Barbarians of the Beyond
Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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.
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