Space Viking

"Space Viking" by H. Beam Piper is a science fiction novel serialized in 1962-1963. Lucas Trask's wedding day becomes a nightmare when a madman murders his bride and flees into space. Consumed by vengeance, Trask transforms into a Space Viking, raiding collapsed Federation worlds while hunting his enemy across the galaxy. But his quest leads him down an unexpected path—from pirate to prince, from destroyer to builder of civilization. As he establishes a new realm on the planet Tanith, Trask discovers that revenge may matter less than the future he's creating.

Space Viking, by H. Beam Piper. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #20728.