Anome, The-Jack Vance novel, book review

Anome, The-Jack Vance novel (author’s preferred title)

AKA: The Faceless Man and

Durdane Book 1

The Anome is the first book of the three part Durdane series. It was initially published in February, 1971 under the title The Faceless Man as a two part serial in The Magazine of Science and Science Fiction. It was released om 1973 as a book under the title The Anome. The Anome should be read first, followed by The Brave Free Men. It does not work well as a stand-alone novel.  There is no resolution at the end of The Anome so the two novels should really be considered one work with The Asutra as a sequel.  I do not find The Anome (or the Durdane series) to be among Vance’s really great works.  But the Durdane series novels are well worth reading by Vance fans. Those who enjoy reading about the customs and cultures of unusual societies and alternative worlds might also want to explore this series.  For readers unfamiliar with the writings of Jack Vance this would probably not be a good starting point.

The setting for the novel is in the far future on the planet of Durdane which was colonized nine thousand years ago by people from Earth.  The people on Durdane now have no contact with Earth and are not sure it even exists.  Durdane is quite backward and has little technology with carriages and hot air balloons being used for transportation.  The planet is composed of the regions Shant, Caraz, Palasedran and Beljamar.  Our main character lives in Shant where citizens seem to know little about any of the people outside Shant. It is an irregular oblong 1,300 miles long and 500 miles wide that is composed of 62 cantons that are “in loose confederation under the rule of the Faceless Man.” The Faceless Man (formally referred to as the “Anome”) enforces all the laws of the 62 cantons so rules over all of Shant and is feared by the citizens.  The Faceless Man also employs deputies who are known as Benevolences and Discriminators.  He is called “faceless” because nobody, not even his deputies, know his real identity.

Different Faceless Men have ruled over Shant for over a thousand years and during their rule there has been no war and very little crime. But for citizens there is a high price to pay.  When each person in Shant becomes of age, he or she is forced to wear a collar or "torc" around their neck.  The torc can never be removed and will explode if an attempt is made to take it off.  Each torc is specially coded so that the Faceless Man can locate every person who wears one.  If a person is identified as having committed a crime then the Faceless Man can impart “justice” by remotely exploding the torc which usually results in decapitation of the persons head.  Torcs are detonated “by means of coded radiation.” All citizens may petition the Faceless Man for a hearing or decision on issues of concern.  Each canton has its own set of laws and The Faceless Man does not interfere with canton laws; he just enforces them.  He also responds in writing to all citizen petitions submitted to him but has zero tolerance for any crime.

Every canton has its own local rulers, laws and culture.  “The cantons of Shant were alike only in their mutual distrust.”  Our main character lives in the town of Bashon in the canton called Bastern.  Bastern is locally managed or ruled by an all-male religious cult run by the Ecclesiarchs.  Followers of the Ecclesiarchs are called Chilites.  The head of the Chilites is Grand Male Osso. Only some citizens of Bastern become Chilites.  The Ecclesiarchs advocate religious practices focused on self-denial and purity but they do engage in the ritual use of a hallucinogenic drug. They consider all women and girls to be impure and have strict ascetic rules for its members who are initially called “Pure Boys.” Osso has even been known to berate others for even smelling a flower because he says it is a “female procreative organ of the plant.”

Our protagonist, a nine year old boy, is studying to become a Chilite.  Initially his name is Mur but he chooses the new name of Gastel Etzwane after being initiated. Mur lives with his mother with whom he is very close. He never knew his father, who is a very famous wandering musician who abandoned his family.  One day an old man gives Mur a stringed musical instrument called the Khitan and Mur begins to love playing music and finds music to be more appealing than being a Chilite although he initially tries to combine the two only to find out that the Ecclesiarchs and Chiltes are the only ones in Shant to abhor music, considering it sinful.

Initially Mur likes the idea of becoming a Chilite and defends their practices, denies it is a cult.  His mother even defends their practices and laws telling him “If a person breaks Chilite law the Ecclesiarchs punish him. If he runs away, the Faceless Man takes his head.”  “If you obey Chilite law, you need never fear the loss of your head.”  But Chilite law is very strict with laws and rules that can easily be unintentionally violated because most of them make little sense.  Mur is also something of a mischief maker and is not well suited to becoming a Chilite

After going through the purification ritual to become a Chilite, Etzwane visits his mother in her home, something forbidden for him to do. When Osso finds out about this he sends Etzwane’s mother to work as a indentured worker in the tannery as punishment for allowing Etzwane to visit her and thereby contaminating him with “womantaint.”  Etzwane as his punishment is locked in a dungeon pending repurifcation rites. 

Sending his mother to be a slave in the tannery and locking him up causes Etzwane to rebel against being a Chilite, however, and he manages to break out and flee.  His plan is go to the city of Garwiy to petition the Faceless Man to free his mother from having to be indentured to work at the tannery.  He also plans to become a wandering musician like his blood father.  He does not have a torc yet so he can’t be beheaded but without a torc he also has no protection and can be kidnapped, clamped with a torc and indentured or sold into slavery anywhere in Shant.  Etzwane is also certain that Osso will send ahulph trackers to try to find him to either capture him or kill him.  Aulphs are creatures used for tracking that have “hairy dog-spider” heads noses in their feet to facilitate tracking. They have a “hairy dog-spider head,” noses in their feet to facilitate tracking and talons that can rip apart the person they are tracking.

Etzwane’s adventures include his development as a musician, petitioning of the Faceless Man for his mother’s freedom, meeting his father who does not know he even exists and dealing with the problem of large murderous human like creatures called Roguskhoi who attack Shant villages while raping and pillaging. Roguskhois are “a kind of mountain savage that can’t be controlled except by its yearnings for strong drink.” The Faceless Man’s minimizes their attacks and refuses to use a militia or other forceful means to control them. Etzwane also meets a man named Ifness who is an interesting and very mysterious character who plays a significant role in all three Durdane novels. 

The beginning of The Anome has many strange names and details contained in a few pages but the story soon picks up and moves along.  Also, there is no resolution at the end so readers when finishing it should begin reading The Brave Free Men for a satisfactory continuation of the story. I’ve read The Anome three times so far and liked it even more each time.  The first time I read it I rated it a 3 or “Liked it” but I now consider it a 4 “Really liked it.”