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The Demon Princes Jack Vance 9780739451038 Books

Download As PDF : The Demon Princes Jack Vance 9780739451038 Books

The Demon Princes Jack Vance 9780739451038 Books

I feel so constrained by a five-star (no fractions allowed) review system...

This omnibus contains five novels:
THE STAR KING
THE KILLING MACHINE
THE PALACE OF LOVE
THE FACE
THE BOOK OF DREAMS

In a nutshell, a survivor of an event known as the "Mount Pleasant Massacre" trains himself to become an almost superhuman revenge engine (revengine?) dedicated to the elimination of five men, interplanetary criminals, the "Demon Princes." Attel Malagate, Kokor Hekkus, Viole Falushe, Lens Larque and Howard Alan Treesong (named here in order of appearance as the antagonists) each get their turn with Your Hero, Kith Gersen over the course of the five novels. A common complaint by readers is that Gersen is a bit of a cipher, but I suspect that's built in deliberately by Vance - the reader is free to project more of himself upon the character.

I almost tuned out a few times in the early books; "Vance fatigue," an aesthetic exhaustion caused by exceedingly intricate world-building, needs to be a thing in the SF vernacular like "Niven psychosis." And yet...as almost any quality art does, it sticks with you. For example, in the fourth novel, THE FACE, the level of zoom-in on the details gave me a headache: THRILL as Kirth Gersen acquires a controlling interest in a failing mining company, stock certificate by hard-won stock certificate! It was the fiduciary equivalent of a character powering up for ten minutes during an episode of Dragonball Z. But there's enough bravura storytelling to keep most detail-phobes locked in until the end. Actually, the idea of beating the elusive antagonist by slowly gaining control of his shadowy business interests turns out to be quirky enough to work. And for endings, it's hard to beat the perverse satisfaction of Gersen's revenge against Lens Larque, AND the girl who who dumped him at THE FACE's conclusion.

Each of the five DP novels rambles, touches on a multitude of topics besides Gersen's quest for revenge against the five criminal masterminds who give the series its name, but without harming the narrative. It's just that maybe the narrative isn't what you expect it to be when you start. Certainly, the revenge isn't always sweet. Throughout, Vance inserts poetry by the mad Navarth, excerpts from the sublime SCROLL FROM THE NINTH DIMENSION (itself worth the price of admission. A pity Vance didn't give us more of the adventures of Marmaduke. Did he ever get his wallet back?), and Unspiek, Baron Bodissey's magnum opus LIFE, giving a strange, chaotic animus to this hybrid of Batman, James Bond and STAR TREK.

I might not recommend this to the casual reader as his or her first Jack Vance experience - better to start with, say, THE DRAGON MASTERS or THE LAST CASTLE, and certainly the oft-mentioned "The Moon Moth." If you like Vance's moves, then you'll enjoy The Demon Princes.


Tags : The Demon Princes [Jack Vance] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This 2005 SFBC Edition contains all 5 of the stories previously printed inVols 1&2 : 'The Star King',Jack Vance,The Demon Princes,Sfbc,0739451030

The Demon Princes Jack Vance 9780739451038 Books Reviews

For my money, Jack Vance, is the best and the most readable of science fiction writers. His writing is rich, it is surprisingly varied, and original. He died in his nineties during the last few years and has been phenomenally productive during his writing career.
He has been writing since the 1940s and is not involved in the degeneration of science fiction genra which can be identified by political correctness and the common use of modern slang
The five books of the Demon Prince series are some of Jack Vance's best writing. The final few scenes of The Face were as surprising as the climax of any book for me. i laughed out loud.
The last 3-4 books in this series are where this collection shines- the exotic settings and cultures, and the psychological profiles of the master criminals, the Demon Princes, that Kirth Gersen has spent his life tracking down after they enslaved his family. Each of the villains has a psychological weakness, some influence from their childhoods that betray them one by one to Gersen, who searches the galaxy for these masters of disguise. Sophisticated space opera, but easy to read, and compelling. Gersen's exotic journey to the Palace of Love with the mad poet Navarth, and his visit to hostile Dar Sai to find Lens Larque, a Darsh whose pride despises the fact that his kind are disgusted by other races as primitive and repellent are two unforgettable adventures. Then there's the scene at a class reunion where the wimpy kid who was picked upon revisits his former classmates, and is one of the Demon Princes who has decided to get even...just read this series. The Palace of Love, The Face, and The Book of Dreams are indispensable for Vance fans.
This is an omnibus edition of Vance's five volume Demon Princes series of SF consisting of the titles "The Star King", "The Killing Machine", "The Palace of Love", "The Face", and "The Book of Dreams".

This omnibus follows Kirth Gersen as he investigates and attempts to find the identities of the men who did him and his family a terrible wrong when he was a boy. This obsession takes him all over the Gaean Reach and out Beyond. Vance describes each planet Gersen visits in loving detail, from its flora and fauna to its architecture and people.

These books are considered by many Vancians as his best work overall . I believe that it's due to their diversity. Each book finds Gersen on a different planet, meeting new people, becoming involved in fresh intrigues. This series has it all-- romance, action, adventure, SF, mystery, suspense, and all this told in Vance's immaculate prose. This is a masterpiece, period. Well worth the price.
The Demon Princes is one of the classics of Vancian science fiction. It is an a-typical series of novels as revenge fiction. It not only explores the impact of Kirth's obsession with revenge on his life and growth it also explores the impact of interstellar travel and colonization on the Law and the ability to enforce it. Kirth Gersen's family was wiped out in a raid by five Demon Princes. who enslaved and killed the entire community. As the sole survivors his Grand Father raises him as the ultimate tool of revenge. The novels detail Kirth's revenge and personal growth against each of the five pirates, the so-called Demon Princes. The beauty of the stories is that the Demon Princes and even more so their henchmen are deadly dangerous. The novels are repleat with beautiful and deadly worlds, twisted and exotic cultures, the dangers of the Beyond and the sophistication of the Oikumene. In addition each of the novels is a mystery. Kirth does not know who the Demon Princes are but must search them out track them down and overcome their vast wealth, mania, and resources.
I feel so constrained by a five-star (no fractions allowed) review system...

This omnibus contains five novels
THE STAR KING
THE KILLING MACHINE
THE PALACE OF LOVE
THE FACE
THE BOOK OF DREAMS

In a nutshell, a survivor of an event known as the "Mount Pleasant Massacre" trains himself to become an almost superhuman revenge engine (revengine?) dedicated to the elimination of five men, interplanetary criminals, the "Demon Princes." Attel Malagate, Kokor Hekkus, Viole Falushe, Lens Larque and Howard Alan Treesong (named here in order of appearance as the antagonists) each get their turn with Your Hero, Kith Gersen over the course of the five novels. A common complaint by readers is that Gersen is a bit of a cipher, but I suspect that's built in deliberately by Vance - the reader is free to project more of himself upon the character.

I almost tuned out a few times in the early books; "Vance fatigue," an aesthetic exhaustion caused by exceedingly intricate world-building, needs to be a thing in the SF vernacular like "Niven psychosis." And yet...as almost any quality art does, it sticks with you. For example, in the fourth novel, THE FACE, the level of zoom-in on the details gave me a headache THRILL as Kirth Gersen acquires a controlling interest in a failing mining company, stock certificate by hard-won stock certificate! It was the fiduciary equivalent of a character powering up for ten minutes during an episode of Dragonball Z. But there's enough bravura storytelling to keep most detail-phobes locked in until the end. Actually, the idea of beating the elusive antagonist by slowly gaining control of his shadowy business interests turns out to be quirky enough to work. And for endings, it's hard to beat the perverse satisfaction of Gersen's revenge against Lens Larque, AND the girl who who dumped him at THE FACE's conclusion.

Each of the five DP novels rambles, touches on a multitude of topics besides Gersen's quest for revenge against the five criminal masterminds who give the series its name, but without harming the narrative. It's just that maybe the narrative isn't what you expect it to be when you start. Certainly, the revenge isn't always sweet. Throughout, Vance inserts poetry by the mad Navarth, excerpts from the sublime SCROLL FROM THE NINTH DIMENSION (itself worth the price of admission. A pity Vance didn't give us more of the adventures of Marmaduke. Did he ever get his wallet back?), and Unspiek, Baron Bodissey's magnum opus LIFE, giving a strange, chaotic animus to this hybrid of Batman, James Bond and STAR TREK.

I might not recommend this to the casual reader as his or her first Jack Vance experience - better to start with, say, THE DRAGON MASTERS or THE LAST CASTLE, and certainly the oft-mentioned "The Moon Moth." If you like Vance's moves, then you'll enjoy The Demon Princes.