The Man of Gold (novel)

Priestling Hársan has grown up among the non-human Pé Chói and is regarded a clanless bastard. He lives in a monastic community with other priests of Thúmis, a god of knowledge, and specializes in esoteric languages. Hársan is summoned by the high adept of the temple of Thúmis to the capital to investigate recently discovered relics that hold a relationship to the ′Weapon Without Answer′ — a high-tech device of old, utilized by the hostile empire of Yán Kór. Hársan is thrown into a quest to recover the Man of Gold before it is too late, pulled across much of Tsolyánu as he follows various leads and evades the machinations of aliens and rival factions within the Tékumel. During his travels, Hársan manages to charm two young ladies of considerable beauty and wildly incompatible personalities. Ultimately, the Man of Gold is discovered and the Yán Kóryani designs of conquest are averted for the time being. A pariah no more, Hársan is accepted into the Tsolyáni high society and awarded acceptance into a clan of his choosing for his feats. The story closes as he contemplates marriage to his sweethearts and whether the two of them will ever learn to tolerate each other. == Analysis ==

The character of Hársan resembles Barker in some ways as both are professional linguists. Like Harsan, Barker may have suffered from isolation as a youth, being the only child of a family that moved repeatedly. ==Reception==

Frederick Paul Kiesche III reviewed The Man of Gold in Space Gamer No. 71. Kiesche commented that "I say 'bravo' to Professor Barker and impatiently await the next Tékumel novel, Flamesong. If you love the fantastic fiction of A. Merritt, Clark Ashton Smith, or Jack Vance, you will find a new love in The Man of Gold. An excellent first novel and another fascinating facet of one man's universe – the Empire of the Petal Throne." The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry written by David Langford and Neal Tringham describes the novel as Barker's most successful; "a bildungsroman full of political intrigue and mysterious artefacts" that unfortunately suffers from "a somewhat disjointed plot." Tringham and Langford opine that Barker was more talented as a world-builder than he was as a prosaist. A website dedicated to Tékumel collecting comments that the pacing issues reflect Barker's inexperience as a novelist. Another retrospective review, posted on the genre fiction blog Pornokitsch, describes The Man of Gold as "a curiously unadventurous adventure", noting Hársan's "naive but reckless" personality and his tendency to drift from one encounter to another without conscious agency. While the story and its characters are bland, the world of Tékumel is awe-inspiring. Rather than "a stand-alone piece of entertainment," The Man of Gold should be approached "as a part of an educational process," offering an accessible introduction to Barker's fictional universe and inviting the reader to dream Tékumelani adventures of his or her own. Writing for the Black Gate website, John O'Neill described The Man of Gold and its sequels as "a series of well-received fantasy novels." He also lauded Whelan's cover art as marvelous. ==Reviews==

• Review by Bill Collins (1984) in Fantasy Review, December 1984 • Review by Tom Easton (1985) in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, February 1985 ==References==