The Viagens and Krishna Series by Catherine Crook De Camp
The Viagens and Krishna Series is a collection of science fiction novels and stories set in a richly imagined universe, featuring diverse characters and intricate plots. Central to the series are the themes of social hierarchy, love, adventure, and the clash between tradition and change. The narratives often revolve around characters from Earth who find themselves entangled in the lives of alien societies, leading to explorations of cultural differences and personal transformation.
Key stories within the series include "Rogue Queen," where a social outcast and an Earth scientist challenge their caste system, and "The Continent Makers," which follows a geophysicist's efforts to save his love while thwarting an alien invasion. The series also includes tales of adventure on the planet Krishna, such as "The Search for Zei," featuring a quest to rescue a kidnapped princess, and "The Hand of Zei," which reveals deeper personal connections and societal upheaval.
The narrative threads demonstrate a blend of action, romance, and philosophical questions about identity and connection across species, making the Viagens and Krishna Series notable within the science fiction genre. Each story contributes to a larger tapestry that reflects on human experiences through the lens of speculative fiction.
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The Viagens and Krishna Series
First published:Rogue Queen (1951), The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953), Cosmic Manhunt (1954), The Tower of Zanid (1958), The Search for Zei (1962), The Virgin and the Wheels (1976), The Hand of Zei (1963), The Hostage of Zir (1977), The Bones of Zora (1983), and The Swords of Zinjaban (1991)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Science fiction—future history
Time of work: The twenty-second century
Locale: Primarily Earth and the planet Krishna
The Plot
Catherine Crook de Camp, who occasionally collaborated with her husband, worked with him on the final two books of the Viagens/Krishna series. The other volumes were the work of L. Sprague de Camp alone.
Rogue Queen takes place on the planet Niond, where female worker Iroedh meets an Earth scientist who is visiting her caste-bound society. Iroedth is a social outcast and falls in love with a male drone named Antis. Iroedth and the Earthman rescue Antis from a scheduled execution, and they wander as outcast rogues. After they learn that their community’s diet inhibits sex hormones, Iroedth eats meat and becomes fully functional. She brings this news home, and her community realizes that their old caste system must crumble.
The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens is a collection of short stories and the novelette “The Continent Makers,” which is centered on Gordon Graham, a geophysicist helping design a new continent. He meets Jeru-Bhetiru, a beautiful Oirian, and falls in love with her. Alien agents capture the two, seeking information from Graham. He escapes and traces the gang to Ascension Island. He frees Jeru, destroys the gang, and stops an alien invasion, but he loses the girl.
In The Cosmic Manhunt, Victor Hasselborg goes to Krishna to find a merchant’s daughter, who intends to elope. Adventurer Anthony Fallon, her betrothed, becomes the corrupt king of Zamba during his attempt to smuggle guns against the embargo. Hasselborg kidnaps the girl and returns to Earth, and Fallon is imprisoned.
In The Tower of Zanid, Earth archaeologist Julian Fredro hires Fallon after Fallon has served his prison term. Fredro wants Fallon to guide him to an ancient tower guarded by the Yeshites. Fallon also accepts a contract to spy on the Yeshites. Disguised as Yeshite priests, Fallon and Fredro enter the tower and discover an arma-ment factory. The spies are caught, escape, and join an invasion of the tower. The Yeshites lose, and they sign a treaty.
The Virgin and the Wheels consists of two stories. “The Virgin of Zesh” is related to this series. On Krishna, Brian Kirwan and Gottried Bahr rescue American missionary Althea Merrick from Gorchakov, who has forced marriage on her and attempted to rape her. Kirwan, Bahr, and Merrick escape to a primitive island. Gorchakov pursues them, a battle ensues, and Yuruzh, a native prince, kills Gorchakov and rescues Althea. The two leave as lovers. “The Wheels of If,” the second story in the book, tells of lawyer Alister Park, who discovers that he is shifting between identities and entering an alternate reality called Vinland. His primary other-self is the powerful Bishop Scoglund of Vinland. Park becomes Vinland’s secretary of war and orchestrates political maneuvers until his lawyer-self is killed. As Bishop Scoglund, he presides over his own funeral.
In The Search for Zei, Earthman Dirk Barnevelt goes to Krishna to find missing scientist Igor Shtain. He learns that Shtain is a hostage of the Sunqar pirates. Barnevelt disguises himself as a Krishna warrior and travels to Qiriv, a royal matriarchal kingdom. The Sunqar pirates raid the palace and kidnap Princess Zei. The queen commissions Barnevelt to ransom Zei, and he enters the Sunqar stronghold where he finds Shtain. A fight breaks out, and Barnevelt and Zei escape, pursued by the pirates. Barnevelt and Zei are mutually attracted but are of different species, and Zei’s royal status precludes permanent relationships.
In The Hand of Zei, Barnevelt and Zei hike inland and find her homeland. The queen rewards Barnevelt and makes him commander of an allied assault on the Sunqar. Barnevelt rescues Shtain and defeats the pirates. He learns that Zei actually is human and was adopted so that her mother could retain her throne. The two are married and overturn the social order.
The title character of The Hostage of Zir is Fergus Reith, a tour guide assigned to a group of boorish Earthers on Krishna. A rebel leader kidnaps them to bargain for arms. Reith escapes, frees his group, and learns that his tourists will be deported.
In The Bones of Zora, Morat and Foltz, two quarreling paleontologists, dig for specimens of Krishna’s past. Fergus Reith, Morat’s guide, finds his former wife, Alicia, held captive by Foltz. He rescues her, and the three escape an attack by the enraged Foltz. A priest cult captures Reith and Morat. Alicia rescues them, but pirates capture the three. They escape, Morat and Alicia leave for Earth, and Reith prepares for his next tour.
Twenty-two years later, the three meet again in The Swords of Zinjaban. Alicia is an executive for a visiting film crew, and she contracts with Reith and Monat to assist the crew. Reith and Alicia help the film crew find locations and bail them out of misadventures with Krishnans, wild beasts, and misplaced sexual advances on both Reith and Alicia. They meet the reformed Anthony Fallon while attempting to reconcile. A Krishnan leader kidnaps Alicia, and Reith and Fallon rescue her. Reith and Alicia decide to remarry. The film crew battles angry Krishnans and the director cheats Reith out of his pay, but the wedded couple establish a new life.