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story identification - Earth as Water World, invasion at climax, fought off


Back in the '80s, I read a story - novel length for the time (would probably be a 'novella' now) - with the following aspects that I can recall:




  • The world had been 'drowned'; except for outcroppings from the highest mountains, there was no natural land - only 'cities' anchored in place somehow.





  • The world was divided into a number of "Thassalarchies", sections of ocean ruled by a strongman who commanded a fleet.




  • Technology seemed to have regressed to more-or-less early Renaissance




  • There was a race of modified humans, the 'Seaborn Ones', who lived under the seas.





  • The viewpoint character was a peon of the time, and wanted to go to sea and become one of the Thassalarch's men.




  • At the end, the viewpoint character had managed to ascend to being the Thassalarch of two territories, and had learned how to communicate with the Seaborn Ones, more-or-less just in time for the "return of the Star Beasts", who supposedly caused the drowning of Earth. In the end, the Star Beasts were defeated.




I will be d$$$ed if I can recall the title or author of the story. Help, please?



Answer



Based on this entry, it's Conquerors from the Darkness by Robert Silverberg.


Conquerors from the Darkness




A thousand years in the future, the earth has been conquered by an alien race and covered by a single sea. Dovirr Stargan, who is disgusted with the servility of his life on the floating city of Vythain, longs to become one of the Sea-Lords, who roam the sea as powerful protectors of the cities.


Dovirr gets his wish, but the return of the alien race brings unexpected and critically dangerous crises to his new life as he learns the real, sometimes terrible, significance of power.



This review has more details and an older cover:
Older cover of Conquerors from the Darkness


As noted by you in your comment, a very green cover does exist. It corresponds to the 1968 Mass Market Paperback:
Green cover


The novella that the book is based on, "Spawn of the Deadly Sea", can be found in the April 1957 issue of Science Fiction Adventures, available here, and indeed the word is "Thalassarch":




Howyn, Thalassarch of the Western Sea, was a tall, heavy man with the thick, brutal jaw of a ruthless leader.



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