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Divide And Rule
On a future Earth, where invading aliens have forced humanity to revert to a feudal society and conducting scientific research is punishable by death, it's good to be the heir to a duchy. Unless your brother has been burnt as punishment for heresy. And unless you intended to do something about it . . .
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
L. Sprague de Camp
722Ìýbooks298ÌýfollowersLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 30, 2017
Not actually a novel, but actually 2 novellas, with the vague connection of both being post-apocalyptic worlds with a feudal system. The first one really should have been some sort of comic book series drawn by Jack Kirby, so it gets alot of extra points for the creativity.
Divide and Rule: The 2nd son of the Duke of Poughkeepsie gets his world turned upside down when he saves a girl that is with the super secret underground movement. Sounds pretty basic, right? The catch is the overlords are the 'hoppers', basically alien kangaroos that have magic helmets that make the sentient and conquered the planet in 1956. The book is set 350 years later, when the hoppers have spent generations telling humans they were ordained by God to be in control of the technology and make sure humans don't destroy each other.
Super fun story, with some small hints of a message, and who doesn't one love sentient alien kangaroos?
The Stolen Dormouse: I'm not sure exactly how to summarize this one.. maybe if one though of the an ugly cousin of Frederik Pohl's Space Merchants mixed with Romeo and Juliet. In this one, Corporations rule a feudalish society where business clans run, and a 'Sir' is a businessman, rather than a knight. But those damn Hawaiians won't get with the program and make and consume stuff, they're sitting on their island making new tech and enjoying the beach. A little disjointed, but fun.. I think I'd like it more if I hadn't read the other (superior) one right before.
Definitely the best non-Conan stuff from De Camp I've read.
Divide and Rule: The 2nd son of the Duke of Poughkeepsie gets his world turned upside down when he saves a girl that is with the super secret underground movement. Sounds pretty basic, right? The catch is the overlords are the 'hoppers', basically alien kangaroos that have magic helmets that make the sentient and conquered the planet in 1956. The book is set 350 years later, when the hoppers have spent generations telling humans they were ordained by God to be in control of the technology and make sure humans don't destroy each other.
Super fun story, with some small hints of a message, and who doesn't one love sentient alien kangaroos?
The Stolen Dormouse: I'm not sure exactly how to summarize this one.. maybe if one though of the an ugly cousin of Frederik Pohl's Space Merchants mixed with Romeo and Juliet. In this one, Corporations rule a feudalish society where business clans run, and a 'Sir' is a businessman, rather than a knight. But those damn Hawaiians won't get with the program and make and consume stuff, they're sitting on their island making new tech and enjoying the beach. A little disjointed, but fun.. I think I'd like it more if I hadn't read the other (superior) one right before.
Definitely the best non-Conan stuff from De Camp I've read.
May 7, 2022
Two of deCamp's earliest novellas, both featuring his tongue in cheek approach to storytelling. One is a short version of and the other is a bizarre, political satire with the strange claim of probably being the only SF work featuring the A.S.M.E (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). It's interesting to contrast the author's writing style to Robert Heinlein's, after the first few years, Heinlein settles into his style of writing and doesn't change it much for the next 30+ years. On the other hand, you can see deCamp's style grow and modify so that his 90s fiction feels very up to date.
March 28, 2020
Short and sweet. Felt like a really good episode of the Twilight zone.
December 30, 2023
Knights in the future
January 1, 2024
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 2:
April 5, 2016
This slim volume, which also contains the story The Stolen Dormouse, is an enjoyable romp of through a pair of weird dystopian futures. In the title story, the reason for the dystopia is that we have alien overlords [okay, so the cover artist drew them like giant rabbits, but they're still alien overlords] who have limited our weapons, technology, education and political systems, to make us easier to rule. While the McGuffin used to fight back is a little contrived, the character interactions and dialogue are what makes the story fun.
In The Stolen Dormouse, it's a dystopia of our own making, in which de Camp was remarkably prescient. Corporations rule everything and try to destroy unions and professional organizations, the U.S. lost a war to a Communist nation in the late 1960s, and there's a subway under Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles with a station at Western Avenue.
Hmmm...the Red Line, the Vietnam War [off by a couple of years, but he did write the story in the early 1940s] and modern U.S economics taken to a slightly silly extreme.
The attitudes of the characters in both stories are dated, but much less so than a lot of other stories from the same era. The female characters are not just backdrops or love interests, but have at least some personalities and strong traits.
So, while the stories are a bit old-fashioned, they're still very interesting and worth reading.
In The Stolen Dormouse, it's a dystopia of our own making, in which de Camp was remarkably prescient. Corporations rule everything and try to destroy unions and professional organizations, the U.S. lost a war to a Communist nation in the late 1960s, and there's a subway under Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles with a station at Western Avenue.
Hmmm...the Red Line, the Vietnam War [off by a couple of years, but he did write the story in the early 1940s] and modern U.S economics taken to a slightly silly extreme.
The attitudes of the characters in both stories are dated, but much less so than a lot of other stories from the same era. The female characters are not just backdrops or love interests, but have at least some personalities and strong traits.
So, while the stories are a bit old-fashioned, they're still very interesting and worth reading.
September 16, 2015
Sir Howard was beginning to doubt that God had set the hoppers over humankind. Westerner Lyman Haas and Sally Mitten shared his rebellious thoughts. Perhaps, if they survive long enough.... With amazingly reproductive hoppers ruling the earth, what can they do?
Except for a few obsolete scientific references, de Camp's old tale holds up well. Blending feudalism and science fiction is the type of thing he did best. Although only average fare, this story does make you wonder what a difference a few rebels could make.
Except for a few obsolete scientific references, de Camp's old tale holds up well. Blending feudalism and science fiction is the type of thing he did best. Although only average fare, this story does make you wonder what a difference a few rebels could make.
April 4, 2013
this was great - can't believe it was written in the 30s - giant rabbits being the guardians of humans - keeping them under control through separation and division - will definately be seeking more from author
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