House of Zeor

Title:	House of Zeor
Creator:	Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah
Date(s):
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Sime~Gen
Language:	English
External Links:
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House of Zeor is the first book published in the Sime~Gen series by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah

The book is about Hugh Valleroy, a "Gen" police officer (no connection to the relationship term; gen here is short for "generator") working across a political border, in tandem with a "Sime" leader, Klyd Farris, to track down a criminal and murderer in both nations. However, their cooperation is criminal in itself; if either government discovers them, they will both be executed.

The book shows Hugh's fascination with the quasi-vampiric simes and his growing trust of and friendship with Klyd as he begins to understand their biology and culture. Eventually, he must face a choice: Let Klyd die or risk his own life and allow himself to be used as food.

Tropes

House of Zeor uses several buddy cop tropes - Hugh and Klyd have their differences, sometime extreme, but they are able to cooperate in the face of danger, and people often assume their relationship is closer than it is.

Connections to "Darkover"

Lichtenberg, Jean Lorrah, and Marion Zimmer Bradley were closely entwined in fandom, and their fans followed this involvement.

From a fan in 1978:

Jacqueline Lichtenberg has often said that anyone who enjoys her work will love Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover" series. I discovered this truth in reverse, having been a Darkover fan long before I read House of Zeor (Doubleday 1974/Pocket Books 1977). Although each author has her own unique imagination and writing style, the common appeal of the Darkover books and the Sime stories invites comparison.

The two series share several themes which reflect their authors' interest in certain broad aspects of human relationships and culture. Probably this can best be seen by examining the characters in the various stories -- their experiences and the motivations behind them.

Two characters who present an opportunity for comparison are Andrew Carr in Forbidden Tower (DAW Books 1977) and Hugh Valleroy in House of Zeor. Both men find themselves thrust into unfamiliar, frightening situations, and for the same reason -- the love of a woman. Each must come to terms with some basic issues in his own development as a person and his place in the culture: trust of others, sense of self, sexual identity, the complexities of intimate relationships.

From a fan in 1989:

I also read "House of Zeor." Entranced, I wrote to Jacqueline, who replied quickly, asking lots of questions, as she was still doing research for Star Trek Lives!. I soon lost touch with her, but she had irretrievably expanded my reading horizons (and maturity level) by introducing me to the work of Marion Zimmer Bradley and others—I can still remember standing at the kitchen table trying to prepare something while I was literally shaking after first reading the beautiful inter-species sex scene in "World Wreckers." After that. I had less tendency to put down a book because it made me feel uncomfortable.

Slash, Sexuality...

Canonically, slash is not possible; Klyd assures Hugh that he is biologically incapable of being attracted to men.

This premise was the topic of much fan discussion, some of which the author/s responded to. In 1979, Lichtenberg wrote:

I ask you to consider that HoZ was written about 6 years ago on premises I conceived in my teens over twenty years ago! It does not' represent my current thinking, and in fact doesn't even represent my thinking as of the time I wrote it. As a result of my first pre-publication showing of HoZ to MZB, I was led to investigate the phenomenon of homosexuality in human psychology.

Until I wrote HoZ the word had only a dictionary definition for me. It honestly never occurred to me as a teenager that people could be sexually attracted to others of the same sex — and this attitude is still deeper in my thinking than I really like to admit considering the world as it is today. It rather horrifies me, but it is still there.

Fan Comments

1978

My favorite sf bookstore is across the street from the hospital where I was working, and I usually stopped by for some serious browsing after rounds on Saturday. The manager is very knowledgeable about sf and fandom, and he loves to talk with customers. I decided to ask him about JL.

“Oh, yeah, she’s a big Trek writer,” he answered.

“As in ‘Star Trek’?” I asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Right. She’s also written a novel of her own that has done pretty well. Pretty far out story, though. About a post-holocaust type society where genetic mutation has divided the human race into two groups that are dependent on each other. Something about tentacles.” He handed me a copy of paperback edition of House of Zeor. I took one look at the cover and cringed, but I bought it anyway.

Of course I loved it. Sure, the basic premise required a huge suspension of disbelief, especially for someone with a background in genetics. I took it as a challenge to my powers of fantasy, and by the end of the book I found myself wondering if perhaps human beings could sprout tentacles from their forearms. But again, questions. There were so many things HoZ hinted at but didn’t finish, so many ideas that stretched the mind and demanded to be shared.

1979

I am a menhiedrin (to use the Darkovan term). As a gay individual, the fact that your characters were homophobic didn't bother me (Homophobia will always exist) so much as your own consistent refusal to allow any legitimate role for alternative sexuality in your universe. The statement by Klyd that it's biologically impossible for a channel to be homosexual is dubious to say the least. While some gays exhibit hormone imbalance, this doesn't explain the vast majority who don't display any physical abnormalities. The basis for sexual preference is not biological. The cause is unknown. In addition, your detailed explanation of why there is no sexual element in the relationship between channel and Companion reads like a defense against the enemy. I don't question the substance of your explanation, I only wonder why it had to be included. What if there were a homosexual channel or Companion? Would that be so terrible?

Despite the fact that I find the general concept of the Sime series intriguing, it is more than disconcerting to see one's sexuality condemned as worse than murder! I understand how a lone homosexual among the Simes might become psychologically marked by such an experience—the way Dyan Ardais of Darkover becomes marked by his experiences (see my story on Dyan, "Betrayer and Betrayed" in STARSTONE 2) but your homosexual character was a grotesque caricature for which one could have no sympathy.

[...]

I would never presume to dictate to a writer no matter how much I might disagree with either the concept or presentation of a work. I merely thought I ought to relay my views to you even though I may not be the first to express them. Please believe that I'm very sorry that I can't in conscience be a Sime fan.

1994

I'm reminded of the time when, as a young teen, I wrote to Jacqueline Lichtenberg about her novel, House of Zeor. I wondered why she had made her hero, Hugh Valleroy, so homophobic. She replied that it was necessary, in order to show that the intimate, deadly relationship between Hugh and Klyd wasn't sexual in nature, and that the reason I didn't understand was that I hadn't learned to associate sex with violence yet. Yet. Well, it's over ten years later, and I guess still haven't learned to associate sex with violence -- and I hope I never do.

Zines

• Ambrov Zeor! (1976-1996)

See many more at Category:Sime~Gen Zines.

Meta

• House of Zeor and Star Trek by Betty Herr (1976)
• Male Chauvinism in "House of Zeor" by Jean Lorrah and Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1976)
• Parallels: Sime & Darkover by Penny Ziegler (1978)
• Three Letters on the Subject of Homosexuality in the Sime/Gen Universe by Linda Frankel (1979)
• The Great Gay Channel Controversy by Jean Lorrah and fans (1985)

See more at Category:Sime~Gen Meta.