Wertz (Technical Director), Thu, Jul 24, 2008, 05:06 PM

Insert Neat Username Here wrote:

Is that Ezren on the cover? It looks a lot like him.

It's just a mockup. There will be no Pathfinder characters on the final cover!

Vic Wertz (Technical Director), Mon, Sep 8, 2008, 01:21 PM

I've put up the finished cover image!

Blue Tyson (Planet Stories Subscriber), Wed, Sep 10, 2008, 03:17 AM

Did this get pushed back a bit? I just noticed now not available at bookdepository, fishpond, etc.

Vic Wertz (Technical Director), Wed, Sep 10, 2008, 01:27 PM

Blue Tyson wrote:

Did this get pushed back a bit?

It has always been scheduled for October.

kessukoofah, Fri, Oct 24, 2008, 10:00 AM

Hey there. Anybody who's read all three skaith novels that are here, do I need the hounds of skaith to enjoy the Ginger Star and the Revers of Skaith? I found those two cheap at a used book store and it would kinda suck if it's a trilogy and I need the second one to actually enjoy them since it would mean putting off the two i have until I can get this one.

jjb1011jjb, Thu, Oct 29, 2009, 01:43 PM

im to chapter 9 in this book so far and i love it

its even better then the ginger star

and the hounds in the title are a highlight for me

Erik Mona (Publisher), Thu, Oct 29, 2009, 02:33 PM

Kessu: Sorry I didn't notice your query until now.

The Ginger Star is the first book in the trilogy, so you are ok to start with or without Hounds. I think you definitely _could_ read Reavers without Hounds, but you'll enjoy it more if you read them in order.

You may also want to check out Brackett's THE SECRET OF SINHARAT, also from Planet Stories. The two short novels in that book feature the same protagonist, the swordsman/adventurer Eric John Stark, before his journey to Skaith.

They are completely self-contained and are not necessary to enjoy or understand the Skaith Trilogy, but they're also a lot of fun!