Walpurgis III

Birthright #3

by Mike Resnick

Evil versus evil


Conrad Bland has slaughtered tens of millions, a butcher vastly worse than Hitler. He has never considered not killing anyone who stood in his way.


He takes refuge on Walpurgis III, a planet settled by various cults of devil worshippers. He is the manifestation of the evil they revere, but now that they have come face-to-face with their beliefs, the cults desperately want Bland to be removed from their lives, their world, and entirely from existence.
So Walpurgis III contacts Jericho, the greatest assassin in the galaxy, to rid them of Conrad Bland. But once the assassin arrives and begins to make his bloody way toward Bland’s headquarters, the people—especially John Sable, the top policeman on the planet—must face an excruciating choice.


Who is more dangerous, the man who kills from compulsion? Or the man who kills from calculation?


From the Hugo and Nebula Winning Author

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Rachel Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before I say anything at all about Walpurgis III, I have to note that the cover of my edition features 1) a hilarious Satanic person with two seals of Solomon on his person, wearing a classically pointy Evil Overlord outfit, 2) a woman balancing a curvy thing on her head, 3) a spaceship landing pad, 4) a man in an orange cape with a shark fin on his head, firing a ray gun, 5) the Pope.

View the cover in all its glory!

The novel lives up (or down) to the cover, and confirms Rachel's Law of Fictional Satanism: No serious novel containing Satanists has ever been good. (Good Omens is not serious.)

Conrad Bland is the most evil overlord who has ever eviled, eviling his way across the galaxy and killing millions and millions of people. Because he's evil. When he holes up on the obscure backwater Satanist planet Walpurgis III, the galactic government hires Jericho, the galaxy's best assassin, to take him out.

What makes this book especially... special... is that Resnick seems torn between seeing it as a ridiculous pulp thriller and a Very Serious Work tacking Very Important questions about the nature of evil. The problem here is twofold: 1) "What is the moral difference between a hit man and Hitler?" is not actually a very profound question; 2) These questions are being asked in the context of Planet of the Satanists.

The chapters are headed by quotes from Conrad Bland. Here's my two favorites:

There is a difference between refusing a helping hand and dismembering it. I would never refuse one.

If blood were green, then green would be my favorite color.

Meanwhile, the Planet of the Satanists gives Resnick excellent opportunities to drop constant and absurd references to random Satanic things, and also to display his lack of research. I note for his benefit that "voodoo," "witchcraft," and Hinduism are not forms of Satanism, nor related to Satanism in any way; the Goddess Kali is not spelled "Cali," and again, is not related to Satanism; and turnips are not heavily laden with religious symbolism in any religion that I'm aware of, though maybe their use in the Black Mass was supposed to be a joke.

The Planet of the Satanists is pretty entertaining reading, it's so hilariously over the top. Then we meet the Evil Overlord, and it gets pretty gross and much less fun. I know that all sorts of horrendous things go on in real life, but in fiction, it's very hard to suspend one's disbelief in the success of an Evil Overlord who kills his own minions constantly and at random.

There's an attempt toward the end at another Very Profound Question - "Is a cop who turns in criminals to be legally executed the moral equivalent of a hit man and a mass murderer?"

It took me approximately one nano-second of Profound Thought to answer, "No."

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I shouldn't have bothered to finish this. I should have stopped by page 50 out of the 200some pages of this book. I've read a lot of the books and short stories by Mike Resnick (1942-2020) and enjoyed most of them greatly. He's a real storyteller and tells his stories with wit and humor as well. But this one, published in 1982, is the worst of all of his books that I've read.
It's about the satanic Conrad Bland who loves killing people. He takes over a planet and begins the elimination of the population there. The only person who can stop him is Jericho, a professional assassin, who also kills people with less thought than most people give to killing a mosquito. He is hired to penetrate Bland's planetary defenses, which he does, leaving an ever-lengthening trail of corpses behind him.
We do have one decent human in the story and that is John Sable, detective. He doesn't make up for all the vileness going on.
When I had raced through the book to get to the ending and finished it, the book left a bad taste in my mouth. And I was asking: what was the point? Of course, the point is entertainment. But whatever the opposite of entertainment is, this book was it. I give it 2 stars. I would give it 1 star, but I generally like Mike's work and I would recommend some of his books such as "Ivory"(1988) or his short story collection, "Kirinyaga" (1988). So I will be generous (it's the Christmas season!) and give this book 2 stars. Sometimes authors like ballplayers strike out.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Resnick's early novels, a part of his future history series, and a very good examination of the role of society and religion. Conrad Bland, the (star? hero? main character?) of this book is mentioned in many of his other works. It's a fast-paced and interesting tale, and created quite a stir in the field for its "blasphemous" theme when it first appeared. It's a good, fast, thought-provoking read.

[Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Mike Resnicks most blasphemous books. I mean that in a good way. I like how he set the world in an uncomfortably religious society that mirrors our own in a sick way. This was great world building.
I also enjoy Resnicks ability to write very smart, capable characters. When he says they are the best blank, he then proves it in the story. In this book there where two such characters butting heads. Really enjoyable. Another win for Resnick.

[Jim Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

When mankind spreads to the stars, various groups filed claims to settle the new worlds. Walpurgis III was one of those worlds. In this case, Satanic covens and practitioners of witchcraft were the groups that claimed this planet.

The book focuses on three characters.

Conrad Bland lives to kill. He has led massacres on many planets. Now he has been granted sanctuary on Walpurgis III. Many people on this planet think he is their Dark Messiah. Bland is planning on killing the inhabitants of this world. When he is done, he will move on to another planet.

Jericho is the best hired killer in the underworld.The Republic (the ruling government of the human worlds) has failed to kill Bland so they turn to Jericho. He is hired to journey to Walpurgis III and kill Bland.

John Sable is the chief detective of one of the largest cities on Walpurgis III. He is an honorable family man who believes in the law. Sable believes that the Republic has sent a killer to his city on a mission to take out Bland. Even though he does not agree with Bland's philosophy and prior actions, he has sworn an oath to uphold the law. He tries to warn his planet's government but they are not concerned. It becomes evident that they are collaborating with the Republic. Sable tries to warn Bland but he also is not concerned.

Jericho moves like an irresistable force towards Bland. He kills effortlessly. Sometimes he does it only to throw the police off his track. By changing identities, he is able evade the police and Bland's troops.

Bland kills everyone in various cities where he thinks Jericho is located. Sable is captured and held prisoner by Bland. The two are waiting together for Jericho to arrive for a final showdown. As Sable sees first hand what Bland has done, he starts to regret trying to stop Jericho.

The book showcases the old question, what would a moral man do when a person wants to kill the embodiment of evil? Sable faces this choice when he has a chance to stop one evil person from committing a crime. In the end, he allows one crime to happen but follows the law afterwards. His choice probably saved millions of lives. It still does not make it any better in his eyes. Sable was a very realistic character. Like many people in real life, he wants to live in a world of absolutes. Sable has to choose between evils and live with the consequences.

Two things stand out at the end of this novel. One was how constant exposure to the atrocities committed by Bland had a numbing effect on Sable. After a while, some of Bland's acts did not create the revolting feelings they initially did. And this permanently scarred Sable. Another was how when Sable returned to his normal life, he could not stop smelling the decaying corpses that he was exposed to in Bland's city. I imagine he remembered that smell for the rest of his life.

Resnick's story is fast paced. His writing style is what I would call transparent. If you are looking for a literary craftsman like Gene Wolfe, this is not the book for you. The reader will not have to ponder and try to decipher the meaning of his sentences. This keeps the story moving and focused. Sable's story will stay with you long after you finish the book.

The author does a great job of incorporating the details that develop this fictional world. Walpurgis III becomes a believable world in Resnick's hands.

It is highly recommended to fans of pulp style stories with a modern sensibility.

[Jim Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy the premise of the novel nor the various backdrops that the story was told in. Conrad Bland doesn't consider himself "Satan Incarnate" as some reviewers said although his followers on Walpurgis do. He considers himself more evil and free from the religious overtones that Satan represents. The book revolves around three people. Conrad Bland the man who kills and tortures because that is his whole purpose in life. Jericho the assassin/executioner sent to kill him and Sable the cop who provided the POV of who is worse, Bland or Jericho. Bland kills because he is driven to do it and loves doing it. Jericho kills for money and is completely amoral about killing and has no problem killing anyone, usually innocent, who stands between him and his goal.

I didn't really enjoy reading about the sexually depraved acts that were the norm for a planet created by witches and Satanists. I also didn't really enjoy reading about the excessive torturing and killing committed by Bland. Other than that the story and plot concerning what was worse, mass killing because of a lust to hurt and kill or an amoral use of killing as a simple business as usual concept was OK !!!! The only person capable of looking at both sides was Sable the police detective who had to make a moral(?) decision at the end.

[melydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of Resnick books are about a super criminal being hunted by a super bounty hunter/assassin in the far future, and this book is no exception. Luckily, this is the sort of story he tells very well. The trouble here is that the criminal (Conrad Bland) fancies himself Satan incarnate, intent on killing everything and everyone in his path. Which would be fine - his quotes at the beginning of each chapter are often scandalously amusing - but he's decided to base himself on the planet Walpurgis, a haven for a large number of Satanic religions. This is where things get a little silly. Told from the alternating viewpoints of the assassin (Jericho) as he attempts to find Bland, and the chief of police (John Sable) as he tracks down Jericho for killing random civilians in his jurisdiction. There's a little bit of "who's more evil, the man who kills compulsively or the one who does it emotionlessly as a means to an end," but this is overshadowed by the focus on the fairly ridiculous religious practices of the assorted sects of Satan-worshippers. I guess if you're easily shocked and titillated, this might be a delightfully scandalous read, but I could have skipped this one and been none the worse for wear.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

WALPURGIS III is a beautifully accomplished and psychologically terrifying novel originally published in 1982, by outstanding science fiction author Mike Resnick. Mr. Resnick accomplishes an epic of space exploration and colonization while simultaneously critiquing culture, human nature, and studying the nature of evil and what happens when good people stand by and let evil flourish.

On the planet of Walpurgis III, originally colonised a century and a quarter ago by sects of witchcraft, Satanism, and related beliefs, life is under control, until the arrival of a planetary mass murderer who revels in evil and destruction of life. Once Conrad Bland is granted asylum (and some of the sects begin to consider him the Dark Messiah), the populace of Walpurgis III is subject to terror, torture, murder, and wholesale destruction. Detective John Sable, a good man with a moral code of integrity, tries to warn Bland's security chief that an assassin from the Republic (the planetary federation) has been sent to Walpurgis III to assassinate Bland, whose own murder totals are in the multiple millions. Assassin Jericho seems to be a man with no moral code, a moral cipher, almost robotic in regard to his lack of emotions. But he is going against a virtual force of Nature, truly an embodiment of evil, a microcosm of the Cosmic drive to Entropy.

WALPURGIS III is a story to read, to savor, and to keep as a re-reader and a reminder of the perils to which humanity falls prey.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this years ago. Like all of Resnick's stuff, fun and entertaining. The story is as it says.

[Amloid Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok book not one of my favorite but it is the craziest book I have read this year.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if there was an entire planet devoted to Satanism and other taboo beliefs? A planet inhabited entirely by nonconformists to the rest of the universe's accepted religions, a place for pagan pilgrims?

It's an intriguing premise, but so often (especially in science fiction) the execution fails to live up to the lofty premise. "Walpurgis III" doesn't quite make full use of its central idea (especially not in terms of worldbuilding), but it has considered its ideas—its morality and its contradictions—well enough to live up to its billing.

And the book's villain, Conrad Bland, is a colorful and dastardly enough specimen to make the book well-worth searching out for those who like their SF more than a bit off-kilter.

The story, in brief: the Republic (a sort of pan-galactic authority) is given some vague intel that Conrad Bland—supreme ruler of Walpurgis III—is becoming so dangerous and corrupt that even the other luciferian sects who live under his tyrannical rule are starting to get worried. An expert assassin named Jericho is brought in with the mission to sneak onto Walpurgis, learn the customs well enough to blend in, find Bland, and kill him before he reduces his planet to a cindery wasteland.

But against Jericho stand not only the Satanists loyal to Bland, but a good cop (?!) named Sable, who worships Kali and is exasperated that so many people would assume that he counted himself a disciple of Voodoo simply because he happens to be black. WTF, right?

It's this off-the-wall execution of an already provocative premise that initially gets the reader's attention. And it's the genuine exploration of morality, and its associated themes, like loyalty and a sense of duty, that actually give the tale its heft that makes it not only worth reading, but thinking about a bit after one closes the dusty paperback's pages. And of course there's the action, the chases, the hardware, the usual red meat one expects to devour in such a pulpy SF offering. Recommended.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irresistable force vs immovable object.

Fire vs fire. Evil vs Evil. Mr Resnick tells good stories of lone bounty hunters and assassins getting to their targets. The Widow maker series is good as well.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[andrew y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I know how far Resnick goes. He goes all the way.
I had fun reading this book despite a lackluster finale and a somewhat limited scope.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½. One of Resnick's stronger novels.

[Niklaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immaginate un futuro in cui l'umanità abbia accesso ad un numero di mondi che eccede di gran lunga ogni velleità di corsa alla colonizzazione. Immaginate quindi che la "repubblica" terrestre ne ceda i diritti a qualunque gruppo di individui voglia colonizzarlo. Uno di questi gruppi è una congrega di adepti a culti satanici (nel senso più ampio del termine di culti alternativi) che anela al pianeta come ad un Eden in cui vivere secondo le proprie convinzioni (per quanto deviate possano apparire) ma secondo legge "locale". Immaginate ora che uno dei più efferati criminali di guerra (in realtà di fatto un serial killer sadico e su larga scala più che un "classico" criminale di guerra) riesca a fuggire su questo pianeta chiedendo asilo usando la propria malvagità come segno di essere un "satana reincarnato". Immaginate ora che la il governo del pianeta (seppure in modo non ufficiale) sia spaventato dalle azioni dell'esule e chieda aiuto alla repubblica affinché venga eliminato.
Non preoccupatevi, quanto avete letto NON è uno spoiler ma l'antefatto descritto nelle prime 5 pagine .
La storia assolutamente godibile è quella del miglior sicario in circolazione (non un "buono" ma un sicario tout court) che sbarcato sul pianeta deve raggiungere il suo obbiettivo barcamenandosi nella comprensione di usi e costumi locali, invero molto "pittoreschi" (quasi sempre non simpatici), per non essere scoperto. Un sicario a sua volta "seguito" da un ispettore di polizia locale (un quasi laico seguace della dea Kalì) insospettito da omicidi "fuori norma".
p.s. vale la pena ricordare che non c'è nulla di sovrannaturale o di magico (e tanto meno di alieno) in questo pianeta ma la quintessenza del conflitto tra "religiosi" e stato "laico-satanico".
Uno dei migliori libri di SF letti da tempo ... se vi piacciono le trame alla Jack Vance dove si da un forte rilievo alla descrizione di usi e costumi evolutisi su pianeti lontani a distanza di secoli dalla prima colonizzazione

[Cole Garcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those old sci-fi books that you move out of the way to look for a better book.