Four Lords of the Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Four Lords of the Diamond is a series of four science fiction
novel
s by author Jack L. Chalker
. Each volume of the series primarily follows a duplicate of a government agent as he lands on his prison planet and begins to both investigate the menace to the civilized worlds and find his position in his new society. The duplicates realize the stagnancy and corruption of the Confederacy, the intergalactic government in the series, and question their position as tools of the hierarchy. As the series progresses, the primary agent experiences each of his counterparts' divergent experiences and begins to question his beliefs as well. Like much of Chalker's work, the series deals with the effects physical transformations have on a character's personality.
An android clone that successfully infiltrated a government facility on a central world and downloaded vital defense information transmits the information to a source and is destroyed in the process. The Confederacy discovers tracks the clone towards the Warden Diamond, whose four lords are cooperating with an alien race to plan a mutiny against the Confederacy.
The government sends its best agent to investigate. Through technological advances, the government duplicates the personality of the agent (who remains unnamed throughout the series) and implants "him" into four brain-dead host bodies. The four hosts are then sent to four different planets in the Warden system and have no choice but to fulfill their assignment of locating and defeating each of the Four Lords, delaying the expected alien invasion and finding out vital information on the infiltrators.
's style in the writing of this four book series is that of formula fiction
of itself, in that it extensively copies its narrative from book to book, even word for word. Each book opens with a short story about some way the aliens are disrupting the Confederacy, then shifts to the background story of the Confederacy learning of the aliens and of the agent being recruited, briefed and awakening on the prison ship. The story of that is identical in each book. From there, it is, in the first three books, purely an adventure story involving the copied agent trying to assassinate the local Lord, getting a girlfriend and learning a lot about himself in the process. Each of the first three books then close with a discussion between the Agent in the picket ship and his computer partner/overseer. Only the concluding book, "Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail
" departs a bit from this.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by author Jack L. Chalker
Jack L. Chalker
Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...
. Each volume of the series primarily follows a duplicate of a government agent as he lands on his prison planet and begins to both investigate the menace to the civilized worlds and find his position in his new society. The duplicates realize the stagnancy and corruption of the Confederacy, the intergalactic government in the series, and question their position as tools of the hierarchy. As the series progresses, the primary agent experiences each of his counterparts' divergent experiences and begins to question his beliefs as well. Like much of Chalker's work, the series deals with the effects physical transformations have on a character's personality.
Plot
The Warden Diamond is a system of four planets, ruled by their own lords, collectively called “The Four Lords of the Diamond.” Each planet of the Diamond has its own special “Warden Organism,” a symbiotic microorganism that lives within the inhabitants of the planets. However, the organisms destroy their host when he or she leaves the Warden Diamond, making the planet system the ideal prison colony for the Confederacy, a massive space empire.An android clone that successfully infiltrated a government facility on a central world and downloaded vital defense information transmits the information to a source and is destroyed in the process. The Confederacy discovers tracks the clone towards the Warden Diamond, whose four lords are cooperating with an alien race to plan a mutiny against the Confederacy.
The government sends its best agent to investigate. Through technological advances, the government duplicates the personality of the agent (who remains unnamed throughout the series) and implants "him" into four brain-dead host bodies. The four hosts are then sent to four different planets in the Warden system and have no choice but to fulfill their assignment of locating and defeating each of the Four Lords, delaying the expected alien invasion and finding out vital information on the infiltrators.
Style
Jack L. ChalkerJack L. Chalker
Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...
's style in the writing of this four book series is that of formula fiction
Formula fiction
In popular culture, formula fiction is literature in which the storylines and plots have been reused to the extent that the narratives are predictable. It is similar to genre fiction, which identifies a number of specific settings that are frequently reused...
of itself, in that it extensively copies its narrative from book to book, even word for word. Each book opens with a short story about some way the aliens are disrupting the Confederacy, then shifts to the background story of the Confederacy learning of the aliens and of the agent being recruited, briefed and awakening on the prison ship. The story of that is identical in each book. From there, it is, in the first three books, purely an adventure story involving the copied agent trying to assassinate the local Lord, getting a girlfriend and learning a lot about himself in the process. Each of the first three books then close with a discussion between the Agent in the picket ship and his computer partner/overseer. Only the concluding book, "Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail
Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail
Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail is the fourth book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1983...
" departs a bit from this.
Volumes
- "Lilith: A Snake in the GrassLilith: A Snake in the GrassLilith: A Snake in the Grass is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker. It is the first book in his Four Lords of the Diamond series.-Plot summary:...
" (Del ReyDel Rey BooksDel Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
1981, ISBN 0-345-29369-X) - "Cerberus: A Wolf in the FoldCerberus: A Wolf in the FoldCerberus: A Wolf in the Fold is the second book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1982...
" (Del Rey 1981, ISBN 0-345-31122-1) - "Charon: A Dragon at the GateCharon: A Dragon at the GateCharon: A Dragon at the Gate is the third book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1982...
" (Del Rey 1982, ISBN 0-345-29370-3) - "Medusa: A Tiger by the TailMedusa: A Tiger by the TailMedusa: A Tiger by the Tail is the fourth book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1983...
" (Del Rey 1983, ISBN 0-345-29372-X)
See Also
- Lilith: A Snake in the GrassLilith: A Snake in the GrassLilith: A Snake in the Grass is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker. It is the first book in his Four Lords of the Diamond series.-Plot summary:...
- Cerberus: A Wolf in the FoldCerberus: A Wolf in the FoldCerberus: A Wolf in the Fold is the second book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1982...
- Charon: A Dragon at the GateCharon: A Dragon at the GateCharon: A Dragon at the Gate is the third book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1982...
- Medusa: A Tiger by the TailMedusa: A Tiger by the TailMedusa: A Tiger by the Tail is the fourth book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series by author Jack L. Chalker. First published as a paperback in 1983...