Product Description
The Eyes of the Overworld is the first of Vance’s picaresque novels about the scoundrel Cugel. Here he is sent by a magician he has wronged to a distant unknown country to retrieve magical lenses that reveal the Overworld. Conniving to steal the lenses, he escapes and, goaded by a homesick monster magically attached to his liver, starts to find his way home to Almery. The journey takes him across trackless mountains, wastelands, and seas. Through cunning and dumb luck, the relentless Cugel survives one catastrophe after another, fighting off bandits, ghosts, and ghouls—stealing, lying, and cheating without insight or remorse leaving only wreckage behind. Betrayed and betraying, he joins a cult groupon a pilgrimage, crosses the Silver Desert as his comrades die one by one and, escaping the Rat People, obtains a spell that returns him home. There, thanks to incompetence and arrogance he misspeaks the words of a purloined spell and transports himself back to the same dismal place he began his journey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Magic goes awry on a dangerous pilgrimage
Jack Vance's EYES OF THE OVERWORLD provides another in the 'Tales of Dying Earth' series, with a fine performance by reader Arthur Morey fueling a story about a scoundrel sent by a magician he has wronged to a distant country on a journey. Stealing the secret instead, magic goes awry on a dangerous pilgrimage.

Adventures of Cugel (the clever)
Cugel (self proclaimed 'the clever) attempts to burgle the castle of Iucounu the Laughing Magician, but is caught. In punishment Iucounu sends Cugel to obtain one of the fabled Eyes of the Overworld to match one already in the wizard's possession. To ensure Cugel's loyalty Iucounu afixes a sentient alien of barbs and hooks to Cugel's liver. Whenever Cugel wavers from his purpose Firx inflicts him with terrible pain. The story chronicles Cugel's subsequent adventures to obtain the jewel and return.

'The Eyes of the Overworld'(aka 'Cugel the Clever') is the sequel to Jack Vance's 'The Dying Earth'. Unlike the 'The Dying Earth' which was a series of loosely related stories, 'The Eyes of the Overworld', although episodic, is one continuous story. Vance again demonstrates his inventive imagination, his humour as well as his wonderful ear for dialogue. The one drawback is Cugel himself. He is completely amoral, selfish, pitiless and generally unsympathetic. A rogue with a heart of gold he most definitely is not.

Super Reader
Cugel has made a mistake. He has been caught, and by a wizard that could pretty easily blast him into being an ex-Cugel.

Instead, the wizard sends him on a quest. Said wizard will let
Cugel live if Cugel can bring him back one of the Eyes of the
Overworld. A lot easier said than done, of course.

Dying Earth : 2 Eyes of the Overworld - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 1 The Overworld - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 2 Cil - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 3 The Mountains of Magnatz - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 4 The Sorcerer Pharesm - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 5 The Pilgrims - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 6 The Cave in the Forest - Jack Vance
Eyes of the Overworld : 7 The Manse of Iucounu - Jack Vance


Cugel busted and drafted.

3.5 out of 5


Poison, no magic and monsters.

3 out of 5


Cugel finds female companions vexing.

3 out of 5


Stone patterns and philosophy.

3 out of 5


Bemusing bunch with a spot of swordplay and harpooning.

3 out of 5


Collared into spelunking.

3.5 out of 5


Mastering magicians can make poetic justice boomerang.

4 out of 5

An old soldier's barracks review
I first read this engrossing story when I was 18 and living in the barracks in Germany in 1975. After I read it, almost everyone who could read in my Tank Batallion(killer tank, not water tank) read it and I never saw my copy again. It brings back so many memories to read again of Cugel the Clever and dream of the cusps. Tho' now I am 50 years of age.

Cugel the Clever
Set in the time of Vance's Dying Earth series, when our sun is on the verge of going dark forever, we are introduced to one of Vance's more remarkable creations: Cugel- a/k/a, Cugel the Clever (as he refers to himself).

In the annals of fiction, Cugel is without doubt in a class by himself.He is anti-hero rather than hero - egotistical beyond belief, selfish beyond all doubt, vain as a peacock, and with an inflated sense of self-worth that would put a greek god to shame.

Caught in an attempt to steal from a powerful wizard, Cugel is exiled rather than slain, sent by that very magician on an impossible quest halfway around the world.In a world populated by monsters, madmen, magicians and mayhem, Cugel's odds for success are almost non-existent.Added to his burden is the fact that the magician, in an attempt to spur Cugel to success, has attached a demonic creature to Cugel's spleen;if Cugel delays overlong in accomplishing his mission, the creature will kill him.But Cugel, who aptly styles himself "Cugel the Clever" is nothing if not resourceful; with pluck, bravado and Narcissian vanity, he sets about accomplishing his mission via outrageous schemes and outlandish scams.

In short, the book is an absolute delight; laced with action, humor, and magic, it is an easy read that you won't easily forget and won't want to end. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not really fantasy
This is the first version of the book.It contains one novella, a long, short story and 4 short stories.The second edition contains 2 extra tales.

All the stories could be called science-fiction, although I struggle to classify this book.All the tales presuppose the human race achieving inter-space travel and depict life on other planets, yet they also have a strange 'old world' feeling and hint at 'magic'.The 'magic', however, is actually psychic phenomena and strange mind states brought about by natural phenomena or technology.The demon in is surely an alien.For this reason the book is not truly fantasy or even science-fantasy, though the title suggests otherwise.

I feel Vance is at his best in the four short stories.These stories have both a quality of 'weird otherness', and, at the same time, a precise punchiness of style.The two longer tales are quite adequate but seem somehow diffuse when compared with their shorter counterparts.

This is the first book of Jack Vance's fiction I have read and I certainly would say that I would read more.
... Read more

Product Description
Nebula and World Fantasy Grand Master Jack Vance is one of the most admired and cherished writers of science fiction and fantasy in the world, and is one of the truly important and influential storytellers of the 20th century.From his first published story "The World Thinker" in 1945 to his final novel Lurulu in 2004, Vance has shown an astonishing range of inventiveness, versatility and sheer storytelling power, as well as a gift for language and world-building second to none. Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Edgar awards, his acclaimed first book The Dying Earth and its sequels helped shape the face of modern heroic fantasy for generations of readers -- and writers! In more than sixty novels, he has done more than any other author to define science fantasy and its preeminent form: the planetary adventure.Born in San Francisco in 1916, Vance wrote much of what you'll find between these covers both abroad and at home in the hills above Oakland, either while serving in the merchant marine or traveling the world with his wife Norma, all the while pursuing his great love of fine cuisine and traditional jazz.Now, at last, the very best of Vance's mid-length and shorter work has been collected in a single landmark volume. With a Preface by Vance himself and a foreword by long-time Vance reader George R.R. Martin, it stands as the capstone to a splendid career and makes the perfect introduction to a very special writer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

brilliant
I had a love hate relationship with this book, because many of his ideas were so much larger than a short story. Most should have been their own book, and many should have been series of books.

What I liked most was his use of ontology. Many authors today take for granted that every alien civilization would have the same sort of logic we would have. However, we have been granted a way of thinking passed to us directly from Socrates.

How would an alien race think? Would we be able to communicate, even if we learned their language because their way of thinking would be so different.

He also explores the question of what makes sentience. Can a species be intelligent in a completely different way than we are?

Can there be a different understanding of the universe that is not based upon Greek platonic logic? A logic which gave us empirical science, and is now being unraveled by quantum theories? Is it possible that we need a new type of logic in order to reach the next level of understanding of the universe?

Just a few of my thoughts as I read it

Fabulous Collection, Especially for those New to Vance
This collection has a great selection of stories if you're a newcomer to Vance.

Shame on Subterranean for the small print run. I would rather Mr. Vance have gotten his share of my purchase instead of the used book dealer*.

* - She was a very nice used book dealer...

It's Vance, but a "treasury?"...no.
Vance addicts are always searching for undiscovered nuggets.Alas, there aren't any in this compilation.

A disappointment.

Jack Vance Variety
This collection of 18 short stories/novelletes provides a good sample of the variety of stories that the Grand Master put out.

Two of the stories were Hugo Winning novelettes (which I had first read in the early 70's in first THE HUGO WINNERS anthology), THE DRAGON MASTERS(1963) and THE LAST CASTLE(1966).I just reread these two stories, and they are actually BETTER than I had remembered them - both of these stories are absolutely top notch.

Many of the other stories are more fantasy oriented, and not really my cup of tea.There are eight pure SciFi short stories - almost all of which are worth reading.I especially liked THE KOKOD WARRIORS(1951).THE MOON MOTH(1961), THE SECRET(1966) and THE NEW PRIME(1951) were also enjoyable.Those four all hold up better to time than SAIL 25(1962), and are more enjoyable than THE GIFT OF GAB(1955), NOISE(1951), and THE MEN RETURN(1957).

If you haven't read THE DRAGON MASTERS, THE LAST CASTLE, or THE KOKOD WARRIORS, you really must get this book and read these three stories.They all hold up extremely well to time, and are true far-future SciFi classics.These three stories, and THE FACE (1979, from THE DEMON PRINCES series), show that when Jack Vance is good, he is VERY good.

Wonderful Vance collection!
Great collection of some of Vance's work, which can be hard to find. ... Read more

Product Description
Five vintage stories from the 1950s by Science Fiction Grand Master, Jack Vance. SF stories of adventure, detection, horror, and humor.


Stories include The Men Return; The Devil On Salvation Bluff; A Practical Man's Guide; Worlds of Origin; and the haunting, When the Five Moons Rise. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super Sci-fi Shorts
I was excited to see this set of 5 short stories arrive on Kindle. These tales were written by Vance in the 50's for the sci-fi pulps.
The tales vary in length but on average would equal about 20 pages a tale in regular book print.

Here is a brief description of the stories within:

When the Five Moons Rise:
A lighthouse keeper on a strange and foreign world finds the odd warnings of his vanished partner to be sage advice. "When the five moons rise together it is wise to believe nothing"

Worlds of Origin:
A mystery novel and a fine example of Vance's trademark imagination with worlds and customs of alien origin. No less than a dozen wholly unique Vance worlds come to light during Magnus Ridolphs' inquiry into the mysterious death of a man on a space station retreat.

A Practicle Man's Guide:
Set in a magazine editors office, what happens when a collector of strange and usually useless inventions becomes manically obsessed with a manuscript of instructions which should reveal the world as it is.

The Men Return:
Completely alien earth where our universal rule of cause and effect no longer has any meaning and only the insane flourish in the new dynamics.

The Devil On Salvation Bluff:
An Earth colony on a strange planet called Glory, where the counting of time is almost useless as the many suns rise and fall with no pattern. The effects of forcing "Earth" structure on this alien landscape and its aboriginal inhabitants.

These stories are all classic Vance. His humor and clever insight into what makes us distinctly human and his wild and vivid imagination make for a very good read.
Having been written for the pulps of the day some have most assuredly been edited down to the bone but the stories are strong enough to overcome even the most ruthless editors delete key. You get the sparse feeling of the surroundings in "When The Five Moons Rise" and the slow degrade of reason in "A Practicle Man's Guide"
My favorite among these stories was probably "Worlds Of Origin" I am always astounded by Vance's imagination which he simple tosses about so casually in this short story as if he had so much to spare that he could easily afford to leave amazing ideas in this tiny tale.
All in all a very good addition to any Vance fan's collection and a great set for any one who enjoys fantastical short stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Although the Conservancy of Cadwal has a new Charter, various factions work against it to further their own interests, and Glawen Clattuc is commissioned by the governors of the planet to apprehend the conspirators. Reprint. PW. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Throy
I've always been a Jack Vance fan sice I was a teenager.His mannered SF novels such as this one, even seem like a Jane Austen type of understated language which gets to the heart of the human condition even though it may be set on a world far removed from the English counties of Austen. I had volume one of the Cadwell Chronicles, which I read long ago.As he had died, I thought there were no more.Even though this one is not exactly up to his work in volume 1, it is still great.
RMS

Despite brevity, first rate Vance
Although there is truth in what other reviewers have commented, i.e., that this book is too short, and has the usual qualities of a somewhat hastily wrapped up ending that is rather typical of Jack Vance, still, it is Vintage Vance, the writing of the mature master when he was at his best. There are wonderful scenes, witty dialogue, and evocative descriptions to match his other mature work. If you care for Vance (I love his work above all so-called science or speculative fiction), you simply cannot miss this conclusion to the excellent Cadwal Chronicles. Nothing more to be said. Except maybe that it's not nearly as hard to find as implied. Used copies are readily available, if a wee bit premium priced for rarity.

Throy
Sad as it may seem, my credibility as a reviewer rests on reporting that "Throy" is a disappointing ending to the otherwise excellent Cadwal Chronicles trilogy.This volume picks up shortly past where "Ecce and Old Earth" left off.Glawen and Wayness return to Cadwal, bearing the new Charter and giving the good guys proper legal authority for defending the planet.The villains, as is usually the case, care very little for their proper legal authority.Proper illegal authority will be quite good enough for Julian, Smonny, Dame Clattey and Titus Pompo, thank you very much.

Consequently, it falls on Glawen to take yet another jaunt through the galaxy to unravel their sinister schemes.The problem, as others have reported, is the simplicity of the plot.There are insufficent twists and turns, Glawen and his new sidekick (same as the old sidekick) simply pursue a lead straight to the destination.While there are a couple of semi-interestingplanets to visit along the way, nothing stands out for particular brilliance in "Throy".None of the societies on parade can match the wonderful silliness of the Bold Lions from "Araminta Station", or the Funusti Museum in "Ecce and Old Earth".

"Throy" does contain a few Vancisms - i.e. classic one-liners dripping with irony, and an appropriate final fate for all villains of significance.However, the ending may carry certain problems beyond just the simplified plot.Without giving too much away, I will say that it involves death in large numbers.Fur sure it's the villains that do the killing.However, the alleged good guys, if they feel any sorrow for what happened, conceal it remarkably well.The dead people were not largely good people, yet most weren't precisely guilty of any capitol crime.The unspoken assertion that the political situation on Cadwal could only be resovled by mass slaughter may leave some feeling a bit queasy.The idea of a "happy" ending where most of the planet lies dead may leave one wondering whether Vance's normally perfect moral compass somehow ended up pointing south when he wrote it.

A serious disappointment
I adored the first two books in this series and despaired at ever being able to find a copy of Throy on sale.Finally, it surfaced on Marketplace, and I snapped it up...to find a book about a third the size of the others, no sub plots, and abrupt solutions to plots carried throughout the other two books."Gutted", as we say in the UK!Sure, the Vancian humour is there...but this is a pale imitation of the man at his best.A real anticlimax :(

A too short conclusion to a wonderful story.
In the first two books of this trilogy was set a tangled web of intrigues so complex that you would have expected a much more elaborate conclusion. But as is often the case in Vance's stories, the end is rather abrupt (seethe Lyonesse trilogy for another example). It evokes me of a child buildinga nice tower with blocks, then destroying it in a blow when she's hadenough. If you've read the preceeding books, you might want to refrain fromreading this one to keep the magic alive. You can't?I know, it'sirresistible... But you've been warned! ... Read more

Product Description
Jack Vance is one of the best-loved storytellers in science fiction. Here, collected in one volume, is the Alastor trilogy: three classic SF adventure novels that are Jack Vance at his best.The Alastor Cluster is a sprawling system of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets. It is ruled by the mysterious Connatic, who sees all and knows all, but with five trillion people contained within such far-flung boundaries, sooner or later something is bound to give.Trullion: Alastor 2262 : An idyllic world where food is bountiful and the oceans are clear. World 2262 is in for a rude awakening. The Trill, the once-peaceful race that populates the waters of Trullion, are gambling their lives away in the planet-wide game, hussade.Marune: Alastor 933 : Though the Connatic knows all, there is one man of whom he knows nothing, one man who knows nothing of himself. Pardero is determined to find out who he is and what cruel enemy forced him to forget his own life. But when he finally returns home to Marune, World 933, the mystery only deepens.Wyst: Alastor 1716 : On Wyst, World 1716, millions of people live together in harmony, work only a few hours each week, and share the fruits of their labor equally. Wyst seems a Utopia. But the Connatic, knowing better than to take Utopia at face value, one day decides to investigatea decision that may cost him his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Three worthy tales from Jack Vance
Jack Vance is the author of over fifty novels plus scores of short stories.With an output like that, there's guaranteed to be some variation in quality.The Alastor books are not masterpieces like the Demon Princes series or the Cadwal trilogy, but they are still good in their own right.In this trio Vance aims less for thematic elements than for entertainment.The Alastor novels are definitely crowd-pleasers.Each one features a hero struggling for justice against a swarm of criminal scum and triumphing in the end.

"Trullion" follows the adventures of Glinnes Hulden, the middle child in a family of three boys, as he briefly serves in the interplanetary starfleet known as the Whelm.He returns to his native Trullion and finds a host of problems waiting for him.His father and older brother have disappeared, his younger brother has betrayed the family, and a nasty band of backwoods locals have settled on his property.Circumstances lead him to become an athlete in the sport of Hussade.While the dialogue is often raunchy and funny, the Hussade sequences are difficult to follow, making the middle of the book something of a chore.The action picks back up at the end, as the various competing forces meet in the a series of showdowns.

"Marune" is a very different story, set in the same universe but having nothing else in common with "Trullion".A man with no name and no memory arrives at a remote spaceport.Experts can reconstruct only a small portion of his memory, enough to find his home planet but nothing more.Arriving home at the planet of Marune, he finds himself heir not only to a castle, but also to a endless series of mysteries and intrigues."Marune" is certainly the weakest of the three Alastor novels.The language is often complicated to the point of distraction, and the plot has relatively few surprises.

"Wyst" shows us Vance back in peak form.This novel follows a young protagonist named Jantiff, who immigrates to the planet of Wyst in search of easy living and new vistas for his art work.Wyst turns out to have a centrally run economy aimed at maximum leisure.Everyone works only 13 hours per week and has the rest of the time off for whatever they choose.While superficially looking nice from the outside, Jantiff starts finding problems shortly after he moves in.Signs of social rot are everywhere, as young people grow obsessed with sex and violence and blind to intellectualism and social responsibility.(Sound familiar?)Among Vance's oeuvre, "Wyst" is unusual for its lack of fighting and big action sequences, and it's focus on social satire and ordinary daily life.(Ordinary being relative, of course.)Among short science fiction novels, it is one of the best ever written.

Master of Words and Worlds
Jack Vance is one of the all time great authors in any style. His writing sparkles like a bright mountain stream that twists every which way but always knows where it is going. He creates highly imaginative worlds that come alive to the reader and peoples them with characters that are as real as the folks next door. Alastor was the first I read and is still my favorite but all three are great!

Vintage Jack Vance- highly recommended!
This collection of 3 novels shows Vance doing what he does best- creating detailed & exotic worlds with unconventional social systems, and telling an engaging story through interesting characters.

'Marune' finds a man without a memory- he slowly learns who he is, and who had stolen his mind and why.The answer leads him into Machiaviellian intrigue in a remarkable land of subtle noblemen.

'Trullion' is a water world with a mania for a competitive sport known as Hussade- and Glinnes Hulden has more to worry about than keeping his team together.All is not well among the deceptively tranquil islands.

'Wyst' is a look at a perfectly egalitarian society that is by no means a Utopia."The trouble with Utopia is people".

This book is worth the price for the settings alone- Vance is the best creator of imaginative and vibrant worlds.The plots are interesting as well- icing on the cake.Vance is a master science-fantasy stylist.

A good read
Alastor is a compendium of three novels set in the same science fiction universe: Trullion:Alastor 2262 (first published in 1973), Marune:Alastor 933 (1975), and Wyst:Alastor 1716 (1978). The name Alastor refers to a political entity of 3000 worlds comprising trillions of humans all ruled by the Connatic, a benevolent autocrat. Each story is centered on a particular world of Alastor, each with its own peculiar customs, a staple of Jack Vance's writings.

Trullion is the weakest of the three stories. Unlike most of Vance's stories, this one never captures the attention of the reader. The wrap up of the murder mystery that is central to the plot is unconvincing as are some of the more arcane plot twists.

It should be mentioned that the plot outline of Trullion in the book description above, as well as on the back of the book itself, bears little resemblance to the actual plot. Trullion is about a man who leaves his home to serve in the Connatic's space navy and returns years later to claim his rightful inheritance.

Marune is a typical Vance story. The protagonist is a sympathetic character and the world of Marune contains all of the bizarre social conventions that one expects from Vance. My only complaint is that he pulls a deus ex machina to resolve the story.

Wyst is a blatant critique of communism. Vance has a grand time ridiculing the inherent contradictions of a society that attempts to enforce a radical brand of 'egalism'. One aspect that makes this story unusual is the personality of Jantiff Rovenstroke, the protagonist. For much of the story Jantiff is a weak willed, unsympathetic, character. Towards the end, he is forced to fend for himself and surprisingly demonstrates much ingenuity and self-reliance. This transformation makes Wyst the best of the three Alastor stories.

Wonderful
I've already read this 3 times and it just keeps getting better and better.

The book contains 3 stories and each one though not as good as some of his other novels is still better that most any other authors.I very highly recommend it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

on this sebalic world
jack vances instalment about marune depicts a very strange culture, where the process of eating ist compared to the process of defecating and therefore done only in toiletlike compartments and alone. also musick is tobe despised since it is uncontrolled emotionality. You need to have youremotions in check in the culture of the rhunes. this also applies to sexualpractices, which indeed are exercised sweating and grunting, like swine andtherefore must be banned. to propagate the race it is necessary to wait forabsolute night when none of the suns or moons of marune is visible in theheavens. this period af absolute darkness is called "Mirk" andthis is the time when the male rhune dons a bodyconcealing mask, thatleaves only the gender uncovered and sneaks und lurks in secret passages tocatch any female unawares. yet the rhunes posess other qualities, they areconstrained courteous, distant andedeucated in their cogences, fields ofsience or craft in which they excel.

vance is forever looking foraristocratic lifeforms with or without poultroonery, buffoonery and comesin this book and in others to the sad conclusion, that true aristocracydoes not exist.

It's all about willpower
the main character of this story, Padero, finds himself stranded on a backward planet. His memory stolen by an unknown enemy for an unknown reason...

Who is he ? A fugitive, a criminal or a victim ?

For betteror for worse, Padero has only two things to live for... the first is toregain his memory and the second to seek revenge !

This, and the otherAlastor novels - Wyst & Trullion - are without any doubt his finestwork !

A very Interesting book
The hero was banished from his castle and plant. without his memory he battles his foes for his castle and memories. Another great book by Jack Vance ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The best of the Alastor novels (Warning: contains crypto spoiler)
Jantiff is one of the smarmier Vance protags, but this is one of the most vivid Jack Vance worlds of wonder. It's _Atlas Shrugged_ lite, but it makes me want to go there and rescue poor Tanzel.If you liked the old Woody Allen movie _Broadway Danny Rose_, you'll love the ending!

Though the curmudgeon in me has to ask (ref "Last Meeting at Ouldivai Gorge" by ?), maybe the Connatic didn't do Jantiff any favor by teaching Glisten to talk!

One of Vance's best
"Wyst:Alastor 1716" is one of Jack Vance's best novellas.Vance is known for his meticulous creation of alien societies, and the dystopian world of Wyst is one of his most imaginatively realized - what appears to be a society based on the pursuit of pleasure is inexorably revealed as a ghastly world of unending exploitation and brutality.Unlike most sci-fi dystopias, "Wyst" is not based on "1984" or "Brave New World";it's entirely original in conception.Some of Vance's most memorable characterizations can be found here as well - if you're a Jack Vance fan you'll find yourself re-reading and re-re-reading all of the arch-villainess Skorlet's dialogue - a masterpiece of the kind of arch black humor rarely found in sci-fi.The depiction of Skorlet during the climactic bonterfest is simultaneously frightening, hilarious, and heartbreakingly poignant."Wyst" is well worth the two or three hours it will take to read it.

Learn how to manoeuvre in a strange society, or else...
Many of Jack Vance's stories are decorated in passing with descriptions of strange foodstuffs that locals eat without a qualm; so must a visitor. In this story, food is central. The society is one of a vast population ofnear equals, with efficient feeding via standardised industrially producedand optimised meals. Humans being obstinately perverse, everyone thereforedevotes themselves to acquiring 'bonter'; a group of friends and associateswill arrange an excursion for a feast of non-standard and illicitfoodstuffs. Our hero joins in, and learns rather too much... See alsoTrullion: Alastor 2262, and Marune: Alastor 933 for independent stories setin the same general background of the Gaean Reach, further restricted tothe Alastor star cluster. ... Read more

Product Description
The Elder Isles - an ancient land where chivalry and the realm of fairie exist side by side. A land of mystery, strange beauty, high adventure and arcane magic. Kings are at war, opposing magicians devise ever more cunning stratagems. It is a land where princesses and changelings both can become embroiled in political rivalries and the quest for the grail. The Gollancz Black Books have proved to be an immensely successful formula for getting well loved stories into the hands of people who also love well made books. Jack Vance's Complete Lyonesse is a perfect addition to the series and contains Madouc the novel for which Vance won the World Fantasy Award. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Complete
The stories are familiar to Vance fans. The complete trilogy of Lyonesse, however, has never been reprinted in an omnibus, leatherbound, archival quality edition. And for such a price as presently offered (about 40 dollars U.S.) this is an edition no Vance fan will want to be without.
Using the Vance Integral Edition texts, this reprint offers a complete version, unedited, exactly as Vance wrote it himself (perhaps dismissing the U added to colour and honour and the like, this book being republished in London.)
It is sparesly illustrated, but they are well done, entirely appropriate to the atmosphere of the trilogy. The book itself, aesthetically, is beautiful to this beholder.
It is about 1035 pages and I was concerned it would be a bit unwieldy, and possibly becuase of its size, easily damaged. Im positive now upon seeing it that it is a durable and sturdy tome. I am very well pleased and recommend this book to veterans of Vance and newcomers alike. ... Read more

Product Description
A legend has to start somewhere...

As so many writers have said, it's in the shorter and mid-length work that the storytelling craft is best learned. Hard-Luck Diggings brings together fourteen such pieces from the first twelve years of Grand Master Jack Vance's genre-defining career, from back when he first worked to pay the mortgage, buy the groceries, travel the world, eventually building his own private 'dream castle' and starting a family.

Like any writer serious about staying in the game, we see him targeting the markets of the day, doing what was needed to meet the tastes of editors and their readerships while at the same time perfecting his own special way of doing things so that his name, his distinctive voice, stood a chance (in modern marketing parlance) of becoming a viable 'brand.'

Hard-Luck Diggings brings that fascinating process to life in fine style. As well as serving up vintage entertainment from one of the field's genuine masters, it provides an illuminating armchair tour of how the Jack Vance enterprise came to be, full of zest and life, the thrill of the upward climb and of so much more to be done. This is a book to be savoured with a twinkle in the eye, a knowing smile, but most of all, with a love of adventure and high romance firmly in place. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Necessary for any true Vance fan
I adore Subterranean Pressbecause they're regularly publishing the kind of classic and new speculative fiction that you might have a hard time finding otherwise. They ignore teen trends and market demands and focus on producing high quality volumes of excellent fiction complete with beautiful covers and interior art.

Hard-Luck Diggings is a collection of 14 of Jack Vance's unconnected short stories that were written early in his career, when he was perfecting his style and writing the kind of tales that were currently popular and likely to be purchased by publishers.

In each of these tales the prose is sparse, the characters are quickly sketched, and the plot is fast, tight, and weird. Many take place in the far future but, even though they were written 60 years ago, they somehow don't seem dated (except that only men occupy positions of authority and the characters are still using audiotape, videotape, and typewriters, and are powering their spaceships with steam).

The stories are presented in order of publication so, perhaps not surprisingly, the later ones are better (though they only span 11 years). I didn't much care for the first three stories -- "Hard-Luck Diggings" (1948), "Temple of Han" (1951), and "The Masquerade on Dicantropus" (1951) -- and that's probably because they are missing that wry ironic flavor of bizarreness that has developed into the Vance "brand." That starts to show up in the fourth story -- "Abercrombie Station" (1952) -- which takes place on a space station where zero gravity makes it fashionable to be fat. Two stories -- "When the Five Moons Rise" (1954) and "The Phantom Milkman" (1956) -- border on horror so, though they are intense and exciting, they aren't my favorites.

The stories that I most enjoyed were:

* "Three-Legged Joe" (1953) -- a planet-sized lesson in electrical circuitry.
* "DP!" (1953) -- the actions of world governments dealing with the eruption of millions of strange creatures from the bowels of the earth serve as a metaphor for global social and political ills.
* "Shape-Up" (1953) -- a clever protagonist applies for a dangerous job.
* "Sjambak" (1953) -- a reporter is sent to bust a myth about strange sightings on another planet.
* "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1954) -- an ambitious junior astronomy professor needs his senior out of the way.
* "The Devil on Salvation Bluff" (1955) -- shows what happens when we let the clock rule our lives.
* "Where Hesperus Falls" (1956) -- an immortal man tries to kill himself. (This was my favorite story.)
* "Dodkin's Job" (1959) -- a nonconformist gets to the bottom of the bureaucracy.

Each story in Hard-Luck Diggings is followed by a short autobiographical afterword extracted from sources such as the biography This is Me, Jack Vance! (Subterranean Press 2009). Some of these give background about the story, Vance's early career, his writing practices, or his travels. I learned a lot about my favorite author through these little glimpses into his life and thought this was a nice touch.

Hard-Luck Diggings is a nice collection of stories for any lover of excellent speculative fiction, and a necessary one for any true Vance fan.

A Blast of the Best from the Past
Hard Luck Diggings is a collection of 14 very rare Jack Vance short stories from the late 1940's and 50's. These tales were the mainstay of science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines, providing many formative authors at the dawn of the jet age with trips to the far future. Vance's work always shows a wealth of imagination and a basically optimistic outlook on the future of Humanity.

This optimism is strongly muted in the collection's `DP!' where the question of mankind's collective responsibility to the most unexpected of strangers in dire need is examined. `Dodkin's Job' is a more lighthearted look at the inevitability of unintended consequences in a highly centralized future society. `Where Hesperus Falls' is the tale of an unwilling prisoner, confined to immortality as a last specimen of the human race.

Most of these titles are what Vance refers to as Gadget Stories; spun around a central scientific or philosophic theme like cotton candy on a paper cone. The science is weak in most of them, but Vance's ability to spin a narrative is very special cotton candy. Even in these early stories his talent to take the reader to a remote and wondrous setting is well displayed. Even the pure horror of `The Phantom Milkman' showcases the Vancean sense of wonder that has made his work the inspiration of so many younger writers since these tales first saw print.

Well worth buying - classic Vance
I am a Jack Vance fan and why not? He's one of the best writers of SF&F who has ever lived. I have a lot of his books and it sometimes occurs that I buy one only to find that it contains many stories I've read before in some other collection. The stories here are very good and varied with nice comments from Jack at the end of each story. I had only read two before so most of the content was new to me and a great pleasure to read stories in the style of the great master. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

bad ronald
an excellent thriller of an amoral loner serial killer/sexual predator whose mother hides him in a hidden room after trouble with the law. after ronald's mother dies suddenly, the new residents have an unpleasant surprise in store. not at all graphic in the violence; more a psychological examination by one of the finest writers in any genre.

Bad BAD Ronald!
Like many people I had seen the 70's TV Movie but never read the book. I think there was only one printing of theoriginal paperback, which accounts for the steep prices as it has become a cult favorite. I do not want to spoil anything but will warn you the book is far darker than the toned down TV movie. Ronald is really really bad!
For example (spoiler alert), the original crime that forces Ronald to hide in his own house, in the movie, is an accident. In the book not only is it not an accident but he rapes the girl first and she is only 11 years old.

In Vance's depiction of Ronald, he still manages to make you feel some sympathy for him. Though he manages to blame his victims in his own mind and reeks a lot more mayhem before the anti climatic ending. It is a page turner and I think the whole concept, of a murderer hiding in your house, is wonderfully creepy.

Remember the hype?
I completely agree with the first reviewer about the difference between book and movie!Read the book and meet the real Ronald Wilby.He's a menace in ways that the movie couldn't show.The main mechanism of this story requires that you suspend your disbelief (hello-home inspection prior to completion of sale??) but then along comes Mr. Vance to blindside you with something that rings all too true, especially considering some of the stories we've all heard and seen in the news.The bones of the story ARE the same for book and made-for-tv movie, but the way the book handles ol' Ronny's um, interest in girls, vs. how the movie does, it's like the difference between a mosh pit and a minuet.Go from there.It's worth a read if you can find a copy, especially to see how books do and don't translate to screen.A very sad story about a very sad guy whose teeth you will want to kick in.

BRILLIANT WORK[NOT S.F.] BY S.F. MASTER
WHAT A DIFFERENCE FROM THE LAME EARLY 70S TV MOVIE! ALTHOUGH CERTAIN PARTS ARE SIMILAR,YOU GET INSIGHT INTO RONALD THAT A MOVIE COULD NEVER ACCOMPLISH[NO MATTER HOW WELL MADE].THIS IS ONE OF VANCES RARE EXCURSIONSINTO OTHER AREAS OF FICTION AND PROVES HE WAS JUST AS GOOD AT PSYCHOLOGICALSUSPENSE AS S,F. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Sheesh
I've read over 2000 fantasy titles, and this is indeed one of the worst.I like some of Jack Vance's other works, but not this one.The characters are foolish idiots, with no redeeming qualities, and the world is a mish-mash of loosely interconnected idiocy.Not even a map was provided to allow one to follow along with some of the characters travels.And the prose!The only other author I've ever read that made me cringe this badly with their prose was James Fenimore Cooper, and he gets the benefit of the doubt since he lived in a day when people often tried to impress us with their wordcraft to hide their lack of actual substance.

Honestly, I've owned this book for over 14 years.I still have not managed to read it all the way through.I am stubborn though, and will finish it this time, so it can finally go where it belongs, on a shelf collecting dust.Not recommended.

Condition not as described
This book was described as "Like New".In fact, both book and dutjacket
would more accurately have been described as VG-/VG-

Some of the worst fantasy I've ever read
I have a very eclectic reading taste, and usually find something to enjoy in pretty much any book I pick up to read. And yet this work was impossible for me to enjoy.And I tried. What others call "purposely obscure prose" I call just plain lousy writing.

The stories may actually have had some merit were the prose more pleasant...but then, I doubt it, which brings me to the next problem I found with this work.None of the characters were likeable and the world, though others have called it well designed, is just a collection of random whimsy and fancy. The two combined would make the stories difficult to enjoy even if the prose weren't so painful to read.

All in all, out of the thousands of fantasy books that I have read, this is the worst of the bunch.It is the ONLY one I had to continually push myself not to toss in the trash without finishing...ever.I found nothing in the entirity of this book worth even a tenth of the time it took to read.

A collection of the best stories ever!
I'd recommend Jack Vance's Dying Earth to all those who enjoy adventure, danger, romance and above all, class and humor! Dying Earth may not be what you'd expect as a stage for an adventurous character but you surely will enjoy the rich marvellous world created by Vance's mind.
Each story will have you gripped to the book until its end and you'll be willing for more!
I had already read the first three stories but I wanted to read Rhialto the Magician thus I bought this book.
A great value for any reader!

Must Read Genre Starter
The Complete Dying Earth is a must read if you like fantasy. Jack Vances hilarious stories and purposefuly obscure prose are truly entertaining.

His world is deep, well thought out, and very effective in conveying mood. His characters are all cynics and the atmosphere is seeping in feelings of dread and doom but the action and the colorful world complement it perfectly.

Jack Vance's ideas presented here would be used by many other people for everything from far more serious toned books like Gene Wolfe's Torturer series to magic spells in D&D. ... Read more

Product Description
The World Fantasy Award-winning third volume of the LYONESSE trilogy brings attention to the faerie changeling Madouc. Where princess Suldrun once meekly endured the proprieties of Castle Haidion, Madouc defends herself with rotten fruit. Vexed, King Casmir arranges a contest to marry her off, but Madouc has other ideas, and enlists the stableboy "Sir Pom-pom" on an impromptu quest to find her father. During their travels, they encounter swindlers, faeries, trolls, ogres, a knight in search of his youth, and a relatively pedestrian item known as the Holy Grail. As the sorcerers Shimrod and Murgen investigate portents of cataclysm in the world of magic, Casmir plans a murder that will bring all the lands under his iron rule; however, his ambitions will be complicated by one small but important oversight—he's failed to allow for Madouc! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Perfect Fantasy!
First off let's put the books in order.
1.Suldruns Garden
2.The Green Pearl (despite what the digital version says in its title)
3.Madouc
Now that that is out of the way!
Oh, to see the trilogy end!

But what a great ending. A fantastic denouement. All things resolved with wicked cleverness and justice dealt to every corner.

Jack Vance has got to be one of my favorite authors of all time. Maybe top of the list even. He writes with his imagination set on stun and with a wit to keep you giggling. I just can't understand the out of print-ness of this trio. If you enjoyed this Vance work then you will love, The Dying Earth, The Demon Princes, and Night Lamp.

Maybe if we could all get together and get Peter Jackson to sign on for the movie rights....

Ah a girl can dream can't she?
Hope this was helpful!

it breaks my heart
How can this book possibly be out of print? What madness has overtaken the human race, that junk like Gene Wolfe or Dragonlance rules the bestseller list, while this, a supreme accomplishment in the history of the American fantasy genre, languishes in relative obscurity? Jack Vance is so irresistable, so indescribable, that I won't bother to try to summarize Lyonesse; that's for fourth-grade book reports. Suffice it to say that it will haunt your dreams the way any of the other greats of the genre do, only Vance writes much better (and funnier) prose. For the love of all that is holy, get this book, and somehow or another get it back in print with a major publisher.

A Charming Changeling
Madouc, the third book in Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy, is probably the best. The first two books, Suldrun's Garden and The Green Pearl, are wonderful, but the title character, Madouc, and her search for her pedigree, are among the most charming characters and quests in fantasy. She steals the show.

Casimir, the relentlessly scheming king of Lyonesse, has learned the child he thought was his grandaughter, Madouc, is in fact a fairy changeling. That is somehow wrapped up in the mystery of Dhrun, son of King Ailias of Troicenet, of whom it was prophecied by a magic mirror that he would be the king of all the Elder Isles. Not if Casimir can help it. He wants that throne for himself.

And there are much larger, darker schemes afoot, as the evil magician Tamurello and the mysterious witch Desmei plot against Murgen, the Elder Isle's greatest wizard, who alone keeps the Elder Isles from sinking into the sea.

And into this web of political and magical intrigue wanders Madouc, determined to learn her pedigree, possessed of a bit of her fairy mother's magic and a truly wonderful charm all her own. It is Madouc who sets this novel apart from other fantasies. Vance does a splendid job creating a central figure who will beguile and amaze you.

Vance blends myths from half a dozen cultures into a seamless whole. The Elder Isles are saved, if at a terrible cost. The kingship is resolved, after a terrible war. And Madouc even learns her pedigree. The book is full of surprises, and sly references to other legends. As just one example, you will learn how the Holy Grail got to where Sir Gallahad could find it...

You should read the whole Trilogy. If for some reason you cannot, read Madouc. It's a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.

this book is supreme.
Fantasy-lovers, take heed! Madouc is third in one of the greatest fantasy trilogies ever written. You will fall in love with the fairy changeling/royal princess whose search for her heritage takes you on amerry chase. Read all three of the Lyonesse books by Jack Vance-you won'tregret it. A note: Madouc won the award for Grand Fantasy in the year 1990. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Vandals of the Void -- Going Where No Man Has Gone Before
One of the first space science fiction novels I ever read way back in 1969 in 8th grade. It ushered a love for space science fiction into my life. I still regard the book as one of the best. Love to see it placed on Middle School reading lists today. Should be made into a movie.

Not Vintage Vance
Regarding Jack Vance, people call me an extreme fan.When I finally found this book on sale at a price under $100 I went for it.

Being an avid Jack Vance fan, I was sadly disappointed.

What I like about Jack Vance:
Elegant prose
Excellent character development
Erudite use of the English language, including inventing of new words, phases terms, and concepts
Characters that speak the queen's English in novel ways
A surprising and interesting story line

In this book, I found none of these things.Instead I found a traditional space opera, with predictable plot, and characters with cardboard depth.The only interesting thing I got from this book is seeing the course of development of the Jack Vance writing style.

I probly wuddna even finished the book except that I am such a Jack Vance fan.

Then there was the condition of the book.It was an old library obtained from "who knows where".I had to reglue the binding before I could read the book to keep it from falling apart while I read it.I don't blame the seller, who did not misrepresent the product.Initially I was excited to get the book at any price.

If you are thinking about shelling out $100 to get a copy of this book.Forget it.

15 year old Sherlock Holmes in space (1953)
Dick Murdoch, a 15 year old teenager, is leaving Venus to meet his Father, Paul, at Moon. In the space ship, unexpected events cause captain to stop and examine the wreckage of sister ship American Star. This is the zone called Graveyard of Space. No one knows what attacks the space ships in this area. Some say it's Basilisk. But who is he? Dick's adventures in ship and in the Moon base, with his father, starts to pay off as he find more and more clues.

One (1) star for the adult reader. Target group is young adult (10-13). Written in 1953 this is among the first stories of Vance. He later published 11 more mysteries and 60 other books; mostly science fiction. This particular book was written to fulfill the contract requirement of the publisher. The characters are fond of using extensive vocabulary and the hero, teenager, has amazing ability to construct elaborate plans and schemes to get where he wants. As a detective story in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, it does not make reader to expect the next event because the twists are coming like clockwork: every 5 pages. A product of its time in a good sense, if you like horses and carriages, the past, but otherwise wooden read.

Early Vance story, more of interest to his fans than anyone else at all
This review is of the VIE version of the story.

People familiar with Vance's normal style in his fantasy and SF may be taken by surprise to find little of the humor or irony present here at all.The tone reminds me much more of his detective work.

The story itself is pretty straightforward and simplistic, with many plot devices clearly telegraphed in advance.I did not catch who the antagonist was, but did see all other clues as they were presented.

Honestly, if this weren't an early Vance story I had never read, I never would have bothered.There is nothing here remarkable or even particularly entertaining, and even more oddly, it is hard (impossible?) to find Wodehousesque voice Vance later uses in virtually all his Sci-Fi and Fantasy (possible exception, the first Lyonesse book, which was very serious in tone).

In any event, if you are curious to read this very early vance story, and can find a copy, then good luck!If you are looking for another Big Planet, Space Opera, Emphyrio, etc., then pass.

TheDirty Works of the Basilisk
_Vandals of the Void_ (1953) by Jack Vance was originally an entry in the Winston science fiction line for young readers. It has been ressurected in an expensive edition by Gregg Press. Perhaps the first thing to be said about the book is that it is a novel about space pirates. This means that it is a piece of unabashed blood-and-thunder space opera. In an introduction, Vance toys with the idea that some young readers may actually live to see an age of space piracy. "I hope that none of you serve with the pirates," he says with a poker face. "If you do, I'm sure you'll regret it. The pay might not be so good in the Space Navy, but you'll live longer" (vii). But Vance knows perfectly well the real reason that young readers will be drawn to this book is not for moral edification. The real reason is that space pirates are fun. They are fun because they are so ruthless and violent. And so we eagerly follow young Dick Murdock from the Devil's Citadel on Venus to an interplanetary rocket in the Graveyard of Space to the caverns of the Moon to the sands of Mars as he pits his wits against the pirates of the mysterious Basilisk.

Ah, but who is the Basilisk? Not the talkative Mr. Kirdy, who quickly dies under Suspicious Circumstances. But what about the bluff, bulldoggish Captain Henshaw? Or could it be the enigmatic Mr. Sende with his knife-slash mouth, who turns up in all sorts of odd places? Or could it be Crazy Sam Baxter, the lunar prospector who claims that there are aliens living in the moon? Or is it one of the astronomers on the luna base? John Teranabe, the good-humored Japanese-- who doesn't always tell everything he knows? The dark-eyed and haughty Professor Frederick Dexter? Or Dick's father, Dr. Murdock? No, no. Surely not. And yet...

There follow adventures with a killer telescope, an abandoned citadel, lunar caverns, various spaceships, and an elaborately ingenious code before the villain is finally revealed.

Vance is one of the best stylists in science fiction. Here is a sample of his writing as Dick makes a discovery on Luna:

A stratum of denseblack stone angled down across the porphyry. At the plane of intersection he noticed that the porphyry seemed stained, soft, almost like old putty. With the sharp end of his pick he pried at a chunk of the metamorphosed porphyry. It came loose, dropped down to the ledge, slow as a baloon under the weak lunar gravity. Dick started to turn back toward the raft, but first gave the chunk a rap for luck. It broke open like an egg. Colored fire, a flash of pure purple, caught Dick's eye. Slowly, in wonder and awe, he bent over, picked up the jewel, a perfect, many-sided crystal, twice as large as his thumb nail and glowing with purple as rich and intense as Tyrian dye. (65)

_Vandals of the Void_ has movement, color, wit and style. It is one of the very best of the Winston juveniles, and it deserves further life as a paperback reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Decent
Third volume of the Durdane trilogy. After the previous two, and especially "The Brave Free Men" I found this a bit of a disappoint. Basically it seems like a competent standalone, not very connected to the preceding volumes. That's a bit of a shame given the potential for pulling foreward the character work and political development, instead we're left with a basically stock Vancian character doing stock Vancian things--investigating an alien threat, bluffing his way across borders, getting captured, rescuing himself, triggering major alien social collapse. The details all work fairly well but the larger picture ends up being a bit lacking. I think I prefer Jack Vance when he's a little outside of his comfort zone.

Better than: Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance
Worse than: The Brave Free Men by Jack Vance

Classic Vance
This is the only Durdane book I've read so far, unfortunately they seem to be out of print. It's a typical Vance book; Our hero has strange and resourceful travelling companions. He acts on impulse at critical junctions and saves the day? It's a fast paced book, entertaining and engrossing.

His second best!
Why do people always relate on the Tchai saga? This Durdane adventure reveals all the richness of Jack Vances' talent.Follow the driven heroe in his colourfull encounters: people, beasts, behaviors, with the"stranger in a strange land" feeling. It's not just "sciencefiction". ... Read more

Product Description

The Panarch of Pao is dead and Beran Panasper, his young son and heir, must flee the planet to live and avenge his father's death. It is at the secret fortress on the planet Breakness that Beran discovers the dreaded truth behind the assassination of his father-and much more. The people of Pao are a docile lot, content to live in harmony with the rest of the cosmos, but the scientists at Breakness seek to alter the psychology of the Paonese for their own purpose-and Beran holds the key to their audacious plan. Beran will return to Pao, transforming his home world beyond his teacher's wildest dreams. But though he has been fashioned into a man of Breakness, Beran's heart is of Pao. And he brings to his world the seeds of change that will save Pao...or destroy it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

New edition of a great classic
Beautiful new edition of such a great classic.Distopia meets hope.One of the few books capable of touching so many areas of interest, from SF and linguistics to politics and sociology.Amazingly powerful look at the philosophy and reality of societal control.Could be alongside 1984 and the likes for studies in danger and potentiality of imperial means.Also, a joy for all us conlangers.Vance simply can't be beat.

Social Engineering Through Language
(Copied from Wikipedia article, author unknown)

The planet Pao is a quiet backwater with a large, homogeneous, stolid population ruled by an absolute monarch: the Panarch. The current Panarch attempts to hire an offworld scientist, Lord Palafox from the Breakness Institute on the planet Breakness as a consultant in order to reform Pao. Before the deal can be concluded, however, the Panarch is assassinated by his brother Bustamonte, using mind-control over the Panarch's own son, Beran Panasper, to do so. Lord Palafox saves Beran Panasper and takes him to Breakness as a possible bargaining chip in his dealings with Pao.

Somewhat later, Pao is conquered by the Brumbo Clan from the planet Batmarsh and the Panarch Bustamonte is forced to pay heavy tribute. To rid himself of the Brumbos, he seeks the aid of Palafox, who has a plan to create technical, mercantile and warrior castes on Pao using customized languages and other means to shape the mindsets of each caste and to isolate them from each other and the general populace of Pao. To achieve this, each caste gets a special training area where it is completely segregated from any outside influence; the necessary land is confiscated from families, some of which had held it for countless generations - which creates some disaffection in the conservative Paonese population and earns Bustamonte the name of a tyrant.

Mostly to amuse themselves, some of the young people create a language they call "Pastiche", taking words and grammar from the three newly created languages and from the original Paonese language and mixing them seemingly at random. This enrages Palafox, but he regards this development as no more than a minor annoyance, failing to realize the tremendous long-term significance.

Beran Panasper infiltrates a corps of interpreters being trained on Breakness and returns to Pao incognito. After several years, the plan proves successful. The Brumbo Clan is repulsed by the warrior caste. Once Beran Panasper reveals to the masses that he is still alive, his uncle Bustamonte's popular support melts virtually overnight and Panasper claims the title of Panarch that is rightfully his without bloodshed. For a few years, the castes of Pao are highly successful in their respective endeavors and the planet experiences a short golden age. However, Panasper is upset about the divisions in the populace of Pao caused by the Palafox program; the three new castes speak of the rest of the Paonese as "they" rather than "we" and regard them with contempt.

Beran attempts to return the planet to its previous state by re-integrating the castes into the general populace. Palafox opposes this move and is killed by Panasper, but the warrior caste stages a coup and takes command of Pao. Panasper convinces them that they cannot rule the planet alone, since they share no common language with the rest of the population, and that interpreters are still needed.

One interpretation of the end of the novel is that Beran Panasper is only in nominal charge of the planet, on the sufferance of the warrior caste, and that it is uncertain what will become of him and his plans of re-uniting the populace of Pao. Another way of seeing the ending is that Beran has outfoxed the warriors by getting them to agree to his decree that "every child of Pao, of whatever caste, must learn Pastiche even in preference to the language of his father". In the end, Beran looks ahead twenty years, to a future when all inhabitants of Pao will be Pastiche-speakers - i.e., will speak a language which mixes some attributes and mindsets appropriate to peasant cultivators, proud warriors, skilled technicians and smart merchants - which will presumably shape a highly fluid and socially-mobile society, composed of versatile and multi-skilled individuals

You are what you speak
"The Languages of Pao," by Jack Vance, is set in part on the planet Pao, a world populated by the descendants of human colonists.Pao's huge population is extremely docile by nature.Because the people's passivity makes them easy prey for conquest and exploitation, the planet's monarch seeks help from Lord Palafox, an official from the technologically advanced world of Breakness.Palafox's plan is to make the Paonese able to defend themselves in the following way: newly created languages will be used as tools to transform Pao's culture and mass psychology.

The back cover of the book notes, "It's one of the extremely few science fiction novels ever based on the science of linguistics."The novel is an effective combination of an intriguing idea, solid plotting, and compelling characters.Vance's finely crafted prose is really a pleasure to read--it's sturdy yet elegant.Vance creates richly detailed portraits of the very different worlds of Breakness and Pao.He fills his story with thoughtful details which really breathe life into the pages.And while this is clearly a science fiction novel, at times Vance infuses it with a flavor of fantasy or fairy tale.

This is both a novel of ideas and a novel of characters.The story of Pao raises intriguing questions about the relationships that link language, culture, political power, military power, and educational establishments.The book is not just a tale of massive sociolinguistic experimentation, but also a coming-of-age story and a story of political suspense.It also falls into the genre of military science fiction--in short, it's a rich and complex text.The big ideas of the book are anchored by well-drawn characters who inhabit a volatile web of interrelationships.Particularly poignant is Vance's portrait of one character, who finds himself caught between two very different cultures."The Languages of Pao" is a noteworthy achievement by a master craftsman of science fiction.

Planetary control by Language Control?
Pao is a peaceful planet of eight continents and many islands.The Paonese are gentle, uncomplicated, non-competitive, folk whose only problem tends to be famine one on or another continent at times.

Their rules is called the Panarch, named Aiello.Aiello's brother is Bustamonte, called the Ayudor, or second in command.Sitting at table, listening while his father received complaints from the citizens and tradesmen, was young Beren.During an argument with an agent from the Mercantil, the room goes dark and when light is restored Aiello is dead.Also attending the room is Palafox, a scientifically enhanced Dominie from the world Breakness.When it seems young Beren will be implicated in his father's murder, Palafox helps him escape, only to hold him hostage on Breakness.

Bustamonte, in the meantime, becomes Panarch of Pao, but is soon blackmailed so heavily by the Mercantil that he turns to Breakness to solve his problem.The Breakness Dominine from their institutes decide help Bustamonte by breaking apart the very language of Pao, since Paonese hold social caste sacred.The Paonese language was split into three new languages, Valiant, Technicant, and Cogitant.The eager students sent from Pao to the Breakness institute even created their own mish-mash language called Pastiche.And Beren learns them all.Beren steals away from Breakness and Palafox's institute, to settle back on Pao as Ercole Paraio.

But Palafox has never lost sight of the young boy he rescued so long ago, and is not finished with Beren yet.He has an alternate and selfish motivation for having saved the boy king so long ago.Does Beren have enough Paonese left in him to rule his people?Does he have enough Breakness in him to stop Palafox?You'll just have to read the rest.

This is one of Vance's older and shorter novels, but it runs at breakneck speed with Vance's amazingly realistic worlds, strange people, unique heroes, and magnificent prose.Don't miss out on this one!Enjoy!

Vance Explores Language and Culture
In "The Languages of Pao", Jack Vance explores the
connection between language and culture on Pao,
which is (at the beginning of the story) a planet-sized
extrapolation of pre-Industrial Revolution medieval
Asian culture with a thin layer of technology on top.

At the beginning of the story, the Paonese reflect their
language... neutral and relatively passive... and Pao buys
mercenaries and modern weaponry.After being
plundered one too many times by an invading clan,
Pao's ruler turns to Palafox, a powerful academic
("Dominie") from the neighboring world of Breakness.

Palafox's project has two goals... one overt and one
covert.The overt goal is to create Paonese intellectual,
mercantile and martial castes through the creation of
three new languages, three colonies of young Paonese
raised from the cradle in the respective languages and
of an Interpreter Corps that understands them all.
Palafox demands a harsh price for his services...
the indenture of thousands of young, beautiful
Paonese girls for concubinage and siring of
half-Paonese offspring.

As seen through the progress of Beran, a fugitive
Paonese crown prince who becomes a linguist on
Breakness, joins the Interpreter Corps and returns
to Pao, the reader eventually discerns the depths
of Palafox's madness and his ultimate goal: for he
and his descendants to collectively outbreed Paonese
men and take over the whole planet.

Late in the story, after Beran assimilates two of three
castes and outmaneuvers Palafox, his forces are
defeated by the warrior caste.When they attempt
to depose Beran, he resists, claiming that they cannot
wield ultimate power on Pao because they cannot
communicate with the Paonese (i.e., anyone but
themselves).When they challenge Beran to do
something about it, he slips one by them.By
ordering that all Paonese children... including those
of the current warrior caste... should henceforth be
educated in Pastiche, a heterogeneous melange of
the new languages created years before, he laid the
groundwork for their eventual assimilation.

There are interesting parallels between the role of
Pastiche on the Pao that will emerge after the end of
"The Languages of Pao" and the role of English, a
similarly heterogeneous melange, in our own 21st
Century world. ... Read more

Product Description
Found as a child with no memory of his past, adopted by a scholarly couple who raised him as their own, Jaro never quiet fit into the rigidly defined Society of Thanet.

When his foster parents are killed in a mysterious bombing, Jaro Fath sets out to discover the truth of his origins--a quest that will take him across light-years and into the depths of the past.
Amazon.com Review
Jack Vance has specialized in science fiction decadence since hisfirst stories in 1950. This novel's decadent world is called Fader, whoseinhabitants have only leisure to pursue since they have a geneticallyengineered slave class to do their hard work. Fader is threatened by manydangers, but the pleasure-seeking inhabitants are paralyzed by lack of will.Vance has developed his own vocabulary, sometimes tricky to decipher, toconvey an alien speech, but the meaning of his invented words emerges as thestory unfolds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Night Lamp - A Journey Into the Worlds of Jack Vance
For Jack Vance fans - and anyone who has never ventured into the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy - Night Lamp rates near the top of his efforts.A journey with Vance has always been a pleasure - this trip is especially so.

Night Lamp
Night Lamp may well be Vance's peak work in this theme--he's certainly used it often enough.

Not Free SF Reader
Jaro is a boy that remembers nothing but his name, nothing at all about
his past, who his parents are, or any of that stuff. His foster parents
adopt him after finding him being attacked.

They are a pair of musicians, but Jaro does know what the doesn't want to be a musician, but to getinto space.

A few bad jokes here, with all the clubs on the planet - a girl he notices is a clam muffin, for example.

No Sour Grapes Bunch that I remember.

Would you be proud to be a Clam Muffin?
During an excursion to record native music on the planet of Camberwell, Hilyer and Althea Fath find a band of hooligans beating a small boy in the street.They intervene and save the boy, taking him to the hospital.The boy won't come out of his coma without tremendous stress, so the doctors erase his memory.The only thing the boy was able to tell them is that his name is Jaro.

The Faths adopt Jaro and take him to their homeworld of Thanet to raise him.Thanet has a complex social structure, of which Hilyer and Althea refuse to participate in, making them "nimps".If a person doesn't belong to a club, and continuously strive to reach a higher level club, they are ridiculed and unaccepted in Thanet's society.

Jaro grows up, a "nimp" like his adopted parents.In his class is Skirlet Hutsenreiter, a "Clam Muffin", one of the most elite clubs.Skirlet has more problems than she lets the outside world know of, therefore she and Jaro strike a shaky friendship.Jaro grows up wanting to be a spaceman, to find out the truth behind his strange past.Hilyer and Althea want him to have an academic career at The Institute.

Because 'Night Lamp' is a story of Jaro's maturing, I won't give away any other details of the story.There are intricately imbedded subplots and schemes that add to the character of the tale.Vance has a way of lulling you into the complacency of Jaro's life and then shocking you with a sudden turn of event.His was of painting new worlds, species, and societies with intricate detail and interesting situations will keep you reading long into the night.

However, about three quarters of the way through this book, the story falls apart.It becomes more than a bit cheesy, uses repetitive dialogue, and IMHO makes a dumb turn that the story would have been better without.Also annoying was mention of a particular package that piqued curiosity and was never revealed.

All in all, you will definitely like 'Night Lamp' if you are a Jack Vance fan.If not, start with 'The Demon Princes' and save 'Night Lamp' for later.Enjoy!

My favorite Vance book...
This is Vance at his absolute best.Wry humor, imagination, action, great characters, in short, everything a good book needs is right here and done so masterfully!Any Vance is special, this particular Vance is extraordinary.An absolute must-read... ... Read more

Product Description
Subterranean Press is pleased to announce a small limited edition of the rare novella by Jack Vance that was eventually expanded into his novel Blue World.

The Kragen has been out of print for nearly twenty years, with the exception of its appearance in the Vance Integral Edition, a set of volumes published over the past few years that carried a cover price of $1500, for the least expensive edition alone.

Here's your chance to acquire a Vance limited at a bargain price, and cast your eyes upon a novella rarely seen since its original appearance in 1969. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hidden Treasure
This is a short novel that was later expanded to form "The Blue World".In my opinion, this version is better, without the multiple plot elements of the later book.

Also, of paramount importance, Amazon doesn't make it plain that this is a numbered, signed, limited edition!!!The price has virtually tripled since I bought my copy a few month ago, not that I care since mine isn't for sale.

A Wonderful early Vance
The Blue World was the first Vance book I ever read, and it's one that I intend to reread this very summer.Enjoy this; there are images and concepts here that I still hold fond in my mind some 40 years after I first read it. ... Read more