Narrow Land, The-Jack Vance novelette

Narrow Land, The-Jack Vance novelette

This is a 23/43 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.

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Dream Castles: Early Jack Vance, vol. 2 (2012)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Green Magic: The Fantasy Realms of Jack Vance (2012)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Narrow Land (1982 DAW) 

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Narrow Land (1984 Coronet) 

Included in Chateau d'If and Other Stories (2017, Spatterlight): CD (pb)

 

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