The Star Kings [Hardcover]

Edmond Hamilton (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Fell; 1st edition (1949)
• ASIN: B000RBHPLY
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,281,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the Greatest Space Opera of all Time!, November 15, 1997

By 

Craig Chilton -- [e-mail] (Evansdale, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Kings (Mass Market Paperback)

It just doesn't get any better than this, folks! Not if you enjoy sci-fi, romance, and adventure, all rolled into one!

By means of a futuristic mind-transfer device, Zarth Arn, Prince of the Mid-Galactic Empire, is able to talk John Gordon, a 20th-century worker in a drab office, into exchanging minds with him for a few days so that he can pursue his hobby as an historian, and study old earth (250,000 years in the past!) first-hand.

But it all falls apart for both of them when John (in Zarth's body) is inexpectedly kidnapped by Shorr Kan, the galaxy's biggest villain, and leader of the League of Dark Worlds -- located within a large nebula, called The Cloud. Fortunately, Gordon is rescued in the nick of time, but then is ordered by the Emperor, Arn Abbas (Zarth's father) to return from the isolated laboratory on Earth, to Throon, capital world of the Mid-Galactic Empire, which circles the star, Canopus. There's just one hitch. No living person in that era knows of the mind-exchange, and Zarth had given John strict orders not to divulge that -- under ANY circumstances. So John's in the soup, and Zarth's stranded in the 20th century.

Thus, we see a stunned John Gordon suddenly within the halls of the Great Palace, in a future unimaginable... about to be married to the Princess Lianna of Fomalhaut Kingdom, in a marriage arranged by the Emperor.

To complicate things even more, John first meets Murn, who turns out to be Zarth's morganatic wife -- who adores him! How in the world can he marry Lianna after that, and thus betray Zarth so? But the Emperor demands it!

Wait. It gets even better! John meets Lianna two days before the ceremony and falls in love with her at first sight! And Lianna picks up the vibes... which really puzzles her, because she knows that the impending marriage is meaningless, other than to cement a political bond between the Empire and her kingdom.

I won't spoil things by telling you more, except that all of this groundwork occurs within the first few pages of this most delightful, and often heart-tugging romp, which finds Lianna and John suddenly flung back and forth across the galaxy together in a series of Cloud-perpetuated crises which ultimately leads to John's taking charge of a weapon capable of destroying the entire galaxy... the dreaded Disruptor. The plot moves at the rapid-fire pace of the film serials of old, with never a dull moment.

Edmond Hamilton is my favorite author, and this is my favorite book of all time. The only one I've ever read 9 times! If you're lucky enough to obtain a copy of THIS book, you'll always remember its exciting and haunting story... and you'll never let it out of your hands!

And WHAT a movie this will make, if Hollywood ever realizes what's its been missing. "Star Wars" is PALE by comparison to this!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An oldie, but definitely a must-read, April 23, 2000

By 

S. J. Mihic (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Kings (Mass Market Paperback)

I stumbled across The Star Kings shortly after I seriously got into SF, probably when I was about 12. This book blew my mind with its very colourful writing (love the characters' names) and the majestic sweep of the universe it presented. Sure the science is pretty badly dated, but if you can look past that, it's a rip-snorting tale as they say. This book still remains in my top 5, although I can't be sure that's not for sentimental reasons. I searched for about 5 years to find the sequel, Return to the Stars. For those who've read and loved this book, check out the campy movie Starcrash starring Marjoe Gortner next time it comes on late at night - the villian's name is Zarth Arn!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most fantastic space opera of all times, December 29, 2000

By 

Thierry Sarrazin (Grenoble, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Kings (Mass Market Paperback)

Star Kings is the best book I have ever read. It mixes a great space opera and love story through a non-stop adventure over the galaxy. Star Wars is a pale copy of this book but those who liked Star Wars will surely adore Star Kings. Don't miss the sequel "return to stars" !