Killing Machine, The-Jack Vance novel, book review
Killing Machine, The-Jack Vance novel AKA: The Demon Princes Book 2 The Killing Machine is the second novel in the five book series by Jack Vance called The Demon Princes. It was first published as a novel in 1964 and is still in print. My copy is 136 pages long, making it the shortest work in the series. This time Kirth Gersen is looking for the star king named Kokor Hekkus, one of the five star kings who killed his parents and destroyed his childhood home. Kokor Hekkus means "killing machine" in the language on Hekkus's home planet of Thamber. This is a reference to the horrific giant combat machines Hekkus commissions to be made, the latest one resembling a highly aggressive, giant alien creature. While this war machine is being created Hekkus kidnaps some children of wealthy parents in order to raise more revenue. He takes them to the Interchange, a planet in the Beyond, where the hostages are confined until a ransom is collected. ...