Part first contact story, part humour, this wide-ranging SF
adventure KING OF A THOUSAND SUNS starts in San Quentin
where Rod Smith, a prisoner who admits starting a fire in a
National Park, provides his unlikely explanation for the
deed. Having met arrivals from another planet, in the
equivalent of a spaceship life raft, the good ol' boy
bartered with them and left Earth just to see what is out
there in the galaxy.
Becoming KING OF A THOUSAND SUNS isn't easy, and among
other tasks along the way Rod is required to fight duels to
the macabre death, shoulder responsibility for a harem and
assume control of thriving interstellar businesses. Tough
job, but this former Air Force man feels someone's got to
do it. Living according to the principles of the Galactic
civilisation is exhausting, dangerous and rewarding, and
Rod - inadvertently at first, then deliberately - makes
major changes to the social constructs on many planets. He
decides to abolish slavery and end multi-generational
feuds, which oddly enough gains him much popularity and
more planets to rule. This is a wild ride, with lively
imagination and occasional passages of hard detail, for
instance about the prison life or deer hunting, which keep
the tale grounded.
Among my favourite incidents are when Rod arrives at a
tourist world restaurant accompanied by a large Bengal
tiger called Kitty; and when he directs his spaceship
captain to take him to his headquarters on another planet,
not realising that the planet is instantly renamed
Headquarters, kingly decree being what it is. With one
particular lady however he meets his match. The reactions
of the prison psychologist as Rod explains how matters work
around the galaxy are also amusing, because this man
naturally writes the prisoner off as delusional.
Some passages contain strong language, violence or mature
content, so I don't recommend the read to Young Adult
readers. For those who enjoy space fantasy tales full of
personality and surprises, James T Stewart has created a
lively adventure in KING OF A THOUSAND SUNS to keep you
chuckling.
Rod Smith is a prisoner in San Quentin following an arson
conviction for setting a fire to a long dead, fallen juniper
tree in a lava bed over 250 yards from anything flammable in
or near Devil’s Garden in extreme northern California. Rod
set the fire to call attention to his dad's pickup truck
which he was leaving nearby because he was joining a father
and son in a space ship which had run out of fuel, marooning
its two occupants. Rod bartered with them, offering fuel in
exchange for the ship! The story is being related to “V.D.,”
i.e., “Victor P. Davies,” prison psychologist, with his own
problems.
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