Brackett in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Margaret (Douglass) Brackett and William Franklin Brackett, an accountant and aspiring writer. Harry Turtledove, the modern master of ‘alternate history’ provides the introduction and the book is adorned with Frank Kelly Freas’ vintage illustrations from the 1953 reprint of ‘ Lorelei of the Red Mist.’ In a review of Martian Quest: The Early Brackett, Paul di Filippo says ‘Plainly, Brackett was growing with every story she wrote, not yet 30 years old by the volume’s end, with the best yet to come.’ Lorelei of the Red Mist: Planetary Romances is where some of that ‘best’ can found.Leigh Brackett (December 7, 1915–March 18, 1978), known among science fiction fans as the “Queen of Space Opera,” was born Leigh C. Picking up where Martian Quest: The Early Brackett left off, this volume collects 12 more tales of strange adventures on other worlds from the undisputed ‘Queen of Space Opera.’ Drawn from Planet Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories pulp magazines, this tome revels in the 1946 titular collaboration with Ray Bradbury who also contributes an original poem about Leigh Brackett as well as an essay about meeting & working with Brackett. CONTENTS THE STAR KINGS by Edmond Hamilton ‘Queen of the Martian Catacombs’ by Leigh Brackett ‘Enchantress of Venus’ by Leigh Brackett ‘Black Amazon of Mars’ by Leigh Brackett RETURN TO THE STARS by Edmond Hamilton ‘ Stark and the Star Kings‘ by Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett

Can Stark persuade the Star Kings to put aside their political games long enough to defeat this threat to the whole universe? For the first time, admirers of both authors can enjoy this long coming story. Stark and the Star Kings In their only formal collaboration, Hamilton’s Star Kings and Brackett s Eric John Stark meet to confront a peril of unending doom. Gordon reluctantly assumes the role of Zarth Arn to prevent Shorr Kan from throwing the entire universe into interstellar anarchy! ERIC JOHN STARK Forged in the hellish heat of Mercury and tempered on the desert sands of Mars, Eric John Stark battles the forces of evil and tyranny, selling his sword arm to defend the cause of justice among worlds of sin and decay. Shorr Kan, Lord of the Dark Worlds, schemes to kill Zarth Arn and overthrow the alliance of the Star Kings. John Gordon is torn from his 20th Century humdrum into otherworldly intrigue as he exchanges bodies with Prince Zarth Arn, heir to the Kingdom of Fomalhaut.

THE STAR KINGS 200,000 years from now the universe is divided into stellar kingdoms.

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