Philip José Farmer's debut novel takes the ancient formula of The Odyssey and blasts it into a far-future primitive world where a stranded spaceman must navigate a barbarian court to survive. Alan Green has spent two years as a slave on the violent planet Tropat after his ship went down, serving as kitchen foreman to the ruthless Duke while dreaming of his wife Amra and children waiting on Earth. When Green discovers two other Earthmen imprisoned in a neighboring city, his quiet resignation shatters into a daring plan for escape. The novel crackles with the kind of rollicking, swashbuckling energy that defined early pulp adventure: treacherous nobles, superstitious locals, a jealous guard dog named Alzo, and theconstant threat of violence in a society ruled by cruelty and power. Farmer's wit cuts through the swashbuckling like a blade, earning this book its reputation as sheer fun. It's science fiction as pure escapism, a man against a strange world, fighting not just for his life but for the chance to go home.
