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as "a curiously unadventurous adventure", noting Harsan'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 TĂ©kumel is awe-inspiring. Rather than "a stand-alone piece of
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and rival factions within the Tsolýani aristocracy. During his travels, Harsan 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.
27:
248:, while deemed gorgeous by the Foundation, was scrapped in favor of a new design as the original had little to do with the actual story. The new edition also includes illustrations and maps by Giovanna Fregni, who also designed the cover.
226:. The novel was praised for its setting, intrigue and the atmosphere of ancientness, although its plotting and characterization have been criticized as weak. Its commercial performance was less impressive. According to one source,
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A pariah no more, Harsan is accepted into the Tsolyáni high society and awarded a noble rank for his feats. The story closes as he marries his sweethearts and wonders whether the two will ever learn to tolerate each other.
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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 TĂ©kumelani adventures of his or her own.
211:
The DAW edition contains no separate description of the setting, but a short treatise on its fictional languages and their pronunciation is subjoined. Also included are advertisements for the
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of the Tsolyáni Empire to translate ancient manuscripts that describe a counterplay to the ′Weapon
Without Answer′ — a high-tech device of old, utilized by the hostile empire of Yán Kór.
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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
270:
Harsan embarks a quest to recover the Man of Gold before it is too late, traversing much of Tsolyánu as he follows various leads and evades the machinations of extra-dimensional
185:(1974) – and tells the story of a priest of Thumis named Harsan, a scholar who becomes involved in the quest for the eponymous artefact of a past immensely ancient.
263:. He lives in monastic seclusion with other priests of Thumis, the god of knowledge, and specializes in esoteric languages. Harsan is summoned by the
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than he was as a prosaist. A website dedicated to TĂ©kumel collecting comments that the pacing issues reflect Barker's inexperience as a novelist.
342:
550:
edited by John Clute, David
Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight. London: Gollancz, updated 31 August 2018. Web. Accessed 9 March 2020.
364:-driven action, and unsatisfying finale. Another source of criticism is a scene where a female character is tortured in a bizarre and
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in 1999, awarded the novel high points for substance but less so for style, criticizing its clichéd, clumsily constructed narrative,
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manner. Nonetheless, the setting with its political machinations and remnants of ancient civilizations is "beyond compare", making
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291:. Like Harsan, Barker may have suffered from isolation as a youth, being the only child of a family that moved repeatedly.
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565:. The Alexandrian, 11 April 2013. (Archived from the RPGNet original published in 19 July 1999.) Accessed 10 March 2020.
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329:. An excellent first novel and another fascinating facet of one man's universe – the Empire of the Petal Throne."
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The novel was generally well-received, with one contemporary reviewer favorably comparing Barker to the likes of
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No. 71. Kiesche commented that "I say 'bravo' to
Professor Barker and impatiently await the next Tekumel novel,
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and its sequels as "a series of well-received fantasy novels." He also lauded Whelan's cover art as marvelous.
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The TĂ©kumel
Foundation: News about the World of Tékumel – the creation of Prof. M.A.R. Barker
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The TĂ©kumel
Foundation: News about the World of Tékumel – the creation of Prof. M.A.R. Barker
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The TĂ©kumel
Foundation: News about the World of Tékumel – the creation of Prof. M.A.R. Barker
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Kiesche III, Frederick Paul (Nov–Dec 1984). "Capsule
Reviews: TĂ©kumel Products".
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The character of Harsan resembles Barker in some ways as both are professional
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Priestling Harsan has grown up among the non-human PĂ© ChĂłi and is regarded a
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and grammar as well as for a source book describing the setting in detail.
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Another retrospective review, posted on the genre fiction blog
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had a print run of 15,000, about half of which failed to sell.
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version soon followed. The first edition cover art by
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Vintage
Treasures: The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker.
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describes the novel as Barker's most successful; "a
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356:A retrospective review, originally published on
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192:through their shared interest in miniatures.
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671:, 7 December 2017. Accessed 12 March 2020.
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188:Barker became acquainted with DAW editor
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313:. If you love the fantastic fiction of
653:, 8 March 2013. Accessed 10 March 2020.
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543:Tringham, Neal & Langford, David:
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240:by the TĂ©kumel Foundation in 2015. A
196:was licensed to the London publisher
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299:Frederick Paul Kiesche III reviewed
548:The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
429:Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
334:The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
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648:New cover art for The Man of Gold?
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616:The Man of Gold is now available!
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420:Review by Bill Collins (1984) in
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399:website, John O'Neill described
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427:Review by Tom Easton (1985) in
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480:Barker, M. A. R. (July 1984).
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484:. New York: DAW Superstar.
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31:Cover of the first edition
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693:Science fantasy novels
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464:Steve Jackson Games
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520:TĂ©kumel Collecting
516:The TĂ©kumel Novels
319:Clark Ashton Smith
220:Clark Ashton Smith
198:Century Hutchinson
190:Donald A. Wollheim
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366:highly sexualized
337:entry written by
213:Tsolyáni language
178:role-playing game
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372:a worthy read.
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242:print-on-demand
234:The Man of Gold
228:The Man of Gold
206:Goldmann Verlag
194:The Man of Gold
166:M. A. R. Barker
162:science-fantasy
157:The Man of Gold
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668:Pornokitsch
584:Pornokitsch
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378:Pornokitsch
306:Space Gamer
682:Categories
604:Black Gate
436:References
396:Black Gate
323:Jack Vance
315:A. Merritt
224:Jack Vance
160:is a 1984
362:MacGuffin
311:Flamesong
295:Reception
289:linguists
208:in 1986.
170:DAW Books
146:Flamesong
85:Publisher
283:Analysis
258:clanless
57:Language
698:TĂ©kumel
662:Jared:
577:Jared:
407:Reviews
261:bastard
174:TĂ©kumel
69:TĂ©kumel
60:English
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462:(71).
358:RPGnet
272:aliens
238:e-book
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65:Series
37:Author
466:: 27.
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121:Pages
116:Print
75:Genre
16:Novel
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341:and
222:and
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100:1984
303:in
204:by
124:367
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
