Poul Anderson 1 hr 15 min read

Under Bram the Red, a thousand warriors of three clans fare south from Killorn against the Ganasthi of the lands of darkness, and with them travels the pipe of the gods, and young Kery son of Rhiach.

Poul Anderson's 1951 story is a rich, mythic post-apocalyptic sword-and-planet adventure. Vivid, poetic golden-age SF. Read it for early Anderson in full saga voice, a far-future Terra of clans and darkness-dwelling foes, where a young piper's uncanny instrument may turn the tide of war.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 15 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

Herman B. Vestal