A challenge to you (Despoiler of the Golden Empire; 2-12-1959)

[galacticjourney]

Today's article is going to be quite brief, not because I don't have much to say, but because I want your input, and saying anything about the topic at hand will spoil it.

Suffice it to say, I have schlepped the March 1959 Astounding with me to Hawai'i in back (and the paper, as I left, mentioned that the territory is already planning a big party for its impending, but yet unscheduled, statehood). Yet I only got around to start reading it yesterday.


Illustration by Kelly Freas

The lead novella is Despoiler of the Golden Empire, by David Gordon (really the beloved Randall Garrett in disguise). Now, I want you to read this story, not because it is amazing, but because Randall is trying to do something here, and I want to know if you think he succeeded. I'll give my thoughts in the next article so you have time gather and communicate your thoughts.

"But I don't have the March 1959 Astounding!" I hear you wail. Fear not. I have graciously been granted permission by the author to freely distribute this piece. It thus follows this column entirely uncut and unexpurgated.

Despoiler of the Golden Empire by Randall Garrett.

Don't worry--there is no brutalization of women in this one. There are, in fact, no women. It's probably better that way.





(Confused? Click here for an explanation as to what's really going on)

Comments

[laurose8]

long, steel blades is rather a giveaway. But he certainly proves the basic idea, that real history is full of space opera.

I'm pretty sure the people who do like that sort of story loved it. I don't, and skimmed it most unfairly, just to make sure it wasn't going to be alternate history. (oot: about the only Aztec stories I do enjoy are alternate history: I rec Mack Reynolds' The Other Time amd Mary Rosenblum's 'Sacrifice' in Sideways in Crime Edit: sorry, this is Inca, of course. So, Michael Flynn 'Wings of a Buttefly'.)

[galacticjourney]

I'll give my thoughts more completely later so as not to spoil anything. Thanks for reading.

[glymr]

I read it and found it interesting, though like Laurose, I found myself skimming in places. I was on the lookout and guessed early on the reference that was being made, though I didn't quite follow through to the, er, literal truth until the end. I do have a few disputes with the author, but I will save them for a comment on your next post.

[rheasilvia]

Like the previous commentators, I skimmed through parts of the story, but I did read it. I found it unpleasant to read because of the subject matter, and the inherent distastefulness of the imperialistic conquerors point of view.

The allusion to the conquistadors was very clear from the beginning, as were the abundant, very close parallels.

The narrator provides no interpretive distance from the conquistadors; the reader sees the world at only a technical distance from the commander's own views, and all judgements appear to be the commander's own. That in the end the commander himself is termed "a better man than any of them" is merely the culmination of the distasteful point of view the narrative offers the reader. Given the actual events of the story, this last proffered and (to me) obviously false judgement appears the last nail in the coffin of the narrator's moral reliability and objectivity.

However, I am left entirely uncertain of whether or not the narrator is *intended* to be read like this. I have no idea whether the reader is meant to be repelled by the conquistadors, or to accept their imperialistic viewpoint and sympathize with them.

I rather have the impression that the reveal at the very end of the story was intended to bring about some kind of retroactive realization that turned the entire story on its head in the mind of the reader, prompting some kind of "aha!" moment of deeper insight. Perhaps even the reader's judgement over the right and wrong of the character's actions was intended to change (again, this is sheer assumption on my part). For me, it entirely failed in this.

I hadn't assumed the story was actually set on Earth starring actual conquistadors, but since the parallels were so slavishly close and even the narrative's judgements so stiflingly, imperialistically chained to what I assumed to be the historical template, the reveal prompted no actual retroactive realization or change in my view of the story. It simply made no difference to my feelings about the story whether it was scifi or historical fiction.

In that context, the reveal itself felt more like a cheap and pointless trick than anything else - an attempt at cleverness that fell flat on its face.

I can't help but wonder whether the criticism the author evidently received for the reveal wasn't due more to the fact that it seemed entirely pointless - and so felt both irritatingly smug and like a failure - than a lack of genre clues in the actual story, or anything else.

[galacticjourney]

Don't hold back for my sake... how do you really feel? :)

Actually, yours is just the kind of comment I was hoping for. Though, I'm not sure what I'll write day-after-tomorrow now. You've said it all better than I can.

[rheasilvia]

*g* Well, I really feel somewhat displeased with myself for buying several of this author's books once upon a time and thus putting money in his pocket.

I'm interested in hearing what you think about the story! And hey, if you want to, I'd be flattered if you felt like quoting me. ;)

[laurose8]

Butting in to say thank you for this very good assessment.

[rheasilvia]

I'm glad you think it's good! :-) I love talking about stories. And when they're bad stories, there's something so cathartic to it.

[johnny_pez]

I know enough history that I quickly recognized what episode the author was retelling (or, as it turned out, telling). The trouble is, the story doesn't work on its own terms. In order to keep the parallel working, Garrett had to describe an army that had a handful of energy weapons, and also swords, and nothing in between in terms of technological sophistication. It just didn't work for me.

[galacticjourney]

I believe Mr. Garrett would blithely inform you that black-powder weapons are a form of energy weapon--kinetic energy.

I mean, if an Empire can run on Gold-197 (anachronistically described), then arquebuses can be energy weapons. :)

Eh

[(Anonymous)]

Eh. I thought the illustrations gave away the gimmick. And that's all it is, really; a gimmick.

Surely this line cheats the reader at the game the author is playing:

The old, hopeful statement, "There's gold in them thar hills"

The hillbilly accent given to this "old" statement puts it far beyond the time we're talking about, doesn't it?

Victoria Silverwolf