Teaser

When the federation fell, the galaxy was left in darkness. Out of that darkness arose the mighty Empire. Yet even empires do not last forever, and history has a habit of repeating itself . . .

Review

All good things must come to an end, and after almost two decades, I can finally say I’ve read all of H. Beam Piper’s Federation stories. Thankfully, there are more stories by Piper out there for me to find, but this is the end of the series that kickstarted my love affair with science fiction. The five stories in this collection cover various times in Piper’s Future History, and are broadly unconnected to either each other, or the full length novels. As an added bonus, there is also a full timeline of Piper’s Future History, put together from clues in Piper’s work, and his own notes.

The first story takes place long before any of the others, with the tragic tale of a professor who can see the future. In this story we get to see how the Federation came to be, along with hints as to what lies beyond it. The second and third stories deal with empires at the height of their power. In ‘A Slave is a Slave,’ we see how the Empire expanded. This is particularly interesting for me, as the takeover of a new world is not necessarily hostile. The Empire simply imposes a selection of its own laws, appoints the Emperor as head of state, and then leaves the planet to its own affairs. It puts me in mind of the Roman Empire’s approach to foreign religions, and is a refreshing change from the usual tales of Imperial aggression that we see today. The third story, ‘Ministry of Disturbance,’ shows us an Empire further along in its cycle, now starting to stagnate before the inevitable decline. As with Space Viking, there are definite shade of Foundation to it.

‘The Return’ is a bit of an oddity, as it was co-written by John J. McGuire, and is not officially a part of the Future History. Nevertheless, it slows into the canon well, and is generally a good story. The twist at the very end comes a bit out of left field, but up until that it’s a fascinating piece of post-apocalyptic short fiction. It was written in that period of the Golden Age when all authors could think about was nuclear holocaust, but is somewhat more hopeful than many of its contemporaries.

Finally, ‘The Keeper’ ends the book, and the series, as possibly my favourite Piper short story. Set in the distant, distant future, we see one old man protecting the last treasure of his people, with only animals for company. It’s a magnificent portrayal of loyalty and duty, delivered with a great sense of history, and a hefty dose of action. The ending, which I shan’t spoil, is downright perfect.

All things considered, Empire is a fitting capstone to the Terro-Human Future History, which is surely one of the most under-appreciated sagas in the annals of science fiction.

Book Stats

• Part of the Terro-Human Future History
• Federation (#6)
• Contains 5 Stories
• First Published 1981
• This edition published by Ace
• 242 pages