Bio Of A Space Tyrant Books In Order

Publication Order of Bio Of A Space Tyrant Books

Bio of a Space Tyrant is a series of science fiction novels written by Piers Anthony. The series follows the rise of Hope Hubris from refugee to galactic dictator.

+The Story

When Piers Anthony began to write and publish the Bio of a Space Tyrant series in the early 1980s, the author had already crafted quite the reputation for generating unconventionally disturbing science fiction.

However, even hardcore Anthony fans have been known to raise a brow at the depths he sank in his efforts to leave his readers nauseated.

The Bio of a Space Tyrant series takes place several centuries in the future. By this time, Humanity has extended its reach and colonized most of the Milky Way. However, for all the advancements in technology and philosophy, the core of humanity has remained largely unchanged.

Piers Anthony designed humanity’s new galactic society to mirror earth in more ways than one. Many of the asteroids, moons, and planets are analogous to geographical locations on earth.

The social and political debates of the 1980s are still rife, and the same tribal and religious conflicts continue to fracture the bonds of the human race.

Piers Anthony’s protagonist is Hope Hubris and the Bio of a Space Tyrant series is basically his autobiography, written from the first person perspective. When Hope is first introduced to readers, he is just an innocent little boy living a peasant life with his family.

When a wealthy scion attempts to violate his sister, Hope’s courage saves the day. However, his actions force the entire family to flee to one of Jupiter’s moons. The journey is fraught with dangers.

Hope and his sister Spirit find their mettle tested as they fight off space pirates while attempting to acclimate to the barbarism of their new home. Hope’s innocence is eroded by the lustful savagery of the men and women he encounters, men and women who kill, rob, rape, and murder to satisfy their needs.

The atrocities he bears witness to give birth to the tyrant that will eventually bring the solar system to its knees.

Piers Anthony makes it clear early on that Hope Hubris is already dead and that the Bio of a Space Tyrant series is basically a collection of the memoirs he wrote but died before they were published.

Anthony lets his readers know that Hope will rise to become a ruthless dictator to whom billions will impute all manner of criminal and sexual pervasions. Then the author attempts to explore the journey that made Hope infamous.

Anthony argues that Hope’s supposed tyranny and womanizing ways are merely a misinterpretation of his desire to see justice done. Hope suffered so gravely as a boy.

And his struggles gave birth to a desire to see the sinful punished and the unjust eliminated. And while Anthony gives his protagonist’s cause plenty of sympathizers, it quickly becomes clear that there are no lines Hope Hubris won’t cross to achieve his objectives.

Even though the Space Tyrant books are science fiction, little emphasis is placed on the futuristic concepts and advancements in technology. Rather, Piers Anthony tries to provide a nuanced commentary of the earth in the 1980s by creating settings, plots, and characters that mirror the religious conflicts of the Middle East, the United States Immigration crisis and the numerous other challenges that came to the fro in the era that the author wrote this series.

Piers Anthony’s fans believe that the Space Tyrant books are an intelligent exploration of contemporary social, economic, and political issues.

The author’s critics, who are many, believe that while Anthony presents an interesting premise, its potential is buried under his crude obsession with sex. And the Bio of a Space Tyrant books are definitely saturated with sex.

Most of it is crass, ugly and obscene. In fact, many a reader refused to read the Space Tyrant books past the first one because Anthony frequently threw rape scenes at them.

No one has ever accused the author of glorifying rape. One scene that readers love to cite finds Hope Hubris getting turned on as he watches a gang rape ensue. Yet, at no point does Anthony attempt to represent rape as anything other than the vile act it is.

It is the frequency with which he relies on rape to make a point that readers have complained about.

The Space Tyrant books are some of the darkest the author has ever produced. And he relies on sex and, in particular, rape to show how evil and grotesque his villains are.

+The Author

Piers Antony is a British Author that writes science fiction. He is best known for producing the Xanth novels. A New York Times Bestseller, Anthony served in the United States Army in 1958.

He eventually became a naturalized U.S Citizen. The author’s history is littered with the many battles he fought against publishers, many times taking them to court over accounting malfeasance.

+Refugee

Hope Hubris died a tyrant, having committed every crime and sexual perversion the galaxy has ever seen.

But Hope did not start life as a larger-than-life dictator. At one time, Hope Hubris was just a little boy living a poor life with his peasant family. Then a wealthy scion set his sights on Hope’s sister and he fought to defend her.

The decision, though courageous, forced Hope and his entire family to flee in search of a new life on one of Jupiter’s moons. However, the journey to Calisto is fraught with many perils.

First, their illegal space bubble is disturbingly crowded by refugees like Hope seeking a better life.

Second, there are bloodthirsty scions in pursuit of Hope and his kin. Third, the airless desert they are traversing is prone to the attacks barbaric space pirates who will not stop until they have raped, robbed and murdered everyone that Hope knows.

+Mercenary

Hope Hubris fled from his home with his family in search of a better life. This book shows the hardship that assaulted him instead as he spent the next several years first as a migrant laborer and then a soldier, fighting in the Navy and guided in his efforts by his sister.

As Hope continues to watch the atrocities man can inflict, it only builds his desire to seek revenge and see justice done.