Review - Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes

Review - Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes

Twenty years ago, five master criminals known as the Demon Princes raided Mount Pleasant to enslave thousands of inhabitants in the lawless Beyond. Now Morwen Sabine, a daughter of captives, has escaped her cruel master and returns to Mount Pleasant to recover the hidden treasure she hopes will buy her parents’ freedom.

But Mount Pleasant has changed. Morwen must cope with mystic cultists, murderous drug-smugglers, undercover “weasels” of the Interplanetary Police Coordinating Company, and the henchmen of the vicious pirate lord who owns her parents and wants Morwen returned. So he can kill her slowly…

If you are a fan of Jack Vance you will find plenty here to recognise as Hughes cleverly uses the stories of the Demon Princes saga to create a brand new addition to Vance’s world. However, if you are not familiar with those books, then do not be put off because this tidy little novel works just as well as a stand alone.

Our hero is the escaped slave, Morwen Sabine, once under the thumb of the notorious master criminal and space pirate Hacheem Belloch. The book begins with her re-entering a planet she has not set foot on since childhood, and we see it all through her eyes as the world of Jack Vance begins to form in a fresh perspective mirrored by her own.

Some years have passed since Morwen and her parents were taken from Mount Pleasant. Place names have changed, there are new laws and politics. Morwen arrives as a stranger in a strange land, unfamiliar to the locals and possibly in danger because Mount Pleasant has become a town where strangers are not taken kindly to. But Morwen has her own agenda, one that requires patience. First she needs to re-familiarise herself with Mount Pleasant and gain the people’s trust – and in this biding of her time there is a clever balance between tension and homely comfort as the reader follows her through the paces, living alongside her in this sci-fi world of space politics and local laws.

This book may not push quite so many buttons in terms of excitement and action – it is all there, but in each case things tend to get resolved rather quickly – but the tightly written prose is very commendable, there is no dwelling on backstory and the pace is fairly fast.

If you are after something light and easy to read, then this could be just the thing for you. It is suitable for all ages and you do not have to be familiar with Jack Vance to enjoy it – if you are a fan of Vance however, and have finished the Demon Prince series, then look no further for a highly respectable sequel.