By the Light of the Green Star: Mindless entertainment

By the Light of the Green Star by Lin Carter

By the Light of the Green Star continues the adventures of the crippled man from Earth who has taught his spirit to travel to an unknown planet where he inhabits healthy bodies and has exciting adventures. The previous volume, When the Green Star Calls, ended on a cliffhanger. Our hero is still in the body of the savage youth and he’s still trying to rescue the princess who he loves but who will not know him if he even manages to find her.

The story continues to be told in the first person, but our hero, who is now stranded with some unscrupulous companions on the dangerous forest floor, also narrates the events occurring simultaneously to the princess who is now a prisoner in a city in the air. Our narrator justifies his omniscience by saying he heard her side of the story later, but it doesn’t really work — it’s rather clumsily done.

But, this isn’t a novel to expect better from. This is something you read just for mindless entertainment, and mindless entertainment is something that By the Light of the Green Star does quite well. This time we get to visit an ornate flying city, fight giant worms, ride huge birds of prey, drink from cup-sized acorns, and travel down the river on a canoe made from a gigantic curled up leaf. The princess spends most of her time being a laboratory specimen. It’s nice to get to know her better (she actually has a personality!) and we meet several other fun heroes and villains.

This is the third GREEN STAR novel (there are five in the series) and though the adventure is still fresh, there is much repetition in the narrative. I haven’t decided if I’ll read the next installment or not. If Wildside Press produces it on audio, I probably will.

I’m glad that Wildside Press is starting to put old SFF on audio. These productions are well done and I plan to listen to several more I’ve seen in the Audible catalog. This is a great way for busy people to easily consume some classic SFF.