Enchantress of Venus

"Enchantress of Venus" by Leigh Brackett is a science fiction novel written in the mid-20th century. The story unfolds on the mysterious planet of Venus, focusing on the character Stark, who is faced with danger and intrigue upon his arrival in the ominous city of Shuruun. Stark navigates an eerie world filled with strange politics, pirates, and the enigmatic Lhari, as he seeks to uncover the fate of his friends and contend with his adversaries. The opening of the novel presents Stark's journey towards Shuruun, where he is filled with a sense of foreboding as he traverses the treacherous Red Sea and encounters the unwelcoming captain Malthor, who seems to harbor his own dark motives. Tension builds as Stark senses something sinister at play and is attacked by the crew of the ship; he escapes into the depths of the mysterious sea, only to find himself in an even more dangerous situation in Shuruun, where he meets Zareth, Malthor's daughter. As Stark learns more about the city's secrets, the haunting chants of the Lost Ones and the threats from the Lhari cast a shadow over his fate in this vividly imagined and perilous landscape. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of Space Opera," she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. As a screenwriter, she was best known for her collaborations with director Howard Hawks, mainly writing Westerns and crime films. She also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film; she died before it went into production.