Book Review: Green Magic: The Fantasy Realms of Jack Vance-Jack Vance

Book Review: Green Magic: The Fantasy Realms of Jack Vance-Jack Vance

Vancelot: Jack Vance in Review, TJ Jones

Tor Books, mass market paperback, 273 pages

Release Date: 1979

Cover art: Lela Dowling

Contents:

·       Foreward-Poul Anderson, 2 pages

·       Introduction-John Shirley, 4 pages

·       Green Magic, 12 pages, short story

·       The Miracle Worker, 74 pages, novella

·       The Moon Moth, 42 pages, novelette

·       The Mitr, 8 pages, short story

·       The Men Return, 9 pages, short story

·       The Narrow Land, 23 pages, short story

·       The Pilgrims, 32 pages, novelette

·       The Secret, 11 pages, short story

·       Liane the Wanderer, 13 pages, excerpt from a novel

This is a mass market paperback collection of nine Jack Vance shorter works that includes one novella, two novelette, one excerpt from a novel and five short stories.  Although it is out of print, used copies are readily available. Although this is a good collection I find the print to be small even for a mass market paperback and difficult for me to read even with reading glasses. This collection is out of print but used copies can easily be located. All of these stories are now available from Spatterlight Press in trade paperback editions. In addition to being in larger font, the Spatterlight releases have the advantage of being the same corrected releases that were issued under the limited and costly Vance Integral Editions.  (VIE) Below is a brief review of each story: 

Green Magic-Jack Vance short story

Green Magic is a 12 page short story that was probably written in 1956 and was first published in June, 1963 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  This is a philosophical fantasy story rather than science fiction.  Howard Fair is well trained in white magic and black magic and knows some purple magic. He is intrigued when he finds an old notebook by his great uncle that describes green magic.  He meets some sprites who come from a world of green magic but who warn him that it would be dangerous for him to study it.  He is told that his grand uncle studied it and ended up regretting having done so.  Despite their warnings, Fair's curiosity and desire to learn are greater than any concerns he has and he manages to persuade the sprites to allow him to learn green magic.  His learning is described as a fascinating process and it changes him forever.  Is it sometimes better to remain ignorant and innocent?  Is it worthwhile to try to discover knowledge that might make you unhappy or discontent?  These questions and others are explored in this story which I found to be quite interesting.  I’ve read this several times and rate it a 3+ (Liked it plus.)

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 it plus.”

The Moon Moth-Jack Vance novelette

The Moon Moth is a marvelous work. It is a novelette of 42 pages that was first published in Galaxy Magazine in August, 1961.  It takes place on the planet Sirene where adherence to specific local customs and protocol is more important than money or even life itself. Edwer Thissell was recently appointed as the new Consular Representative from Earth after the previous Representative to Sirene was killed because he violated a social norm. Thissell has been taking lessons to learn to play various musical instruments in order to communicate with the locals.  All communication on Sirene must be made by playing the appropriate musical instruments and singing in a certain respectful way. Social behavior expected on Sirene is so detailed and complex that it is almost incomprehensible to anyone not born in the culture. Slight violations or mistakes might be interpreted as a grave insult or offense and can lead to bodily harm or even death.  All of the Sirene residents also wear special masks as must the four men from Earth.  Only certain types of masks can be worn depending on the status and musical skills of the wearer.  The mask Thissell wears is of the "moon moth." It is a mask of low prestige but a safe one to wear. Thissell is sent a special message by his superiors assigning him the duty of capturing an assassin from Earth who will soon arrive to Sirene.  Unfortunately the message is delayed, and the assassin is able to elude capture.  Thissell must begin the process of tracking him down in the town where he has to interact with the local people. He knows that violating the strict rules of behavior can lead to severe consequences but he also knows that he will lose his job if he fails.  In many of Vance’s writings he creates a world or society that has strange, often seemingly nonsensical rules and social norms that, although absurd to us as outsiders, are in many ways no more strange than ones in our own cultures on Earth.  Masks in Sirene, for example, are like social fronts or facades that we encounter with people in our own culture daily.  Esteem and status in Sirene culture are based on such things as the quality of singing and playing strange musical instruments whereas on Earth, in many places, social status is often based on such things as being a popular musician, actor, or athlete.  If an outsider from another world viewed various rituals, social norms and cultural beliefs on Earth they would probably appear to be as odd and arbitrary as those on the planet Sirene seem to us.  Vance is an amazingly skillful creator of other worlds and these strange worlds often prompt us to recognize the odd and irrational elements of our own culture. The Moon Moth is complex, thought provoking, well thought out and very skillfully written.  I’ve read and reread every published work by Vance and this is probably the finest short work Vance ever wrote. It is essential reading, a real classic and one of the finest short works ever written. I’ve read it multiple times and rate it a 5.

The Mitr-Jack Vance short story

The Mitr first saw publication in 1953 in Vortex Science Fiction.  This is an 8 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 rate it a 3.

The Men Return-Jack Vance short story

The Men Return was first published in July, 1957 in the magazine Infinity Science Fiction and is a 9 page short story.  In the story two universes are overlapped after the law of causality, physics and reality on Earth is rendered somewhat inoperable and matter now fades in and out of existence.  Humans evolved into two different creatures, one rooted in the laws of science and the other having developed in the coexisting world of randomness and surrealism where nothing seems real.  Both groups spend all their time seeking food and are not above eating each other.  As food becomes scarcer, the groups become more desperate.  It is all very bizarre, but I found it rather fascinating. I’ve read it 7 time so far rated it 3 or “Liked it.”

The Narrow Land-Jack Vance novelette

This is a 23 page novelette that was first published in July, 1967 in Fantastic magazine.  It is a fascinating story that I found totally engaging and thought provoking.  One thing that makes it very unusual is that the protagonist is an alien creature that hatches on a beach and then crawls to the water where it tries to survive while exploring its environment. Vance is a superb master at creating other worlds.  In this story he creates a world from the perspective of an alien creature who must learn about his new world while trying to figure out who and what he is. Through Vance's masterly use of language, I actually felt like I was viewing the world from the consciousness of this creature.  It is amazing how much Vance can create in so few pages. Our main character, Ern, learns that he is one of what he refers to as "water children" and that there are different types of children, some with single crests and others with double crests. They are born with some minimal ability to speak. Ern finds out that he must be wary of predatory birds, a large dangerous creature he calls an "ogre" and "men" who come to the beach to capture water children.  Ern learns to speak fluently and to eventually walk on land where he discovers what he is and encounters a frightening world were "children" are eugenically culled and where the single and double crested adult creatures kill each other as enemies. A number of sociological and psychological issues are presented as the story develops.  I found this short work to be a masterpiece and one of Vance's finest writings. I’ve read this numerous times and think it needs to be read more than once to be fully appreciated. It is an amazing work.  My rating: 5.

The Pilgrims-Jack Vance novelette, later as a chapter of a novel, AKA: Cugel the Clever, chapter V, The Eyes of the Overworld, chapter V, Tales of the Dying Earth, Book II, chapter V

The Pilgrims is a 32 page novelette that appeared initially in June, 1966 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was included later that same year as part of the novel The Eyes of the Overworld, chapter V.  Vance’s preferred title for The “Eyes of the Overworld” is “Cugel the Clever.”  In The Pilgrims story Cugel continues his journey home when he encounters some pilgrims and hears about various strange religions including the "Funambulous Evangels” who tell Cugel that “from respect to the dead, we walk aloft, on ropes and edges, and when we must travel, we use specially sanctified footgear.” Here we have an interesting, often humorous exchange of religious beliefs including Cugel's which he admits is "somewhat inchoate" because he has "assimilated a variety of viewpoints, each authoritative in its own right: from the priests at the Temple of Teleologies; from a bewitched bird who plucked messages from a box; from a fasting anchorite who drank a bottle of pink elixir which I offered him in jest.  The resulting visions were contradictory but of great profundity.  My world-scheme, hence is syncretic."  Later Cugel bribes a priest so that he is able to trick some pilgrims into crossing the Silver Desert and the Songan Sea with him.  During the crossing they encounter a series of strange adventures.  In one village the locals and guests have to each cut off one of their own fingers to add to the communal cooking pot to "demonstrate our common heritage and our mutual dependence."  At another village he encounters “folk of ferocious aspect. Black hair in spikes surrounded the round clay-colored faces; coarse black bristles grew off the burly shoulders like epaulettes. Fangs protruded from the mouths of male and female alike and all spoke in harsh growling shouts.” Then he meets some “graceful golden-haired people” who declare, "We worship that inexorable god known as Dangott.  Strangers are automatically heretics, and so are fed to the sacred apes."  Cugel’s encounters are all fascinating and frequently very satirical and funny. Rated 5.

The Secret-Jack Vance short story

The Secret is a 11 page short story that was written in 1951 and first published 15 years later in March, 1966 in the British magazine "Impulse," also known as "Science Fantasy" and "SF Impulse."  It is pure fantasy rather than science fiction and takes place on an island that could be somewhere in Polynesia.  It is inhabited by all younger people.  As islanders grow older they are tempted to find out the "secret" by taking a solo voyage to the west.  The secret is completely mysterious because nobody has ever returned to the island once they have left. Our main character, Rona ta Inga, is the oldest on the island.  Many of the others have formed a group and pledged to never leave their little paradise of an island and ask him to join in the pledge.  Rona, however, begins making a boat.  What does he find and what is the secret?  I’ve read this three times and rated it a 3 “Liked it.”

Liane the Wayfarer-Jack Vance chapter from the novel Mazirian the Magician, AKA: Mazirian the Magician, chapter 4, The Dying Earth, Book I, chapter 4, Liane the Wanderer (misspelling), The Loom of Darkness

This is an 13 page chapter (#4) from the Jack Vance novel The Dying Earth. This novel is also known as Mazirian the Magician and Tales of the Dying Earth, Book II. It was first published in 1950 by Hillman Periodicals as part of the novel The Dying Earth.  Later in December that same year Liane the Wayfarer appeared as an excerpt when it was issued as a short story in the magazine Worlds Beyond.  In the magazine issue, however, it was given the title “The Loom of Darkness.”  Some writers have stated that this work was first published in a magazine and later included in the novel but I have a copy of the 1950 Worlds Beyond (pages 117-128) and it clearly states that this work is an excerpt from the novel The Dying Earth. “One episode from Jack Vance’s astonishing novel is printed in this issue of Worlds Beyond under the title, The Loom of Darkness.” They simply changed the title, something that was not uncommon with science fiction and fantasy magazines. Because this work was initially issued as a chapter of a novel I list it as an excerpt or chapter rather than as one of Vance’s free standing short stories.  It has, however, appeared quite frequently on its own in anthologies and collections as have most of the other chapters in the novel. In this story we encounter Liane the Wayfarer who appeared briefly in the prior chapter titled “Tsais” in the novel The Dying Earth.  This time we find Liane whistling and prancing through a dim forest in high spirits.  He makes a “wry mouth” as he recalls having killed a spice merchant and “what a tumult he had made dying!  How carelessly he had spewed blood on Liane’s cock comb sandals.”  While burying the merchant Liane found a bronze ring.  “Around his finger he twirled a bit of wrought bronze-a circlet graved with angular crabbed characters, not stained black.”  Finding the ring made Liane’s spirits soar and “he laughed in pure joy. He bounded , he leapt.”  In a few short paragraphs we are introduced to an uncaring murderous rogue, a pure scoundrel who is one of the darkest, most unlikeable characters Vance ever developed.  Liane considers taking the “circlet” to a magician to have it tested for sorcery.  What sounds initially like a finger ring, however, soon is or somehow becomes large enough for Liane to slip over his body. When he does this he emerges in maroon light in the forest where he sees a Twk-man mounted on a dragon-fly who asks Liane what he would like.  Liane tells the Twk-man to watch him and report what he sees. Liane puts the ring over his head, drops it to his feet and then reverses the process.  The Twk-man reports that he saw Liane disappear from sight and then reappear.  Liane next agrees to give the Twk-man some salt in exchange for local news and learns that a beautiful golden witch by the name of Lith has come to the area to live. After practicing with the ring Liane decides to seek out Lith who, when he finds her next to a pond, turns out to be even more beautiful than he had imagined.  Liane appears to have great confidence in his abilities to charm women and announces to Lith that he is here to offer his friendship and love to her. Lith responds by throwing in his face a handful of green slime from the pond after which she retreats to her hut where she is protected.  Liane is outraged but soon recovers and tells Lith “you are ripe as a sweet fruit, you are eager, you glisten and tremble with love. You please Liane, and he will spend much warmness on you.” Lith encourages Liane but says that she “may have no lover but him who has served me.”  The service she proposes to Liane is for him to recover the other half of a golden tapestry that was stolen from her by Chun the Unavoidable who lives in the Palace of Whispers.  Liane is so self-confident that leaves immediately to steal back the other half of the tapestry. At a local inn Liane meets some wizards who take turns demonstrating their magical feats.  When he mentions later that he is on a quest for the witch Lith and must steal a piece of tapestry from Chun the Unavoidable the wizards suddenly become silent.  They then tell him of the dangers of Chun but Liane is extremely confident and dismisses their warnings. The next day on the way to find Chun’s home Liane meets an old man who provides him with directions to the Palace of Whispers and is rewarded for his helpfulness by being murdered by Liane. The story continues with Liane’s adventure of his quest for the golden tapestry. I’ve read it many times and rated it 5.