Book Review: Lost Moons-Jack Vance

Book Review: Lost Moons-Jack Vance

Vancelot: Jack Vance in Review, TJ Jones

Underwood-Miller Press, hardcover, 250 pages

Release Date: 1982

Cover art: Ned Dameron

Contents:

·       Foreward and Cold Facts-Jack Vance, 1 page

·       The World-Thinker, 27 pages novelette

·       Dream Castle, 18 pages, short story

·       The Potters of Firsk, 19 pages, short story

·       Meet Miss Universe, 23 pages, short story

·       Winner Lose All, 15 pages, short story

·       Sabotage on Sulphur Planet, 38 pages, novelette

·       Four Hundred Blackbirds, 23 pages, novelette

·       Seven Exits from Bocz, 10 pages, short story

·       Assault on a City, 51 pages, novella

This is a hardcover collection of shorter works by Jack Vance that was limited to 1,000 copies.  It includes nine works consisting of five short stories, three novelettes and one novella  This out of print collection will probably be of interest to those who collect Jack Vance books.  For most readers it should be noted that all of these stories are available from Spatterlight Press in trade paperback editions.  The Spatterlight releases have the advantage of being the same author approved, corrected releases that were issued under the limited and costly Vance Integral Editions (VIE).  Below is a brief review of each story:

The World-Thinker-Jack Vance novelette

The World-Thinker was the first story Vance ever published and was issued in Thrilling Wonder Stories in August of 1945. It is a 27 page novelette that Vance wrote while he was at sea.  I don’t think it is such a bad story for a first publication but years later in Vance said he found it embarrassing.  In Vance’s introduction to the 1982 collection Lost Moons he said The World-Thinker and another story Dream Castles were bothw “so embarrassing that I rewrote a few stand-out passages, a lick-and-a promise operation rather like putting rouge on a corpse.”  The story involves Isabel May who escapes prison on Earth and flees in a spaceship pursued by Lanark who is hired to capture her alive.  She possesses a very valuable code that is highly important to the government. Lanark finally tracks her spaceship down on another planet but cannot find Isabel. Instead he encounters a godlike creature named Laoome, "the one-time Sage of the Fifth Universe--Laoome the World-Thinker, the Final Sage of the Fifth Universe."  Laoome has the ability to create through his mind other planets and realities and has placed Isabel under his protection on one of the planets he created.  Lanark convinces Laoome to allow him to visit this planet to talk with her. A number of cosmological ideas are explored in this early work.  I’ve read this three times.  It is a bit clumsy and amateurish and certainly not one of Vance’s best stories but I rated it a 3 "Liked it."

Dream Castle-Jack Vance short story (author’s revision), AKA: “I’ll Build Your Dream Castle” (original version)

Dream Castle is an 18 page short story that was originally published in a 15 page abbreviated version in September 1947 in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction under the title "I'll Build Your Dream Castle."  According to the International Speculative Fiction Data Base: "In 1982, Vance revised this story to create “Dream Castle,” which is longer and with significantly revised wording.” This revision was done by Vance for the book Lost Moons, a collection of short works by Vance that was published by Underwood-Miller in 1982.  I've read the original magazine version and the 1982 revision and preferred the revised one.  Vance himself did not care for this story and in his introduction to the 1982 collection Lost Moons he wrote that Dream Castle and another story The World-Thinker were both “so embarrassing that I rewrote a few stand-out passages, a lick-and-a promise operation rather like putting rouge on a corpse.” Dream Castle features an intelligent and enterprising protagonist named Farrero, a fairly recent graduate who designs and markets homes for a contracting firm.  His boss, Angker, wants him to sign over patents that he created when he was in school. When he refuses to do so, he is immediately fired.  Farrero strikes out on his own even though he does not have a contractor's license.  His ideas are revolutionary and very profit making so that he is soon in competition with his old firm.  They decide to try to rehire him or at least attempt to duplicate what he is doing, but Farrero seems to have anticipated this.  I have read both the original 1947 release and the revised 1982 version multiple times.  I rated the original version a 3 or “Liked it.”  I thought the revised version was somewhat better and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”

The Potters of Firsk-Jack Vance short story

The Potters of Firsk is a 19 page short story that was published originally in May, 1950 in Astounding Science Fiction magazine.  Vance called the ending “smarmy” in his introduction to its 1982 release in the collection Lost Moons.  I thought it was a very imaginative, creative story that demonstrates how early in his career Vance was able to produce well written, interesting stories.  The main character, Thomm, is asked about a beautiful bowl on his desk and tells the story of how he obtained it on the planet Firsk from fierce, secretive potters who used human bones in their glazes. These potters usually used the bones of the deceased per an ancient agreement with the local people.  But "when the need is great, we do anticipate nature by a year or two...The soul lives forever in the pot it beautifies." One of Thomm's assignments on Firsk was to make sure that local people were not captured alive to be killed later when the bone supply was low. In this fascinating tale a number of cultural anthropological issues arise.  I’ve read this five times so far and found it to be a very good early short story. I rated it a 5.

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 23 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, 4 and 3+.

Winner Lose All-Jack Vance short story, AKA: The Visitors (author’s preferred title)

The Visitors is a 15 page short story that was originally published in December 1951 in Galaxy Science Fiction under the title "Winner Lose All." This is a very imaginative story that features a very inventive, bizarre alien.  Humans visit a newly discovered planet and encounter an alien called a “unigen” who arrived before they did.  The unigen is “an intelligent organism, though its characteristics included neither form nor structure.  Its components were mobile node s of luminous substance which was neither matter nor yet energy.  There were millions of nodes and each was connected with every other node by tendrils similar to the lines of force in macroid space. The unigen might be compared to a great brain, the nodes corresponding to the gray cells, the lines of force to the nerve tissue.” While the human’s explore the planet and its vegetation, the unigen searches out sources of energy and consumes uranium deposits on the planet.  When they have contact with each other each assumes that the other is part of the natural habitat of the planet.  The unigen, for example, thinks the humans are land-worms “evidently seeking the sea-matter on which they fed.” How the humans and the unigen physically and psychologically perceive each other and the way they react provides a fascinating experience for the reader.  Vance is a master at creating other worlds and fascinating alien beings while addressing psychological, anthropological and sociological factors. This story benefits from multiple readings. I’ve read it four times so far and rated this a 4 “Really liked it.”

Sabotage on Sulfur Planet: Jack Vance novelette

Sabotage on Sulfur Planet is a 38 page novelette that was published first in June 1952 in Startling Stories magazine.  The main character, Robert Smith, is a Star Control agent who is assigned the duty of investigating an unscrupulous spaceship captain named Captain Plum who seems to have located an undiscovered world with life on it.  But the captain is not talking and plans to return to the planet to take advantage of the creatures that inhabit the planet even though the "fuzz-balls" as he calls them are "blind, deaf and dumb."  Somehow the creatures possess jewels that are attached to them.  Smith does not want Star Control to find out about the planet because he wants to return in secret and harvest the jewels to sell them. While investigating Plum, however, Smith ends up being kidnapped by him and impressed as one of the crew.  The criminal investigator has been forced to join the thieves and suspects Plum will kill him after the mission so that no witnesses can report him.  Ethical and anthropological issues about exploration and exploitation of other cultures are dealt with in this charming old fashioned sci fi story.  I’ve read this three times and most recently rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”

Four Hundred Blackbirds- Jack Vance novelette

The 23 page (7,600 words) novelette Four Hundred Blackbirds was written in 1948 and issued first in Future Science Fiction magazine in July, 1953.  The story begins on an unidentified planet that seems similar to Earth where the country of Moltroy, run by the People’s Rights party, is at war with the country called the World Federation. Edward Schmidt is the director of the “Institute” in Moltroy and supervises Abel Ruan, “an extremely brilliant scientist, ingenious, resourceful” who has been working on linking the brains of two men through their spinal cords. This was a failure but he did succeed in joining the brain of a human to a canary’s brain where they were able to communicated by a telepathic like connection. Abel describes how flocks of blackbirds are able to fly together, “suddenly all veering together as if guided by one brain.” “Imagine telepathy as high frequency radiation, imagine the human brain as a transmitter and receiver.”  Abel hopes to connect the brains of select blackbirds to the brains of fighter pilots so when they engage the enemy they are able to communicate and engage as one coordinated fighting unit.  Pilots would wear helmets connected to blackbird brains that would allow them to communicate with the other pilots and rest of the crew.  The idea is that they are able to coordinate like a flock of blackbirds in perfect unison when attacking.  The fighter pilots of Moltroy would overwhelm the World Federation pilots in “a monstrous air battle over the ocean” allowing for Moltroy bombers to enter into an bomb the “Federate” territory and thereby “win the world.”  As Abel points out, however, the Federation has scientists of its own and might have their own secret weapons or counter measure inventions.  Perhaps there is even a telepathic arms race.  This is a very early Jack Vance story, written in 1948, and it definitely shows its age but is still enjoyable. I’ve read Four Hundred Blackbirds multiple times, initially rating it a 3 “Liked it,” but it eventually grew on me like an old friend and I changed my rating to a 4 “Really liked it.”  Vance fans and those who like very early sci fi stories might want to give this one a try.

Seven Exits from Bocz-Jack Vance short story

Seven Exits to Bocz is a 10 page short story that was published initially in June, 1952 in the fanzine “The Rhodomagnetic Digest, Volume 2, #3.”  The main character, Nicholas Trasek, visits a scientist, Dr. Horzabky, to confront him about his role at the Bocz prison camp. Years ago Dr. Horzabky was a scientist assigned to a prison that was really more of a concentration camp during a war.  During their conversation we learn of Dr. Horzabky’s activities in the prison.  He also discusses the six panels with abstract paintings on them and a seventh one that is blank.  Dr. Horzabky explains that each of these panels has a portal to another universe.  The seventh panel leads to a universe that “is so alien to our world that light refuses to penetrate it.”  These portals were a product of an experiment done by Dr. Horzabky years ago.  While working at Bocz Dr. Horzabky conducted cruel experiments including a final experiment with Sixty eight thousand slave prisoners when he had them all drugged and then forced them to focus their mutual attention on panels of plywood.  His instruction to all of them was to use their focused concentration to try to pierce holes in plywood panels painted with targets.  He hoped  that the combined mental power of 68,000 people would have a telepathic effect on the targets.

Dr. Horzabky’s plan was successful and each of the seven panels now had a hole in it.  When he examined the holes he found that each one was a portal to a different universe.  The enemy, the United Army of Occupation, was approaching and Horzabky did not want the prisoners to survive to become witnesses to his experiments so he forced all the prisoners to divide into seven groups and then for each group to go through one of the seven portals.  Each of the seven portals led to a different experience for the person going through it with some turning to dust, some living but inside out humans, etc.  Each of the seven pieces. One of these victims was Trasek's brother so Trasek has some ideas for revenge, but Dr. Horzabky has his own plans for dealing with Trasek and other visitors.  I’ve read this story three times so far, found it fairly engaging, and rated it a 3 “Liked it.”

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

Assault on a City is a 51 page(17,400 words) 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.”