Template

Archonate Universe

by Matthew Hughes

When professional duelist Conn Labro escapes indentured servitude as the star player of Horder's Emporium, he abandons the gaming world of Thrais and sets out on an interstellar journey filled with murder, deceit, and self-discovery. His only friend on Thrais, discovered dead and tortured, left him enough money to buy himself out of his contract and a curious encrypted "bearer deed" to a mysterious property on the distant edge of the galactic Spray. With the seductive, secretive showgirl Jenore Mordene at his side and a villainous pleasure cult dogging his every move, Labro sets out to learn the truth behind his bearer deed and more about his own past than he had ever dared bargain for. For the first time ever in paperback, this thrilling, vividly imagined new science fiction novel from rising star Matthew Hughes (The Commons, Majestrum, The Spiral Labyrinth) provides atmospheric adventure in the classic tradition while layering on complex, fascinating societies and future cultures with the deft touch of a master storyteller.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Dying Earth, Space Opera, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy

Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Born in Liverpool, his family moved to Canada when he was five years old. Married since late 1960s, he has three grown sons. He is currently relocated to Britain. He is a former director of the Federation of British Columbia Writers.

A university drop-out from a working poor background, he worked in a factory that made school desks, drove a grocery delivery truck, was night janitor in a GM dealership, and did a short stint as an orderly in a private mental hospital. As a teenager, he served a year as a volunteer with the Company of Young Canadians.

He has made his living as a writer all of his adult life, first as a journalist in newspapers, then as a staff speechwriter to the Canadian Ministers of Justice and Environment, and, since 1979, as a freelance corporate and political speechwriter in British Columbia.

His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s, Asimov’s, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Postscripts, Interzone, and a number of "Year’s Best" anthologies. Night Shade Books published his short story collection, The Gist Hunter and Other Stories, in 2005.

He has won the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. His novels and stories regularly make the Locus Magazine annual recommended reading list.

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indentured professional duelist Conn Labro finds his sole friend murdered and his debt cancelled. Among his friend's affects was the deed to an entire world, willed to Labro. Can Labro figure out why his friend was murdered and where he belongs in the universe?

Template was a pretty good tale. While on the surface it's a detective story/space opera, it's really a series of culture clashes. Conn's homeworld of Thraiss is centered around greed. Conn's interactions with his eventual love interest, Jenore, are hilarious. The villains are a gang of vile intergalactic perverts and you can't wait for Conn to settle their hash. The book is actually fairly light on action. There are only three really action-packed scenes. The rest is Conn doing his detective work and running into culture clashes.

For a book about a professional duelist, the story could have easily degenerated into a mindless actionfest but Hughes never sinks to that level. It's a very deep story for what it is.

I was leaning toward a five but I had to go with a four. The reason: the title gives away a plot point. If it had had a different title, I wouldn't have tipped to the ending so early on.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining light science-fantasy adventure, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Coming of age story of a young indentured duelist who works his way to the top of his profession on a strange, mercantilist planet. He earns his freedom, and meets a sweet girl. He solves the mystery of his mysterious origin and defeats a nasty villain, with the timely aid of the Archonate police. By the book’s end, he’s growing out of his narrow upbringing, and looking forward to exploring the universe with his new girlfriend.

High points include the Whimsy jump-points for the FTL drive, and cool descriptions of exotic human cultures, all set in the Spray of the Ten Thousand Worlds — which is pretty much Jack Vance’s Gaean Reach. The culture-clash stuff is particularly well done.

Matt Hughes really has the Vance style down. I think this book is better than any but a handful of Vance's classics. For sure it has a better-done ending.

This is a first-rate book, and if you’ve never tried Matt Hughes, this would be a great place to start. It’s a stand-alone, and my favorite Hughes book so far. 4+ stars.

Here’s a nice interview of Hughes, with an intro to the Archonate universe and others of his writings:
http://www.sffworld.com/2015/08/matth...

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Vancian Gaean World inspired novel, comparable with the best standalones from that series like Night Lamp.

Mr. Hughes is better known for a bunch of Dying World inspired novels - The Archonate - of which I own several but did not really enjoy any so far - stopped in the middle of the first Fool book and tried Majestrum several times until deciding it's not for me - so while I have had a pdf review copy of Template for two years now from PS, i never really looked at it until i saw the blurb when i was preparing our (FBC) monthly book spotlight and it seemed intriguing so i decided to try it.

The novel grips you from the first page and while the general direction is clear and the exotic cultures have a clear Vancian flavor, there are some cool twists and turns while the strange cultures have also their own uniqueness.

Highly recommended for any lover of Jack Vance's work as well as for anyone who wants to try a different brand of far future sf, based on strange cultures their mores.

[Robert Runte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew Hughes is one of this country's ten best SF writers, and if you are not already familiar with his work, you should really make a point of picking up one of his books to see if his brand of droll Edwardian dialog and Jack Vance world-building is not exactly what you've been missing.

An excellent place to start would be his latest novel, Template. Set in the Archonate universe, Template is nevertheless a self-contained mystery that has no overlap in characters and requires no previous familiarity with the series. The story concerns the adventures of one Conn Labro, a professional duelist who has nevertheless lived a very sheltered life within the confines of one of the great sporting houses of his home world, Thrais. When a favorite client is found murdered and Labro's home destroyed, he sets out to solve the crimes and the deepening mystery of his unexpected inheritance.

Once off Thrais, however, he discovers that he is hopelessly out of his depth when he tries to interpret the actions of others through the narrow lens of his own culture. Constantly bumping into the differing mores of other worlds, he is forced to rely on the services of his Good Samaritan guide, Jenore Mordene. Jenore, and the others they encounter enroute to old Earth, slowly break through Labro's preconceptions and allow him to see that events and relationships are open to more than one interpretation.

One particularly nice touch here is how Hughes characterizes Labro's growth through changes in dialog. Labro's initially rigid mindset manifests in an almost autistic speech pattern, but as Labro's worldview expands, there is a corresponding increase in the fluidity of his conversation. (Although this makes for somewhat less of the sardonic dialog that is the trademark of Hughes' Archonate series, it is oddly satisfying to realize that not everyone in his universe talks that way; just the erudite characters who happen to be the protagonists in those other books.)

But Labro not only broadens his own horizons; Jenore similarly realizes that she can't go home again, as her travels across "the spray" — the myriad worlds of human occupied space — have led her to grow beyond the confines of her own cultural upbringing. Hughes also weaves in some subtle discussion on the nature/nurture debate, an implicit rejection of cultural relativism through Jenore's character, and a rather droll paradigm for the study of culture templates, all of which makes for a more thoughtful book than might at first might appear to be the case. In spite of Hughes' often leisurely pacing, this is still primarily a page-turning mystery, with all the vile villains, distressed damsels, dark secrets, and duels to the death anyone could wish for, so it would be easy to miss just how deeply philosophical Hughes novels truly are.

I should also note that Template is only one of two SF novels in which I have ever enjoyed the depiction of an SF sport. (The other was, not surprisingly for Hughes fans, the rousing game of Hussade in Jack Vance's Trullion: Alastor 2262.) Hughes description of birl, a sort of cross between log rolling and lacrosse, makes me want to set up a league and give it a try. (And talk about Canadian content! If only he'd been able to work in ice skates!)

So, as with all of Hughes' work, Template is highly recommended; required reading for anthropology undergraduates.

Reprinted from NeoOpsis Magazine

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly decent unofficial "addition" to the Wyst books by Jack Vance, taking place in the Spray of the 10,000 worlds.

A very "Vancian" personality individual, Conn Labro was brought up to be a duelist, but manages to purchase the freedom from his indenture, and goes on an adventure to solve perhaps his background.

Along the way, he finds new enemies, defeats some, finds love, and discovers a lot more about how humanity and culture work among some of the various human cultures.

The hero is very likable, the villains detestable, the story engaging. I read this in perhaps 3 sittings, and never felt like trying another book until I was done with this one.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vance is gone, thank god that we have Hughes to carry on and fill the void. This is copy 175 of 200 signed numbered copies.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the best sci-fi novels are, at their cores, novels of ideas. Template is no different, exploring philosophies of the defining traits of societies and what it means to belong. Here's the thing with this book, tho: while written in the third person, it takes the narrative view of the hero of the piece, Conn Labro, an orphan raised by a gaming house as a master duelist on a world that abides by a philosophy that reduces or, generously, simplifies human interactions to profit/loss transactions. Emotions are not a large part of Labro's life, so when his employment and only friend are both abruptly terminated, he finds himself ill-equipped to deal with the planet-hopping quest for meaning on which he's suddenly thrust. Fortunately, he captures the interest of someone better able to deal with social nuances in the person of Jenore Mordene, a dancer from Old Earth looking for a way home. Jenore serves as the readers' touchstone with, for the majority of us, "normal" interactions. Conn's reductive view of his experiences, while an intriguing intellectual exercise (and, frankly, a terrific narrative tool in the way it lulled me into not expecting a significant plot twist that can be considered a feature of the genre,) made Template a less than immersive experience for me, as it's hard to feel more emotionally connected to a story than its own viewpoint character. So it's kinda weird that it's a really terrific, intelligent space opera that wound up leaving me, if not exactly cold then lukewarm, due to the narrative framework integral to presenting its story. A good, if curious, read, especially when the extent of my familiarity with Matthew Hughes' work so far has been with several of his extremely charming short stories (more of which I will be reading soon, so expect that review in the near future!)

Disclaimer: Mr Hughes sent me a copy of this book for review because I'd previously said nice things about his short story included in Rogues. You should also try to find a copy of his excellent Jeeves and Wooster pastiche, Greeves And The Evening Star, which ran in another Martin/Dozois anthology, Old Venus.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading Template, I wasn't sure what to expect other than the basic description. This description did not adequately prepare me for what was coming. (And two months that elapsed between reading the description for purchase and actually reading the book probably did not help matters.)

Mr. Hughes style is pretty easy to read, but I had to look up quite a few words (Thank you, Kindle integrated dictionary!). It turns out not all the words appear in the dictionary, so I don't feel quite as idiotic for not knowing some of these words. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the book in any way. On the contrary, it helped put me in mind of a different world.

And a different world is what we are introduced to in this book, several different worlds, to be semi-exact. It seems each world is more homogenous in its population makeup and outlook on life than earth is. But it serves the story to highlight these differences in outlook and priorities people have in dealing with others in day-to-day life.

Other than having only the broadest strokes of direction in the story, I was pleasantly surprised where the story went, and at its conclusion, I was left wanting the continuation of the story. The book ended at a satisfying point for the book, but the universe is wide open, and these characters are not finished by any means.

[Michael Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Hughes' mind never ceases to amaze me. The level of invention apparent in every side character and briefly-mentioned world in his Archonate stories is enough to sustain entire stories on its own, and yet we get some new, equally intriguing idea every time we turn the page.

The fact that the world he's created can contain so many stories is another testament to his versatility as a writer. This story is a stand-alone (at least so far) among his other Archonate tales, and it feels like an epic, and it is, though it's a fraction of the length of other fantasy series that seem to contain endless padding and cliffhangers.

The story here, besides being full of fascinating sociological inventiveness, is surprisingly emotionally affecting as well. The evolution of the main character, as he begins to see the world outside his own experience, is moving and artfully sketched.

I also really want to visit Horder's Gaming Emporium.

[Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthew Hughes writes with a distinct, somewhat baroque style that's perfect for this picaresque adventure starring a hero who is temperamentally anything but picaresque. It's a lot of fun, and the notion that every culture has a characteristic flaw - one of the seven deadly sins - is an excellent conceit. Hughes' writing is frequently compared to that of Jack Vance, which is accurate; this novel also reminds me of Cordwainer Smith, with the hero's story used as a vehicle to make essentially humanist points about culture and morality. The climax is overdetermined, but the characters are charming enough that it works anyway.

[Nathan Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

While at first the detached narration is a bit off putting, as the subtle nuances of the universe Hughes creates and the mystery around the main character intensifies, it becomes fitting. Overall this book had great action, interesting plot twists, and beautiful worlds. My only real complaint is that I would have liked more character development from the secondary characters, but this can be forgiven when balanced against excellent social commentary and a good plot of self-discovery.

[JoeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty damn good, but not quite five stars.

I really liked the story and the characters, but I had problems with the way the plot developed. I know the author likes to roughly plot out his stories and then let the characters take him where they may. But in this case, backtracking and a little judicious editing would have improved the story.

When we meet Conn, he was an orphan left on the doorstep of Ovam Horder. Later Conn says that his parents sold him to Horder. There is no step between A and B to show why Conn has changed his perspective here. Likewise, his relationship with Jenore changes from hate (or dislike) to love just a little too easily. I felt there could be more development for this critical part of the story. It was easily as important to the plot as the 'worlds devoted to the seven deadly sins' which took up quite a bit of the story.

Another problem I had was that the title gives away a major plot-point, which I put together halfway through the book although it was probably meant to be a startling revelation in the last parts of the book.

One thing I really like about Hughes' books that I haven't touched on, but becomes even more important as time goes by, is how he gives the tech simple names that makes sense and doesn't go into the wherefores and how-tos of what it is and how it works. A "who's-There" could be a doorbell, or 20 years from now, a standard security device on every door. The same with holdtights an much of the other technology. We know that integrators are analogous with computers, but smarter and sassier. I find that rereading SF from my youth shows me how quickly some of the future concepts dated themselves. I really think in 20 years I could read Hughes' work again and it won't seem dated at all.

Finally, the ending was exciting and surprising. What more could you ask for?

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre clarification: this is philosophical SF. Seriously, in-depth, philosophical SF, largely about the economic basis of various societies. In a general sense I don’t mind philosophical SF, but I don’t like the way in which this book carried it out. Conn isn’t just low-emotion; he’s wooden. Jenore is clearly there to help him become a Real Boy. Each world or region the characters encounter has a monolithic economic system based in a single societal value (one character opines that each is governed by one of the seven deadly sins). Each person they encounter, no matter how highly (or not) educated, is capable of debating their society’s culture and economy. (This also makes many of the characters sound the same.) Everyone speaks in high-falutin’ language, and the author enjoys using hundred-dollar words. It’s very self-consciously pretentious. Also, despite the fact that Conn is a famed duelist and gamer, we only see him engage in one card game and one duel (which comes at the end). For such a physical character he almost never gets to engage physically.

That last quarter of the book helped to redeem it. By that time the staccato rhythm of the character interactions had smoothed out. The pretentious language had eased off a bit. Some things became physical, the characters discussed things other than economic philosophy, Conn started developing emotions, and we got to find out about Conn’s origins. Obviously I won’t give those away; I’ll just say the whole thing was fascinating and made up for much of the preceding chapters of the book.


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/01/r...

[Ezuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book through the Sci-Fi StoryBundle. It happens in The Spray, which is a universe I am not familiar with -- but now I'd like to read more about it. It's just a good read. I wouldn't say it's overly surprising, but it was enjoyable.

One thing I found interesting was how the hero was intentionally "flat" (overly so, as a plot point), and how his lack of emotional intelligence was used as part of the story. At the end of the day it is a fairly simple story, but it is readable and enjoyable. It's not hard sci-fi -- this is a "far, far future" type of deal, with an almost medieval, baroque vibe to it sometimes.

I also quite liked the social commentary that's part of the story. We encounter several different societies, each with its guiding principles. None is made to look "wrong" -- the book helps you see how different societies can have markedly different values.

[Rick English · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It did remind me a lot of Jack Vance. But Matthew has his own voice. His own twist of plot. And his own character developments. I'm going to read as much of him as I can get my hands on.

[Susan Peak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conn Labro is a duellist/fighter on a planet in 'the Spray', having been trained from childhood and knowing nothing of his background. This is the story of how he starts to find out, travelling to strange places and meeting stranger people.
It's written in Hughes's usual Vancean style, and is rather stylised but engaging

[Paul Hancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a large fraction of this book I was rather un-impressed, but I'm happy that I stuck it out as the last ~20% was quite interesting.

[Roh Bawt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy the tone and style. The cultural exploration seemed to be taking place on fictional examples that are a bit too simplistic and/or extreme.

[Owen Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable.

early work.

[Paul Weimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew Hughes is an under-appreciated writer. For years he has been toiling in a mainly Jack Vancean sort of vein, turning out stories and novels set in a world where science is just about to turn over to magic, but not quite yet. Old Earth, with a baroque and dizzying array of ancient cultures, is a rich field for Hughes to explore. On an even larger scale, Old Earth is itself but one planet in "The Spray", Hughes's answer to Jack Vance's Oikumene. A dizzying array of planets of even more diversity than Earth itself, Hughes' fiction allows the reader to experience a full and inexhaustible range of cultures, environments and characters. His prose brings these environments and characters to life, transporting the reader to areas both familiar and absolutely alien for all of their humanity.


In Template, Matthew Hughes starts us far away from Old Earth, on a backward part of the Spray. Conn Labro has been raised from an orphaned birth to be a gaming duelist. Indentured to a Gaming House, his life is mostly duels and fighting for his employer. When his one link to a life outside Horder's Gaming Emporium, a mysterious old man who is his only friend, is murdered, events sweep up Labro into an intrigue of double-dealing and an even more unusual inheritance that Labro never expected to be heir to. Along with a showgirl tied to his murdered friend, Labro makes a journey toward Old Earth, and beyond, to uncover the mystery of something even greater than a inheritance or his old friend's death.

His own origin.

Unlike many of the other stories Hughes has written in the Archonate, Template starts us far away from Old Earth, and Old Earth is only a waypoint (albeit a major one) in the rambling journey of the protagonist. Template appears to be Hughes' interpretation and riff on the themes and ideas of Jack Vance's Demon King novels. Labro is a lens that allows us to see a wide variety of worlds and characters. Labro's own provincial attitudes are the barometer by which other (and there are many in this book!) cultures are judged.

Admittedly, Jenore, the aforementioned showgirl, is more of a plot device than a completely fully formed character, and I didn't quite buy the romance between the characters.This is perhaps the weakest part of the book for me. Perhaps had the book been longer, this weakness might have been addressed.

Still, even given these weaknesses, the writing is strong and bright, and dense. It might be among the strongest writing that I have read from Matthew Hughes, perhaps because we get to see corners of the Spray from the eyes of characters who are new to Hughes, and thus have the contrast of being something different for him. Labro and Mordene are not his usual type of characters to explore and use as focal points. The structure of the plot almost follows Van Vogt's maxim that plot twists and plot advancement should occur at a breakneck pace. Combine that with a dizzying array A slim and slight volume, I devoured Template rapidly. Fans of Jack Vance, or Matthew Hughes' prior work, will appreciate Template.

[Viking Jam · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/05/27...


Publisher: Matthew Hughes
Publishing Date: June 2014
ISBN: 9780988107847
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 4.8/5

Publisher Description: When professional duelist Conn Labro escapes indentured servitude as the star player of Horder’s Emporium, he abandons the gaming world of Thrais and sets out on an interstellar journey filled with murder, deceit, and self-discovery. His only friend on Thrais, discovered dead and tortured, left him enough money to buy himself out of his contract and a curious encrypted “bearer deed” to a mysterious property on the distant edge of the galactic Spray. With the seductive, secretive showgirl Jenore Mordene at his side and a villainous pleasure cult dogging his every move, Labro sets out to learn the truth behind his bearer deed and more about his own past than he had ever dared bargain for.

Review: Cover art is kewl.

Wow. Having read the publisher description I thought I was in for a juvenile read. Not even close. This had really good dueling scenes, great character development and a schizophrenic story line. Conn’s internalizations and views on life in general are very logical and have less emotion than Spock fixing a broken transporter. As emotions trickle into mind you get to follow along in this slow reveal of humanity as he plies his way across the Spray.

The story line has a few tangents where there is an inordinate amount of time spent on Old Earth with Jenore and her family. The pace slows way down as Conn tries to figure out himself and only picks up when Jenore’s evil and fat betrothed starts machinating.

The story culimates on a planet once owned by two brothers of the Caligula bent and deeded to Conn. There is a finality to the story that left me strangely disappointed. I really wanted to keep following Conn Labro, Jenore and Captain Erkatchian across the Spray and into the Back and Beyond. A wonderfully poignant story of self-discovery interlaced with hard-boiled SciFi and Epiniards.

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining,deep,understated SF adventure set in the far future about strange,different human cultures. Conn Labro was a compelling hero.
Clearly inspired by Jack Vance SF but also a very good book on its own. The only weaknesses in the book was the slight standard ending,the female characters.

Mattew Hughes was interesting,different enough that i look forward to reading his other Archonate stories.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1034017.html[return][return]In style, it is a conscious homage to Jack Vance, whose Tales of the Dying Earth I enjoyed a couple of years ago. There are three notable differences. First, Hughes' hero, Conn Labro, is a na

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads win. Will read and review once received.

When I first started reading this book I felt a little off about it. I believe that to be the writing. It was something different and something I needed to get used to, but once past that I really got hooked by the story. I can't believe I have not came across this author before. It was a great read. i would recommend.

[Charles McGonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story, although the ending is fairly evident about halfway through. Also, the writing felt stilted, although that might have been the protagonist's stunted perspective. Definitely open to reading more from Hughes.

[subzero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantasstic light reading. It's been a while since I've read a straightforward sci-fi where there are straightforward plotlines and no overbearing emo undertones.

I wish we learned to think beyond ourselves, think big, and not take the the meaninglessness of the vast universe personally.

[DaughterDaDa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author was kind enough to provide a pre-publication copy of this work, and I just haven't been able to put it down. It's fascinating reading for any fans of his Archonate works.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

bland, obvious after i thought about the title, philosophical musings too transparent not well integrated

[Gordon Gravley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The worlds, cultures and characters Hughes creates are expansive and richly detailed. While sometimes those details weighed upon the story's pacing, it was an overall satisfying read.

[Craig Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Format: audio

The fight scenes were very realistic sounding. The that game scene was super lame.