Tue 7 Jun 2022
Diary Review: JACK VANCE – The Palace of Love.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[7] Comments
JACK VANCE – The Palace of Love. Demon Princes #3. Serialized in Galaxy SF, December 1996 through February 1967. Berkley X1454, paperback, October 1967. Cover by Richard Powers. Daw UE1442, paperback, February 1979.
Keith Gerson managed to obtain a fortune for use in his life’s single purpose – revenge against his parents’ murderer. The hunt for the third is this story. The trail of Violo Falushe leads him to a mad poet Navarth; Drusilla, his ward; and then to the notorious Palace of Love. Falushe is killed and the love of Drusilla turned down.
The first installment [of the serial version] is the best; at the beginning, trips to far-flung planets are a necessary part of Gerson’s hunt and are reminiscent of Delany in descriptive wonder. As the search narrows down, so does the tale itself slow down, to the pace of the final walk to the palace. The symbolism of that place escapes me, but there must be something more to it other than boredom.
Rating: ***½
June 7th, 2022 at 9:30 pm
Unfortunately, that last paragraph sums up Jack Vance’s work for me. An unwieldy combination of descriptive wonder and boredom. I am fully aware that most long time SF readers disagree.
June 8th, 2022 at 7:51 pm
With Vance the language was enough for me. I can understand others not getting lost in the words, but I did.
June 9th, 2022 at 12:20 am
You are not the only one. As a wordsmith, there were few that could match Jack Vance. Me, though, I’ve always found his plots taking second place to the language. Maybe it’s just been me.
June 9th, 2022 at 4:36 am
It’s not just the language, but the curious societies Vance creates with casual descriptions and throw-away remarks. Reading a Vance novel for the plot is like reading Tristram Shandy for the plot.
June 9th, 2022 at 10:39 am
Roger, that. I can’t argue with you there.
June 9th, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Vance won me over with THE LANGUAGES OF PAO, the entire plot turning on the importance of language and its understanding. From there on I read the PLANET OF ADVENTURE series and was hooked.
He was a fine mystery writer as well which shouldn’t be forgotten here.
June 10th, 2022 at 7:44 am
I agree with David. Jack Vance’s unique writing style and bizarre characters cause his books–SF and mysteries–to stand out. I need to reread THE PLANET OF ADVENTURE series which might be Vance’s most fun novels.