Rejoin Myron Tany and the crew of the space freighter Glicca as they ply their way from planet to planet, star to star, and adventure to adventure. Each of them is there by chance, and each has a secret quest. From one world to the next, they will chase their dreams of revenge and fulfillment.
Jack Vance has been around longer than I've been reading speculative fiction; and that's been forty some odd years. ...and his name is on my 'list'. ...and I have a few of his books on the metaphorical shelves in storage waiting for a kid or two to move out to recompile the 'library'. This book won't be on the shelves when that happens.
"Pointless!" "Pointless!", to echo the Teacher in Ecclesiastes. I usually don't read the press release or the cover blurbs on a book before I dive into it; but in this case I bounced hard enough off the surface to go looking for a reference point or two. ...and the ones I found didn't help! Tor, I love you, but repeating the drivel "Publishers Weekly" and "Booklist" gave you for the back cover didn't help this reviewer. The sideways attempt to link to "Gulliver's Travels" would have been cool, but that was a well done over-the-top rendering of cultural differences to which this tome resembles tepid tea. Weak tea at that... Next time I'll take a can of Monster or Rock Star, deal?
Throwing the words 'space trader' into the mix and revamping a tale better told in the time frame of the great days of sailing ships doesn't necessarily work. ...and I take issue with the editors buying off on this one. Folks, it's been done and done better. Sure, Vance has a nicely subtle way of letting the reader know he's parodying established morals and mores, but this time it comes out too subtle and too weak. ...and the point gets missed. ...and the book becomes an albatross.
If you get off a space trader, you're supposed to have an adventure or two. ...or lose the red-shirted crew member. ...or have to blast off from the port with the entire society locking on to you as you attempt to reach the wormhole. These guys just drop in, do their thing and head on out. Subplots are anemic and action is lacking. ...and while I'll buy those if I'm given a good puzzle or something to work my brain against, the only time my brain was working with this one was trying to figure out the point.
Nope, no stars on this one, either in the book or the review. Let's give it four Ibuprofen and two toothpicks (to keep the reader's eyes open)...
--------------------------------
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (February 6, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0312872798
ISBN-13: 978-0312872793
Buy the Book
