Looking for a good read? Here is a recommendation. I have an unusual approach to reviewing books. I review books I feel merit a review. Each review is an opportunity to recommend a book. If I do not think a book is worth reading, I find another book to review. You do not have to agree with everything every author has written (I do not), but the fiction I review is entertaining (and often thought-provoking) and the non-fiction contain ideas worth reading.
Book Review
The Fencing Master
Reviewed by Mark Lardas
April 26, 2026
“Dekason (Twilight Galaxy Book 1),” by Ken Lizzi, Raconteur Press, March 2026, 254 pages, $15.99 (Paperback), $5.99 (E-book)
Carkston Monitor is a professional soldier on Kvasir, a minimal technology world in the Iron Age. Battles are fought with swords, spears, and bows. To marry Jenquill Botan, Lord Botan’s daughter Carkston wants to raise his social standing from assistant armsmaster and enter the Kvasir peerage.
“Dekason (Twilight Galaxy Book 1),” by Ken Lizzi follows Carkston’s adventures thereafter.
Carkston’s conceives of a brilliant plot to cause two armies attacking his Baron’s castles. It succeeds perfectly, but proves a misstep. It gets him exiled from Brecksbury Keep. It seems he, a lowly armsman, upset plans developed by the nobility. Worse, he upstaged them.
While drinking his sorrows away in a decrepit tavern, Carkston is approached by a starship captain with an offer. Go to a different planet and become an arms instructor. The space farer saw Carkston in action, was impressed. He sees an opportunity for both to profit.
With no other prospects Carkston accepts. He is soon on Dekason, a planet with a technology level far above Kvasir’s, but one experiencing slow civilizational decay. Society is stagnant. Industrial syndicates called houses run the planet like feudal overlords, a society in which Carkston recognizes as similar to his home world. There is no upward mobility, although strivers outside the legitimate houses form crime syndicates called Unsanctioned Houses.
Dekason’s elite is decadent. They pass time partying, debating obscure points about colors, and dueling. Carkston is hired as a fencing master by the heir to one of the syndicates, House Therm, which uses geothermal energy to produce electricity.
At first it is a great job. Carkston enjoys teaching fencing. Dekason’s tech level is higher than Kvasir’s. His life is more comfortable. While those on Dekason cannot fix what fails, collapse is a long way off.
Then Carkston learns that Dekason’s elite are just as willing to kick an underling to the curb as Kvasir’s were. When Carkston’s employer gets ostracized for misbehavior, he shifts the blame to Carkston, and fires Carkston. Unemployed, and targeted for death by another House leader, Carkston allies with the head of an Unsanctioned House for survival and profit.
“Dekason” is enjoyable science fiction simultaneously provides biting social commentary. Not modern “woke” commentary. Its criticism of the social systems on Kvasir and Dekason is subtle, built in and propelling its plot. It a return to 1950s and 1960s science fiction as produced by Harry Harrison and H. Beam Piper.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City. His website is marklardas.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Dekason-Twilight-Galaxy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0GS2ZV1YQ/