Science Fiction from 1950 originally serialised in the magazine Astounding science fiction. It reads like one of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom stories and can be categorised in the subgenres of sword and sorcery or sword and planet. Apparently L. Sprague De Camp was critical of Burroughs' technological and biological absurdities and wanted to present a more logical updated environment, which would be more convincing. This does not stop him from writing a fast paced adventure story, but it does restrict him a little in the creation of a fantasy world that has an innocence that carries all before it. His love story for instance has more realism and more sex, but I kind of miss Burroughs' easy skating along the surface of these themes.

The story line is not without interest. An important man in an American company has been captured by a pirate group while he was negotiating with representatives on another planet. Dirk Barnevelt is recruited to travel to the planet Krishna to get him back. Krishna is an undeveloped world that is populated by humanoids living in a sort of medieval society and modern inventions are forbidden to be exported to the planet. Dirk therefore has to brush up on his swordsmanship to swashbuckle his way through Krishna. He must first deal with a matriarchal society on the continent of Qirib who have a connection with the pirates who are producing a gas that subordinates all males to their female counterparts. Dirk (who has a mother fixation on his home planet) falls in love with the Zei the heir apparent on Qirib, who is captured by the pirates and so there are added complications to his quest. The story is handled pretty well by de Camp with some nice plot twists and can be enjoyed for its 1950ish horror of women being in control.

My copy of the book published by Baen Publishing Enterprises contains some illustrations by Edd Cartier, which are reason enough for owning a copy. I quite enjoyed this and so three stars. ( )

For its time (1950 when originally serialized in Astounding), a competently written adventure, but more about sailing and small scale warcraft than science fiction. The two sides of this Ace Double form one story. A brief chapter on Earth, more in the style of Pohl and Kornbluth than what follows, sends our hero to a planet of pre-industrial age humanoid aliens. His original goal is to find and bring back a missing media safari star. It quickly moves into the usual white Earth man bringing his civilized smart ways to the backward population. If only this were the only weakness in the story. Unfortunately, some wince-inducing misogyny in the first half (Search) becomes the dominant element in the second (Hand), as our hero not only endeavors to rescue the alien princess, but undo the matriarchy that survives only because of a drug that makes men slaves of women. Fie! ( )