Jon Del Arroz had a piece on science fiction writer John Brunner a few weeks ago at Fandom Pulse. John Brunner is one of my favorite “space opera” writers.
I pulled out a copy of Interstellar Empire and reread it this week. This is a D.A.W book (#208) originally published September 1976. The contents consist of three novellas reprinted from pulp and digest science fiction magazines.
The introduction, “On Standing on One's Own Feet” first was in Amra #36 from 1965. Brunner gives the background of Earth getting its hands on star-ships from a previous civilization and expanding through the galaxy without really understanding the technology. The star-ships broke down and the Empire fell apart.
“The Alter on Asconel” ran as a two part serial in IF, April and May 1965. A month later in July, it was half of an Ace Double in paperback. It is the earliest chronologically. Brother Spartak is interrupted in his studies by the arrival of his half-brother Vix. Vix brings word their brother, the Warden of Asconel has been assassinated. They journey to find another half-brother and pick up a telepathic mutant along the way. Asconel has been taken over by a new religious cult that has some oddities. There is an action filled ending with mystery of the cult revealed.
“The Man From the Big Dark” was in Science Fiction Adventures, June 1958 and reprinted in the anthology Great Science Fiction Adventures.
“Only one kind of man ever came out of that gaping hole in space– a pirate. And with a girl’s mutilated corpse on board his ship, what else could Terak be?”
Terak is on the run from his former boss space pirate with aspirations of conquest. The space pirates have the planet Klareth in their cross hairs. Terak organizes resistance to the conquest. There is sword fighting with space armadas. Glorious stuff.
“The Wanton of Argus” was in the pulp Two-Complete Science Adventure Books (Summer 1952). TCSAB was a companion pulp to Planet Stories. It ran short novels from L. Sprague de Camp (“The Tritonian Ring), Heinlein, Arthur C. Clark, and James Blish. Things are really degenerating in the Empire. A lost princess of Argus arrives for the funeral of her father the Emperor. There is skullduggery with two factions in the imperial family and quite a curve ball thrown in the plot towards the end that changes all perspective. Pulp goodness here. “The Wanton of Argus” was reprinted as The Space-Time Juggler in 1963 as an Ace Double novel (with another Brunner novel).
Interstellar Empire must have done well as there were four editions 1976-1986. You can generally find it at used bookstores with little problem.
Brunner was very prolific, but his best known books remain "Stand On Zanzibar" and "The Sheep Look Up'.