Friday's "Forgotten" Books - Jack Vance

Today is Jack Vance day on Friday's "Forgotten" Books, and while Patti Abbott takes a much-deserved week off from playing host, I'm happy to step in and serve as Vance Central for the day.

John Holbrook "Jack" Vance was an American author born in 1916 who died just this past May, at the age of 96. He wrote prolifically in the science fiction and fantasy genres, but he also penned close to a dozen mystery novels under his name and a couple of pen names, as well as three books written in the Ellery Queen franchise. He won an Edgar for the best first mystery novel in 1961 for The Man in the Cage, as well as Hugo and Nebula Awards.

The first offering in today's FFB comes via Deb, who reviews Maske: Thaery, published by the author under his own name. For all the other books, both by Vance and other authors, check out the links at the bottom of this blog post.

Review of Jack Vance's Maske:Thaery by Deb

Part coming-of-age saga, part political and religious allegory, and part spy thriller, Jack Vance’s 1976 science fiction novel, Maske: Thaery, packs a lot into its slim 180 pages (this includes a helpful glossary, ala A Clockwork Orange, and a series of elucidating footnotes, found particularly at the beginning of the book). This is the first Vance book I have read and I must admit I found it a bit heavy-going in parts.  Not so much the plot, which is fairly fleet-footed, especially when Vance must include so much expository and world-building information, but the constant drag of made-up words and unconventional spellings.

Here is an example, a piece of dialog selected at random:  “That is the Wael punishment.  I consider them the strangest folk of Maske, perhaps of the whole Gaean Reach; they are said to derive from a union between Vile Fourteenth and a band of rogue Djans.”  Whether this arouses in you a desire to know where the Gaean Reach is or to discover who Vile Fourteenth and Djans are will determine if you will want to read this book.

Generations before the start of the story, the planet of Maske was invaded by a contingent of ultra-religious Thariots who drove out the original inhabitants (referred to as Waels and Djans) and settled an area they call Thaery. A group of original invaders who did not share the Thariots belief in a specific divinity process were exiled to a rough outpost called Glentlin. The residents of this area are referred to as “Glints”—a word synonymous with boorish and crude in the Thariot language (much as the Glints take “Thariot” to mean devious or secretive).

Jubal Droad is a Glint who has the misfortune of being a second son, meaning there will be no inheritance for him—he will have to make his way in the world armed with only his wits—but of those he has aplenty. During Yallow, a traditional Glint rite-of-passage, Jubal runs afoul of Ramus Ymph, a powerful Tharion who has broken the Theary laws restricting inhabitants to their own land.  Later, Jubal is employed by the head of Thearian security, Nai the Hever, and Jubal’s information about Ymph’s off-world activities results in Ymph being denied a significant government office. Ymph is a thug and a bully and Jubal now has a very powerful enemy.

While Jubal continues in his capacity as Sanitary Inspector (actually a cover for his work as a spy for Nai the Hever), Ymph seeks revenge by inducing his fiancée, Mieltrude, to sign a warrant that will result in Jubal’s being severely beaten. Did I mention that Mieltrude is also Nai the Hever’s daughter? Jubal manages to escape the punishment, but things get very complicated for Jubal, especially when his illegitimate brother murders their older brother, the head of their clan, and claims the position for himself. Jubal fights and defeats the usurper and he’s sure that Ymph had a hand in the original coup. Unable to convince Nai the Hever of the Ymph’s complicity, Jubal seizes Mieltrude and pursues Ymph across Thaery and the oceans of the outer lands.

During the voyage, Jubal and Mieltrude, like so many fictional couples who are originally antagonistic toward each other, begin to thaw.  Jubal discovers that Mieltrude is unwillingly engaged to Ymph who sees his fiancée as a political tool and reserves his love for his mistress, Sune, a nasty piece of work in her own right.  More adventure follows as the pursuit of Ymph exposes a whole new dimension to his greed, corruption, and cunning.  Stick around for Ymph’s well-deserved and ecologically-correct comeuppance.

As I said initially, this is a dense book.  It’s packed with action and adventure, good guys and bad guys, and a lovely female—almost the science fiction equivalent of a swashbuckling movie.  Enjoy the book, but take my advice and keep a bookmark in the glossary—you’re going to need it!

LINKS TO JACK VANCE BOOK REVIEWS

Patti Abbott, The Last Castle by Jack Vance 

Sergio Angelini, The Madman Theory by Jack Vance, writing as Ellery Queen

Bill Crider, Take My Face by Jack Vance, writing as Peter Held

Loren Eaton, The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance

Ed Gorman, Bad Ronald by Jack Vance

Jerry House has some interesting Vance notes and links

Randy Johnson, Son of the Tree by Jack Vance

George Kelley, To Live Forever by Jack Vance

Evan Lewis, Lyonesse, a/k/a Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance

Todd Mason, The Dogtown Tourist Agency by Jack Vance

Todd Mason also posted a tribute to Vance after the author's death in May

John F. Norris, Space Opera by Jack Vance

James Reasoner, Vandals of the Void by Jack Vance

Kelly Robinson, Flesh Mask by Jack Vance

Kevin Tipple/Barry Ergang, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance

LINKS TO OTHER BOOKS

Joe Barone, Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie

William F. Deeck, The Skyscraper Murder by Samuel Spewack

Martin Edwards, Found Floating by Freeman Wills Crofts

Curt Evans, The Adventures of Arthur Dawe (Sleuth Hound), by J.S. Fletcher

Roy Garraty, A Killer is Loose by Gil Brewer

Ed Gorman, The Vengeful Virgin by Gil Brewer

Nick Jones, The Hunted by Elmore Leonard

Peggy Ann, Deed Without a Name by Dorothy Bowers

Charles Rutledge, Through the Dark Curtain by Peter Saxon

Ron Scheer, Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson

Michael Slind, The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie

Kerrie Smith, Danger Point by Patricia Wentworth

TomCat, The Cursing Stones Murder by George Bellairs

Prashant Trikannad, All the Lonely People by Martin Edwards

Zybahn, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

FYI, Jack Vance's literary legacy has been preserved via two expansive publication projects: the Vance Integral Edition (VIE), a 44-volume set of his complete works, and the Vance Digital Edition, a series of e-books created from latest digital versions of the Vance Integral Edition texts.

Comments

[George Kelley]

Thanks for hosting JACK VANCE DAY, B.V.! I really enjoyed Deb's review! Jack Vance's work takes some time to adjust to. I recommend THE DYING EARTH to readers new to Vance's work.

[Barry Ergang]

Despite your generous listing, I don't deserve any credit for Kevin Tipple's review of "Liane the Wayfarer." All I did was find the story on the Internet. Kevin is the one who actually read and reviewed it.

[John]

Please add my contribution to the Jack Vance tribute. I just published my review of SPACE OPERA. Tried to include the hotlink but I guess your blog doesn't accept HTML in the comments.

Thanks for collecting the links. I know it's a chore.

[Todd Mason]

My review in progress of Vance's THE DOGTOWN TOURIST AGENCY is up, in first part, now...thanks, Bonnie...turns out this would not've been, perhaps, the best week for me to sub, anyway, so thanks for doing so.

http://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2013/08/jackjohn-holbrook-vance-ffb-dogtown.html

[Todd Mason]

That's interesting, Bonnie...it seems as if your blog is taking the comment with a URL in it OK, then it disappears (awaiting approval?). In the event it doesn't go to a pending file but vanishes, my review (in progress) of Vance's short novel THE DOGTOWN TOURIST AGENCY is up at my blog, and thanks for doing the list this week...

[Prashant Trikannad]

Thank you very much for including my review of Mr. Martin Edwards' novel. The Jack Vance book fest is truly on.

[Todd Mason]

BTW, is calling me Todd Martin a bit of payback for my desire to redub you Beverly all the time, or do great minds have middle-aged moments alike?

[BV Lawson]

Ha, Todd! Sorry about that. I'm a big tennis fan, and you may recall that Todd Martin was an American player who reached world #4 for awhile back in the 90s. But yet, you're right in that it's probably just a middle-aged moment. :-)

[BV Lawson]

Thanks for your review, Prashant! Martin Edwards is a fine author and faithful blogger, who is also one of our regular Friday's Forgotten Books contributors, too. Great choice!

[BV Lawson]

Got your link added, John! I had an appointment at 10 this morning, so I missed catching your review beforehand, alas. Not to worry - it will be included and archived on this link into perpetuity (or as long as the Internet lasts). And I'm sending out social media alerts, too.

[BV Lawson]

Added your DOGTOWN TOURIST AGENCY link, Todd! Don't know what's up with Typepad - they constantly tweak settings and formatting, so I don't know how that affected links. Sigh.

[Kelly Robinson]

Thanks for corralling all the links -- and for a nice review, too. I'm sure you're right about needing to bookmark the glossary, with names likes Ymph and Maeltrude.

[BV Lawson]

I'm happy to help Patti out with the links-wrangling, Kelly! And I'm sure that Deb (who wrote the review of "Maske: Thaery") will be pleased you enjoyed her post.

[Todd Mason]

Indeed. Jack Vance's playfulness with the language is not quite as offputting as, say, James Joyce's to those accustomed to the Plain Tale Plainly Told, but it can take some getting used to. Perhaps trying some of the John Holbrook Vance novels, such as BAD RONALD or THE MAN IN THE CAGE, is an easier access for those who don't also dig into the likes of Gene Wolfe or Jerome Charyn...or perhaps even the likes of Damon Runyon.

[BV Lawson]

I'm always impressed, Todd, with authors like Vance who can write well in several genres; even though some would argue sci/fantasy/crime are similar (than say, romance or YA), Vance's wide-ranging talent (despite the density of prose) is impressive.

[Todd Mason]

And he could write straightforwardly, as well, as his crime fiction usually shows (while, say, Avram Davidson tends, if anything, to grow more ornate with at least some of his crime fiction). I think it's usually a matter of if one is a good writer, and one loves the field they're experimenting with (or continuing with), it will tend to show. Carol Emshwiller even more than Theodore Sturgeon, for example, tends to write eccentric westerns...but, then, almost all of Emshwiller's work, from contemporary mimetic through sf and fantasy, can seem eccentric...likewise the likes of R. A. Lafferty, always happiest when spinning a tall tale. Vance was hugely influenced by Clark Ashton Smith, who in his turn was a late Decadent, much as Ben Hecht was, only Smith hung out literarily with WEIRD TALES folks (while sculpting and writing poetry as well as prose)...and that influence consistently shows in the more ornate approach Vances loves to employ on most of his fantasticated fiction...

[BV Lawson]

As always, Todd, you insights give me something to go look up and add to my towering To Be Read pile. My first-hand experience with Westerns is a bit thin, so I'll have to add Emshwiller's cowboy novels and "Sturgeon's Westerns."

[Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)]

Thanks for including me int his roundup - I tried posting a response on friday but it doesn't seem to have made it through so I thought I'd just put in another 'thanks you'. The comments you make about this book by Vance do resonate with me as I have a low tolerance when it comes to dense world-building in some SF and fantasy - I like Faulkner and Rushdie for instance but got really bored by all the strange names and places relentlessly thrown around in Tolkien for instance (apologies for the slight heresy there). Todd's comparison to Wolfe is very apropos as always as it can be hard-going but there I do feel it really pays off - same goes for James Tiptree Jr (Alice B Sheldon) I might add - now there is another author well worth rediscovering!

[BV Lawson]

Thanks for posting again, Sergio! For some reason, Typepad has been automatically putting some legitimate comments into the Spam folder. Ugh. Now I'll have to remember to check that folder every day just to make sure something important didn't get sent to the wrong location. But I appreciate your thoughtful comments - I, too, have some "issues" with certain fantasy writing for those same reasons.