Book log: Colin Kapp -- The Wizard of Anharitte

[julesjones]

Book 92

Anharitte is the port city on a feudal planet whose location makes it an important hub in interstellar commerce. The Free Traders' local agent, Tito Ren, is charged with ensuring that things run smoothly. Alas for Ren, a powerful wizard is educating his slaves well beyond what is needed for them to do their tasks, and it's clear that the wizard is intent on brewing exactly the sort of social disruption that could cause trouble for trade. It's also clear to Ren that the wizard is no wizard, but an import like himself, using advanced technology to create his magic. Proving this to the local authorities is another matter, and Ren embarks on a little local war with the Imaiz, a careful balancing act that he keeps within the accepted practices of the society he's working within. Ren's problem is that he finds himself ever more in sympathy with the Imaiz's goals, while still wanting to keep faith with his employers.

It's a short novel by current standards, but there's plenty packed into it, from the entertainment of the cat-and-mouse game, to the careful description of Anharrite's culture, to the depiction of Ren's growing moral quandary. This is one of the books I happily re-read every so often.

LibraryThing entry

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting... I went off classic fantasy to an extent some time ago, but am thinking of trying it again and seeing if I can go back, err, onto it :)

[julesjones]

It's definitely sf, but it has a fantasy feel because the action is entirely on a feudal planet that hasn't seen much social change since the coming of interstellar trade. It's a nice demonstration of "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Ren is from a high tech culture and given a few hours or days can work out how the Imaiz does things like causing an explosion in a locked warehouse, but the locals have no hope of doing so; not because they're stupid, because they aren't, but because they don't have the base level of experience with technology.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it was something of a departure for Kapp, whom I always associate with the hard SF of his ingenious Unorthodox Engineers stories.

[julesjones]

Oddly, you can see him drawing on some of the same techniques in this. The "wizard" is using technology, and doing so in a creative way. The difference is that it's one element in a novel-length story, rather than the main point of a short story.