Difference between revisions of "Space Relations"
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'''''Space Relations: A Slightly Gothic Interplanetary Tale''''' is a [[science fiction]] novel by former [[OSS]] officer [[Donald Barr]], who at the time was Headmaster at the David School in [[New York City]], where he had just hired [[Jeffrey Epstein]].<ref>Donald Barr (1973), [https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/qYLeMQEACAAJ?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzo8r80PTyAhW0PH0KHXkBA9sQ7_IDegQICRAE ''Space Relations''], Charterhouse</ref> Some reviewers have seen it as a veiled allegory of what goes on in real life ruling circles. | '''''Space Relations: A Slightly Gothic Interplanetary Tale''''' is a [[science fiction]] novel by former [[OSS]] officer [[Donald Barr]], who at the time was Headmaster at the David School in [[New York City]], where he had just hired [[Jeffrey Epstein]].<ref>Donald Barr (1973), [https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/qYLeMQEACAAJ?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzo8r80PTyAhW0PH0KHXkBA9sQ7_IDegQICRAE ''Space Relations''], Charterhouse</ref> Some reviewers have seen it as a veiled allegory of what goes on in real life ruling circles. | ||
| − | + | {{QB|"We like to think institutions distort people. But slavery is a frightening institution because it doesn't. It allows the most direct and unrestrained expression of human nature."<ref>https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Space_Relations</ref>}} | |
| − | {{QB|We like to think institutions distort people. But slavery is a frightening institution because it doesn't. It allows the most direct and unrestrained expression of human nature.<ref>https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Space_Relations</ref>}} | ||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
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''Space Relations'' saw increased public attention after Barr's former employee [[Jeffrey Epstein]] [[Death of Jeffrey Epstein|died in a jail cell]]. Reportedly "conspiratorial corners of the internet" have seen similarities between the violent sexual depictions in ''Space Relations'' and Epstein's sex trafficking activities and obsessions.<ref>https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvgpm3/epstein-truthers-are-obsessed-with-a-sci-fi-book-about-child-sex-slavery-written-by-bill-barrs-dad</ref> | ''Space Relations'' saw increased public attention after Barr's former employee [[Jeffrey Epstein]] [[Death of Jeffrey Epstein|died in a jail cell]]. Reportedly "conspiratorial corners of the internet" have seen similarities between the violent sexual depictions in ''Space Relations'' and Epstein's sex trafficking activities and obsessions.<ref>https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvgpm3/epstein-truthers-are-obsessed-with-a-sci-fi-book-about-child-sex-slavery-written-by-bill-barrs-dad</ref> | ||
| − | + | The depiction of the oligarchs on planet Kossar appears to have overlap with House Harkonnen in ''[[Dune]]''.<ref>https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/House_Harkonnen</ref> | |
| + | |||
{{SMWDocs}} | {{SMWDocs}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Latest revision as of 19:55, 5 January 2022
 Space Relations(Book, Science fiction)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | book |
| Publication date | 17 September 1973 |
| Author(s) | Donald Barr |
| Sci-fi novel of an intergalactic empire ruled by aristocrats, whose boredom and absolute power have driven them to madness, in which humans are kidnapped to become illegal playthings of the galaxy's super-rich. | |
Space Relations: A Slightly Gothic Interplanetary Tale is a science fiction novel by former OSS officer Donald Barr, who at the time was Headmaster at the David School in New York City, where he had just hired Jeffrey Epstein.[1] Some reviewers have seen it as a veiled allegory of what goes on in real life ruling circles.
"We like to think institutions distort people. But slavery is a frightening institution because it doesn't. It allows the most direct and unrestrained expression of human nature."[2]
Plot
In the future, humans have formed an intergalactic empire ruled by aristocrats. During a time of war with alien bug people, ambassador John Craig, an Earth man in his 30s, is dispatched to the strategically important planet Kossar, a human colony ruled by seven oligarchs, whose boredom and absolute power have driven them to madness, to the point that Kossar's entry into the empire has been stymied by objections to its slave trade, in which humans are kidnapped to become illegal playthings of the galaxy's super-rich.[3]
Craig had previously been to Kossar when, after the passenger ship on which he was travelling was captured by space pirates, he spent two years as a slave of the beautiful, sensual, and sadistic Lady Morgan Sidney, the only female member of the oligarchy, with whom he became romantically involved. Together, they live in her castle, ruling over and engaging in sexual relations with those under their dominion, including an enslaved teenager at a clinic used to breed enslaved people. When Craig stumbles on hints of an alien invasion, he realizes he must escape to save humanity.
A review on Amazon points out[4]:
- The novel is a story against slavery and human trafficking. The planet Kossar populated by 5 generations of exiles are full of damaged inbred elites using slave labor. One particular crazed lunatic Osman injects hormones into his young slaves so that they eventually grow into hemaphodites for his pleasure. He is looked down on by the Terran men abolishing slavery with utter disgust.
Reception
The novel's events are set during a war between intergalactic human empire and "sinister" bug people. The world of Kossar is human, but independent of the empire due to its ruling aristocracy's refusal to abolish the slave trade, which represents the very foundation of Kossar's class system and economy.[5]. The novel also hints at the complex politics of both Earth and Kossar and their roots in Machiavellianism, but these politics remain largely unexplored.[5]
Space Relations saw increased public attention after Barr's former employee Jeffrey Epstein died in a jail cell. Reportedly "conspiratorial corners of the internet" have seen similarities between the violent sexual depictions in Space Relations and Epstein's sex trafficking activities and obsessions.[6]
The depiction of the oligarchs on planet Kossar appears to have overlap with House Harkonnen in Dune.[7]
References
- ↑ Donald Barr (1973), Space Relations, Charterhouse
- ↑ https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Space_Relations
- ↑ https://medium.com/@cshechtwriter/donald-barr-wrote-a-book-3023a94a0edc
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1G7FAS16T8XIO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000PCAEWC
- ↑ a b https://www.pornokitsch.com/2008/05/underground-r-2.html
- ↑ https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvgpm3/epstein-truthers-are-obsessed-with-a-sci-fi-book-about-child-sex-slavery-written-by-bill-barrs-dad
- ↑ https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/House_Harkonnen
