Galactic Warlord

"Galactic Warlord" is a young adult science fiction novel by Douglas Hill first published in 1979. It is the first book in the Last Legionary series which has been described as a simplified version of E. E. Smith's Lensman series. [cite book
last = Sullivan
first = C.W.
title = Young Adult Science Fiction (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy)
publisher = Greenwood Press
date = 1999-03-30
location =
pages = #44
isbn = 978-0313289408]

Infobox Book |
name = Galactic Warlord


image_caption = Macmillan Paperback Edition
author = Douglas Hill
country = UK
language = English
series = Last Legionary
genre = Science Fiction
publisher = Gollancz
pub_date = August 1979 (1st edition)
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 127 Hardcover
isbn = ISBN 978-0575026636 Hardcover
preceded_by = Young Legionary
followed_by = Deathwing Over Veynaa

Plot Summary

As the book begins Keill Randor is the leader of an off world Strike Team, far from his home planet. He receives a distress signal from his home planet Moros, stating that they are under attack from unknown forces. Keill's ship has suffered damage, and he unable to immediately return to Moros. When he arrives, the entire planet is covered with radiation. He is met by Oni's ship, and she tells him to flee the planet; a deadly radiation is killing everyone who comes close to the surface. At the end of Oni's speech, it's revealed that it is an automated message, Oni herself is dead. In grief Keill leaves the planet. He soon realizes that he has still been mortally exposed — the radiation is eating through his body at a slow, though inevitable rate.

Keill begins to search for any fellow Legionnaires who may have survived, relying on his extreme physical conditioning and iron will to fight the course of the disease. His search is fruitless, as it appears he truly is the last Legionary. As Keill begins to lose hope, he is contacted by an unknown agency, but he ignores the contact to pursue some rumors of apparent survivors of Moros. Shortly afterwards, he is attacked outside his ship, and loses consciousness.

Keill wakes as an apparent prisoner,immobilized within what appears to be a medical facility. Keill's extreme physical conditioning allows him to recover quickly, and he discovers that he has been completely healed of his radiation sickness by a strange group known only as The Overseers. This group has a network of satellites throughout the galaxy that give an overview of all events throughout the galaxy. The Overseers' leader, Talis, explain to Keill that his home planet was destroyed by a malevolent entity known as 'The Warlord' whose sole aim is to spread war through the galaxy, enabling him to rule over the remains that survive. The Warlord moved against the Legions since he perceived them as the greatest threat to his plan. The Overseers also explain that, since the radiation sickness had settled into his bones, they were forced to replace his entire skeleton — using an unbreakable alloy - effectively rendering Keills' bones unbreakable. They also reveal how they captured Keill so easily — a telepathic avian life form from another galaxy known only as 'Glr'.

With Glr as his companion, a skeptical Keill moves to meet with the Legionaries he found evidence of. He quickly finds that they are in fact agents of a shadowy force known as the Deathwing, and that everything the Overseers told him was true. With the help of Glr, and his prodigious abilities, Keill manages to defeat them; in doing so he takes on their leader from the Altered Worlds, Thr'un, a giant of a man who can temporarily grow plates of armor from within his body. After eventually killing him, a wounded Keill then agrees to collaborate with his new friends to find, and destroy, the Warlord.

Literary significance and reception

Carolyn Caywood in the School Library Journal said that "Galactic Warlord" was "pure space opera pitting, heroes against evil doers with lots of action but no real insight. The story is fast paces, readable though no easy, and will have wide appeal among those teens who have enjoyed recent movie and television science fiction". [Citation
last =Caywood
first =Carolyn
publication-date =April 1980
title =Galactic Warlord (Book Review)
periodical =School Library Journal
publication-place =
volume =Vol. 26
issue =Issue 8
pages =p125
issn =03628930
accessdate =2008-05-04]

Publication History

* 1979, UK, Gollancz ISBN 978-0575026636 , Pub date 1979, Hardcover
* 1980, USA, Atheneum Books ISBN 978-0689501647, Pub date 1980, Hardcover
* 1987, US, Laurel Leaf ISBN 978-0440927877, Pub date 1 February 1987, Paperback
* 1996 UK, Macmillan Children's ISBN 9780330261869, Pub Date 1996, Paperback
* 1998, UK, Soundings ISBN 978-1860423871, Pub date January 1998, Audio Cassette

Notes