Four Lords of the Diamond

Last updated
The Four Lords of the Diamond
4 books
Author Jack L. Chalker
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's, Science fiction novels
Publisher Del Rey
Published1981 to 1983
Media typePrint (paperback)

The Four Lords of the Diamond is a series of four science fiction novels by author Jack L. Chalker. Each volume of the series primarily follows a duplicate of a government agent as he lands on his prison planet and begins to both investigate the menace to the civilized worlds and find his position in his new society. The duplicates realize the stagnancy and corruption of the Confederacy, the intergalactic government in the series, and question their position as tools of the hierarchy. As the series progresses, the primary agent experiences each of his counterparts' divergent experiences and begins to question his beliefs as well. Like much of Chalker's work, the series deals with the effects physical transformations have on a character's personality.

Contents

Plot

The Warden Diamond is a system of four planets, ruled by their own lords, collectively called "The Four Lords of the Diamond". Each planet of the Diamond has its own special "Warden Organism", a symbiotic microorganism that lives within the inhabitants of the planets. The organisms destroy their host when he or she leaves the Warden Diamond, making the planet system the ideal prison colony for the Confederacy, a massive space empire.

An android clone that successfully infiltrated a government facility on a central world and downloaded vital defense information, transmits the information to a source and is destroyed in the process. The Confederacy discovers and tracks the clone towards the Warden Diamond, whose four lords are cooperating with an alien race to plan a mutiny against the Confederacy.

The government sends its best agent to investigate. Through technological advances, the government duplicates the personality of the agent (who remains unnamed throughout the series) and implants "him" into four brain-dead host bodies. The four hosts are then sent to four different planets in the Warden system and have no choice but to fulfill their assignment of locating and defeating each of the Four Lords, delaying the expected alien invasion and finding out vital information on the infiltrators.

Style

Jack L. Chalker's style in the writing of this four book series is that of formula fiction of itself, in that it extensively copies its narrative from book to book, even word for word. Each book opens with a short story about some way the aliens are disrupting the Confederacy, then shifts to the background story of the Confederacy learning of the aliens and of the agent being recruited, briefed and awakening on the prison ship. The story of that is identical in each book. From there, it is, in the first three books, purely an adventure story involving the copied agent trying to assassinate the local Lord, getting a girlfriend and learning a lot about himself in the process. Each of the first three books then close with a discussion between the Agent in the picket ship and his computer partner/overseer. Only the concluding book, Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail , departs a bit from this.

Volumes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bizarro</span> Comic book supervillain

Bizarro is a supervillain or anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in Superboy #68 (1958). Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has often been portrayed as an antagonist to Superman, though on occasion he also takes on an antihero role.

Clone Wars (<i>Star Wars</i>) Fictional war in Star Wars

The Clone Wars are a series of fictional conflicts in the Star Wars franchise by George Lucas. Though mentioned briefly in the first Star Wars film, the war itself was not depicted until Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The Clone Wars are also the setting for three eponymous projects: a 2D animated series (2003–2005), a 3D film (2008), and a 3D animated series. They have featured in numerous Star Wars books and games.

<i>Star Wars: Clone Wars</i> (2003 TV series) American animated television series

Star Wars: Clone Wars is an American animated television series developed and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network Studios for Cartoon Network. Set in the Star Wars universe, specifically between the Star Wars prequel trilogy films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, it is amongst the first of many works to explore the Clone Wars. The show follows the actions of various prequel trilogy characters, notably Jedi and clone troopers, in their war against the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Sith.

<i>Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days</i> 2003 novella collection by Alastair Reynolds

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a 2003 compilation of two science fiction novellas by writer Alastair Reynolds. Both are set in the Revelation Space universe, but are almost entirely unconnected with the plots of any of the novels in the same story arc.

<i>The Han Solo Adventures</i> Series of Star Wars novels

The Han Solo Adventures is a trilogy of novels set in the Star Wars fictional universe by American science-fiction novelist Brian Daley. It follows the smuggling days of Han Solo and Chewbacca two years before the events of the original Star Wars film. The books were released in 1979–1980, making them the first non-movie Star Wars books published, except for Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978). They were also the last published until The Adventures of Lando Calrissian trilogy in 1983; both trilogies were originally published by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books. The three Han Solo books were also published as an omnibus edition in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jax-Ur</span> Comics character

Jax-Ur is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary of Superman. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp, the character first appeared in Adventure Comics #289. He has been described as "the worst troublemaker in the Phantom Zone" and was the first criminal banished there.

<i>Halo: Ghosts of Onyx</i> 2006 novel by Eric Nylund

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is a military science fiction novel by Eric Nylund, based on the Halo series of video games. The book was released in October 2006 and is the fourth Halo novel; Nylund's third contribution to the series. Onyx was also the first of three Halo novels to be published by Tor Books, rather than the previous publisher, Del Rey.

Pantropy is a hypothetical process of space habitation or space colonization in which, rather than terraforming other planets or building space habitats suitable for human habitation, humans are modified to be able to thrive in the existing environment. The term was coined by science fiction author James Blish, who wrote a series of short stories based on the idea.

<i>Lilith: A Snake in the Grass</i> 1981 science fiction novel by Jack L. Chalker

Lilith: A Snake in the Grass is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker. It is the first book in his Four Lords of the Diamond series.

<i>Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold</i> 1982 novel by Jack L. Chalker

Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1982, it is the second book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series. It continues the saga started in Lilith: A Snake in the Grass, and is followed by Charon: A Dragon at the Gate and Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail'.

<i>Charon: A Dragon at the Gate</i> 1982 novel by Jack l. Chalker

Charon: A Dragon at the Gate is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker, the third book in the Four Lords of the Diamond. First published as a paperback in 1982. It continues the saga started in Lilith: A Snake in the Grass and Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold and is concluded by the fourth and last book called, Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail.

Syaoran (<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i>, clone) Fictional character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Syaoran is a fictional character and protagonist in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, a manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. Syaoran is introduced as a young archaeologist who is in love with Sakura, his childhood friend and the princess from the Kingdom of Clow. When Sakura's memories are scattered throughout parallel dimensions, Syaoran goes on a quest to recover them, at the cost of Sakura never remembering him. Later in the series, Syaoran is revealed to be an artificial human created by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed—the sorcerer who wants to use him to collect Sakura's magical feathers. Controlled by Fei-Wang Reed's will, Syaoran becomes one of the series' antagonists in the second half of the series. Syaoran has featured in other works by Clamp, including the manga xxxHolic and the drama CD series Holistuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palpatine</span> Fictional character and Star Wars antagonist

Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appears on screen in the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), in which he is credited as The Emperor. The character serves as the main antagonist of the nine-film Skywalker saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandalorians</span> Fictional group of warrior people in the Star Wars universe

Mandalorians are a fictional group of people associated with the planet Mandalore in the Star Wars universe and franchise created by Joe Johnston and George Lucas. Their appearance is often distinguished by gear such as battle helmets, armor, and jetpacks.

<i>Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail</i> 1983 novel by Jack L. Chalker

Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker, the fourth book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series. First published as a paperback in 1983. It concludes the saga started in Lilith: A Snake in the Grass, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold and Charon: A Dragon at the Gate.

<i>Well World</i> Series of science fiction novels by Jack L. Chalker

Well World is a series of science fiction novels by Jack L. Chalker. It involves a planet-sized supercomputer known as the Well of Souls that builds our reality on top of an underlying one of greater complexity but smaller size. The computer was built by a now-extinct race, the Markovians, who developed the Well of Souls with the goal of creating a new species that would transcend their own.

Bibliography of science fiction and fantasy writer Jack L. Chalker:

Syaoran (<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i>, original) Fictional character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Tsubasa (ツバサ), usually called Syaoran is a fictional character from Clamp's manga series' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. In the series, the character is initially seen as child imprisoned by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed and appears in visions of the series' protagonist, the clone Syaoran. Upon being freed from his prison, Syaoran goes to kill his doppelgänger but fails as he escapes to carry Fei-Wang's will. As a result, Syaoran decides to join Sakura's journey across dimensions to accomplish his own mission. Syaoran also appears in the Clamp's series xxxHolic, where he often interacts with the teenager Kimihiro Watanuki whom he often sends messages to and in the Tsubasa spin-off Tsubasa World Chronicle: Mirai Nikki-Hen he goes in another journey to find his clone.

References