Overview

TOIL AND TROUBLE! The Star Company launched its new venture in classic theatrical style: they got run out of town -- on a rocket! But with the reactionary LORDS party left safely behind on Earth, the traveling troupe set its sights on taking Shakespeare to the stars... Destination: New Venus. The name hinted at exotic delights -- but life on New Venus was thoroughly regimented by Amalgamated Petroleum, a Terran-based oil cartel. And though the planet was awash in petrochemicals from the Bay of Benzene to the Gulf of Oil, none of life's little pleasures -- air, water -- came cheap in this company town. Enter the Star Company, with its incendiary mix of veteran troupers, innocent ingénues, and volatile prima donnas. When Amalgamated approved a production of MacBeth -- to be staged in the high school gymnasium -- the actors bravely took to the boards in the name of the Bard. Little did anybody imagine how much trouble those three witches would stir up!

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9781953215956

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Reviews

This author knows theater. He respects theater. This is an amazingly refreshing book after a certain number of backstage murder mysteries and so on that don't get how theater actually works. And boy oh boy can some of us (and, I suspect, most IT techs as well) identify with some of those early chapters! - Mike Sweeney, Goodreads Speaking as an actor and a Stasheff fan, I can say I found this book (and indeed, the whole series) perfectly delightful. While a few of the characterizations are a little bit stereotyped, I have to admit that, to one extent or another, I've trod the boards with each and every one of those folks -- guess things only get to be stereotypes because they're true. The plot is fast-paced and beautifully developed, and Stasheff has obviously done his research. The technical details (at least, those connected to the theatre) are beautifully accurate, and Mr. Stasheff is one of the few authors I've seen who can actively capture on-stage, off-stage, and audience reaction simultaneously without being a single bit boring. All in all, this is an excellent book, and I recommend it quite highly. - Rachel Eiland-Hall, Amazon

Author Information

Christopher Stasheff (1944 - 2018) was a teacher, thespian, techie, and author of science fiction & fantasy novels. One of the pioneers of ""science fantasy,"" his career spanned four decades, 44 novels (including translations into Czech, German, Italian, Russian, and Japanese), 29 short stories, and seven 7 anthologies. His novels are famous for their humor (and bad puns), exploration of comparative political systems, and philosophical undertones. He always had difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality and tried to compensate by teaching college. When teaching proved too real, he gave it up in favor of writing full time. He tended to pre-script his life, but couldn't understand why other people never got their lines right. This caused a fair amount of misunderstanding with his wife and four children. He wrote novels because it was the only way he could be the director, the designer, and all the actors too. Chris died in 2018 from Parkinson's Disease. He will be remembered by his friends, family, fans, and students for his kind and gentle nature, his willingness to guide and mentor any who asked, and for his witty sense of humor. His terrible puns, however, will be forgotten as soon as humanly possible.

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