Book Review: Golden Girl and Other Stories-Jack Vance

Book Review: Golden Girl and Other Stories-Jack Vance

Vancealot: Jack Vance in Review, TJ Jones

Spatterlight Press trade paperback, 259 pages

Release Date: 2017

Cover art: Howard Kistler

Contents:

·       Golden Girl, 14 pages, short story

·       Masquerade on Dicantropus, 15 pages, short story

·       Abercrombie Station, 59 pages, novella

·       Cholwell’s Chickens, 47 pages, novella

·       The Mitr, 6 pages, short story

·       The World Between, 29 pages, novelette

·       When the Five Moons Rise, 14 pages, short story

·       Meet Miss Universe, 22 pages, short story

·       The Insufferable Red-headed Daughter of Commander Tynnott, O.T.E., 49 pages, novelette

Golden Girl and other Stories is a collection of nine Jack Vance stories including two novellas, two novelettes and four short stories.  The two novellas, Abercrombie Station and Cholwell’s Chicken, are my two favorites in this collection.  This collection is a high quality trade paperback edition that is based on the Vance Integral Edition (VIE) that is the revised and author approved edition of the writings of Jack Vance.  Many of the original writings of Vance were edited, altered, expanded or cut by editors, especially shorter works that were published first in science fiction and fantasy magazines.

All Jack Vance fans will probably want to purchase this Spatterlight Press release along with all of the other Spatterlight Vance collections.  I have all of these stories in small print, yellowed, out of print, mass market paperback releases but found this Spatterlight edition to be much easier on the eyes when rereading Vance. For readers who are just getting into Vance I’d recommend the other Spatterlight Vance collections, such as The Moon Moth and Other Stories, over this one.

Golden Girl-Jack Vance short story

"Golden Girl" was written in 1945 and first issued in Marvel Science Stories in 1951.  It is a 14 page short story about a reporter, Bill Baxter, who becomes famous after he rescues a woman from a wrecked spaceship.  The woman, Lurulu, is a remarkably beautiful golden colored human like alien who is sent to a hospital to recover. Baxter tries to protect her from the many reporters, CIA agents and others who want to talk with her or even relocate her. Eventually she is even invited with Baxter to stay at the White House. But fame and world attention cannot offset Lurulu's homesickness, and Baxter becomes increasingly attracted to her.  This is a very simple story that should appeal mostly to Vance fans.  I’ve read it three times and rate it 3 “Liked it.”

The Masquerade on Dicantropus-Jack Vance short story

"The Masquerade on Dicantropus" is a 15 page short story that is an early work, originally published in September, 1951 in Startling Stories magazine.  A couple named Jim and Barbara Root live on the planet Dicantropus where Jim is studying the planet's archeology and Barbara is deeply bored and unhappy. Jim agrees to return to Earth in three months when the next supply ship arrives and suggests that they might engage in more swimming and badminton until then.

There is an unusual pyramid on the planet that intrigues Jim but he is afraid to explore it because the alien beings called Dicantropus who live on the planet have warned him to stay away from it.  One day one of the resident creatures swims up to them wearing a diamond necklace.  They converse with the Dicantropus but it will only say that it found the necklace but not where.

Roots suspect it came from the pyramid and Barbara wants Jim to explore the pyramid in case there are more jewels there.  Jim refuses because of the dangers involved but when another man crash lands on the planet, Barbara convinces the new visitor to explore the pyramid.  They will soon find out what the pyramid is and who the Dicantropus are.  I’ve read this story three times and found it fairly interesting.  I rated it a 3 "Liked it" each time.

Abercrombie Station-Jack Vance novella

"Abercrombie Station" is a 59 page novella that was initially published in February, 1952 in Thrilling Wonder Stories. This is one of the few Vance works that has a woman as the main character.  Jean Parlier is an attractive, vivacious, charismatic, clever sixteen year old girl who is also tough minded, very independent and street smart.  Jean is encouraged by a mysterious man to obtain a job as a housekeeper at the home of a wealthy man, Earl Abercrombie, on a private satellite which he owns called Abercrombie Station.  This is one of twenty two resort satellites.  Abercrombie is unmarried and has some terminal medical condition.  The plan is for Jean to marry Abercrombie and then, after he dies, to obtain two million dollars from the mysterious coconspirator who recruited her to do this.  Jean is a "gravity girl" from Earth, however, and the satellite she visits has no gravity and also has a much different concept of female beauty.  On this strange satellite the larger and rounder the woman is the more attractive she is considered, so most of the women living on the satellite are as wide as they are tall and float around in the air like big balloons while hired help wear magnetic shoes to keep themselves on the floor.  So Jean has a problem with attracting this billionaire because she is considered malnourished, unhealthy and scrawny by their standards and is thought to be extremely unattractive even though she is very pretty by Earth standards.  Her billionaire employer also has a large zoological collection of extremely bizarre alien creatures that he keeps in his natural history museum.  He seems to find these creatures to be more of an attraction than any of the women.  No challenge is too much for Jean, however, as she does her best to attract Abercrombie.  This is essential reading for Vance fans.  I’ve read Abercrombie Station four times and rate it 4 “Really liked it.”

Cholwell's Chickens-Jack Vance, novella

"Cholwell's Chickens" is a 47 page novella that is a sequel to the novel "Abercrombie Station" although it can be read and understood on its own.  It was first published in February 1952 in Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine.  It was later published along with Abercrombie Station as a collection titled Monsters in Orbit. Abercrombie Station is actually a sequel to Cholwell’s Chicken with the same main character, Jean Parlier. Cholwell’s Chickens is one of the very few works by Vance where he portrays a stand-alone female main character, in this instance, Jean Parlier, an attractive, vivacious, charismatic, clever 17 year old girl who is also very savvy and independent. She is “wary and wild, characterized by a precocious feral quality, a recklessness that made ordinary women seem pastel and insipid.” Jean finds that the wealth she acquired in the story "Abercrombie Station" has not brought her the contentment she had anticipated.  She never knew her parents because she was abandoned in a bar and raised by the bar owner. Jean thinks that finding her parents now might bring some meaning and direction to her life so begins to make plans to try to search out who her parents might be. While visiting at her attorney's office (he is also her guardian) she encounters a Dr. Cholwell who is “lean, bright-eyed, elegant in a jerky bird-like manner” and has an unusual scheme for becoming rich on his home planet raising chickens.  He needs an investor so tries to convince Jean and her guardian that his chicken ranch would make a great investment. Jean is planning to fly to the town where she was born in an effort to locate her long lost mother who abandoned her in a bar and Cholwell's ranch is on the same planet so he invites her to visit.  While there Jean finds out that it is not chickens Cholwell is raising but something far different.  In attempting to locate her mother, and possibly her father, Jean also finds herself.  More accurately she finds "her selves" as she encounters some mysterious secrets and conspiracies that have remained hidden for many years. This is a very odd story. I’ve read it three times and rated it a 4 (Really liked it.)

The Mitr-Jack Vance short story

"The Mitr" first saw publication in 1953 in Vortex Science Fiction.  This is an 6 page short story that has been issued in The Jack Vance Treasury, Green Magic, and Golden Girl and Other Stories.  It is a short story about a young woman named Mitr who has grown up alone on a planet where her mother, now deceased, crash landed. There are no other people and her best friends seem to be giant beetles that speak to her about their colony and how many grubs will be allowed to mature.  There is also a different species of beetle, a long brown and black one that knocks her down and sucks her blood, by pressing “his proboscis to her neck” although not to the point of killing her.  One day she sees some men who arrive in a spaceship and seem to look somewhat like her. She is tempted to contact them but is also fearful of doing so.  The ending is quite bleak.  I’ve read The Mitr three times and rated it a 3 each time. “Liked it.”

The World Between-Jack Vance novelette (author’s preferred title), AKA: “The Ecological Onslaught”

"The World Between," a 29 page novelette published in May, 1953 in the magazine Future Science Fiction. It is also known as "The Ecological Onslaught."  A potentially habitable planet is discovered by beings from Blue Star and they claim the planet as their territory.  The inhabitants of the planet Kay also claim this planet even though they never filed proof of their discovery.  This puts Blue Star Central and its citizens in direct conflict with the residents of Kay who send fighter craft to confront the Blue Star vessel.  When the Blue Star explorers try to introduce plants to the planet to eventually make it habitable, the Kay citizens, who want the planet for themselves, decide to release diseases and predators to disrupt things. This quickly becomes an ecological battle between two planets with the possibility of a military conflict or even war. It is an interesting story that I’ve read three times and rated a 4 each time. “Really liked it.”

When the Five Moons Rise-Jack Vance short story

"When the Five Moons Rise" was first published in March, 1954 in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine.  It is a 14 page short story. The setting is a lighthouse in an alien ocean where two men work.  One of them tells the other not to believe any stories about what happens when five moons rise at once, something that is a very rare occurrence but about to take place.  When the five moons do rise, however, some strange things happen, including the disappearance of one of the men and things suddenly appearing when wished for.  I read this several times so far rated it a 3 “Liked it.”

Meet Miss Universe-Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title), AKA: Miss Universe

"Meet Miss Universe" was published first in March, 1955 in the magazine Fantastic Universe. It is also known under the title "Miss Universe." It is a 22 page short story involving the California Tri-Centennial Exposition.  Harderman Clydell, the Exposition's General Director, asks his assistant, Tony LeGrand, if he can think of events or exhibits to enhance the exposition and Tony suggests a Miss Universe contest.  LeGrand likes the idea so they begin making plans. Because there are only a half dozen planets with humanoid life, they decide to include all species of intelligent alien creatures as long as they come from a socially organized society, an interpreter can be found and the species is not dangerous.  Comparing humans to Pleiades dragon women would be difficult so they decide to score the contestants based on the standards and ideals of their home planet.  Because the atmosphere and conditions are different on the various planets from which the contestants will come they decide to build twenty three large glass cases with each case carefully duplicating “home conditions of pressure, temperature, gravity, radiation and chemistry” for each of the contestants.  The story is intended to be light and humorous and has an unpredictable ending, although the story itself is clearly dated.  In the 1982 release of this story in the collection Lost Moons, Vance wrote “Meet Miss Universe is actually not too bad, but it has a rotten title…” I’ve read this work three times and rated it a 3 “Liked it.”

The Insufferable Redheaded Daughter of Commander Tynnott, OTE-Jack Vance novelette (author’s preferred title), AKA: Assault on a City

"Assault on a City" is a 49/51 page novella that was issued first in 1974 in the anthology Universe 4 under the title “Assault on the City.” It placed fourth in the 1975 Locus Awards for Best Novella and was a semifinalist in the 1975 Hugo Awards for Best Novella.  It has been listed as a novelette and as a novella but at 17,400 words it is just above the 17,000 word minimum level for novellas. The main character in this novelette is Alice Tynnott, daughter of Commander Tynnott, O.T.E.  The O.T.E. title stands for Order of the Terrestrial Empire and is an honorary designation of “galactic nobility” that elevates the entire family to superior status.  Alice and her parents have reserved an aerie on Earth because her father has a work related assignment to complete.  These aeries are like luxurious mobile homes that can fly above the ground.  A limited number of aeries are on Earth and can only be reserved by OTEs.  . Ordinarily Alice and her parents do not live on Earth but on the planet Rampold.  Alice is a young, attractive woman who is very self-assured, aloof, confident and independent.When Alice arrives on Earth to board their aerie she is seen by a workman named Bodred “Bo” Histledine who is polishing the aerie.  Bo is a scoundrel and well known to the police. He is employed as a workman only because employment is required as part of his probation.  Bo is immediately attracted to Alice, but she totally ignores him as he works. Frustrated, Bo walks past Alice and drops a wrench on her foot and then apologizes.  Throughout the story Bo will continue to stalk and try to attract Alice. Another man, Waldo, is a friend of the family and has been doing his best to be more than just friends with Alice.  Waldo decides to visit her on Earth and offers to escort Alice around a nearby Earth town named Jillyville where spacemen and tourists like to visit and many odd alien beings can be found.  While visiting Jillyville they are seen by Bo who becomes jealous and causes problems for Waldo, nearly getting him killed. Eventually, when Bo can’t charm Alice, he goes to extreme measures to take revenge for what he perceives as her rejection of him.  The story involves bizarre aliens called jeeks who when upset squirt a body tar substance from near their tails.  There is also an addictive process called “gunk” whereby two people are hooked up electrically for hallucinatory, hyper-erotic, sexual experiences. I’ve read story four times so far and rated it 4 “Really liked it.”

 

Note:  Spatterlight Press LLC is a publishing company that was created by the family and friends of Jack Vance.  So far they have published 62 high quality trade paperback editions of Vance’s novels (all except three Ellery Queen mystery novels: Strange She Hasn’t Written, Death of a Solitary Chess Player, and The Man Who Walks Behind.) and collections of his shorter works.  These are all based on the Vance Integral Edition (VIE) which were extensively reviewed and edited to be as faithful as possible to Vance’s original writings.  Many of Vance’s works were altered or heavily edited by book and magazine editors with even the author’s titles changed. Spatterlight now offers to the general public access to Vance’s writings the way he originally intended them to be.  In 2023 they began issuing hardcover editions of the same works they had previously printed in paperback.  They also have e-book editions available at: https://jackvance.com/

Spatterlight Vance books are listed here: 

https://jackvance.com/signatureseries/