Dwight V. Swain 2 hr 12 min read

Slack-faced and terrified, the captive Baemae woman is driven into the walled ring as the cruel Kukzuba barons press eagerly to the pit-rail, and Lord Zenaor chuckles at the sport to come.

Dwight V. Swain's 1954 story is a lurid, colorful military space opera of a savage arena world. Vivid, muscular golden-age pulp. Read it for a rousing tale of tyranny, blood-games, and rebellion on a planet of dread ruled by decadent, sadistic overlords.

In its time

Published in 1954, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

2 hr 12 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

W. E. Terry