Ecce and Old Earth-Jack Vance novel, book review

Ecce and Old Earth-Jack Vance novel

AKA: Cadwal Chronicles Book 2

Ecce and Old Earth is a later work by Jack Vance and was first published in 1991 and is the second of three novels that comprise The Cadwal Chronicles.  My copy is 326 pages long making it one of Vance's longer works, although shorter than the first novel in the series, the 554 page Araminta Station.  This is my second reading of this work and I liked it even better after reading it again.  It is not as dazzling a novel as the first in the series, Araminta Station, but it is better written and more interesting than Throy the third novel in The Cadwal Chronicles.  It is a worthy follow up to Araminta Station.

The story line in Ecce and Old Earth takes a different direction after Araminta Station.  It moves from a focus on a murder investigation to that of rescuing Glawen Clattuc's father and of searching for the lost Charter of the Naturalist Society.  The original Charter allows the person who possesses it to control the planet Cadwal.  Cadwal has been maintained in pristine condition as a natural preserve since it was first discovered 900 years ago.  It is governed by the Naturalist Society and their Charter.  One faction of the Naturalist Society called LPFers (Life, Peace and Freedom Party) wants to eliminate or modify the Charter so that Cadwal can be settled and developed.  The other faction, the Conservationists or Charists, want to adhere strictly to the Charter and keep Cadwal undeveloped as a natural preserve.

Ecce and the Old Earth begins where the Araminta Station left off, with Glawen at home on the planet Cadwal finding out that his father is not dead but has been imprisoned by enemies.  He makes plans to fly to the continent of Ecce to rescue his father from a remote prison there.  Ecce is a tropical continent that is very dangerous because of all the fierce predatory animals that live there.  These creatures are inactive during the heat of midday, however, so it is much safer to travel by foot or on land during that time.  Vance vividly describes these bizarre, predatory, alien creatures and Glawen's many dangerous, nearly fatal, close encounters.  The rescue attempt is daring, suspenseful and successful. 

While Glawen was busy rescuing his father, his girlfriend, Wayness Tamm, the daughter of the Naturalist Society Conservator, left for Old Earth to attempt to locate the missing Charter.  There are copies of the Charter, of course, but the original appears to have been sold years ago along with many other Naturalist Society possessions by an unscrupulous Secretary of the Naturalist Society of Earth.  Tracking down the long chain of sellers and buyers takes much investigative work, giving the novel many elements of a mystery or detective novel.  Glawen decides to leave for Earth to find Wayness and assist her with her search.  Others, especially those who oppose adherence to the Charter, are also searching for the Charter because whoever possesses the original essentially owns the planet of Cadwal. 

The rescue trip to Ecce presents a fascinating continent of creatures.  The bizarre world of the Shadowmen is also quite intriguing.  And it is comical and entertaining to read about the world where all the food is derived from a fungus and self esteem is increased by being unhelpful and insulting to visitors.  But on Earth we learn only a little about what the distant future is like.  The novel instead focuses mainly on mystery, detective work and various characters.  Both Wayness and Glawen experience exciting adventures in various locations on Earth that include dangerous assassins, peculiar places, suspenseful mysteries, eccentric characters and many other encounters. 

In Ecce and the Old Earth Wayness Tamm becomes as much of a main character as Glawen.  It is one of the few works by Vance where a woman plays a major role and is developed as a multidimensional person rather than simply a token character.  Wayness is portrayed as being intelligent, independent, capable, daring and persevering.

The Cadwal Chronicles are highly recommended to Vance fans.  But the series would probably not be a good place to begin reading for persons unfamiliar with Vance's writings.  The novels are long, dense and detailed.  I found them very interesting, engaging and enjoyable to read, but persons fairly new to reading Vance might want to start elsewhere with shorter works that are less detailed and complex.  I rated Ecce and the Old Earth a 3 (“Liked it”) the first time I read it and a 4 (“Really liked it”) the second time I read it.