Leigh Brackett, The Hounds of Skaith
Aug. 27th, 2012 09:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)

Skaith is a dying planet, like the Mars of the earlier Stark stories, but it's dying in a different way than Mars. Essentially the sun -- the ginger star -- is dying, and the planet is slowly cooling down from the poles toward the equator. As the population was pushed toward the equator, a despotic government formed to control the remaining fertile territory. In the frozen wastelands of the north (and presumably the south) people have evolved into mindless animals or lawless bands of thugs. In earlier days when the planet's civilization was at its height, some humans chose to be genetically modified into other forms. For example, in this second book we meet a race of genetically modified bird people, but the catch is that the modification failed to actually give them full flight ability. On the other hand, they have a mysterious ability to control the wind that is pure super science wizardry.
Stark is a mercenary, and his skill is war. The despots of Skaith want to prevent people from leaving the planet, because they live off the people. Stark's goal is to break the power of the despots so that people can choose to emigrate off-world if they want to. The Hounds of Skaith is about his efforts to organize the oppressed groups to rise up against the despots. The real attraction of these books, I think -- aside from the interesting parts of the world-building -- is Brackett's tough-mindedness. She doesn't dwell on battle, but her writing about strategy and fighting is very compelling. It's unsentimental, focused, and brutal.
That said, I still find these books lacking in depth. While Brackett does a good job -- better in the second book -- of describing the political stakes, I find it hard to care much. It's possible that it's just not my cup of tea. The stories of hers I prefer are the downbeat ones full of wild, inexpressible feelings and tragic loss. These Skaith novels don't feel as though anything is at stake, although at the same time Brackett displays an admirable ability to see all sides. Even the despots get a chance to argue their cause, which is stability. Even those who fight for freedom are also afraid of change.
Well, now that I've read the second book, I'm tempted to read the third just for completion's sake. Next up, however, is her award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind, which is about James Beckwourth, who was born into slavery in Virginia in 1798 but became a mountain man and trapper.
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