Barbarians of the Beyond
- Downloads：3575
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-20 08:51:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Hughes
- ISBN：1619474050
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Twenty years ago， five master criminals known as the Demon Princes raided Mount Pleasant to enslave thousands of inhabitants in the lawless Beyond。 Now Morwen Sabine， a daughter of captives， has escaped her cruel master and returns to Mount Pleasant to recover the hidden treasure she hopes will buy her parents’ freedom。
But Mount Pleasant has changed。 Morwen must cope with mystic cultists， murderous drug-smugglers， undercover “weasels” of the Interplanetary Police Coordinating Company， and the henchmen of the vicious pirate lord who owns her parents and wants Morwen returned。 So he can kill her slowly…
Barbarians of the Beyond is a return to “Jack Vance Space” and space-opera derring-do that follows in the science fiction Grandmaster’s footsteps。
But Mount Pleasant has changed。 Morwen must cope with mystic cultists， murderous drug-smugglers， undercover “weasels” of the Interplanetary Police Coordinating Company， and the henchmen of the vicious pirate lord who owns her parents and wants Morwen returned。 So he can kill her slowly…
Barbarians of the Beyond is a return to “Jack Vance Space” and space-opera derring-do that follows in the science fiction Grandmaster’s footsteps。
Reviews
Clement Kent
，
Well done， Mr。 Hughes！ I enjoyed reading Jack Vance's Demon Princes novels years ago。 Barbarians of the Beyond captures much of the flavor of Vance， including his dry， understated humor。 Unlike Vance， the central character， Morwen， is a woman。 Hughes shows Morwen growing and changing throughout the novel， a welcome improvement on many sci-fi novels。 Well done， Mr。 Hughes！ I enjoyed reading Jack Vance's Demon Princes novels years ago。 Barbarians of the Beyond captures much of the flavor of Vance， including his dry， understated humor。 Unlike Vance， the central character， Morwen， is a woman。 Hughes shows Morwen growing and changing throughout the novel， a welcome improvement on many sci-fi novels。 。。。more
Carl Barlow
，
Set in the same universe as Jack Vance's Demon Princes sequence， BotB is really only incidently connected to what many consider some of Vance's best work - but that doesn't mean Hughes' efforts aren't worth your time。Born into slavery after the notorious raid that initiated the original work， the novel's heroine escapes， her only purpose in life to pay for her parents' freedom。 What follows is a fairly sombre （though often quietly humorous）， and almost retro account of her escapades with various Set in the same universe as Jack Vance's Demon Princes sequence， BotB is really only incidently connected to what many consider some of Vance's best work - but that doesn't mean Hughes' efforts aren't worth your time。Born into slavery after the notorious raid that initiated the original work， the novel's heroine escapes， her only purpose in life to pay for her parents' freedom。 What follows is a fairly sombre （though often quietly humorous）， and almost retro account of her escapades with various pirates （though never any of the infamous Demon Princes - they do get mentions （as does Kirth Gerson）， but no guest starrings）， unwanted advances， secret planets， good and bad food， wary friendships， and dead cats。Hughes seems very restrained here （unlike his Dying Earth-connected novels and stories）， very matter-of-fact and un-flashy， giving us the facts and nothing but the facts， ma'am。 This results in a well-constructed， relatively simple -yet also rather subtle- tale that certainly evokes Vance but in no way seeks to ape him。 A worthy tribute。 。。。more
Chris Morton
，
If you are a fan of Jack Vance you will find plenty here to recognise as Hughes cleverly uses the stories of the Demon Princes saga to create a brand new addition to Vance’s world。 However， if you are not familiar with those books， then do not be put off because this tidy little novel works just as well as a stand alone。Our hero is the escaped slave， Morwen Sabine， once under the thumb of the notorious master criminal and space pirate Hacheem Belloch。 The book begins with her re-entering a plane If you are a fan of Jack Vance you will find plenty here to recognise as Hughes cleverly uses the stories of the Demon Princes saga to create a brand new addition to Vance’s world。 However， if you are not familiar with those books， then do not be put off because this tidy little novel works just as well as a stand alone。Our hero is the escaped slave， Morwen Sabine， once under the thumb of the notorious master criminal and space pirate Hacheem Belloch。 The book begins with her re-entering a planet she has not set foot on since childhood， and we see it all through her eyes as the world of Jack Vance begins to form in a fresh perspective mirrored by her own。Some years have passed since Morwen and her parents were taken from Mount Pleasant。 Place names have changed， there are new laws and politics。 Morwen arrives as a stranger in a strange land， unfamiliar to the locals and possibly in danger because Mount Pleasant has become a town where strangers are not taken kindly to。 But Morwen has her own agenda， one that requires patience。 First she needs to re-familiarise herself with Mount Pleasant and gain the people’s trust – and in this biding of her time there is a clever balance between tension and homely comfort as the reader follows her through the paces， living alongside her in this sci-fi world of space politics and local laws。This book may not push quite so many buttons in terms of excitement and action – it is all there， but in each case things tend to get resolved rather quickly – but the tightly written prose is very commendable， there is no dwelling on backstory and the pace is fairly fast。If you are after something light and easy to read， then this could be just the thing for you。 It is suitable for all ages and you do not have to be familiar with Jack Vance to enjoy it – if you are a fan of Vance however， and have finished the Demon Prince series， then look no further for a highly respectable sequel。 。。。more
Dave
，
Good， short novel。 Very much in the style of Jack Vance， a little dryer and more violent than he would have written。 Matthew Hughes is a very talented author， this is very much worth your time。
Jordi
，
Feels like the glory days of space opera。
Hans van der Veeke
，
After years of absence I finally drive up to my old neighborhood again。 Somehow they knew。 All my old friends are there。 The beyond， the ipcc， deweaseling， interchange， SVU， Extant and even Unspiek， Baron Bodissey is lurking somewhere around a corner。 That’s what it feels like for me reading the Barbarians of the Beyond。 I did not realize how much I missed reading the stories of Vance。 Matthew Hughes did a fine job creating this story。 The atmosphere is very Vancian。 In Morwen I can imagine a fe After years of absence I finally drive up to my old neighborhood again。 Somehow they knew。 All my old friends are there。 The beyond， the ipcc， deweaseling， interchange， SVU， Extant and even Unspiek， Baron Bodissey is lurking somewhere around a corner。 That’s what it feels like for me reading the Barbarians of the Beyond。 I did not realize how much I missed reading the stories of Vance。 Matthew Hughes did a fine job creating this story。 The atmosphere is very Vancian。 In Morwen I can imagine a female Kirth Gersen。 Resourceful and focused to the task。 I like the way he weaves the story into Vance’s realm by mentioning little details from those stories。 That make it a seamless fit into the Demon Princes。 But where Gersens story stopped when he achieved his goal， Morwens continued with more action and a proper ending。 I am really looking forward to reading more of his stories。 And for now I would like to conclude with noxxifloxxibohintafedang。 If you don't understand it， I can only advise you; read the book。 。。。more
Mark Jensen
，
This is an excellent novel in Jack Vance's "Demon Princes" universe， and was authorized by Vance's estate。 If one did not know better， one might think it was written by Vance himself。 It has all the hallmarks of a good Vance novel--young hero （heroine in this case） placed in difficult situations， and must overcome those situations by intelligence and quick wits。 Along the way we meet interesting major and minor characters with quirky names。 The descriptions fit the Vance mold--food， clothing （al This is an excellent novel in Jack Vance's "Demon Princes" universe， and was authorized by Vance's estate。 If one did not know better， one might think it was written by Vance himself。 It has all the hallmarks of a good Vance novel--young hero （heroine in this case） placed in difficult situations， and must overcome those situations by intelligence and quick wits。 Along the way we meet interesting major and minor characters with quirky names。 The descriptions fit the Vance mold--food， clothing （always just slightly flamboyant by our standards）， locales。 I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and if you like Jack Vance， you will too。 。。。more
Christopher Gerrib
，
I've heard of Jack Vance but can't remember reading much if anything from him。 I'm much more familiar with Matthew Hughes。 When I heard he got commissioned to write a science fiction novel set in Vance's Five Demon Princes universe， I decided to broaden my horizons。 I'm glad I did。Again， having not read much Vance， I can't say how closely Hughes has gotten to Vance's style。 What I can say is he's taken what sounds like an interesting world and created a fun and quick tour of it。 Our protagonist， I've heard of Jack Vance but can't remember reading much if anything from him。 I'm much more familiar with Matthew Hughes。 When I heard he got commissioned to write a science fiction novel set in Vance's Five Demon Princes universe， I decided to broaden my horizons。 I'm glad I did。Again， having not read much Vance， I can't say how closely Hughes has gotten to Vance's style。 What I can say is he's taken what sounds like an interesting world and created a fun and quick tour of it。 Our protagonist， Morwen Sabine， was abducted and enslaved as a child alongside the entire village of Mount Pleasant by the Five Demon Princes。 20 years later， she's freed herself and returned， for reasons unknown。 In the interim， the village has been taken over by a religious cult and renamed Mount Dispensation。 It becomes very clear that the cult has been taken over by a criminal and is a front for a drug running operation。 They are not fond of strangers， especially ones who might think they have a claim to the old town。Hughes uses this very interesting set of problems and tells an interesting tale of intrigue， piracy and a daughter seeking to free her parents。 Interestingly enough， nobody in this tale is exactly who they seem at first blush， and there are no morally-pure characters。 I found it a quick and entertaining read。 It's a new and worthy entrant into the classic space opera genre。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Barbarians of the Beyond
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Barbarians of the Beyond&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft