The three volumes comprising Piers Anthony's 'Battle Circle' had a rather haphazard release in the U.S. Sos the Rope (1968) was released in paperback by Pyramid Books, while Var the Stick (1972) was released by Bantam Books. Neq the Sword (1975) didn't even get a U.S. release, being bundled with the other two titles in the omnibus paperback Battle Circle published by Avon Books in 1978.
The UK edition of 'Var', by Corgi Books, got nice cover art by Patrick Woodroffe:
The Bantam Books edition (172 pp) of Var the Stick was released in December 1983 and features a striking cover by Michael Hooks.
It's difficult to give a synopsis of the book without disclosing spoilers related to the content of the previous volume in the series, so my remarks necessarily are superficial.
'Var' is set in the same post-apocalytic North America as Sos the Rope, and features Sos himself, as well as other characters from that novel. As 'Var' opens, Sos investigates the pilfering of crops and discovers the culprit is an orphaned, misshapen boy who lives in the Badlands. After a series of adventures Sos befriends the boy, who is named Var, and trains him in the use of sticks as preferred weapons for ritualized combat within the 'Battle Circle' that governs the pecking order among the nomad tribes.
Var proves himself adept at combat in the Circle, and is chosen by Sos to conduct reconnaissance of the mountain redoubt of the so-called 'crazies', for Sos has a grudge against the mountain and its inhabitants.
From Var's reconnaissance comes a series of events that will send him into flight across continents, facing myriad dangers from hostile tribes, the environmental hazards of the wastelands, and the unfathomable technologies left over from the ancient days of the Blast.........
'Var the Stick', like the other volumes in the 'Battle Circle' trilogy, is a short and engaging read, something that cannot be said of Anthony's other novels from the late 60s and early 70s. Whether this is due to a stance by Anthony that 'Var' was a simplistic action novel designed for quick production, as opposed to the more involved content of his 'regular' novels, is unclear. I will say that for 'Var' the plot relies on regular twists and turns to sustain momentum, and while there are some rather improbable hairsbreadth rescues, on the whole the narrative retains a sense of fun in its depiction of a post-WWIII world.
[ Some segments of the novel may raise eyebrows among readers who are not overly acquainted with the more permissive and politically incorrect attitudes of 70s sci-fi........ ]
Summing up, if you have not yet read any of the Battle Circle titles, getting this volume, or the omnibus edition from Avon Books, is worth your while.
It's difficult to give a synopsis of the book without disclosing spoilers related to the content of the previous volume in the series, so my remarks necessarily are superficial.
'Var' is set in the same post-apocalytic North America as Sos the Rope, and features Sos himself, as well as other characters from that novel. As 'Var' opens, Sos investigates the pilfering of crops and discovers the culprit is an orphaned, misshapen boy who lives in the Badlands. After a series of adventures Sos befriends the boy, who is named Var, and trains him in the use of sticks as preferred weapons for ritualized combat within the 'Battle Circle' that governs the pecking order among the nomad tribes.
Var proves himself adept at combat in the Circle, and is chosen by Sos to conduct reconnaissance of the mountain redoubt of the so-called 'crazies', for Sos has a grudge against the mountain and its inhabitants.
From Var's reconnaissance comes a series of events that will send him into flight across continents, facing myriad dangers from hostile tribes, the environmental hazards of the wastelands, and the unfathomable technologies left over from the ancient days of the Blast.........
'Var the Stick', like the other volumes in the 'Battle Circle' trilogy, is a short and engaging read, something that cannot be said of Anthony's other novels from the late 60s and early 70s. Whether this is due to a stance by Anthony that 'Var' was a simplistic action novel designed for quick production, as opposed to the more involved content of his 'regular' novels, is unclear. I will say that for 'Var' the plot relies on regular twists and turns to sustain momentum, and while there are some rather improbable hairsbreadth rescues, on the whole the narrative retains a sense of fun in its depiction of a post-WWIII world.
[ Some segments of the novel may raise eyebrows among readers who are not overly acquainted with the more permissive and politically incorrect attitudes of 70s sci-fi........ ]
Summing up, if you have not yet read any of the Battle Circle titles, getting this volume, or the omnibus edition from Avon Books, is worth your while.
I owned the 1980s omnibus Battle Circle with the Joe Devito cover and read it back when I was a teenager. I remember enjoying it, but I can't remember any specific scenes (well, besides one of the sex scenes; somehow that stuck in my mind.)
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