There are a number of birthdays today of writer’s whose names I recognize, but I’m gong to focus on what, in my mind, are the two most prominent, Roger Zelazny (1937-1995) and Stephen R. Donaldson (b. 1947).

Roger Zelazny is best remembered for his multi-volume Amber series, but he wrote many other things. One of his better-known short works is “A Rose for Ecclesiastes”. It’s currently available in The Magic.

“A Rose for Ecclesiastes” was Zelazny’s homage to the Mars of his youth, a Mars that was being proven outdated when he wrote the story.

Gallinger is a world famous poet who is on Mars to translate the sacred texts of a matriarchal Martian society.  As part of his work, he decides to translate the book of “Ecclesiastes” from the King James translation of the Bible. He also has the biologist on the expedition grow a rose in the hydroponics tank as a gift for the matriarch.

One of Hannes Bok’s final illustrations for “A Rose for Ecclesiastes”.

One of the ways the Martians worship is through dance. After he is allowed to witness a dance, Gallinger falls in love with a Martian dancer and begins an affair. One of the last scriptures he translates tells of a disaster that befell the Martians hundreds of years ago, leaving them sterile.  Only that’s not quite right. The males are sterile; the women are fertile. As Gallinger soon finds out.  (Yes, the Martians have a natural life span that’s centuries long.)

There’s a lot more going on here than is immediately obvious. The ending is tragic, but not in the way most readers would be expecting. I can see why this story was included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame and has been reprinted many times. It wasn’t quite my cup of tea; my philosophy isn’t the same as Gallinger’s.

It’s been years since I read any of Zelazny’s work. I’m going to try to work more in, including the rest of the stories in The Magic.

Our second birthday is Stephen R. Donaldson. What’s that? Yes, I know he’s not dead yet. I’m making another exception to my rule about birthday posts. Why? Because Donaldson was one of the major writers of the late 20th Century and is still actively writing. Love him or hate, his Thomas Covenant had a major impact on the field.

For today’s story, I’m looking at “The King’s Justice“.  The main character goes by the name of Black, and he’s nothing like Thomas Covenant (fortunately).  To me he’s a blend of Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name, and David J. West’s Porter Rockwall.

“The King’s Justice” is in many ways a western dressed up in fantasy drag.  Black comes riding into an isolated town to seeking justice because a young boy has been ritualistically murdered. The description of the town could fit any western TV show of the 1950’s and 1960’s, right down to the description of the temples.  They look like churches.

There are some differences. The weapons are swords, not six-shooters. Black has magical abilities. Sorcery is real, and it isn’t always nice.

The plot of “The King’s Justice” is much more straightforward than that of “A Rose for Ecclesiastes”, so I’ll not say anything else except that while I enjoyed both stories, I think I enjoyed “The King’s Justice” a bit more. If you like weird westerns, this one would be a good choice.