First published 1972. New English Library paperback, 1979, pp190, c.69,000 words.
This is a picaresque tale of someone growing up while travelling around the galaxy which has been peopled with humans and aliens. It could just as easily have been a time-traveller on Earth visiting different periods of history: Romans, Vikings, the Slave Trade, the American Wild West and religious communities, such as the Amish. One episode is a direct lift from The Seven Samurai (also lifted by The Magnificent Seven). While each has been distorted or exaggerated in some way, they are all easily recognisable.
Del Whitby has been raised on a backwater planet that has a strong religious culture to which he fully subscribes. He feel and looks different from the rest of his tribe, but his fast reactions and cunning allow him to survive and thrive amongst his taller and stronger contemporaries. This is a classic story kick-off: the outsider seeking his origins, and hence himself.
One day, slavers call at his planet, and the peace-loving people are defenceless. Del saves his girl by distracting the slavers but is taken himself, and so his quest begins: to learn of his real parentage and to get back home. Thus we are set off on a journey around a variety of planets. Along the way we are given some history lessons about the origin of galactic expansion [p73] and the decline of ‘Old Earth’ [p75] as well as some of the races, e.g. the Tarquinians [p32]. Some aliens are rather human-like and can interbreed with them [p76], which seems extremely unlikely.
There is a considerable amount of violence, not surprisingly given some settings, such as the gladiatorial arena, but also almost everywhere else. This is an exaggerated America where might-is-right and gun-rule the law. Through it all, Del is a rather credulous character: for example, when taking on a job he is told that there will be certain deductions from his massive pay, but he never asks what those deductions will be [p116]. Inevitably, he ends up with almost nothing.
There are one or two really imaginative ideas amongst the human history re-hash. Some ‘quarantined planets’ are truly alien [p122] and somewhat reminiscent of the planet Solaris in Lem’s great work.
There are some amusing passages, including one where names get mangled: ‘Buffalo Jack, Jimmy the Kid and the Great White Earp’ [p128]. Another runs: ‘ “It’s a technique of unarmed defence taught on Iboki VI. They claim it goes all the way back to Japan, on Old Earth.” “Who was Japan?” I asked. “I think it was a city in the Pacific States. Whatever it was, they used to specialise in defensive techniques. They also made cameras.” ‘ [p141].
Morressy writes in a fluid, easily read manner. There are no literary fireworks on display here. It is a light-weight, amusing tale, and while not particularly inventive, is entertaining enough, particularly for those who love violence and guns.
Wikipedia biography of Morressy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Morressy
Independent obituary of Morrissy: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-morressy-6104083.html
Others’ reviews of the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1975339.Starbrat?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_9
© William John Graham, October 2023