The Ginger Star

Brackett's pulp hero Eric John Stark returns. His parents are from Earh but he spent his childhood on Mercury. After his parents died, a native tribe adopted and raised him, and he doesn't consider himself a civilized man. After his foster parents were killd, Simon Ashton took the young, barbaric Eric in. Ashton works for the galactic goverment and now he's missing. He went to a newly found planet, Skaith, and hasn't been heard from since. Stark goes after him.

Much like Brackett's (and Burrough's) Mars, Skaith is an ancient, dying planet where the current people live among the ruins of old civilizations, killing and robbing each other. Off-worlders aren't welcome and are confined to stay in just one of the city-states. Indeed, most of the population has trouble with the whole concept of other people living on other planets. Some of the consider the whole idea blasphmy. However, when Stark finds out that the local equivalent of law, the Wandsmen, have taken Ashton, he's determined to search the whole planet if need be. Much to his surprise, he hears that he is now the focus of local prophesy: he's the Dark Man who will destoy the Lords Protector and lead people away from dying Skaith. But the mythical and tyrannical Lord Protector and their Wandsmen want to stop anyone from leaving Skaith. Stark must defend himself from constant attacks awhile looking for Ashton. Some locals could be allies but can he trust them?

The Ginger Star is a grim book. The people of Skaith are oppressed by the Wandsmen and by their own limiting beliefs. They're often hungry and cold. The Wandsmen's minions are the Farers who keep the other people in line with violence. The Farers are often naked and don't do any other work. The planet has several humanoid races which are apparently results of human groups inbreeding too much and/or genetic engineering. The children of the sea live in waters and have gills. They're also cannibals and make any urse of water very dangerous. The human groups practice human scarifice. Some throw sacrifices to the sea creatures, others sacrifice humans to the Old Sun.

The book has several named female characters. They all have lives away from Stark and some have even high social standing. Almost all of them are naked when we meet them.

After Stark lands on Skaith, we don't see much use of science. His weapons are taken away so he has to use knife and sword and his bare hands to fight.

This is a fast-paced book and a good addition ot the pulp genre. Considering the shortness of the book, the world-building is amazing. Again, people aren't described much but the places and setting is vivid. It doesn't in a cliffhanger but it's definitely not the end of Stark's adventures on Skaith.