I offered to do a little Jack Vance guide for sci-fi buddy ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
shunn, but, I thought, why confine my genius descriptions of Vance's novels to a forgettable comment in an older entry? Why not just make them into a forgettable journal entry altogether?
Don't expect proper book reviewing, folks, because this is
My Unsatisfying and Personal Guide to Many of the Jack Vance Novels I've Read. The Last Castle
This was the first Vance I read. It was so long ago that I forgot about it and mistakenly thought the one I'd read first was The Dying Earth. I had to get this one out of the Madison Public Library because, at that time, about 95 percent of Vance was out of print. It's a short book—a novella, really. I remember really enjoying it and finishing it quickly, but not much else. Oh, I can already see how this guide is going to go.
Big Planet
Ahh, Big Planet, the story of a really big planet. This is traditional space opera in the Amazing mode. I read the Ace paperback, which I found out later was cut heavily. I bought the first edition hardcover (Underwood Miller books published the complete Vance in hardcover editions in the seventies, which included the works that had only appeared in softcover prior to then)—I am told this version has more "meat" to it. I haven't read it again. I wasn't overly jazzed about the book, but it was entertaining enough. The version I read could have been a book by several science fiction authors of the time period; for example, if you told me Big Planet had been written by A. Bertram Chandler, I wouldn't have argued. Some of it seems like a western, as you can see from the cover at left.
Why is a novel about a BIG PLANET only 236 pages (158 in original Ace book)? I bet the answer is astounding or amazing, or ...
Hey, why didn't they ever call a pulp magazine Flattering Science Fiction? I'd have edited that one.
Space Opera
Now here's a fucking masterpiece. This is probably my favorite Vance single novel, thus far. A guy travels through space with an intergalactic opera company. Hilarity ensues. Get this one, it's great. Of course, out of print, but I bet you could find a reading copy somewhere, cheap. The Vance books of this type remind me of those screwball comedies from the thirties. The dialog in here sparkles and some of the scenes are as absurd and funny as they can get in science fiction.
Emphyrio
This is another masterpiece, and the one that appears on a lot of "best of SF" lists by the likes of Gardner Dozois, etc. These guys always forget that half the time they're recommending out-of-print books, but that's hardly their fault. So, I couldn't get this one for many years—especially because most libraries won't carry paperback original type things (at least they didn't in those days; I note the Summit library has a few).
Sometimes this book seemed more like a hidden autobiography of a lonely young man in an exotic culture. I could half-assedly assume Vance is describing himself in this book, in places, but I really don't know to be sure. Nevertheless, great plotting, and the writing is, as ever, elegant. Definitely a good starter for the Vance beginner.
The Five Gold Bands
This was a ripping good yarn, the plot of which I've completely forgotten about. He has these Gold Bands, and I believe other people want to take them from him. The end.
The Slaves of the Klau
What can be said about The Slaves of the Klau other than that it is the book that proves Vance is a science fiction writer now and forever? Abominably lousy and the fact that the musos who run Vance Integral Library refer to it as Gold and Iron (Vance's original title) in a effort to de-pulpify its contents says more about them than it does Vance.
As proof, this was the book they made me edit for the Vance Integral Library, in my short stint there. I think they foisted off the crapola on the twenty-two year old, don't you?
The Dying Earth
This is the one everybody loves, and with good reason. It's refreshing, original, and totally readable. I came to it with only a knowledge of the basest levels of fantasy writing and felt that it was like reading an even more wonderful Robert Howard or Clark Ashton Smith. Gene Wolfe doesn't call it his Book of Gold for nothing, and the fact that his Book of the New Sun is basically a riff on this extremely short novel encapsulates the importance of this book on early science fiction and fantasy.
Why, you may ask, didn't I ever finish this? Well, I was on vacation with my dad and lost the damn thing before I could. And it was a while before I got another chance to read it, and, by that time, I just never got around to it. I want to reread the whole thing soon. I had the Lancer paperback when I was a teen (lost), and now I've got that signed first hardcover thingie (which I hope to never lose).
City of the Chasch
Servants of the Wankh
The Dirdir
The Pnume
Now these are the four novels that comprise the Tschai series. There was a Tor paperback omnibus of them called Planet of Adventure, which is a fucking awesome title.
Adam is from Earth and crashlands on Tschai, a planet with a bizarre social structure and lots of ADVENTURE. He has to find a way to get off of Tschai and it takes him four unbelievably entertaining books to do it. It's Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's P.G. Wodehouse. It's that trippy New Wave SF from the late sixties. It's also the book where I was beginning to get a little suspicious about his portrayal of women. Why are women always the way they are in Vance paperbacks? Why do they die or leave or seem ridiculously unreliable, petty, saturnine, or fickle? Hmm? Jack, why?
Anyway, even if you're a girl, I highly recommend this series, certainly, for me, a highlight in all the things I've read by him. In college I sat in bed sick one day and read Servants of the Wankh. Oh, and Wankh: haw haw haw.
Ports of Call
Lurulu
His last two books, probably for good. I really enjoyed both, though I read a lot of negative reviews regarding them. Lurulu was kind of short, but still a nice capstone to the duo. A guy named Myron decides to take a spaceship on a tour of the universe. It's very much a mannered comedy in the style of Space Opera, which, of course, appeals to me deeply. Some have accused these of being light on plot, and that is true. It's hardly the point of Vance though, who excels in the creation of societies and atmospheres. You love the books because of the way they are, not because of what they do.
The Star King
The Killing Machine
The Palace of Love
These are the first three in the five-part Demon Princes series. Kirith Gersen's whole planet was destroyed by the five Demon Princes and he travels the universe looking to kill each of 'em.
These are good, but I sure like that Planet of Adventure better. Obviously, I'm not done with the series. Well, I never claimed to be a Vance expert. Look at the cover of The Palace of Love: don't you want to go there and join in the orgy? That cover practically screams SOMETHING OF GOR. In a Vance book, it would probably be The Butler of Gor. Too bad Vance kind of glosses over all of that sex stuff. I was a little disappointed, but I guess it's a little wrong to expect lewd conduct in novels such as these, even if they were written in the late sixties.
The Languages of Pao
This is another one that's regarded highly by SF critics. I read it and enjoyed it, but it was a little too Campbell era Astounding/Analog for me. Not that I don't LOVE those magazines, but I suppose I unfairly expected something more from this novel. More ADVENTURE, or more COMEDY, or more MANNERS.
It was rather traditional SF, no harm, no foul, but I wouldn't scream about it. The linguistic parts in it were fascinating, though, in case you care.
Lyonesse
A really gorgeous fantasy novel, and the first part of a trilogy.
It starts a little dry, but really picks up after a while. And the descriptions and dialog are just picture perfect. Really, the wealth of detail in these books is somewhat staggering and overwhelming. Not a fast read, but a rewarding and enchanting one. I have yet to read the sequels. Fans of Little, Big would probably dig this, but it's unfair to compare the two, since the Crowley is in a modern setting.
I'm told that the editions I read were "butchered" by editors at Berkley. I'm of two minds about this. The fans of a particular author often want the undiluted work of their favorite golden calf. But editors are trained to see where a book can use trimming, editing, and changes to make a better book. Who's right? Well, both of them, I guess, and, of course, it depends on the writer and the editor in each situation. In Vance's case, I'd side with Vance. If this were Heinlein, I'd say, "Gimme the cut one." See what I mean? Anyway, I read the "butchered" one and still loved it. I want to reread it because I've no doubt I missed a million little joys.
Future Tense
Green Magic
The Dark Side of the Moon
Finally, these are each short story collections. Vance's short work is good, but I tend to prefer the novels. In Future Tense (I have a copy of this titled Dust of Far Suns), there is a story called "Dodkin's Job" which is stupid-brilliant. Totally love that one. And there's what appears to be a Melville pastiche in there too, which is great.
One of my worst collecting books stories is regarding The Dark Side of the Moon. I found a pristine copy of it, a hardcover, in a used book shop for $30. In those days, I read books like that and then sold them on eBay to make some money to buy records. I sold that one after reading (a collection of pretty bland early pulp stories) and made over $300, which, as you might imagine, bought a lot of records.
Now, I want a copy of the damned thing, just to have in my collection, and I can't get one for under $600. Man, if I knew then what I know now.
shunn, but, I thought, why confine my genius descriptions of Vance's novels to a forgettable comment in an older entry? Why not just make them into a forgettable journal entry altogether?Don't expect proper book reviewing, folks, because this is
This was the first Vance I read. It was so long ago that I forgot about it and mistakenly thought the one I'd read first was The Dying Earth. I had to get this one out of the Madison Public Library because, at that time, about 95 percent of Vance was out of print. It's a short book—a novella, really. I remember really enjoying it and finishing it quickly, but not much else. Oh, I can already see how this guide is going to go.
Big PlanetAhh, Big Planet, the story of a really big planet. This is traditional space opera in the Amazing mode. I read the Ace paperback, which I found out later was cut heavily. I bought the first edition hardcover (Underwood Miller books published the complete Vance in hardcover editions in the seventies, which included the works that had only appeared in softcover prior to then)—I am told this version has more "meat" to it. I haven't read it again. I wasn't overly jazzed about the book, but it was entertaining enough. The version I read could have been a book by several science fiction authors of the time period; for example, if you told me Big Planet had been written by A. Bertram Chandler, I wouldn't have argued. Some of it seems like a western, as you can see from the cover at left.
Why is a novel about a BIG PLANET only 236 pages (158 in original Ace book)? I bet the answer is astounding or amazing, or ...
Hey, why didn't they ever call a pulp magazine Flattering Science Fiction? I'd have edited that one.
Space Opera
Now here's a fucking masterpiece. This is probably my favorite Vance single novel, thus far. A guy travels through space with an intergalactic opera company. Hilarity ensues. Get this one, it's great. Of course, out of print, but I bet you could find a reading copy somewhere, cheap. The Vance books of this type remind me of those screwball comedies from the thirties. The dialog in here sparkles and some of the scenes are as absurd and funny as they can get in science fiction.
Emphyrio
This is another masterpiece, and the one that appears on a lot of "best of SF" lists by the likes of Gardner Dozois, etc. These guys always forget that half the time they're recommending out-of-print books, but that's hardly their fault. So, I couldn't get this one for many years—especially because most libraries won't carry paperback original type things (at least they didn't in those days; I note the Summit library has a few).
Sometimes this book seemed more like a hidden autobiography of a lonely young man in an exotic culture. I could half-assedly assume Vance is describing himself in this book, in places, but I really don't know to be sure. Nevertheless, great plotting, and the writing is, as ever, elegant. Definitely a good starter for the Vance beginner.
The Five Gold Bands
This was a ripping good yarn, the plot of which I've completely forgotten about. He has these Gold Bands, and I believe other people want to take them from him. The end.
The Slaves of the Klau
What can be said about The Slaves of the Klau other than that it is the book that proves Vance is a science fiction writer now and forever? Abominably lousy and the fact that the musos who run Vance Integral Library refer to it as Gold and Iron (Vance's original title) in a effort to de-pulpify its contents says more about them than it does Vance.
As proof, this was the book they made me edit for the Vance Integral Library, in my short stint there. I think they foisted off the crapola on the twenty-two year old, don't you?
The Dying EarthThis is the one everybody loves, and with good reason. It's refreshing, original, and totally readable. I came to it with only a knowledge of the basest levels of fantasy writing and felt that it was like reading an even more wonderful Robert Howard or Clark Ashton Smith. Gene Wolfe doesn't call it his Book of Gold for nothing, and the fact that his Book of the New Sun is basically a riff on this extremely short novel encapsulates the importance of this book on early science fiction and fantasy.
Why, you may ask, didn't I ever finish this? Well, I was on vacation with my dad and lost the damn thing before I could. And it was a while before I got another chance to read it, and, by that time, I just never got around to it. I want to reread the whole thing soon. I had the Lancer paperback when I was a teen (lost), and now I've got that signed first hardcover thingie (which I hope to never lose).
City of the Chasch
Servants of the Wankh
The Dirdir
The Pnume
Now these are the four novels that comprise the Tschai series. There was a Tor paperback omnibus of them called Planet of Adventure, which is a fucking awesome title.
Adam is from Earth and crashlands on Tschai, a planet with a bizarre social structure and lots of ADVENTURE. He has to find a way to get off of Tschai and it takes him four unbelievably entertaining books to do it. It's Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's P.G. Wodehouse. It's that trippy New Wave SF from the late sixties. It's also the book where I was beginning to get a little suspicious about his portrayal of women. Why are women always the way they are in Vance paperbacks? Why do they die or leave or seem ridiculously unreliable, petty, saturnine, or fickle? Hmm? Jack, why?
Anyway, even if you're a girl, I highly recommend this series, certainly, for me, a highlight in all the things I've read by him. In college I sat in bed sick one day and read Servants of the Wankh. Oh, and Wankh: haw haw haw.
Ports of Call
Lurulu
His last two books, probably for good. I really enjoyed both, though I read a lot of negative reviews regarding them. Lurulu was kind of short, but still a nice capstone to the duo. A guy named Myron decides to take a spaceship on a tour of the universe. It's very much a mannered comedy in the style of Space Opera, which, of course, appeals to me deeply. Some have accused these of being light on plot, and that is true. It's hardly the point of Vance though, who excels in the creation of societies and atmospheres. You love the books because of the way they are, not because of what they do.
The Star KingThe Killing Machine
The Palace of Love
These are the first three in the five-part Demon Princes series. Kirith Gersen's whole planet was destroyed by the five Demon Princes and he travels the universe looking to kill each of 'em.
These are good, but I sure like that Planet of Adventure better. Obviously, I'm not done with the series. Well, I never claimed to be a Vance expert. Look at the cover of The Palace of Love: don't you want to go there and join in the orgy? That cover practically screams SOMETHING OF GOR. In a Vance book, it would probably be The Butler of Gor. Too bad Vance kind of glosses over all of that sex stuff. I was a little disappointed, but I guess it's a little wrong to expect lewd conduct in novels such as these, even if they were written in the late sixties.
The Languages of Pao
This is another one that's regarded highly by SF critics. I read it and enjoyed it, but it was a little too Campbell era Astounding/Analog for me. Not that I don't LOVE those magazines, but I suppose I unfairly expected something more from this novel. More ADVENTURE, or more COMEDY, or more MANNERS.
It was rather traditional SF, no harm, no foul, but I wouldn't scream about it. The linguistic parts in it were fascinating, though, in case you care.
LyonesseA really gorgeous fantasy novel, and the first part of a trilogy.
It starts a little dry, but really picks up after a while. And the descriptions and dialog are just picture perfect. Really, the wealth of detail in these books is somewhat staggering and overwhelming. Not a fast read, but a rewarding and enchanting one. I have yet to read the sequels. Fans of Little, Big would probably dig this, but it's unfair to compare the two, since the Crowley is in a modern setting.
I'm told that the editions I read were "butchered" by editors at Berkley. I'm of two minds about this. The fans of a particular author often want the undiluted work of their favorite golden calf. But editors are trained to see where a book can use trimming, editing, and changes to make a better book. Who's right? Well, both of them, I guess, and, of course, it depends on the writer and the editor in each situation. In Vance's case, I'd side with Vance. If this were Heinlein, I'd say, "Gimme the cut one." See what I mean? Anyway, I read the "butchered" one and still loved it. I want to reread it because I've no doubt I missed a million little joys.
Future Tense
Green Magic
The Dark Side of the Moon
Finally, these are each short story collections. Vance's short work is good, but I tend to prefer the novels. In Future Tense (I have a copy of this titled Dust of Far Suns), there is a story called "Dodkin's Job" which is stupid-brilliant. Totally love that one. And there's what appears to be a Melville pastiche in there too, which is great.
One of my worst collecting books stories is regarding The Dark Side of the Moon. I found a pristine copy of it, a hardcover, in a used book shop for $30. In those days, I read books like that and then sold them on eBay to make some money to buy records. I sold that one after reading (a collection of pretty bland early pulp stories) and made over $300, which, as you might imagine, bought a lot of records.
Now, I want a copy of the damned thing, just to have in my collection, and I can't get one for under $600. Man, if I knew then what I know now.
nerdy
flattering science fiction: it looks good on you
It would be titled, "My Two Years of Reading Nothing but Michael Moorcock." When I say everything, I mean everything. It might not surprise you to note that I've not read a Moorcock book in seven or more years.
also, I'm sure you know about this, but right now I'm reading Sabriel by Garth Nix (I think he's Australian); a friend of mine sent me the series for Christmas and I was pretty knocked out by the covers on those things. the books aren't that bad, either.
Set a course for ADVENTURE
Did you manage to read that last Dying Earth story last night? Is it correct to presume that you've read none of the subsequent Dying Earth books? One of the few Vance books I own is the Tor omnibus Tales of the Dying Earth.
the butler of gor forced to shine and oil all those manacles
I haven't read any of the other Dying Earth books, but I'm working on it!
Often most changes occur before the sale, but sometimes continuity and other issues need to be fixed after the contracts are signed.
Incidentally, in the age of spell check, spelling is much easier and faster to deal with. I just have to be careful with homophones, etc. in these cases.
de-pulpification
" 'The Slaves of the Klau': What can be said about The Slaves of the Klau other than that it is the book that proves Vance is a science fiction writer now and forever? Abominably lousy and the fact that the musos who run Vance Integral Library refer to it as Gold and Iron (Vance's original title) in a effort to de-pulpify its contents says more about them than it does Vance."
As one of the VIE 'musos' in question, allow me to inform you that the Vance Integral Eidition used the title 'Gold and Iron' for a single reason: because Jack Vance instructed us to do so. We did not 'restore original titles', we used the titles we were instructed to use. 'Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight', for example, is a title Vance created for the VIE edition, it is not an 'original' title in any chnological sence. I do not know if this title is a case of de-pulpification; perhaps you will be able to inform me.
The basic idea of the VIE was to publish Vance's work as he would have it published. If Vance, by insisting on a title like Gold and Iron (under which the book was published in at least one edition, and which is also a key to understand what the story is about) was trying to 'de-pulpify' his work, this is the first I have heard of it. At least he said nothing to me about any such thing.
Paul Rhoads [for VIE info, see: http://www.integralarchive.org/]
Surely you must realize that, on the amazing future-world of the internet, opinions have a shelf-life! I regret that I must inform you that this bloger article is over three months old and has little of real value due to its extreme age in internet terms. I'm sure you'll understand that, in future, bloger articles for debate purposes must be utilized within two months or the bloger himself cannot be held responsible for anything he might have written.
Certainly, in the five months since this was written, it was possible for anyone to comment on such a hot-button topic like "the depulpification of Jack Vance" no matter how anachronistic or foolish or self-servicing their opinions may be. Think of the chaos caused if, for example, the Society to Undervalue Science Fiction as Literature, always late to find bloger entries on the internet, were to get their hands on such quickly determined synopses of Vance's work! Why, it would prove all of their efforts correct and throw all traditional notions of what is and is not SF into chaos! I could not in good conscience allow this to happen.
I'm sure you'll understand, then, why I allow these entries to expire after a more than reasonable amount of time, time that could be considered glacial or geological in future-world internet terms. I appreciate your response, however, and several months ago I would likely have argued that you yourself may have been speaking out of both sides of your mouth regarding this topic, but, with the great passage of time, I'm afraid that I have traded in my own copy of the VIE, purchased at great expense on the ancient internet, for a collection of sand and clay in preparation for the coming apocalypse.
Sincerely yours,
Asphalt Eden Bloger
My mistake!!
each day I learn more! Please forgive me for not understanding 1) that your opinion was old, and therefore likely to be stale, and 2) that such opinions lose all force.
...silly me!! I was under the illusion that, unless a change were made, public and easilly alterable declairations represented the current state of a person's opinions. I know better now.
And since you seem disposed to educate me, may I respectfully inquire in what way it is likely that you would have argued that I was talking out of both sides of my mouth?
Cordially,
Paul Rhoads
Certainly not! What would happen if we chose to simply go back and edit all of our past experiences to reflect our current states of mind? Banks would be un-robbed, children would be un-bullied by those larger than themselves, adults would be stripped of their university degrees, and certain modern composers and philosophers would surely cease to exist, their parents having un-fucked them out of existence!
But you have misread me. I have no disposition to educate you at all! In fact, my disposition leans more toward self-flattery, such as the kind I award myself when I see that you have created your very own LiveJournal simply to communicate with me. You are really too kind, but you must know that I am unreachable, I am almost completely impervious to legitimate discourse, I am something of a waste of your valuable time. Why not use this opportunity to paint, to write Cugel slash fiction, to drink wines?
Your humble servant,
Asphalt Eden Bloger
More mistakes by me!
Again; my mistake! I stand doubly corrected!! Probably we don't want any children un-bullied, or any de-procreation either! I am sorry to learn, however, that you have no disposition to educate me--though you are doing a marvellous job of it anyway, for which I thank you. I declair myself sorry to learn that you are 'completely impervious', though I cannot agree I am wasting my time, since, in my own estimation, which may be as idiocyncratic as your own, I feel that setting certain facts right, and even creating 'livejournal' accounts in order to do so, is worth it. Such, you see, is my opinion and my feeling! So I will repeat, with a few flurishes: VIE texts and titles, in as much as they differ from certain published versions, are as the author himself wanted them, so whether such differences, partucularly as explisitly directed by Jack Vance, were made by the VIE in a effort of 'de-pulpification', is a matter you must take up with the author himself. Accusing 'VIE musos' of de-pulpifying intentions is therefore nucupatory at best, and at worst slanderous--even when such allegations are made by CLS readers.
You have all this direct from a genuine 'muso'--which, by the way, is what? though perhaps, undisposed as you are to educate me, it is information you will withhold ?
De-pulpification, by the way, is an interesting concept, which you may have the honor of having invented; I have not heard of it, previously to reading about it here. Where might we study other examples--besides the impulse you attribute to Jack Vance (correctly or incorrectly, it is not in my power to say)?
Regarding your kind suggestions about how I might spend my time; do they not sneek over into the catagory of educating me, and therefore indicate, despite what you say about yourself (which I absorb with interest!), a disposition to do so? I would be glad to have a clairification on this point as well. You really cannot object that such a clairification would constitute the 'legitimate discourse' you seem to abhore, since, like everything else you have said up until now, it seems to be a function of what might be called, in a technical sense, 'randomly gratuitous hostility', so it will be impossible for any likewize ill-intentioned person to object that you would be being any such thing as 'reasonable', should you kindly deign to satify my curiosity...I would also venture to guess that your zone of indifference--or your 'stance of indifference' it might better be called--includes consistency?
Cordially,
Paul