Hunt the red roe

About the book

Hunt the red roe by John Jakes is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It centers on a Venus-based big-game hunter pressed to kill a sacred animal, exploring the clash between sport, greed, and a stirring sense of reverence and conscience. Regan, a down-on-his-luck Terran hunter on Venus, is hired by the wealthy, thrill-seeking Mrs. Holloway to guide her into a native Preserve and kill the red roebuck, an animal holy to the Venusians. Warned by a blind native beggar and shamed by his young Venusian assistant, Karal, Regan goes anyway, driven by need. In the Preserve, Mrs. Holloway turns her rifle on him, demanding he shoot the tame roebuck for her amusement. As Regan sights the animal, its calm, gold-flecked gaze overwhelms him with a sense of sacredness; he refuses, and when she wounds him, he kills her in self-defense. The roebuck escapes; back in the village, Regan is absolved by an inquiry and visited by Holloway’s estranged husband, who confirms her instability. Selling a spare rifle for passage, Regan departs for Mars with Karal, carrying a new, indelible moral compass shaped by the moment he could not bring himself to kill the creature whose eye felt like the eye of God.