The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett
"The Sword of Rhiannon" is a science fiction novel set in a distant future on Mars, where the remnants of an advanced civilization lie scattered across a cold and desolate landscape. The story follows Matt Carse, an Earth-born archaeologist who finds himself thrust into a tumultuous past after being tricked by a thief into discovering the tomb of Rhiannon, a once-feared god. Transported millions of years back in time, Carse navigates a Mars inhabited by various intelligent races, including humans and serpentine beings, and becomes embroiled in political intrigue and conflict.
As Carse grapples with his new reality, he is mistaken for a spy and faces enslavement. His rebellious spirit attracts both enemies and allies, particularly Ywain, a warrior princess of Sark. The narrative explores themes of power, betrayal, and identity, particularly as Carse becomes a vessel for Rhiannon's spirit. As tensions escalate between factions, Carse must confront his own autonomy while dealing with the godly presence within him. The climax reveals Rhiannon's true nature and ultimately leads to a resolution that reshapes the balance of power on Mars. The novel concludes with Carse and Ywain returning to their original time, leaving an indelible mark on their world through the legendary sword.
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The Sword of Rhiannon
First published: 1953 (serial form, “The Sea Kings of Mars,” Thrilling Wonder Stories, June, 1949)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—planetary romance
Time of work: An indefinite time in the future and the distant past
Locale: Mars
The Plot
The novel opens sometime in the future on Mars, a cold, dry world littered with the ruins of an advanced civilization. Matt Carse, a rogue archaeologist from Earth, is approached by a local thief who gives him a sword as proof that he has found the tomb of Rhiannon, a legendary evil god. In the tomb, however, the untrustworthy thief knocks Carse into a glowing mass of energy that throws him millions of years into the past, when Mars was the home of several competing intelligent races.
Carse finds himself in the capital of Sark, the human empire allied with a mysterious race that evolved from the Serpents who were tutored by Rhiannon before he was imprisoned by his fellow gods. Carse is mistaken for a spy from Khondor, a rival city, and enslaved in one of the galleys sailing the Martian oceans. His unbreakable independence attracts the attention and hostility of Ywain, the haughty warrior princess of Sark. In a confrontation, Carse overpowers her, kills her Serpent adviser, and seizes command of the ship.
Carse sails to Khondor, where humans cooperate with semihuman races whose native element is the sea or the sky. He is first welcomed but then is denounced by Emer, a princess who shares some of the aquatic Swimmers’ telepathic powers. She reveals that the spirit of Rhiannon was alive in his tomb and now inhabits the back of Carse’s mind. Briefly possessed by that spirit, Carse screams that Rhiannon repents helping the Serpents and wants to fight them, but no one believes him. They are willing, however, to let him draw a map showing Rhiannon’s tomb so they can get the scientific weapons hidden there.
Carse refuses to believe that Rhiannon has come over to the side of good, and he is extremely upset at having part of his brain occupied by another consciousness, evil or not. To escape Khondor, Carse plays the part of Rhiannon; once free, he flees to Sark. He is accompanied by Ywain, who reveals that she actually hates the Serpents even though her weak father, the king, is utterly dependent on them. Back in Sark, Carse discovers that the weapons from the tomb have been taken by the Serpents, and he demands that they be returned to him. Instead, with outward obeisance but hints of mockery, the Serpents take him to their underground city, turning off defenses that they erected millennia before against the repentant Rhiannon. At this point, Rhiannon, who had been hiding his presence from the semitelepathic Serpents, takes control of Carse and uses his weapons to kill all of his enemies.
Without its reptilian masters, Sark is willing to live peacefully with its neighbors. Ywain, however, is deposed. She and Carse return to the tomb, where the spirit of Rhiannon contacts his fellows (not actually gods but a race of extremely advanced human scientists who have passed beyond space and time) and is taken back into their company. Before he leaves, however, Rhiannon transports Carse and Ywain back to Carse’s native time. There, they attract everyone’s attention by their striking appearance and by the sword of Rhiannon, which Carse holds like a scepter.