Introduction

The Sky People is part of a new series called the Lords of Creation by science fiction author SM Stirling. Its an interesting alternate history concept, sort of like Harry Turtledove's A World of Difference, but pulpier, but not as pulpy as Burroughs. Unlike A World of Difference, Venus is also habitable, and both worlds are inhabited by humans. From what SM Stirling has said in the past, its a tribute to the planetary romances of Burroughs and others, but with somewhat harder science and treated as an alternate history, which he's known for.

“Even Mars and Venus were taken from us a little later, their six-armed green men, canals, and dinosaurs replaced with a boring snowball of rust and a sulphuric-acid hell ...”

“Alternate history can give writer and reader a breath of fresher air, of unlimited possibility, of that world where horizons are infinite and nothing is fixed in stone; where beyond the last blue horizon waits the lost city, the people of marvels, the silver-belled caravan to Shamballah and the vacant throne...”

S.M. Stirling, “Shikari In Galveston,” Worlds That Weren't

Overview

At some point in the far distant past (200 million years or so), the history of this universe diverged from ours resulting in a habitable Mars and Venus. By the early 20^th century, scientists had spectrograms showing oxygen and nitrogen on both worlds. In the 1960's space probes to both worlds showed that both worlds were not only habitable and full of life, but inhabited by humans (or close enough). At this point history changes even more as the US and its allies (ANZAC, OAS, UK) and the EastBloc (USSR and China) emphasize the space race over global conflicts, pouring massive resources into it.

By the late 1980's both power blocs established bases on both worlds and are noting the disturbing similarities between life on Earth, Venus and Mars. Mars is dominated by the city state remnants of a global empire of hominids (they aren't human) with incredibly advanced biotechnology and are considered 'decadant' by the humans. Venus is inhabited by humans just getting into the bronze age with a single city on the planet, with a smattering of neanderthals, plus dinosaurs.

The Sky People is set on Venus in 1988 and follows the adventures of Lieutenant Marc Vitrac, United States Aero Space Force and a Ranger at Jamestown Base. Marc is one of Stirling's omni-comptent characters, but by the set up, he should be. “You had to be nearly Olympic caliber physically as well as qualified in two three degree equivalents to even get on the short list for Venus.” It opens with a Russian space probe in the 1960's landing on Venus and discovering human and neanderthal life before contact with the probe is lost.

From there, we leap forward twenty years as a space ship delivers a batch of new astronauts to Jamestown Base and we begin to get acquainted with the planet and its inhabitants. It has a lower gravity (.91 g) with a denser atmosphere and higher oxygen content, which combines to mean that wild fires are much more dangerous than on Earth and that there are lots of flying organisms. Large flying organisms. Large dangerous flying organisms, like the Quetza which can take a grown human. Shortly after this introduction the EastBloc shuttle Riga is lost under mysterious circumstances near where the first Russian probe landed, the Prohibited Zone. From there, its on to adventure, which is someone in deep trouble, far, far from home.

Venus is much more the star than Marc Vitrac and the others, and here are a few reasons why:

• Dinosaurs

  • Pterodactyls big enough to be a real threat. Like the Quetza.

  • Neo-dinosaurs because evolution has not stood still.

• Pleistocene mammals

  • Like dire wolves, saber tooth tigers and others.

• Primitive cultures

  • The first city of this world.

  • Wandering tribes.

  • Cultures entirely unlike those on Earth.

• It at least pays lip service to the economics of interplanetary travel (with a bullet costing $175 after transit costs).

• Cold war tensions between the US and its allies, and the EastBloc.

• More conducive to zeppelins (due to the pressure, low gravity) and the aforementioned economics – its kind of hard to transport gas across interplanetary distances.

• Its literally a setting built for adventure.

I'll admit I didn't like a few aspects of the book.

• That the forces behind the creation of the inhabitable Mars and Venus are called Alien Space Bats, after the soc.history.what-if entities responsible for the really implausible.

• Evil communists with a fiendish plan.

• Characters were a little stiff (at best).

Verdict

To be honest, the book is modern pulp, and its fun pulp, not great literature, but a lot of fun. And as some wise soul on rpg.net open pointed out that good games come from bad literature (or pulp), and I think this one has a lot to go for it as a possible game setting. And if you want a setting where your PC's have to contend with any and all of the above, why not borrow from this where all the hard work has already been done?

And for those of you that want a more sophisticated, the sequel, In The Courts of The Crimson Kings takes place on Mars among the intrigues of the Martians on their dying world. And while they are hominids, they are not homo sapiens with some very different brain function and very advanced biotechnology. For samples of both The Sky People and In The Courts of The Crimson Kings check out the S.M. Stirling website.