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De Drakenruiters en Andere Verhalen
Here in one unforgettable volume are three of Jack Vance’s best novellas–rich adventures of humanity in crisis, showcasing Vance’s stylistic flair, creative ingenuity, wit, and storytelling the Hugo-winning “The Dragon Masters,” Hugo and Nebula-winning “The Last Castle”, and that gem of science re-born, “The Miracle Workers”. Resilient Joaz Banbeck of Aerlith sends his remarkable dragons against the non-human Basics. Xanten of Castle Hagedorn deals with the alien Meks, in their war of retribution on our own beleaguered, far-future Earth; the pragmatic Sam Salazar outdoes his betters, to save the last remnants of the human race on Pangborn. A volume for the Vance completist, a book so many of us wish we’d had for the last fifty years. – Terry Dowling The Dragon Masters and Other Stories is Volume 12 of the Spatterlight Press Signature Series. Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collection is based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition. Select volumes enjoy up-to-date maps, and many are graced with freshly-written forewords contributed by a distinguished group of authors. Each book bears a facsimile of the author's signature and a previously-unpublished photograph, chosen from family archives for the period the book was written. These unique features will be appreciated by all, from seasoned Vance collector to new reader sampling the spectrum of this author's influential work for the first time. – John Vance II
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
775 books1,526 followersAka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, John Holbrook, Ellery Queen, John van See, Alan Wade.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 8, 2020
The Dragon Masters won Vance a Hugo award. It's an excellent novella with an awful title. The story involves a long-abandoned human colony on a far-flung planet. Earth is a distant memory and the people scrape by with early modern-ish technology. Generations ago the colony was ravaged by very vaguely reptilian aliens, the "Basics," who harvested people and bred them into a servant class. Not to be outdone, a human hero managed to capture a crew of the Basics and **gotcha!** began selectively breeding *them*! The Basics fled.
The result is a planet where the populace fights wars with a bizarre and imaginatively named varieties of "dragons." Generations later, the Basics return with an army of battle humans freakishly bred in similar ways. Fighting ensues.
A fun concept, but it's not really what makes Dragon Masters great. It's great because:
(1) Vance's elegant prose, which is immediately distinctive and excellent. Vance has an uncanny ability to describe unreal things in ways that are unexpected but ring completely real. One of the humans bred by the Basics as a mount "canters" around making noises through its "quivering loose lips."
(2) Vance's ability to leave a world perfectly mysterious. Not everything is explained or described. The reader has space to ponder and imagine. A critical element of the story is a race of subterranean "Sacerdotes" -- humans apparently, but completely strange. With beliefs, social structures and origins that are hinted at, but never really explored. The name is evocative (French for "priest"), but doesn't really explain who the Sacerdotes are. They never wear clothes. They are faith-bound to answer any question truthfully, but the regular folks on the planet have an unexplained convention to take no notice of them. It's all so strange, and we're never given a straight answer. Wonderful.
(3) A nice take on alien mindset. The Basics and humans literally cannot understand one another. The aliens don't think in terms of cause and effect, but rather in terms of correct and incorrect actions converging into an inevitable destiny. Negotiations are virtually impossible. This carries over to the creatures bred by either side.
Finally the original publication in Galaxy magazine contained some sweet ass art of the mutated humans and the mutated dragons. I'm going to post some largely to offset the absolute garbage cover art of this latest edition published by Spatterlight Press.
The result is a planet where the populace fights wars with a bizarre and imaginatively named varieties of "dragons." Generations later, the Basics return with an army of battle humans freakishly bred in similar ways. Fighting ensues.
A fun concept, but it's not really what makes Dragon Masters great. It's great because:
(1) Vance's elegant prose, which is immediately distinctive and excellent. Vance has an uncanny ability to describe unreal things in ways that are unexpected but ring completely real. One of the humans bred by the Basics as a mount "canters" around making noises through its "quivering loose lips."
(2) Vance's ability to leave a world perfectly mysterious. Not everything is explained or described. The reader has space to ponder and imagine. A critical element of the story is a race of subterranean "Sacerdotes" -- humans apparently, but completely strange. With beliefs, social structures and origins that are hinted at, but never really explored. The name is evocative (French for "priest"), but doesn't really explain who the Sacerdotes are. They never wear clothes. They are faith-bound to answer any question truthfully, but the regular folks on the planet have an unexplained convention to take no notice of them. It's all so strange, and we're never given a straight answer. Wonderful.
(3) A nice take on alien mindset. The Basics and humans literally cannot understand one another. The aliens don't think in terms of cause and effect, but rather in terms of correct and incorrect actions converging into an inevitable destiny. Negotiations are virtually impossible. This carries over to the creatures bred by either side.
Finally the original publication in Galaxy magazine contained some sweet ass art of the mutated humans and the mutated dragons. I'm going to post some largely to offset the absolute garbage cover art of this latest edition published by Spatterlight Press.
July 21, 2018
Leuk! Een nieuwe verzamelbundel met korte verhalen van Jack Vance. Toevallig liep ik op de Comic Con Gent tegen het origineel van ieder van deze op en realiseerde ik me hoe bijzonder het is dat ze nu samen wederom zijn uitgegeven (zeker omdat één van de drie verhalen een bijzondere uitgave betreft).
Fantasy met een vleugje science fiction. In deze bundel zijn drie korte en prijswinnende verhalen van de Amerikaanse schrijver Jack Vance verzameld. In alle drie de verhalen moet een groep mensen de strijd zien te winnen van een buitenaards ras. Deze aliens zijn erop gebrand om de mensen uit te roeien. En alleen door listen en goede strategieën kunnen de helden hun volk en zichzelf redden van de vijand.
De Drakenruiters
In dit fantastische verhaal met draken en buitenaardse wezens, probeert Joan Banbeck zijn volk te redden van meerdere vijanden. Zo leeft aan de andere kant van het dal de verraderlijke Ervis Carcolo die hem probeert uit te schakelen en de algemene macht probeert te krijgen. Joan waarschuwt hem dat hij vermoed dat de Grondvormen, buitenaardse wezens die af en toe hun wereld bezoeken en de mensen uitmoorden of als slaven meenemen, zullen langskomen. Maar Carcolo slaat de waarschuwing in de wind en start een grote oorlog tegen Banbeck. Uiteraard land het buitenaardse schip van de Grondvormen tijdens dit gevecht, en zo moet Joan zijn mensen zien te beschermen tegen het vijandige leger van Carcolo én tegen de aliens. Gelukkig staat hij er niet alleen voor. Deze aliens zijn draakachtige wezens en bij een vorige aanval hebben Banbeck’s voorouders een grote groep gevangen weten te nemen. Het resultaat: ze hebben nu draken die voor hun kunnen vechten. En dan zijn er nog de Sacerdotes, mensachtige wezens die wachten tot de originele mens is uitgemoord om hun plaats in te nemen. Zij bemoeien zich nergens mee, maar Banbeck heeft ontdekt waar zij zich schuilhouden.
Spiegeling
Ieder verhaal houdt een mooie spiegel voor, niet zozeer aan de lezer maar aan de vijand in het verhaal. In De Drakenruiters zijn het draakachtige wezens die mensen fokken tot rijdieren. Ze gebruiken de mensachtige wezens om voor hun te vechten en de verbazing is dan ook groot wanneer ze geconfronteerd worden met wezens die op hun lijken. De gefokte draken die bij Banbeck en Carcolo leven zijn anders. Ze denken anders en ze leven anders, en zien er anders uit. Ook in de andere twee verhalen komt dit weer boven. Twee partijen die in een strijd verwikkeld zijn proberen elkaar af te troeven en de ander aan zich te onderwerpen.
Zo heb je de Meks in Het Laatste Kasteel, wezens van oorspronkelijk buitenaardse afkomst die als slaaf worden gehouden door de mensheid. In dit verhaal zijn zij degene die in opstand komen. En de Eersten in De Wonderbaarlijke Verrichtingen Van Sam Salazar waren de oorspronkelijke bewoners van een planeet die later gekoloniseerd werd door de mensen. Ondanks dat er meer dan duizend jaar verstreken zijn voelen zij zich nog steeds de rechtmatige eigenaren van het land en ze zijn bereid om de mensheid uit te roeien als dat betekent dat zij de strijd winnen.
Op Zijn Vance
Drie verhalen met lange zingen vol luxe woorden. De vertalingen die gebruikt zijn voor deze uitgave zijn nog de klassieke vertalingen van de jaren zeventig. Ze zijn geüpdate, maar ik kan mij voorstellen dat het vooral voor jongeren nog niet modern genoeg is. De keuze om zoveel moeilijke en minder gangbare woorden te gebruiken is niet raar. Als vertaling uit het Amerikaans van een schrijver met een groot vocabulair is het een hele uitdaging om dezelfde sferen in het Nederlands op papier te krijgen. Dat is gelukt, maar daarmee verkleind het wel zijn publiek.
Verder zijn de drie verhalen klassieke voorbeelden van de stijl van Jack Vance. Verwacht de gewiekste helden met listen waar Vance zo bekend om staat. De korte verhalen zitten vol geschiedenis en dynastieën en het is een goede tip om dus een pauze te nemen tussen het wisselen van de verhalen. Door de vele geschiedenis die bondig wordt gepresenteerd zou je als leer vermoeden dat de drie werken ieder een apart boek hadden kunnen zijn. Toch weet hij de verhalen netjes af te ronden zonder dat het te mechanisch voelt.
Leuk?
Ik ben bevooroordeeld, een liefhebber van Vance na alle verhalen die ik al van zijn hand heb mogen lezen. Wanneer de stijl van Vance je ligt dan zijn deze verhalen een must. Ook wanneer je op zoek bent naar (kortere) verhalen met fantasy over mensen die moeten strijden tegen andere wezens (veelal met listen) dan is dit een prachtig boek om mee op vakantie te nemen.
En de cover? Wederom prachtig getekend door Marcel Laverdet. Een aantrekkelijk boek van binnen en van buiten.
Fantasy met een vleugje science fiction. In deze bundel zijn drie korte en prijswinnende verhalen van de Amerikaanse schrijver Jack Vance verzameld. In alle drie de verhalen moet een groep mensen de strijd zien te winnen van een buitenaards ras. Deze aliens zijn erop gebrand om de mensen uit te roeien. En alleen door listen en goede strategieën kunnen de helden hun volk en zichzelf redden van de vijand.
De Drakenruiters
In dit fantastische verhaal met draken en buitenaardse wezens, probeert Joan Banbeck zijn volk te redden van meerdere vijanden. Zo leeft aan de andere kant van het dal de verraderlijke Ervis Carcolo die hem probeert uit te schakelen en de algemene macht probeert te krijgen. Joan waarschuwt hem dat hij vermoed dat de Grondvormen, buitenaardse wezens die af en toe hun wereld bezoeken en de mensen uitmoorden of als slaven meenemen, zullen langskomen. Maar Carcolo slaat de waarschuwing in de wind en start een grote oorlog tegen Banbeck. Uiteraard land het buitenaardse schip van de Grondvormen tijdens dit gevecht, en zo moet Joan zijn mensen zien te beschermen tegen het vijandige leger van Carcolo én tegen de aliens. Gelukkig staat hij er niet alleen voor. Deze aliens zijn draakachtige wezens en bij een vorige aanval hebben Banbeck’s voorouders een grote groep gevangen weten te nemen. Het resultaat: ze hebben nu draken die voor hun kunnen vechten. En dan zijn er nog de Sacerdotes, mensachtige wezens die wachten tot de originele mens is uitgemoord om hun plaats in te nemen. Zij bemoeien zich nergens mee, maar Banbeck heeft ontdekt waar zij zich schuilhouden.
Spiegeling
Ieder verhaal houdt een mooie spiegel voor, niet zozeer aan de lezer maar aan de vijand in het verhaal. In De Drakenruiters zijn het draakachtige wezens die mensen fokken tot rijdieren. Ze gebruiken de mensachtige wezens om voor hun te vechten en de verbazing is dan ook groot wanneer ze geconfronteerd worden met wezens die op hun lijken. De gefokte draken die bij Banbeck en Carcolo leven zijn anders. Ze denken anders en ze leven anders, en zien er anders uit. Ook in de andere twee verhalen komt dit weer boven. Twee partijen die in een strijd verwikkeld zijn proberen elkaar af te troeven en de ander aan zich te onderwerpen.
Zo heb je de Meks in Het Laatste Kasteel, wezens van oorspronkelijk buitenaardse afkomst die als slaaf worden gehouden door de mensheid. In dit verhaal zijn zij degene die in opstand komen. En de Eersten in De Wonderbaarlijke Verrichtingen Van Sam Salazar waren de oorspronkelijke bewoners van een planeet die later gekoloniseerd werd door de mensen. Ondanks dat er meer dan duizend jaar verstreken zijn voelen zij zich nog steeds de rechtmatige eigenaren van het land en ze zijn bereid om de mensheid uit te roeien als dat betekent dat zij de strijd winnen.
Op Zijn Vance
Drie verhalen met lange zingen vol luxe woorden. De vertalingen die gebruikt zijn voor deze uitgave zijn nog de klassieke vertalingen van de jaren zeventig. Ze zijn geüpdate, maar ik kan mij voorstellen dat het vooral voor jongeren nog niet modern genoeg is. De keuze om zoveel moeilijke en minder gangbare woorden te gebruiken is niet raar. Als vertaling uit het Amerikaans van een schrijver met een groot vocabulair is het een hele uitdaging om dezelfde sferen in het Nederlands op papier te krijgen. Dat is gelukt, maar daarmee verkleind het wel zijn publiek.
Verder zijn de drie verhalen klassieke voorbeelden van de stijl van Jack Vance. Verwacht de gewiekste helden met listen waar Vance zo bekend om staat. De korte verhalen zitten vol geschiedenis en dynastieën en het is een goede tip om dus een pauze te nemen tussen het wisselen van de verhalen. Door de vele geschiedenis die bondig wordt gepresenteerd zou je als leer vermoeden dat de drie werken ieder een apart boek hadden kunnen zijn. Toch weet hij de verhalen netjes af te ronden zonder dat het te mechanisch voelt.
Leuk?
Ik ben bevooroordeeld, een liefhebber van Vance na alle verhalen die ik al van zijn hand heb mogen lezen. Wanneer de stijl van Vance je ligt dan zijn deze verhalen een must. Ook wanneer je op zoek bent naar (kortere) verhalen met fantasy over mensen die moeten strijden tegen andere wezens (veelal met listen) dan is dit een prachtig boek om mee op vakantie te nemen.
En de cover? Wederom prachtig getekend door Marcel Laverdet. Een aantrekkelijk boek van binnen en van buiten.
October 26, 2017
The Dragon Masters and Other Stories is available in paperback and as an e-book from Spatterlight Press. Spatterlight has done Vance fans a great service by reprinting almost all of his out of print books. I hope Vance fans will support their efforts by purchasing from them. I own many of them and they are very high quality and a pleasure to hold and read. This collection includes The Dragon Masters (novella), The Last Castle and The Miracle Workers. A brief review of each is included below.
The Dragon Masters
Dragon Masters is a 116 page novella that was first published in the Galaxy Magazine in 1962. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 for best Short Fiction. It has been released in numerous book editions, although none appear to be currently in print. This is a very well known Vance work and should have rather widespread appeal to science fiction readers. It is a entertaining and enjoyable novel that involves much combat and action, most of it using interesting creatures referred to as dragons. I've read it twice now and liked it even better the second time. Rating 4.
The story takes place on the planet Aerlith, a rocky planet with a few fertile valleys. One colony of humans, lead by Joaz Banbeck, lives in Banthen Valley and another, led by Ervis Carcolo, resides in Happy Valley. Another group of humans called the Sacerdotes live in underground tunnels and consider themselves to be a different species, referring to other humans as "Utter Men." They are mysterious ascetics who have long hair, never wear clothes and have golden torcs around their necks. Sacerdotes are devoted to truth and knowledge and cannot tell lies but often answer questions in a vague indirect way. Avoiding the affairs of the Utter Men, Sacerdotes consider themselves superior, and wait for the time when Utter Men all disappear so they can take over. Sacerdotes are also very secretive and are suspected of having some hidden advance technologies, possibly even advance weapons or spaceships.
Many years ago aliens called "graphs" or "basics" invaded Aerlith and kidnapped many humans. The graphs continue to sometimes return to Aerlith to bomb the towns (mostly huts) and to abduct humans whom they enslave and genetically modify to make warriors. Years ago some of the graphs were captured by the humans and served as the breeding stock to create fighting dragons. So the humans have dragon like fighters who are descendents of the graphs and the graphs have warriors who are bred from genetically modified humans.
The leader of Banthen Valley, Banbeck, meets with the leader of Happy Valley, Carcolo, to ask his assistance in preparing to defend the planet from another graph attack. He suggests that they align forces and that Carcolo follow his lead by making underground tunnels and caves so their citizens can retreat to them when the graphs return. Carcolo refuses to cooperate or assist, however, and is more interested in attacking the Sacerdotes or other humans and in expanding his territory. Banbeck also tries to enlist the aid of the Sacerdotes in defending against the graphs but they refuse to be involved in mutual defense or in any of the affairs of the Utter Men.
The different types of dragons developed in the breeding programs are explained and include Termagants, Murderers, Fiends, Blue Horrors, Juggers and Spiders. Each type has its uses in battle. Some have horns or pincers they use to fight with while others are trained to use pistols, swords or mace. Dragons come in a variety of sizes from human size to gigantic. This is also true of the soldiers the graphs use that are genetically modified humans. There is much strategy, action and drama as the different forces encounter one another in various battles and maneuvers. It is easy, engaging reading and should appeal to all Vance fans.
The Last Castle
"The Last Castle" was first published in Galaxy Magazine in 1966. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1967 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1966. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel. Technically it is a novella. The setting is in the far future where an elite clans of humans on Earth live in castles as a special class of ruling aristocrats. Under them are the peasants and slaves. Most of the work, even the most technical, is performed by enslaved aliens called Meks. The humans think the docile Meks are happy being slaves, so are taken by surprise when there is an uprising and all of the Meks begin fighting to eliminate humans. The Meks defeat all castles except the largest and best defended one called Castle Hagedorn. One of the clan leaders there, Xanten, organizes a final stand against the Meks. Using lively dialog and interesting alien creatures, Vance presents humanitarian and ethical issues in a well written and interesting story. It is one of his better writings. It is a pity that more of Vance's novellas and novels did not receive awards. My rating: 4.
The Miracle Workers
"The Miracle Workers" is a 74 page novella published in 1958 by Amazing Science Fiction. The original inhabitants of the planet Pangborn are strange creatures called First Folk who have been marginalized by humans who arrived many years ago from another planet but who have lost almost all of their science and technology. One of the descendants of these humans, Lord Faide, has waged war to unite the various areas of the planet where other humans reside. Their solders are mostly foot soldiers who carry crossbows and darts and some mounted, armored knights. The only more technically advance items of warfare are several untried cannon like devices and one small, single person shuttle that Lord Faide can minimally operate. They also employ psychic warfare skills called "hoodoo" that the "Jinxmen" use to influence the opposition soldiers by causing them to have visions. Hoodoo can also be used to insert a demon like mentality into one's own soldiers to turn them into amazingly fierce fighters. Unfortunately for Lord Faide and his soldiers, hoodoo does not work on the First Folk who have decided that they have had enough of human interference. Although there is a lot of killing in the story, I found it to be fascinating and interesting and rated it a 3.5
The Dragon Masters
Dragon Masters is a 116 page novella that was first published in the Galaxy Magazine in 1962. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 for best Short Fiction. It has been released in numerous book editions, although none appear to be currently in print. This is a very well known Vance work and should have rather widespread appeal to science fiction readers. It is a entertaining and enjoyable novel that involves much combat and action, most of it using interesting creatures referred to as dragons. I've read it twice now and liked it even better the second time. Rating 4.
The story takes place on the planet Aerlith, a rocky planet with a few fertile valleys. One colony of humans, lead by Joaz Banbeck, lives in Banthen Valley and another, led by Ervis Carcolo, resides in Happy Valley. Another group of humans called the Sacerdotes live in underground tunnels and consider themselves to be a different species, referring to other humans as "Utter Men." They are mysterious ascetics who have long hair, never wear clothes and have golden torcs around their necks. Sacerdotes are devoted to truth and knowledge and cannot tell lies but often answer questions in a vague indirect way. Avoiding the affairs of the Utter Men, Sacerdotes consider themselves superior, and wait for the time when Utter Men all disappear so they can take over. Sacerdotes are also very secretive and are suspected of having some hidden advance technologies, possibly even advance weapons or spaceships.
Many years ago aliens called "graphs" or "basics" invaded Aerlith and kidnapped many humans. The graphs continue to sometimes return to Aerlith to bomb the towns (mostly huts) and to abduct humans whom they enslave and genetically modify to make warriors. Years ago some of the graphs were captured by the humans and served as the breeding stock to create fighting dragons. So the humans have dragon like fighters who are descendents of the graphs and the graphs have warriors who are bred from genetically modified humans.
The leader of Banthen Valley, Banbeck, meets with the leader of Happy Valley, Carcolo, to ask his assistance in preparing to defend the planet from another graph attack. He suggests that they align forces and that Carcolo follow his lead by making underground tunnels and caves so their citizens can retreat to them when the graphs return. Carcolo refuses to cooperate or assist, however, and is more interested in attacking the Sacerdotes or other humans and in expanding his territory. Banbeck also tries to enlist the aid of the Sacerdotes in defending against the graphs but they refuse to be involved in mutual defense or in any of the affairs of the Utter Men.
The different types of dragons developed in the breeding programs are explained and include Termagants, Murderers, Fiends, Blue Horrors, Juggers and Spiders. Each type has its uses in battle. Some have horns or pincers they use to fight with while others are trained to use pistols, swords or mace. Dragons come in a variety of sizes from human size to gigantic. This is also true of the soldiers the graphs use that are genetically modified humans. There is much strategy, action and drama as the different forces encounter one another in various battles and maneuvers. It is easy, engaging reading and should appeal to all Vance fans.
The Last Castle
"The Last Castle" was first published in Galaxy Magazine in 1966. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1967 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1966. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel. Technically it is a novella. The setting is in the far future where an elite clans of humans on Earth live in castles as a special class of ruling aristocrats. Under them are the peasants and slaves. Most of the work, even the most technical, is performed by enslaved aliens called Meks. The humans think the docile Meks are happy being slaves, so are taken by surprise when there is an uprising and all of the Meks begin fighting to eliminate humans. The Meks defeat all castles except the largest and best defended one called Castle Hagedorn. One of the clan leaders there, Xanten, organizes a final stand against the Meks. Using lively dialog and interesting alien creatures, Vance presents humanitarian and ethical issues in a well written and interesting story. It is one of his better writings. It is a pity that more of Vance's novellas and novels did not receive awards. My rating: 4.
The Miracle Workers
"The Miracle Workers" is a 74 page novella published in 1958 by Amazing Science Fiction. The original inhabitants of the planet Pangborn are strange creatures called First Folk who have been marginalized by humans who arrived many years ago from another planet but who have lost almost all of their science and technology. One of the descendants of these humans, Lord Faide, has waged war to unite the various areas of the planet where other humans reside. Their solders are mostly foot soldiers who carry crossbows and darts and some mounted, armored knights. The only more technically advance items of warfare are several untried cannon like devices and one small, single person shuttle that Lord Faide can minimally operate. They also employ psychic warfare skills called "hoodoo" that the "Jinxmen" use to influence the opposition soldiers by causing them to have visions. Hoodoo can also be used to insert a demon like mentality into one's own soldiers to turn them into amazingly fierce fighters. Unfortunately for Lord Faide and his soldiers, hoodoo does not work on the First Folk who have decided that they have had enough of human interference. Although there is a lot of killing in the story, I found it to be fascinating and interesting and rated it a 3.5
April 28, 2024
This is a collection of three Jack Vance novellas. The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle are very well known but all three stories are essential reading for Vance fans and will probably appeal to many science fiction and fantasy readers. Many of Vance’s writings were altered or changed by heavy handed editors so this Spatterlight edition is especially welcome since it includes all of the corrections that were made in the Vance Integral Edition, presenting these works as Vance originally intended them. It supersedes any previous releases. Being issued in a high quality trade paperback is an additional bonus. Highly recommended!
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Dragon Masters, The-Jack Vance novella
Dragon Masters is a 116 page novella that was first published in the Galaxy Magazine in August, 1962. It was initially released in book form in 1963 in an Ace Double paperback. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 for “Best Short Fiction.” This is a very well-known Vance work and should have rather widespread appeal to science fiction readers. It is an entertaining and enjoyable novel that involves much imaginative combat and action, using strange lizard like creatures referred to as dragons and large genetically modified humanoids.
The story takes place on the planet Aerlith, a rocky planet with a few fertile valleys. One colony of humans, led by Joaz Banbeck, lives in Banthen Valley in caves and another, led by Ervis Carcolo, resides in Happy Valley in huts. Another group of humans called the Sacerdotes live in deep caverns and consider themselves to be a different species, referring to other humans as "Utter Men." They are mysterious ascetics who have long hair, never wear clothes and have golden torcs around their necks. Sacerdotes are devoted to truth and knowledge and cannot tell lies but often answer questions in a vague indirect way. They refer to the other humans as “Utter Men” and trade with them for food but otherwise avoid Utter Men affairs. The Sacerdotes consider themselves superior to other humans and wait for the time when all Utter Men are extinct so they can take over. Sacerdotes are also very secretive and are suspected by some of having some hidden advance technologies, possibly even advance weapons or spaceships. The Sacerdotes spend their time smelting metal, boiling glass and performing their rituals.
Many years ago aliens called "Graphs" or "Basics" invaded Aerlith and kidnapped many humans. The Graphs continue to sometimes return to Aerlith to bomb the towns and to abduct humans whom they enslave and genetically modify to make warriors. Years ago some of the Graphs were captured by the humans and served as the breeding stock to create fighting dragons. So the humans have dragon like fighters who are descendants of the Graphs and the Graphs have warriors who are bred from genetically modified humans.
The different types of dragons developed in the breeding programs are described in detail and include Spiders, Termagants, Striding Murderers, Long-horned Murderers, Fiends, Blue Horrors, and Juggers. Each type has its uses in battle. Some have horns or pincers they use to fight with while others are trained to use pistols, swords or mace. Dragons come in a variety of sizes from human size to gigantic. This is also true of the soldiers the Graphs use that are genetically modified humans. These include Trackers, Mounts, Heavy Troopers, Weaponeers, and twelve feet tall Giants. Some Graph soldiers carry powerful guns and their ships have heat-beams and ion-rays.
The leader of Banthen Valley, Joaz Banbeck, meets with the leader of Happy Valley, Ervis Carcolo, to ask for his assistance in preparing to defend the planet from another Graph attack. He suggests that they align forces and that Carcolo follow his lead by making underground tunnels and caves so their citizens can retreat to them when the Graph’s return. Carcolo refuses to cooperate or assist, however, and is more interested in attacking other humans to expand his territory. Banbeck also tries to enlist the aid of the Sacerdotes in defending against the Graphs but they refuse to be involved in mutual defense or in any of the affairs of the Utter Men. They are not just devout pacifists but refuse to take action of any kind for any reason.
Carcolo is not concerned about the basics returning in their ships to kidnap humans because they have not done this in several years. Instead he is preoccupied with breeding dragons, fighting and expanding his territory. So rather than joining Banbeck to prepare their defenses against the basics, he decides to attack Banbeck. Vance depicts the battles between Carcolo and Banbeck with Banbeck getting the better of the two. During one of their fights Carcolo hears that the basics have landed in Happy Valley so he calls for a truce and asks Banbeck to join him to combat the basics. But Banbeck refuses, saying that Carcolo is as much of a danger to his people as the Basics are.
The story continues with exciting, detailed fighting scenes depicted between the different dragons of the humans and the strange Graph fighters .The Graphs have blast cannons and advanced weapons, including ones mounted on their spaceship, and the humans have mostly muskets, swords and maces so the humans must rely more on stealth and strategy than on brute strength and firepower. Dragon Masters is a fast paced and engaging story and should appeal to all Vance fans and many science fiction and fantasy readers. I've read it three times so far and rate it a 4 out of 5 “Really liked it.”
The Last Castle-Jack Vance novella
"The Last Castle" was first published in Galaxy Magazine in April, 1966. It is a 59/66/113 page novella, but it has sometimes been incorrectly labeled as a novelette and as a novel. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1967 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1966. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.
The setting is in the far future where for the past seven hundred years an elite clans of humans on Earth live in luxury castles as a special class of ruling aristocrats who call themselves “gentlemen.” Working under them are two alien, nonhuman species the Peasants and the Meks. The Peasants are “small andromorphs originally of Spica Ten” who are incapable of being aggressive. The Meks were brought to Earth from another planet called Etamion Nine and seem very submissive. They have a maw for a face and syrup sacs on their body that were once used for extracting “decayed swamp vegetation” on their home planet. Now the syrup sacs are filled with a syrup manufactured by humans. Mek brains seem to function as radio receivers that allow them to communicate with each other and to work as one. They are described as being a “hybrid of sub-man and cockroach” and are thought to be devoid of feelings. The “gentlemen” are also served by giant birds that talk and provide transportation for the humans and beings called Phanes that are beautiful but very fragile. On Earth there are also some humans, called Nomads, who have revolted against the gentlemen and live an independent, self-sufficient life without Meks, Peasants, Phanes, giant birds and castles.
Most of the labor in the castles, even the most technical such as the maintenance of spaceships is performed by the Meks. The humans think the docile Meks are content working for them, so are taken by surprise when there is an uprising and all of the Meks begin to fight and kill humans. The Meks rightly view themselves as being slaves to the humans and think there is room on Earth for only one species. The Meks defeat all castles except the largest and best defended one called Castle Hagedorn. One of the Hagedorn clan leaders there, Xanten, organizes a final stand against the Meks.
Using animated dialog and interesting customs and interactions, Vance presents humanitarian and ethical issues in a well written and absorbing story. The Meks might be insect like and nonhuman but they clearly can think for themselves and don’t want to be enslaved anymore. This is one of Vance’s better works even though it is not among his very finest efforts. It is a pity that more of Vance's writings did not receive awards. I’ve read The Last Castle several times and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”
The Miracle Workers-Jack Vance novella
"The Miracle Workers" is a 74 page novella published in July, 1958 by Astounding Science Fiction. The original inhabitants of the planet Pangborn are called First Folk. They are the size of humans but have foam sacs that bulge from their arms with orange lipped foam vents pointing forward. Their backs are wrinkled and loose with skin acting as a bellows to blow air through their foam-sacs. Enormous hands end with sharp chisel like fingers. The “head was sheathed in chitin. Billion-faceted eyes swelled from either side of the head, glowing like black opals.” They lived in fields of moss but were forced to move into the forests when humans arrived sixteen hundred years ago and displaced and marginalized the First Folk who now consider humans to be their enemy. These humans once had spaceships and advanced weapons and machines but over the years they lost the knowledge and skills that supported their science and technology.
The main character in this novella is Lord Faide, a human who has waged war to unite the various forts on the planet where other humans reside. Faide’s solders are mostly foot soldiers who carry crossbows and darts and some mounted, armored knights. The only technically more advance weapons Lord Faide has are several untried cannon like device called Hellmouth and one small, single person shuttle that Lord Faide can minimally operate. But they do employ psychic warfare skills called "hoodoo" that the "jinxmen" use telepathically to frighten the opposition soldiers by causing them to have horrible visions of demons. Hoodoo can also be used to insert a demon like mentality into one's own soldiers to turn them into amazingly fierce fighters. “For over a thousand years the keep-lords had struggled for power.” “None before had ever extended his authority across the entire continent-which meant control of the planet.” Lord Faide, from Faide Keep, hopes to be the first leader to do so.
As the story begins Lord Faide is advancing with his army toward a human fort at Ballant Keep that is ruled by Lord Ballant. But his path to Ballant Keep is blocked by a forest that was planted by the First Folk. The forest is full of deadfalls, scythes, nettle traps and other deadly traps set by the First Folk so Lord Faide decides to negotiate with the First Folk by asking them for a guide to help them get through the deadly forest. Initially the First Folk refuse but when they hear that Lord Faide is planning to attack and kill other humans, the First Folk offer to guide them through the forest because “they are pleased to see us killing one another.”
Chapters III, IV, V and VI are devoted to the imaginative battles between Lord Faide’s troops and those of Lord Ballant’s. Lord Ballant has an ancient weapon called the Volcano and both sides have ordinary soldiers plus jinxmen who employ their hoodoo to create visions of demons and to implant magical forces into their own men to make them into fierce demon possessed fighters, many times stronger than ordinary humans.
After the battle Lord Faide and his men attempt to return home but find their way blocked by the First Folk who bear large tubes that look like weapons. The humans are not concerned at first, however, because the “First Folk were a pale and feeble race, no match for human beings in single combat, but they guarded their forests with traps and deadfalls.” Unfortunately for Lord Faide and his soldiers, hoodoo does not work on the First Folk because their brains are not human and the First Folk have decided that they have had enough persecution by humans. They have bizarre weapons unknown to humans, including large wasp like insects that are fired out from tubes like missiles and secretions of foam. There is a lot of fighting in the story, but I found it to be a creative and fascinating fantasy work. I’ve read it three times so far and rated it a 4+ “Really liked plus.”
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Dragon Masters, The-Jack Vance novella
Dragon Masters is a 116 page novella that was first published in the Galaxy Magazine in August, 1962. It was initially released in book form in 1963 in an Ace Double paperback. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 for “Best Short Fiction.” This is a very well-known Vance work and should have rather widespread appeal to science fiction readers. It is an entertaining and enjoyable novel that involves much imaginative combat and action, using strange lizard like creatures referred to as dragons and large genetically modified humanoids.
The story takes place on the planet Aerlith, a rocky planet with a few fertile valleys. One colony of humans, led by Joaz Banbeck, lives in Banthen Valley in caves and another, led by Ervis Carcolo, resides in Happy Valley in huts. Another group of humans called the Sacerdotes live in deep caverns and consider themselves to be a different species, referring to other humans as "Utter Men." They are mysterious ascetics who have long hair, never wear clothes and have golden torcs around their necks. Sacerdotes are devoted to truth and knowledge and cannot tell lies but often answer questions in a vague indirect way. They refer to the other humans as “Utter Men” and trade with them for food but otherwise avoid Utter Men affairs. The Sacerdotes consider themselves superior to other humans and wait for the time when all Utter Men are extinct so they can take over. Sacerdotes are also very secretive and are suspected by some of having some hidden advance technologies, possibly even advance weapons or spaceships. The Sacerdotes spend their time smelting metal, boiling glass and performing their rituals.
Many years ago aliens called "Graphs" or "Basics" invaded Aerlith and kidnapped many humans. The Graphs continue to sometimes return to Aerlith to bomb the towns and to abduct humans whom they enslave and genetically modify to make warriors. Years ago some of the Graphs were captured by the humans and served as the breeding stock to create fighting dragons. So the humans have dragon like fighters who are descendants of the Graphs and the Graphs have warriors who are bred from genetically modified humans.
The different types of dragons developed in the breeding programs are described in detail and include Spiders, Termagants, Striding Murderers, Long-horned Murderers, Fiends, Blue Horrors, and Juggers. Each type has its uses in battle. Some have horns or pincers they use to fight with while others are trained to use pistols, swords or mace. Dragons come in a variety of sizes from human size to gigantic. This is also true of the soldiers the Graphs use that are genetically modified humans. These include Trackers, Mounts, Heavy Troopers, Weaponeers, and twelve feet tall Giants. Some Graph soldiers carry powerful guns and their ships have heat-beams and ion-rays.
The leader of Banthen Valley, Joaz Banbeck, meets with the leader of Happy Valley, Ervis Carcolo, to ask for his assistance in preparing to defend the planet from another Graph attack. He suggests that they align forces and that Carcolo follow his lead by making underground tunnels and caves so their citizens can retreat to them when the Graph’s return. Carcolo refuses to cooperate or assist, however, and is more interested in attacking other humans to expand his territory. Banbeck also tries to enlist the aid of the Sacerdotes in defending against the Graphs but they refuse to be involved in mutual defense or in any of the affairs of the Utter Men. They are not just devout pacifists but refuse to take action of any kind for any reason.
Carcolo is not concerned about the basics returning in their ships to kidnap humans because they have not done this in several years. Instead he is preoccupied with breeding dragons, fighting and expanding his territory. So rather than joining Banbeck to prepare their defenses against the basics, he decides to attack Banbeck. Vance depicts the battles between Carcolo and Banbeck with Banbeck getting the better of the two. During one of their fights Carcolo hears that the basics have landed in Happy Valley so he calls for a truce and asks Banbeck to join him to combat the basics. But Banbeck refuses, saying that Carcolo is as much of a danger to his people as the Basics are.
The story continues with exciting, detailed fighting scenes depicted between the different dragons of the humans and the strange Graph fighters .The Graphs have blast cannons and advanced weapons, including ones mounted on their spaceship, and the humans have mostly muskets, swords and maces so the humans must rely more on stealth and strategy than on brute strength and firepower. Dragon Masters is a fast paced and engaging story and should appeal to all Vance fans and many science fiction and fantasy readers. I've read it three times so far and rate it a 4 out of 5 “Really liked it.”
The Last Castle-Jack Vance novella
"The Last Castle" was first published in Galaxy Magazine in April, 1966. It is a 59/66/113 page novella, but it has sometimes been incorrectly labeled as a novelette and as a novel. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1967 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1966. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.
The setting is in the far future where for the past seven hundred years an elite clans of humans on Earth live in luxury castles as a special class of ruling aristocrats who call themselves “gentlemen.” Working under them are two alien, nonhuman species the Peasants and the Meks. The Peasants are “small andromorphs originally of Spica Ten” who are incapable of being aggressive. The Meks were brought to Earth from another planet called Etamion Nine and seem very submissive. They have a maw for a face and syrup sacs on their body that were once used for extracting “decayed swamp vegetation” on their home planet. Now the syrup sacs are filled with a syrup manufactured by humans. Mek brains seem to function as radio receivers that allow them to communicate with each other and to work as one. They are described as being a “hybrid of sub-man and cockroach” and are thought to be devoid of feelings. The “gentlemen” are also served by giant birds that talk and provide transportation for the humans and beings called Phanes that are beautiful but very fragile. On Earth there are also some humans, called Nomads, who have revolted against the gentlemen and live an independent, self-sufficient life without Meks, Peasants, Phanes, giant birds and castles.
Most of the labor in the castles, even the most technical such as the maintenance of spaceships is performed by the Meks. The humans think the docile Meks are content working for them, so are taken by surprise when there is an uprising and all of the Meks begin to fight and kill humans. The Meks rightly view themselves as being slaves to the humans and think there is room on Earth for only one species. The Meks defeat all castles except the largest and best defended one called Castle Hagedorn. One of the Hagedorn clan leaders there, Xanten, organizes a final stand against the Meks.
Using animated dialog and interesting customs and interactions, Vance presents humanitarian and ethical issues in a well written and absorbing story. The Meks might be insect like and nonhuman but they clearly can think for themselves and don’t want to be enslaved anymore. This is one of Vance’s better works even though it is not among his very finest efforts. It is a pity that more of Vance's writings did not receive awards. I’ve read The Last Castle several times and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”
The Miracle Workers-Jack Vance novella
"The Miracle Workers" is a 74 page novella published in July, 1958 by Astounding Science Fiction. The original inhabitants of the planet Pangborn are called First Folk. They are the size of humans but have foam sacs that bulge from their arms with orange lipped foam vents pointing forward. Their backs are wrinkled and loose with skin acting as a bellows to blow air through their foam-sacs. Enormous hands end with sharp chisel like fingers. The “head was sheathed in chitin. Billion-faceted eyes swelled from either side of the head, glowing like black opals.” They lived in fields of moss but were forced to move into the forests when humans arrived sixteen hundred years ago and displaced and marginalized the First Folk who now consider humans to be their enemy. These humans once had spaceships and advanced weapons and machines but over the years they lost the knowledge and skills that supported their science and technology.
The main character in this novella is Lord Faide, a human who has waged war to unite the various forts on the planet where other humans reside. Faide’s solders are mostly foot soldiers who carry crossbows and darts and some mounted, armored knights. The only technically more advance weapons Lord Faide has are several untried cannon like device called Hellmouth and one small, single person shuttle that Lord Faide can minimally operate. But they do employ psychic warfare skills called "hoodoo" that the "jinxmen" use telepathically to frighten the opposition soldiers by causing them to have horrible visions of demons. Hoodoo can also be used to insert a demon like mentality into one's own soldiers to turn them into amazingly fierce fighters. “For over a thousand years the keep-lords had struggled for power.” “None before had ever extended his authority across the entire continent-which meant control of the planet.” Lord Faide, from Faide Keep, hopes to be the first leader to do so.
As the story begins Lord Faide is advancing with his army toward a human fort at Ballant Keep that is ruled by Lord Ballant. But his path to Ballant Keep is blocked by a forest that was planted by the First Folk. The forest is full of deadfalls, scythes, nettle traps and other deadly traps set by the First Folk so Lord Faide decides to negotiate with the First Folk by asking them for a guide to help them get through the deadly forest. Initially the First Folk refuse but when they hear that Lord Faide is planning to attack and kill other humans, the First Folk offer to guide them through the forest because “they are pleased to see us killing one another.”
Chapters III, IV, V and VI are devoted to the imaginative battles between Lord Faide’s troops and those of Lord Ballant’s. Lord Ballant has an ancient weapon called the Volcano and both sides have ordinary soldiers plus jinxmen who employ their hoodoo to create visions of demons and to implant magical forces into their own men to make them into fierce demon possessed fighters, many times stronger than ordinary humans.
After the battle Lord Faide and his men attempt to return home but find their way blocked by the First Folk who bear large tubes that look like weapons. The humans are not concerned at first, however, because the “First Folk were a pale and feeble race, no match for human beings in single combat, but they guarded their forests with traps and deadfalls.” Unfortunately for Lord Faide and his soldiers, hoodoo does not work on the First Folk because their brains are not human and the First Folk have decided that they have had enough persecution by humans. They have bizarre weapons unknown to humans, including large wasp like insects that are fired out from tubes like missiles and secretions of foam. There is a lot of fighting in the story, but I found it to be a creative and fascinating fantasy work. I’ve read it three times so far and rated it a 4+ “Really liked plus.”
June 18, 2020
This is a collection of three short stories / novellas with a military theme.
The first story, "The Miracle Workers", is the best of the three. Armies in this world use magicians to help them, and the magicians work in a voodoo-like manner, down to the human dolls. The original inhabitants of the planet still harbor a grudge against the colonizing humans. The story is brisk, and dialogues have the trademark Vance wit.
The second story, Hugo winner "The Dragon Masters", is about two rival human communities, each of which has enlisted "dragons" in their army. The story is compelling, but characterization is virtually nonexistent. I think it's only good when it's read as pulp fiction, but apparently in 1963 this was good enough for a Hugo.
The final story, "The Last Castle", is about an uprising of the humans' alien-slaves. It's the slowest of the three stories. On the positive side, it also contains a few choice Vance dialogues.
The first story, "The Miracle Workers", is the best of the three. Armies in this world use magicians to help them, and the magicians work in a voodoo-like manner, down to the human dolls. The original inhabitants of the planet still harbor a grudge against the colonizing humans. The story is brisk, and dialogues have the trademark Vance wit.
The second story, Hugo winner "The Dragon Masters", is about two rival human communities, each of which has enlisted "dragons" in their army. The story is compelling, but characterization is virtually nonexistent. I think it's only good when it's read as pulp fiction, but apparently in 1963 this was good enough for a Hugo.
The final story, "The Last Castle", is about an uprising of the humans' alien-slaves. It's the slowest of the three stories. On the positive side, it also contains a few choice Vance dialogues.
May 5, 2017
Dragon Masters=4
Last Castle=5
Miracle Workers=4
Last Castle=5
Miracle Workers=4
August 18, 2017
Jack Vance was always brilliant at imagining societies -- and the three novellas in this book have that common "leit motiv".
July 17, 2024
3 novellas:
**** The Dragon Masters (1962)
**** The Last Castle (1966)
*** The Miracle Workers (1969)
**** The Dragon Masters (1962)
**** The Last Castle (1966)
*** The Miracle Workers (1969)
May 8, 2014
The Miracle Workers: ****
The Dragon Masters: ***
The Last Castle: ****
The Dragon Masters: ***
The Last Castle: ****
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews