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The Secret of Sinharat (Trade Paperback)
Paizo Publishing, LLC
by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock
Enter Eric John Stark, adventurer, rebel, wildman. Raised on the sun-soaked, savage world of Mercury, Stark lives among the people of the civilized solar system, but his veneer of calm masks a warrior’s spirit. In the murderous Martian Drylands the greatest criminals in the galaxy hatch a conspiracy of red revolution. Stark’s involvement leads to the forgotten ruins of the Martian Low Canals, an unlikely romance, and a secret so potent it could shake the Red Planet to its core.
In a special bonus novel, People of the Talisman, Stark ventures to the treacherous polar icecap of Mars to return a stolen talisman to an oppressed people.
The Secret of Sinharat and People of the Talisman make an excellent introduction to the work of Leigh Brackett, a pillar of science fantasy and one of the greatest writers to work in the genre. Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep with William Faulkner and influential enough to write the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Brackett’s fiction is no less distinguished than her movie work and never fails to deliver thrills and wry smiles.
Recommended Age: Mature Readers (ages 16 and up)
240-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN: 1-60125-047-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-047-6
FIVE STARS. Highly recommended!
—SFSignal.com
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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Product Reviews
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Mars as it is not nor ever has been... but perhaps it should have been. Prepare to be swept up in tales of intrigue and powers that defy imagination, yet rooted in the humanity of the hero, ready to fight for what he believes in with sword or blaster. Alien mysteries and all-too-familiar motives of greed and jealousy and revenge. Leave aside astronomical knowledge, it doesn't matter that the Mars you see in the sky isn't like this. Travel to this Mars in your imagination and be transported to a world in which little-understood technology stands shoulder-to-shoulder with courage and nobility.
Overall a good read. Brackett's Mars is a gritty sci-fi with a bit of a 'western' feel. Stark makes the tale as the lone gun who gets caught in the crossfire of civilization vs. barbarism, colonials vs. aboriginals. Brackett's colonial subtext gives her setting an extra edge that separates this from other Martian tales.
That said "Secret of Sinharat" is a taut tale but "The People of The Talisman" despite a great setup and middle loses steam near the end. This would be a 3 1/2 stars overall. Good read and another solid entry in the Planet Stories line. Looking forward to the other Brackett tomes.
This is a greatly shortened version of my original review. I didn't notice that we are only allowed 2000 characters!! So go down to the "Product discussions" for the entire review.
This is Mars seen from the gutter up that has been exploited and “colonialized” by the Earth (white folks that is.). Imagine Barsoom going straight to hell after the big earth corporations show up and exploit the hell out of the place, keeping down the natives and basically treating them as 3rd class nuisances! We don’t see Mars from the eyes of its Ruling Class. We get a Mars from the perspective of its lower classes. These are people who are being screwed over by not just their own rulers but also the colonial powers from earth. LB’s Martians are cut throats, thieves and whores who we see from the context of our culture and not theirs. This is a sad, worn out, angry, brutal and cynical Mars. It’s not really a place you’d care to visit. And if you did bother to visit, the locals would cut your throat the first chance they got. This is tough, gritty and realistic SF adventure!!
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Wow...this is AWESOME news! As a long-time admirer of Leigh Brackett's work, the opportunity to see a reprint of this work is very cool indeed - especially as my current copy is a paperback from the late 1960's or early 1970's that is falling apart.
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Prime Evil wrote:
Wow...this is AWESOME news! As a long-time admirer of Leigh Brackett's work, the opportunity to see a reprint of this work is very cool indeed - especially as my current copy is a paperback from the late 1960's or early 1970's that is falling apart.
This book (really two books in one) is absolutely incredible. Brackett's breathtaking vision of Mars definitey has a lasting impact. Of all the books we've announced so far, this one is absolutely one of my favorites.
Brackett deserves a much wider modern audience. We're banking on the idea that there are enough readers out there to make a line like this profitable, and I can say with strong authority that if this book sells well there will be _much_ more Leigh Brackett to come.
--Erik Mona
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First, let me say that I am utterly *freaking* thrilled that all these classic planetary romances and weird fantasies are getting a second life via Paizo; I've already purchased the two C. L. Moore volumes and it is likely -- very, very, very likely considering my fantastique-oriented bibliophilia and my acute money-incontinence -- that I will buy all the current PS volumes and continue buying them as they come out.
Now, I would like to throw some recommendations for the PS line at you. I know that some of these may have already been suggested, and there's a possibility that they don't dovetail with the theme you've chosen for PS, but hey -- what can it hurt? If enough people yell loud enough for something . . .
Sword of Rhiannon
(I'm trying to build up the ultimate Leigh Brackett collection. Haffner's helping me with the short stuff. Can Paizo give me a hand with the novels, and so give me further assistance in my mad quest to utterly drain my bank account?)
The Dwellers in the Mirage -- A. Merritt
(An incredible, psychadelic fantasy about the reincarnation of a mighty Uighur warrior/godling who goes gold prospecting with his best friend, Cherokee mystic Jim Two Eagles, ends up finding a hidden magic city in the Alaskan hills and eventually confronts a freaky, black-tentacled god-thing from another dimension. Actually, a lot of Merritt's stuff needs back in print, man! He didn't write very many, so check 'em out! )
Citadel of Fear -- Francis Stevens
(Two adventurers enter a remote valley in Mexico that ultimately leads them to the lost city of Tlapallan, the land of Quetzalcoatl, which is perched above a fiery lake! The heroes become involved in a conflict between the devotees of Quetzalcoatl and those of Nacoc-Yaotl, who may even BE his own living statue! Guys go nuts! Some 1st-world dude learns about making artificial life from Tlapallan, and starts makin' him some monsters! It's a wham-bop-pow finish between monsters and people and everything else! This book has never seen a trade paperback or hardcover printing to my knowledge. Pity!)
The Book of Ptath -- A. E. van Vogt
(The Great God Ptath, thrice greatest Ptath, he whose strength is unlimited, who tires not, and knows no fear, rules mightily over the world of 200,000,000 A.D.! However, to keep flowing a steady infusion of human experience and spirit so that he doesn't fall out of touch with his mortal subjects, he "submerges himself in the race," reverse incarnating himself into the bodies of people of the past, sharing their triumphs and sorrows. But while he is doing this, one of his Goddess-wives, Golden Ineznia, pulls a vile trick on him! Can Holroyd, a WWII tank commander in whom Ptath was living, save the day after he is zapped, shocked and unknowing, into the mighty body of 200,000,000 A.D. Ptath? Maybe it's just me, but I *loves* da van Vogt! What about you guys?)
To my knowledge, all three of these fantasy classics are out of print. However, Merritt and Stevens have seen a *limited* resurgence in popularity. Merritt's The Moon Pool and it's sequel, The Metal Monster, are back in business via small and academic presses. Most of Francis Stevens shorter works are available from the Bison Frontiers of the Imagination series and Sense of Wonder press has published Claimed, one of her novels, at the recommendation of Forry Ackerman. If you guys think these two authors are good for ya, you better strike before the (relatively) hot iron cools!
Thanks again for the cool reprints!
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We've got three more Brackett's coming soon (The Ginger Star, The Hounds of Skaith, and The Reavers of Skaith), and we're in discussions about The Sword of Rhiannon. I'd frankly expect an announcement about that on in a couple of months.
I am only now getting into A. Merritt. Give me a little time with this author, and I will get around to him. So far I really like what I've read, and a great deal of it is out of print.
I'm not familiar with Stevens at all. We considered a few A.E. Van Vogt books early on, but most of them are spoken for. It'll probably be a while before we try that route again.
Thanks for the suggestions, and especially for the support!
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I wish I could write a positive thing about this book yet I am still waiting for it. It was allegedly mailed on December 28 and I have sent several emails this week asking about when I would be getting it after checking my mail for that day. None of the emails has been answered. Is your customer service that bad. Where is the book. Did I make a mistake not ordering this from amazon and at what point do I ask for a get a refund.
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