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H. Beam Piper Mailing List and Discussion Forum

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Welcome to the Zarthani.net H. Beam Piper mailing list and discussion forum. Initiated in October 2008 (after the demise of the original PIPER-L mailing list), this tool for shared communication among Piper fans provides an e-mail list and a discussion forum with on-line archives.
 
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^     All messages    << 1812-1827  1809-1811 of 2246  1793-1808 >>
1811
David "PiperFan" JohnsonPerson was signed in when posted
01-29-2018
03:55 UT
~
Traveller's Sword Worlds - Inspired by Piper

One of the most obvious ways in which the Traveller role-playing game's official "Third Imperium" campaign setting was influence by Piper's ~Space Viking~ is its "Sword Worlds Subsector," a frontier region which includes worlds like Gram and Excalibur and Joyeuse and Durendal. But a more compelling indication of the influence of ~Space Viking~ comes from a less well-known article which appeared in issue 20 of the ~Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society~ about a non-player character named Lucas Trask, er . . ., I mean, Gamaagin Kaashukiin.

Kaashukiin is the holder of a barony on a frontier world, during the era of the Fifth Frontier War, an interstellar conflict between the "Third Imperium" and the "Sword Worlds Confederation." Just before Kaashukiin is to be married, her betrothed is killed in an attack by a raiding starship called ~Enterprise~, er . . . I mean ~Excalibur~. Emotionally devastated by the death of her fiance', Kaashukiin vows revenge and sells her barony to purchase a mercenary starship which she names ~Retribution~ (one of the ship names Trask actually rejects before choosing ~Nemesis~). She hires a crew and takes her ship raiding on a hunt for ~Excalibur~.

Both ~Excalibur~ and ~Retribution~ are ~Broadsword~ class mercenary cruisers. Here's an illustration:

http://70sscifiart.tumblr.com/post/1433507...g-by-william-hkeith

Sure, they've made the bereaved former noble a woman and switched sides between Sword Worlds and Old Federation, er . . . I mean, Third Imperium, but it's impossible to read the article and not be reminded of the plot of Piper's ~Space Viking~.

(The Kaashukiin piece is credited to "Keith Douglas," the pseudonym of prolific Traveller contributors J. Andrew Keith and William H. Keith, Jr. William is the illustrator of the image linked above which appeared with the original article about the ~Broadsword~ class starships written by Traveller creator Marc W. Miller.)

"Royal Navy; smash the traitors first!"

David
--
"I don't know what plans you have for a next story project, but the world-picture you've been building up in the Sword Worlds stories, or Space Viking stories, or whatever you designate the series, offers some lovely possibilities." -- John W. Campbell (to H. Beam Piper)
~
1810
David "PiperFan" JohnsonPerson was signed in when posted
01-10-2018
03:16 UT
~
Thanks for your support

Once again, let me thank those of you who have made contributions to support the Piper discussion forum and mailing list for another year. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

David
--
"I always was a present-peeker [on] New Year's. . . ." - Elaine Karvall (H. Beam Piper), ~Space Viking~
~
1809
David "PiperFan" JohnsonPerson was signed in when posted
01-05-2018
15:19 UT
~
Expanded version of "The Return" on eBay

There is a copy of ~The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes~ on auction at eBay:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/192414428125

This is the anthology which includes the expanded version of "The Return" by Piper and McGuire. (The original version was published in the January 1954 edition of ~Astounding~.)

The price at the moment is fantastic for this item, though I imagine it will sell for a bit more.

Good luck!

David (not the seller)
--
"Why Walt Disney bought the movie rights to ['Rebel Raider'], I've never figured out. Will Colonel Mosby be played by Mickey Mouse, and General Phil Sheridan by Donald Duck? It's baffling. However, I was glad to get the check." -- H. Beam Piper, The Pennsy interview, 1953
~
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