There was some discussion on this blog and on Facebook a while back about Alfred Coppel and his work, and this novella sounded particularly intriguing, so I hunted up a copy and read it. "The Rebel of Valkyr" is set during the era of the Second Galactic Empire, following the collapse of the First Empire and the thousand-year-long Dark Age that resulted. Space travel still exists, but only a very select few--shamans, sorcerers, warlocks--know how to operate the ships. Technology of other sorts is banished and feared. So the galaxy is ruled by star-kings and warlords and an emperor. In the past, that leader has been benevolent, but his son, backed by the late emperor's consort, has taken over even though the crown should have gone to his older sister. And the Imperial Consort and her corrupt lackeys are plotting to solidify their hold on power, even if it means murder. The true empress's only hope is a young rebel star-king who is part of a fledgling rebellion bent on overthrowing those who have seized power illegally.
I swear, George R.R. Martin must have read this story at some point. This is a space opera version of GAME OF THRONES, or maybe I should say GAME OF THRONES is a fantasy version of "The Rebel of Valkyr", since the novella was published in the Fall 1950 issue of PLANET STORIES, with the usual great Allen Anderson cover. I don't know, of course, whether or not Martin ever read this story, and most of his inspiration came from English history, but still, there are some striking similarities. "The Rebel of Valkyr" is definitely science fiction, though, despite the swords and the armies mounted on horseback. The big twist at the end involving one of the villains is very much SF in nature.
Mostly, "The Rebel of Valkyr" is just great fun. Fast-paced, with lots of action and epic sweep and colorful settings, I would have raced through it in one sitting if I'd read it back in the Sixties on my parents' front porch on a lazy summer morning. It's the first thing I've read by Coppel, but it won't be the last. He expanded this story into a three-novel series published by Harcourt in the late Sixties under the pseudonym Robert Cham Gilman, then added a prequel novel in the Eighties. I have all four of those volumes on hand and look forward to reading them.
7 comments:
THE REBEL OF RHADA, first of the Gilmore books, is virtually a re-telling of THE REBEL OF VALKYR...
Tsk, tsk. Gilman, not Gilmore, as far as I know.
Actually, his pseudonym last name was "Gilman" not "Gilmore."
Absolutely right, it's "Gilman". I've corrected the post. Thanks for the heads-up, guys.
As a mystery reader, the first I knew of Coppel was his "big" book about the Middle East, THIRTY-FOUR EAST (1974).
Thanks for recommending this author and story. I just finished it this morning, and it's everything you said it would be -- a captivating read!
I have Coppel's WARRIOR-MAID OF MARS queued up as well.
Enjoyed your review.
-Will Robertson
I encountered this in Brian Aldiss's 70s wonderful anthology Galactic Empires, which came out just ahead of the public going for space opera in a big way via that one movie. Have never forgotten the imagery of starship holds full of horses and armor clad warriors, swords and battle axes in hand, ready to do battle.
It was in the preface of Brian's book that I was also introduced to this classic comment of CS Lewis's on SF/fantasy being constantly under attack as mere escapism:
‘I never fully understood it until my friend Professor Tolkein asked me the very simple question “What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and most hostile to, the idea of escape?” and gave the obvious answer: jailers.’
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