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Alastor #3
Wyst: Alastor 1716
On Wyst, world 1716 of the Alastor Cluster, millions of people live together in harmony, work only a few hours each week, and share the fruits of their labor equally. Wyst seems a utopia. But the Connatic, mysterious ruler of the Alastor Cluster, knowing better that to take utopia at face value, one day decides to investigate--a decision that may cost him his life.
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
21 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
779 books1,590 followersAka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, John Holbrook, Ellery Queen, John van See, Alan Wade.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
February 10, 2017
JUST SAY NO TO IMMIGRANTS! so say the malign leaders known as the "Whispers" at the start of this novel. although they have a genuine antipathy towards immigrants, their actual goals are more subtle yet also predictably banal: they seek personal gain, and a lot of it; the question of immigration is simply a cover for their strategies and a sop to the masses who put these populist leaders in place. but are they actually leaders? their swagger and double talk reveal them as dangerously insecure frauds.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is the final book in a loose trilogy set in the Alastor Cluster - "a node of thirty thousand live stars, uncounted dead hulks and vast quantities of interstellar detritus" - ruled by the enigmatic Connatic. he basically leaves the worlds in his care to their own devices, unless what can only be called human rights violations come to his attention. the three books are classic Jack Vance in that they each detail unusual human societies prone to both navel-gazing and fetishistic rituals; all three are basically standalones, with only their place in the Alastor Cluster and the Connatic himself linking them together - at least on the level of plot. the first book details the bizarre and insular Rhune of Marune: Alastor 933; the second presents the much more relaxed and unpretentious Trill of Trullion: Alastor 2262. the nation of Arrabus on the planet Wyst combines traits from both worlds, and the result is not a pretty one. the Arrabines are certainly as lazy as the Trill but lack that culture's mainly benign, easy-going ways; they are prey to the same toxic tunnel-vision as the Rhune, but lack that culture's sophistication and strength. Arrabines are pleasure-addicted fools whose enslavement to easy comforts go hand-in-hand with their willingness to sacrifice certain freedoms for those comforts. as a people they are doomed to failure, and not even a particularly resonant or interesting failure at that.
the story's protagonist is a youthful visitor to the planet by the name of Jantiff Ravensroke. that name is perhaps the most striking thing about him. he has the typical qualities of most Vancean protagonists: diffident, nonchalant, basically decent. those traits are paired with a marked lack of decisiveness that makes Jantiff understandable and relatable - the young man in search of himself - but his surprising passivity also makes him rather uninteresting. the combination of insipid culture and unassertive protagonist make Wyst: Alastor 1716 the least entertaining of the three Alastor books, despite its compelling themes.
still, this a good book. per usual, Vance's prose is a marvel of wit, economy, and style. even a culture as static as Arrabus' is a pleasure to read about when seen through the author's sardonic and dispassionate eyes, a gaze which also turn Jantiff's various bouts of soul-searching into something more amusing than annoying. and despite the carefully deliberate pacing, it has an ending that in short order manages to detail mass murder on a horrific scale, the apprehending and very unusual punishment of the villains responsible, the ins and outs of being the Connatic, and an exciting new path for Jantiff that lies beyond the final page. I left Wyst satisfied.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is the final book in a loose trilogy set in the Alastor Cluster - "a node of thirty thousand live stars, uncounted dead hulks and vast quantities of interstellar detritus" - ruled by the enigmatic Connatic. he basically leaves the worlds in his care to their own devices, unless what can only be called human rights violations come to his attention. the three books are classic Jack Vance in that they each detail unusual human societies prone to both navel-gazing and fetishistic rituals; all three are basically standalones, with only their place in the Alastor Cluster and the Connatic himself linking them together - at least on the level of plot. the first book details the bizarre and insular Rhune of Marune: Alastor 933; the second presents the much more relaxed and unpretentious Trill of Trullion: Alastor 2262. the nation of Arrabus on the planet Wyst combines traits from both worlds, and the result is not a pretty one. the Arrabines are certainly as lazy as the Trill but lack that culture's mainly benign, easy-going ways; they are prey to the same toxic tunnel-vision as the Rhune, but lack that culture's sophistication and strength. Arrabines are pleasure-addicted fools whose enslavement to easy comforts go hand-in-hand with their willingness to sacrifice certain freedoms for those comforts. as a people they are doomed to failure, and not even a particularly resonant or interesting failure at that.
the story's protagonist is a youthful visitor to the planet by the name of Jantiff Ravensroke. that name is perhaps the most striking thing about him. he has the typical qualities of most Vancean protagonists: diffident, nonchalant, basically decent. those traits are paired with a marked lack of decisiveness that makes Jantiff understandable and relatable - the young man in search of himself - but his surprising passivity also makes him rather uninteresting. the combination of insipid culture and unassertive protagonist make Wyst: Alastor 1716 the least entertaining of the three Alastor books, despite its compelling themes.
still, this a good book. per usual, Vance's prose is a marvel of wit, economy, and style. even a culture as static as Arrabus' is a pleasure to read about when seen through the author's sardonic and dispassionate eyes, a gaze which also turn Jantiff's various bouts of soul-searching into something more amusing than annoying. and despite the carefully deliberate pacing, it has an ending that in short order manages to detail mass murder on a horrific scale, the apprehending and very unusual punishment of the villains responsible, the ins and outs of being the Connatic, and an exciting new path for Jantiff that lies beyond the final page. I left Wyst satisfied.
June 11, 2021
First published in 1978, Wyst still packs a punch-- a somewhat farcical space opera as only Vance could do. Set in the Alastor cluster, this is the final of a loose trilogy; you can read them as stand alone for sure, but Vance does provide some subtle links between them. This story starts off in Numenes, the capitol of the Alastor cluster, which is ruled by the Connatic (something like emperor). Each settled planet, of which there are around 3000, has their own laws/rules, but all must abide by a few 'meta' rules set by the Connatic, like free mobility among them. In any case, the Connatic shortly becomes aware of some strange events on Wyst, planet number 1716 in the cluster.
With the publication of LeGuin's The Dispossessed just a few years before this, it is hard not to consider Wyst as a rather humorous homage to that multiple award winning work; both books have at their core an utopian society facing problems after several generations. On Wyst, the 'egalic' social order nears its hundredth anniversary (in TD, it was 160 years...). The main city on Wyst is Arrabus, and is the center of the new social order, housing more than 3 billion people. Everyone has to work 13 hours a week at various duties, including 'drudge' like oiling machine parts, to 'high drudge' like manning immigration at the spaceport. All Arrabusians receive room and board for a payment of tokens they earn from their work, with little left over. The people of Arrabus take great pleasure in leisure, and while relatively free of material possessions, they love to drink their homemade swill and wander around the immense 'slideways' that traverse the city, looking at people and just hanging out.
The main protagonist, Jantiff Ravensroke, is from a different planet and has his heart set on becoming an artist. After winning a contest, he chooses to travel to Wyst, primarily due to the spectacular sunlight on the planet from its white dwarf star. He soon finds himself mired in intrigue with his flatmates, who seem to be up to no good.
This is definitely tongue and cheek(y) to be sure; many humorous situations and lots of snarky dialogue. Yet, as usual, it is not simply a farce-- Vance cleverly constructs a world that reflects aspects of the human condition in all its varieties, the good, the bad and the ugly. Jantiff is a great lead-- you really root for him here and jeez does he face some trials. Like the previous volume, the denouement comes complete with a deus ex machina, but this time it seems rather fitting. 4 stars.
With the publication of LeGuin's The Dispossessed just a few years before this, it is hard not to consider Wyst as a rather humorous homage to that multiple award winning work; both books have at their core an utopian society facing problems after several generations. On Wyst, the 'egalic' social order nears its hundredth anniversary (in TD, it was 160 years...). The main city on Wyst is Arrabus, and is the center of the new social order, housing more than 3 billion people. Everyone has to work 13 hours a week at various duties, including 'drudge' like oiling machine parts, to 'high drudge' like manning immigration at the spaceport. All Arrabusians receive room and board for a payment of tokens they earn from their work, with little left over. The people of Arrabus take great pleasure in leisure, and while relatively free of material possessions, they love to drink their homemade swill and wander around the immense 'slideways' that traverse the city, looking at people and just hanging out.
The main protagonist, Jantiff Ravensroke, is from a different planet and has his heart set on becoming an artist. After winning a contest, he chooses to travel to Wyst, primarily due to the spectacular sunlight on the planet from its white dwarf star. He soon finds himself mired in intrigue with his flatmates, who seem to be up to no good.
This is definitely tongue and cheek(y) to be sure; many humorous situations and lots of snarky dialogue. Yet, as usual, it is not simply a farce-- Vance cleverly constructs a world that reflects aspects of the human condition in all its varieties, the good, the bad and the ugly. Jantiff is a great lead-- you really root for him here and jeez does he face some trials. Like the previous volume, the denouement comes complete with a deus ex machina, but this time it seems rather fitting. 4 stars.
May 28, 2024
Wyst: Alastor 1716 was first published in 1978 as a paperback novel. It is the third and final novel in the Alastor series. Each book in this series is a stand alone novel connected only by their shared setting in the Alastor Cluster. Wyst: Alastor 1716 appears to be in print in an e-book or Kindle edition. My out of print paperback has 218 pages of text with 5 pages more of a glossary at the end. This is the second time I've read the novel in recent years and rated it a 4 both times. Vance fans will certainly want to read Wyst and it should have some appeal to science fiction devotees and wider audiences.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force called the Whelm to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters.
Wyst is one of the planets in the Alastor Cluster. It is also known as Alastor 1716. Most of the novel takes place on Wyst in the Arrabus Nation. Uncibal is one of the main cities in Arrabus. All Arrabus residents live under the Egalistic Manifold. Everyone is considered absolutely equal and individualism is considered elitism, the opposite of egalism. Arrabus is suppose to be a utopia, but things are not always as they seem.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is one of the more sociological and political novels by Vance, although in many ways it is simply a creative, intriguing mystery novel set on an exotic planet. The main character, Jantiff Revensroke, resides on the planet Zeck and wins the grand prize in an art contest with the award being a free round trip ticket to another planet of one's choice with spending money. Jantiff chooses to travel to the planet Wyst because he saw an announcement for the centennial celebration of Arrabus Nation. He is curious to visit Arrabus because it claims that it is a nation that has developed a utopian society where everyone is equal and residents do not have to work much or worry. While visiting Arrabus, Jantiff hopes to paint and draw pictures of local people, sites and scenery and to study the local customs and society.
Many people have been immigrating to Arrabus recently because it is known as an egalistic country where the government requires residents to work only thirteen hours a week and provides everyone with food and a place to live. It is "a fantastic social experiment, where food and shelter, like air, are considered the natural gift of all men." Work is called "drudge" and jobs are assigned randomly so nobody has a specialty, skill or occupation. Outside contractors are hired for work that Arrabus residents don't want to do or that they do not have the skills to perform. Machines are expected to do most of the work. Free time, of which there is much, is suppose to be for pleasure in this "society dedicated to self-fulfillment, pleasure and frivolity." There is very little that can be purchased in local stores so the "tokens" residents earn doing drudge have only minimal utility. Alcohol is not sold so many residents try to make their own alcoholic beverages from their rationed food.
In order to provide inexpensive food for all of its citizens, the government of Arrabus rations the food and serves the same three foods each day for every meal to all the residents. This food is produced in food synthesizers from an unknown substance called sturge. It comes in three different forms, each of them rather bland tasting. There is a pudding like form called wobbly, a white drink called deedle and a cake called gruff. Natural food is called "bonter" and is highly coveted. Arrabus residents even make raids outside Arrabus, marauding "into the primitive" to a place called the Weirdlands where they steal fruit, chickens, vegetables etc. from farms. The farmers use trip wires, pit falls, dogs and clubs to try to protect their crops and livestock from theft.
Government assigned housing is available to everybody but to minimize expenses it is very bleak and crowded. Housing is in gigantic block tenements with, "row after row, sector after sector, of apartment blocks, each to house three thousand folk." Everyone shares an apartment with at least one other person who is assigned randomly without regard to age, sex or other factors. Jantiff is assigned to a small apartment with a middle aged woman who sleeps in a bed next to his separated only by a thin curtain. Her boyfriend, child and friends also are frequently there, allowing for little privacy.
Any possessions or property of residents of Arrabus are subject to theft, something that is socially sanctioned and referred to as snergery. "Snerging ensures egalism. It's a very direct remedy against anyone accumulating goods. In Arrabus we share and share alike." Soon after Jantiff arrives in Arrabus his camera and other property is stolen. When he complains he is told to get over it and quit being an "elitist." Jantiff does not like having his valuables stolen any more than he likes stealing produce and livestock from farmers in the Weirdlands. Jantiff's attitudes about individual responsibility, privacy and fairness cause frequent problems for him.
The plot is fairly straightforward and involves a political conspiracy that originates from some innocent drawings done by Jantiff. Intrigue, treachery, conspiracy and mystery follow with many interesting events in between. There is the marauding trip into the Weirdlands to raid farmers crops and livestock. Those around Jantiff continually try to manipulate him and to get him to pay for things. Jantiff attends a national sport called shunkery pits huge mounted beasts against one another with participants and observers often being injured or killed during shunk battles. Jantiff also attends a food orgy event called a bonterfest that is contracted through Weirdlands gypsies. Jantiff flees the city, meets witches, encounters a hostile townspeople who try to blind him and smash his fingers. There are witch hunts using dog like creatures to try murder harmless witches and their children. Conspirators plot to overthrow the Arrabus government and replace the Whispers who officially represent Arrabus. Terrorists attack with knives and powerful explosives. There are also plans to try to kill the Connatic who sends high level representatives to Wyst to investigate. The strange experiences, adventurous situations and unusual people Jantiff encounters, plus the other events and intrigues in the novel, are far too numerous to even mention much less describe. In addition to the fascinating plot and story, I thought the resolution and ending were also very good.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is recommended to all Vance fans as are the other two Alastor novels. This is not one of the novels that comes to mind when I recommend a book to a reader new to Vance. But it could serve that purpose since it is a stand alone novel that is interesting, easy to read and accessible. I'm sure I will read it again a few more years from now.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force called the Whelm to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters.
Wyst is one of the planets in the Alastor Cluster. It is also known as Alastor 1716. Most of the novel takes place on Wyst in the Arrabus Nation. Uncibal is one of the main cities in Arrabus. All Arrabus residents live under the Egalistic Manifold. Everyone is considered absolutely equal and individualism is considered elitism, the opposite of egalism. Arrabus is suppose to be a utopia, but things are not always as they seem.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is one of the more sociological and political novels by Vance, although in many ways it is simply a creative, intriguing mystery novel set on an exotic planet. The main character, Jantiff Revensroke, resides on the planet Zeck and wins the grand prize in an art contest with the award being a free round trip ticket to another planet of one's choice with spending money. Jantiff chooses to travel to the planet Wyst because he saw an announcement for the centennial celebration of Arrabus Nation. He is curious to visit Arrabus because it claims that it is a nation that has developed a utopian society where everyone is equal and residents do not have to work much or worry. While visiting Arrabus, Jantiff hopes to paint and draw pictures of local people, sites and scenery and to study the local customs and society.
Many people have been immigrating to Arrabus recently because it is known as an egalistic country where the government requires residents to work only thirteen hours a week and provides everyone with food and a place to live. It is "a fantastic social experiment, where food and shelter, like air, are considered the natural gift of all men." Work is called "drudge" and jobs are assigned randomly so nobody has a specialty, skill or occupation. Outside contractors are hired for work that Arrabus residents don't want to do or that they do not have the skills to perform. Machines are expected to do most of the work. Free time, of which there is much, is suppose to be for pleasure in this "society dedicated to self-fulfillment, pleasure and frivolity." There is very little that can be purchased in local stores so the "tokens" residents earn doing drudge have only minimal utility. Alcohol is not sold so many residents try to make their own alcoholic beverages from their rationed food.
In order to provide inexpensive food for all of its citizens, the government of Arrabus rations the food and serves the same three foods each day for every meal to all the residents. This food is produced in food synthesizers from an unknown substance called sturge. It comes in three different forms, each of them rather bland tasting. There is a pudding like form called wobbly, a white drink called deedle and a cake called gruff. Natural food is called "bonter" and is highly coveted. Arrabus residents even make raids outside Arrabus, marauding "into the primitive" to a place called the Weirdlands where they steal fruit, chickens, vegetables etc. from farms. The farmers use trip wires, pit falls, dogs and clubs to try to protect their crops and livestock from theft.
Government assigned housing is available to everybody but to minimize expenses it is very bleak and crowded. Housing is in gigantic block tenements with, "row after row, sector after sector, of apartment blocks, each to house three thousand folk." Everyone shares an apartment with at least one other person who is assigned randomly without regard to age, sex or other factors. Jantiff is assigned to a small apartment with a middle aged woman who sleeps in a bed next to his separated only by a thin curtain. Her boyfriend, child and friends also are frequently there, allowing for little privacy.
Any possessions or property of residents of Arrabus are subject to theft, something that is socially sanctioned and referred to as snergery. "Snerging ensures egalism. It's a very direct remedy against anyone accumulating goods. In Arrabus we share and share alike." Soon after Jantiff arrives in Arrabus his camera and other property is stolen. When he complains he is told to get over it and quit being an "elitist." Jantiff does not like having his valuables stolen any more than he likes stealing produce and livestock from farmers in the Weirdlands. Jantiff's attitudes about individual responsibility, privacy and fairness cause frequent problems for him.
The plot is fairly straightforward and involves a political conspiracy that originates from some innocent drawings done by Jantiff. Intrigue, treachery, conspiracy and mystery follow with many interesting events in between. There is the marauding trip into the Weirdlands to raid farmers crops and livestock. Those around Jantiff continually try to manipulate him and to get him to pay for things. Jantiff attends a national sport called shunkery pits huge mounted beasts against one another with participants and observers often being injured or killed during shunk battles. Jantiff also attends a food orgy event called a bonterfest that is contracted through Weirdlands gypsies. Jantiff flees the city, meets witches, encounters a hostile townspeople who try to blind him and smash his fingers. There are witch hunts using dog like creatures to try murder harmless witches and their children. Conspirators plot to overthrow the Arrabus government and replace the Whispers who officially represent Arrabus. Terrorists attack with knives and powerful explosives. There are also plans to try to kill the Connatic who sends high level representatives to Wyst to investigate. The strange experiences, adventurous situations and unusual people Jantiff encounters, plus the other events and intrigues in the novel, are far too numerous to even mention much less describe. In addition to the fascinating plot and story, I thought the resolution and ending were also very good.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is recommended to all Vance fans as are the other two Alastor novels. This is not one of the novels that comes to mind when I recommend a book to a reader new to Vance. But it could serve that purpose since it is a stand alone novel that is interesting, easy to read and accessible. I'm sure I will read it again a few more years from now.
July 27, 2015
Metaphorosis Reviews
CVIE VI
Wyst is a much more straightforward story than either of its predecessors. While in Trullion and Marune, weird games and cultures were front and center, this book uses an unusual setting largely as a backdrop for a mystery thriller.
Jantiff Ravenstoke, on the thinnest of pretexts, visits the Arrabus region of Wyst, where egalitarianism is widely practice, but the search for 'bonter' (non-standard food) is a driving force. Jantiff is unprepared, gets into trouble, and fights his way back, on the way uncovering a dastardly plot.
The backdrop is fun, and the story is enjoyable, but for Vance, this is a fairly mediocre effort. It's an unfortunate way to end the Alastor series, whose first two books were so much fun. I wish Vance had continued the concept - especially the disguised Connatic who appeared in Trullion and Wyst. Warren Douglas picked up the idea in a surprisingly effective trilogy, but no one does Vance like Vance.
CVIE VI
October 30, 2017
It was O.K. - but nothing to write home about.
August 16, 2018
This is the third book in the Alastor trilogy, but there's really no reason to read the other two first. The first book, Trullion, is a fan favorite, so you might choose to read that one. The second book, Marune, I recommend leaving till later.
The three books share a galaxy and one minor character: the Connatic. The Connatic becomes more of a character in this book, which is exciting after his micro cameos in the other two books. The novel is more humorless than some of Vance's other work. It concerns a communist society and vile plots. The tension was high, and I was satisfied with the pacing and conclusion. People who dislike it do so because of the grimness or because of the political content.
A few comments on politics in Vance novels:
It can be inferred from this novel, Emphyrio, and a few others that Vance had no love of Communism, Socialism, and possibly unions. Many have also commented on what may be far-right sentiments in Koryphon aka The Gray Prince. It seems likely to me, however, that Vance was less of a card-carrying Republican and more of a hardened cynic. Given the number of his plots that turn on the tyranny of the common denominator or the folly of groupthink, it seems possible that he didn't care much for democracy in general. In fact the only governments he seems to approve of were certain monarchic elements in the Lyonesse novels and the Connatic in this novel, who is essentially a laissez-faire dictator. In addition, his heroes in Araminta Station and Demon Princes can be read as positive examples of unchecked authority.
I would argue, however, that politics was never the motive force behind Vance's writing. Even his most political novels are guided by the experience of a protagonist. Vance puts his energy and craft into the portrayal of that character as an individual, and the struggles that the character experiences. A situation in which the predominant culture is basically wrong is required for a Vancian protagonist to have something to butt up against. It stands to reason that the antithesis of Vance's uniquely picaresque, egotistical individualist would be a Communist government, and that is probably why Vance portrays that type of government so brutally in his novels.
The three books share a galaxy and one minor character: the Connatic. The Connatic becomes more of a character in this book, which is exciting after his micro cameos in the other two books. The novel is more humorless than some of Vance's other work. It concerns a communist society and vile plots. The tension was high, and I was satisfied with the pacing and conclusion. People who dislike it do so because of the grimness or because of the political content.
A few comments on politics in Vance novels:
It can be inferred from this novel, Emphyrio, and a few others that Vance had no love of Communism, Socialism, and possibly unions. Many have also commented on what may be far-right sentiments in Koryphon aka The Gray Prince. It seems likely to me, however, that Vance was less of a card-carrying Republican and more of a hardened cynic. Given the number of his plots that turn on the tyranny of the common denominator or the folly of groupthink, it seems possible that he didn't care much for democracy in general. In fact the only governments he seems to approve of were certain monarchic elements in the Lyonesse novels and the Connatic in this novel, who is essentially a laissez-faire dictator. In addition, his heroes in Araminta Station and Demon Princes can be read as positive examples of unchecked authority.
I would argue, however, that politics was never the motive force behind Vance's writing. Even his most political novels are guided by the experience of a protagonist. Vance puts his energy and craft into the portrayal of that character as an individual, and the struggles that the character experiences. A situation in which the predominant culture is basically wrong is required for a Vancian protagonist to have something to butt up against. It stands to reason that the antithesis of Vance's uniquely picaresque, egotistical individualist would be a Communist government, and that is probably why Vance portrays that type of government so brutally in his novels.
April 15, 2016
This last book in Alastor trilogy was the best, most fascinating novel in the series. It had the more complex world, human culture, the most cerebral story of the series. Jantiff Ravenstroke is the avreage man of all Vance protoganist I have read. He was a normal young man looking to make a career of his talent with painting. I felt for his bad luck in choosing adventure, work in the planet, human society he ended up in.
The ending was a little too neat, too fast resulation to the story. I have read so many Vance novels that i was looking for more flaws, being critical to this book compared to his usual high standards of writing. This was better than I expected for a lesser known series of his.
The ending was a little too neat, too fast resulation to the story. I have read so many Vance novels that i was looking for more flaws, being critical to this book compared to his usual high standards of writing. This was better than I expected for a lesser known series of his.
May 1, 2021
One of the few Vance novels that I found not tedious, but threadbare and inconsequential. Here, Vance's desire to expose the dystopian violence of a supposedly egalitarian society feels under-developed, and more of a vehicle to arrive at the volte-face of the novel's conclusion than it feels a compelling and realized vision of society. There's the use of a lazily implemented communist dream, stripped of any notion of humanistic realization; there's the relatively straightforwardly grasping capitalists who are content to rule over a neo-feudal society; there's the individual, masculine artist with the keenest eyes of all whose wanders lead him to change the world. There are more than the usual dependences on prejudicial feeling as well, with women coming in for more than their usual poor lot from Vance. I found myself less interested than tired by these threadbare elements and disappointed as the previous novels in the Gaean Reach set are very, very strong. A novel to avoid in general except for those chasing down the medium-to-poor fare from a master.
December 30, 2025
The clear best of the three Alastor books and a good example of mature Vance. I'm tempted to give this 5 stars, but it isn't quite up to that standard. The other two Alastor books show signs of being finished under deadline. There is a point near the end of this one where Vance rushes a little, and the end is a little too tidy, reminiscent of Poirot wrapping up one of Agatha Christie's mysteries. But Vance adjusts and lands it.
This is probably the darkest of the Vance novels. There are some very unsettling scenes. Vance was a master of creating vivid cultures; I think of much of his writing as anthropology-fiction. Here the main culture is a banal, socialistic dystopia, but with touches of Vancian humor. I had the strange thought that it was as if PG Wodehouse (one of Vance's favorite authors) had written "Brave New World"
Overall a very interesting work, with some elements unlike Vance's other books.
This is probably the darkest of the Vance novels. There are some very unsettling scenes. Vance was a master of creating vivid cultures; I think of much of his writing as anthropology-fiction. Here the main culture is a banal, socialistic dystopia, but with touches of Vancian humor. I had the strange thought that it was as if PG Wodehouse (one of Vance's favorite authors) had written "Brave New World"
Overall a very interesting work, with some elements unlike Vance's other books.
November 10, 2021
4.5 stars. This is exhibit A for anyone wishing to illustrate Vance's sheer skill as a writer of English prose. The pace of the narrative, the description of events, the characterisation, the dialogue, the action scenes - all are near perfect. It also has huge emotional heft. If there is a weakness, it is that the motives of the villains (and they are marvellous, hateful, disgusting villains!) seem ultimately to be rather banal, and their plot correspondingly so; in the end, Jantiff's travails seemed to call out for a more dastardly and dramatic foil. Still, this is a brilliant novel.
August 13, 2020
6/10 en 2010.
Tercera y última parte de la saga de Alastor, me gustó menos. ¿Me empaché? Pues no se.
Repito lo del libro anterior: leed el primero (son cortitos) y ya véis si continuáis.
Leer a Vance no solía ser perder el tiempo, aunque el estilo está un poco caduco, lo sé.
Tercera y última parte de la saga de Alastor, me gustó menos. ¿Me empaché? Pues no se.
Repito lo del libro anterior: leed el primero (son cortitos) y ya véis si continuáis.
Leer a Vance no solía ser perder el tiempo, aunque el estilo está un poco caduco, lo sé.
January 24, 2026
There is a vibe, a verve, a mood, with classic SF, by which I mean the paperback era of roughly the 50s to the 80s. It was dominated by grand old emerituses most genre fans still recognize: the Big Three of Heinlein, Asimov, and Clark, of course, but also Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Poul Anderson, Robert Silverberg, Fritz Lieber, C.J. Cherryh, Gordon R. Dickenson, Anne McCaffrey, Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Ursula Le Guin, Frederick Pohl, Harlan Ellison, Spider Robinson, and so many others. Everyone who was an active SF reader in that era will have their own overlapping list of must-includes. These are the books I read as a kid and a teen, my introduction to science fiction and fantasy. This along with the slightly older era of pulp SF, including Edgar Rice Burroughs, HP Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and their contemporaries.
Modern SF is different. Not necessarily less good, because tastes and writing styles change, and of course stuff that was "futuristic" in the 50s had become dated now, what scifi authors imagined society might look like in half a century usually turned out to be wildly off-base (but sometimes disturbingly prescient), and... things are just different now. There aren't many modern SF writers who transport me in the same way the older authors did. (There are a few exceptions, such as James S.A. Corey and Adrian Tchaikovsky and Neal Stephenson, who sometimes come close.)
Jack Vance is an underrated writer from this era whom I have always been meaning to read more of. He also has the distinction of being on the famous "Appendix N" list of inspirations for Gary Gygax's Dungeons and Dragons. Indeed, one might consider Vance the Appendix N author, as his "Vancian magic system" famously underpins most of the tropes of D&D spellcasting.
I have read only one of Vance's Dying Earth books, and again, keep meaning to read more. I picked up Wyst: Alastor 1716, a 1978 novel that is actually the final book in a trilogy but perfectly stand-alone, because a publisher of a rolelaying game ran a Kickstarter just to reprint a book by his favorite author.
It's fun! It's a space adventure! It's a young man's bildungsroman without conceit or pretense. It's got endangered damsels, vile villains, a conspiracy to assassinate the head of an interstellar union, giant spaceships parked overhead just to shock and awe, a big explosive climax, and yet it's written in the same style as his fantasy novels, in which young Jantiff Ravensroke spends most of his time either wandering about in an urban megalopolis or as a fugitive in the rural countryside.
Vance doesn't spend a lot of time establishing the setting. There is worldbuilding but rarely with infodumps. Just lots and lots of SFnal terms dumped on us like "Connatic" and "Thaiatic." Chapters helpfully have endnotes to explain some of these, but mostly you're just plunged into a space opera.
In some ways, Wyst: Alastor 1716 reminded me of the Ursula Le Guin's more venerable and philosophical The Dispossessed, a story of a stranger from another planet trying to adjust to a world with very different mores, a place he finds by turns exciting, fascinating, and terrible. Jantiff Ravensroke is a young man who won what is essentially an arts scholarship to the world of Wyst. He shows up because he's heard it has fabulous sunsets and an interesting society. It does have both.
Wyst, it develops, has what they call an "egalistic" society, a sort of space-communism in which everyone has to work only 13 hours a week, all housing and food is provided for them, and there is ample entertainment. Yet the denizens of Wyst are constantly in search of "bonter" (real food that is not the reprocessed sludge that is their normal diet), while constantly trying to reduce their work hours and, more often than not, cheat and steal from one another. It's not a high-trust society, but neither is it a violent or dystopian one. Until Jantiff's stay takes some dramatic turns. It starts, of course, with a girl.
That dialog! Modern readers might consider it stilted and the words overwrought. Vance writes like this throughout, and while it shows its age, I really liked it. Nobody can get away with writing like this today.
The unfortunate Kedidah who is Jantiff's love interest is a typical Wystian; she thinks only about the moment, and when she becomes the "shierl" of a strange coliseum game that exacts a terrible price on the losers, she thinks only about how great it is when they're winning and not what will happen when they lose. Jantiff mopes about in love with her while she is (implied to be) sleeping with the entire team, and treats him with the same indulgent carelessness that all Wystians seem to treat each other.
It ends badly, of course, but then Jantiff finds himself drawn into a more sinister conspiracy in which some of his neighbors, improbably, have a scheme with global and even interstellar impacts. Jantiff is the patsy (it is painful but believable how readily the young man reluctantly goes along with schemes in which it's very obvious to the reader he's being set up), and when he escapes, the second part of the book has more of the feeling of a rustic fantasy quest, where he's stranded in the boonies and trying to earn his way back home, surrounded by a still completely-untrustworthy-and-obviously-going-to-screw-him-over cast of characters.
This isn't a deep or philosophical novel, it's just a space opera of which there was an abundance in the 70s, with shades of Le Guin and Heinlein, that kind of turns into more of a planetary romance with the main character being a lone hero who must survive against a hostile planet (and of course, get the girl in the end).
Modern SF is different. Not necessarily less good, because tastes and writing styles change, and of course stuff that was "futuristic" in the 50s had become dated now, what scifi authors imagined society might look like in half a century usually turned out to be wildly off-base (but sometimes disturbingly prescient), and... things are just different now. There aren't many modern SF writers who transport me in the same way the older authors did. (There are a few exceptions, such as James S.A. Corey and Adrian Tchaikovsky and Neal Stephenson, who sometimes come close.)
Jack Vance is an underrated writer from this era whom I have always been meaning to read more of. He also has the distinction of being on the famous "Appendix N" list of inspirations for Gary Gygax's Dungeons and Dragons. Indeed, one might consider Vance the Appendix N author, as his "Vancian magic system" famously underpins most of the tropes of D&D spellcasting.
I have read only one of Vance's Dying Earth books, and again, keep meaning to read more. I picked up Wyst: Alastor 1716, a 1978 novel that is actually the final book in a trilogy but perfectly stand-alone, because a publisher of a rolelaying game ran a Kickstarter just to reprint a book by his favorite author.
It's fun! It's a space adventure! It's a young man's bildungsroman without conceit or pretense. It's got endangered damsels, vile villains, a conspiracy to assassinate the head of an interstellar union, giant spaceships parked overhead just to shock and awe, a big explosive climax, and yet it's written in the same style as his fantasy novels, in which young Jantiff Ravensroke spends most of his time either wandering about in an urban megalopolis or as a fugitive in the rural countryside.
The Isirjir Ziaspraide, flagship of the Thaiatic Fleet, and a vessel of awesome magnitude, served less as a weapon of war than as an instrument of policy. Wherever the Isirjir Ziaspraide showed itself, the majesty of the Connatic and the force of the Whelm were manifest.
Vance doesn't spend a lot of time establishing the setting. There is worldbuilding but rarely with infodumps. Just lots and lots of SFnal terms dumped on us like "Connatic" and "Thaiatic." Chapters helpfully have endnotes to explain some of these, but mostly you're just plunged into a space opera.
In some ways, Wyst: Alastor 1716 reminded me of the Ursula Le Guin's more venerable and philosophical The Dispossessed, a story of a stranger from another planet trying to adjust to a world with very different mores, a place he finds by turns exciting, fascinating, and terrible. Jantiff Ravensroke is a young man who won what is essentially an arts scholarship to the world of Wyst. He shows up because he's heard it has fabulous sunsets and an interesting society. It does have both.
Wyst, it develops, has what they call an "egalistic" society, a sort of space-communism in which everyone has to work only 13 hours a week, all housing and food is provided for them, and there is ample entertainment. Yet the denizens of Wyst are constantly in search of "bonter" (real food that is not the reprocessed sludge that is their normal diet), while constantly trying to reduce their work hours and, more often than not, cheat and steal from one another. It's not a high-trust society, but neither is it a violent or dystopian one. Until Jantiff's stay takes some dramatic turns. It starts, of course, with a girl.
In the refectory one day, the girl whom Jantiff previously had admired plumped herself down opposite him. With her lips twitching against a grin of sheer exuberance, she pointed a finger toward Jantiff. “Explain something: do! Every time I come to the wumper you stare at me first from one side of your face and then the other. Why should this be? Am I so outrageous or extraordinary?”
Jantiff grinned sheepishly. “I find you outrageously attractive and extraordinarily beautiful.”
“Sh!” The girl glanced mischievously right and left. “Already I’m considered a sexivationist. You’ll absolutely confirm the general suspicion!”
“Well, be that as it may, I can’t keep my eyes off of you, and that’s the truth of it.”
“And all you do is look? How odd! But then, you’re an immigrant.”
“Just a visitor. I hope that my coarse behaviour hasn’t disturbed you.”
“Not in the slightest. I’ve always thought you rather pleasant. We’ll copulate if you like; you can show me some new and amusing antics. No, not now; low drudge awaits me, curse all of it. Another time, if you’re of a mind.”
“Well, yes,” said Jantiff. “I suppose it boils down to that. Your name, I believe, is Kedidah.”
“How did you know?”
“Skorlet told me.”
Kedidah made a wry face. “Skorlet doesn’t like me. She says I’m flippant, and an arrant sexivator, as I mentioned.”
“I’m bewildered. Why?”
“Oh — I don’t really know. I like to tease and play. I arrange my hair to suit my mood. I like men to like me and I’m not concerned about women.”2
“These aren’t flagrant crimes.”
“Aha! Ask Skorlet!”
“I’m not concerned for Skorlet’s opinions. In fact, I find her overly intense. My name, incidentally, is Jantiff Ravensroke.”
“What an odd name! No doubt you’re an ingrained elitist. How are you adapting to egalism?”
“Quite well. Although I’m still perplexed by certain of the Arrabin customs.”
“Understandably. We’re a most complicated people, maybe to compensate for our egalism.”
“I suppose that’s possible. Would you like to visit other worlds?”
“Of course, unless I had to toil constantly, in which case I’ll stay here where life is gay. I have friends and clubs and games; I never gloom because I think only of pleasure. In fact, some of us are going out on forage in a day or so; you’re welcome to come along if you like.”
“What’s a ‘forage’?”
“An expedition into the primitive! We ride up into the hills, then maraud south into the Weirdlands. This time it’s to be Pamatra Valley, where we know secret places. We’ll hope to find some very good bonter; but even if not, it’s always a lark.”
“I’d like to go, if I’m not on drudge.”
“We’ll start Twisday morning, right after wump and return Fyrday night, or even Dwanday morning.”
“That suits me very well.”
“Good. We’ll meet here. Bring some sort of robe, since we’ll probably sleep in the open. With luck we’ll find all kinds of tasty things.”
That dialog! Modern readers might consider it stilted and the words overwrought. Vance writes like this throughout, and while it shows its age, I really liked it. Nobody can get away with writing like this today.
The unfortunate Kedidah who is Jantiff's love interest is a typical Wystian; she thinks only about the moment, and when she becomes the "shierl" of a strange coliseum game that exacts a terrible price on the losers, she thinks only about how great it is when they're winning and not what will happen when they lose. Jantiff mopes about in love with her while she is (implied to be) sleeping with the entire team, and treats him with the same indulgent carelessness that all Wystians seem to treat each other.
It ends badly, of course, but then Jantiff finds himself drawn into a more sinister conspiracy in which some of his neighbors, improbably, have a scheme with global and even interstellar impacts. Jantiff is the patsy (it is painful but believable how readily the young man reluctantly goes along with schemes in which it's very obvious to the reader he's being set up), and when he escapes, the second part of the book has more of the feeling of a rustic fantasy quest, where he's stranded in the boonies and trying to earn his way back home, surrounded by a still completely-untrustworthy-and-obviously-going-to-screw-him-over cast of characters.
This isn't a deep or philosophical novel, it's just a space opera of which there was an abundance in the 70s, with shades of Le Guin and Heinlein, that kind of turns into more of a planetary romance with the main character being a lone hero who must survive against a hostile planet (and of course, get the girl in the end).
May 17, 2019
Jack Vance is truly a phenomenon. What a great book. Improved on re-read.
This is one of three novellas Vance wrote set in a loosely connected set of planets located throughout the "Alastor cluster." Each book examines a different planet--Wyst in this case. In classic Vance fashion, each planet has its own fascinating culture(s), and there is also an overarching layer of myth, philosophy and culture across the entire cluster.
Wyst is is on the very surface level a send up of collectivist/communist/utopian societies. Vance was himself a conservative, though he spent possibly the most time skewering penny-pinching capitalists. Perhaps at his core he was just a cynic.
Because Vance is good, though, this is not just a boring finger-wag about the dangers of communism.
(1) The collectivist society (Arrabus) has actually done a pretty good job. The Arrabins work 13 hours/week doing "drudge." They don't have fancy clothes and they eat the same food over and over, but they basically accept this in exchange for the huge amount of leisure time they get.
(2) A recurring Vance theme is the tension between the human desire for leisure and safety on the one hand, and the desire to overcome challenges and pursue excellence on the other. What happens when people really do have almost unlimited leisure? Especially in Arrabus where the culture has evolved to a place where striving to be exceptional is viewed as actively offensive? A typically Vancian fictional/scholarly footnote:
(3) Quite a bit of the book is spent in the outskirts of Arrabus, where a whole array of interesting "hangers-on" cultures exist that are contrastingly highly individualistic. Cannibal gypsies, rapacious contractors, secretive "witches," independent pioneer/farmer types. Vance is so good at coming up with these groups.
(3) There are elements of this book that are deeply unsettling. Perhaps because they need on some level to experience danger and feel challenged, the Arrabins take a strange and detached attitude towards sexual violence and personal harm. They commit suicide often, and do so using sort of county-fair games in a festive setting. They casually put themselves in horrifying danger at times. People offer their kids to sexual predators at a whim. Ugh.
(4) As always with Vance, the dialogue is fantastic. The names are organic and great. The capable, Vancian hero is appealing (an artist). There are lovely descriptions of color and light.
This is one of three novellas Vance wrote set in a loosely connected set of planets located throughout the "Alastor cluster." Each book examines a different planet--Wyst in this case. In classic Vance fashion, each planet has its own fascinating culture(s), and there is also an overarching layer of myth, philosophy and culture across the entire cluster.
Wyst is is on the very surface level a send up of collectivist/communist/utopian societies. Vance was himself a conservative, though he spent possibly the most time skewering penny-pinching capitalists. Perhaps at his core he was just a cynic.
Because Vance is good, though, this is not just a boring finger-wag about the dangers of communism.
(1) The collectivist society (Arrabus) has actually done a pretty good job. The Arrabins work 13 hours/week doing "drudge." They don't have fancy clothes and they eat the same food over and over, but they basically accept this in exchange for the huge amount of leisure time they get.
(2) A recurring Vance theme is the tension between the human desire for leisure and safety on the one hand, and the desire to overcome challenges and pursue excellence on the other. What happens when people really do have almost unlimited leisure? Especially in Arrabus where the culture has evolved to a place where striving to be exceptional is viewed as actively offensive? A typically Vancian fictional/scholarly footnote:
Andrei Simiæ, the Gaean philosopher, has theorized that primitive man, evolving across millions of years in chronic fear, pain, deprivation and emergency, must have adapted intimately to these excitations. In consequence, civilized men will of necessity require occasional frights and horrors, to stimulate their glands and maintain their health. Simiæ has jocularly proposed a corps of dedicated public servants, the Ferocifers, or Public Terrifiers, who severely frighten each citizen several times a week, as his health requires.
(3) Quite a bit of the book is spent in the outskirts of Arrabus, where a whole array of interesting "hangers-on" cultures exist that are contrastingly highly individualistic. Cannibal gypsies, rapacious contractors, secretive "witches," independent pioneer/farmer types. Vance is so good at coming up with these groups.
(3) There are elements of this book that are deeply unsettling. Perhaps because they need on some level to experience danger and feel challenged, the Arrabins take a strange and detached attitude towards sexual violence and personal harm. They commit suicide often, and do so using sort of county-fair games in a festive setting. They casually put themselves in horrifying danger at times. People offer their kids to sexual predators at a whim. Ugh.
(4) As always with Vance, the dialogue is fantastic. The names are organic and great. The capable, Vancian hero is appealing (an artist). There are lovely descriptions of color and light.
August 12, 2024
When I read Vance’s Dying Earth, I came away with the thought that he’s a brilliant writer and world builder, but has a contempt for humanity’s base instincts, and Wyst did not dispel those notions.
Wyst is true blue old school speculative sci fi, in the vein of 1984 or The Time Machine (which it seems to take influence from), but where those stories live and die on their meanings and purpose, here the speculation feels secondary. The main city on Wyst, Arrabus, is too real of a place, too concrete to make a point any deeper than “people be Hippocrates” and, like, we already knew that.
Luckily this just makes the book better. Vance is as wonderful at building places and having narratives build discreetly out of them as ever, and his talent for the written word is both matter of fact and expressive, in that way only older sci fi can really hit.
Honestly I don’t have much else to say about the rest of the book besides “it’s really good and you should read it”. Just don’t take the speculative satire too seriously, it’s more emblematic of the times than anything else.
Wyst is true blue old school speculative sci fi, in the vein of 1984 or The Time Machine (which it seems to take influence from), but where those stories live and die on their meanings and purpose, here the speculation feels secondary. The main city on Wyst, Arrabus, is too real of a place, too concrete to make a point any deeper than “people be Hippocrates” and, like, we already knew that.
Luckily this just makes the book better. Vance is as wonderful at building places and having narratives build discreetly out of them as ever, and his talent for the written word is both matter of fact and expressive, in that way only older sci fi can really hit.
Honestly I don’t have much else to say about the rest of the book besides “it’s really good and you should read it”. Just don’t take the speculative satire too seriously, it’s more emblematic of the times than anything else.
May 10, 2020
"I have read this book many times and it always leaves me feeling uneasy. In fact often when I re-read my collection of Jack Vance books this is one I miss out. The main character is sympathetic, the dialogue is great and the world Jack Vance creates is amazing. However maybe it is the casual nature of the unpleasantness of the "villains" which gets under my skin and stops me enjoying this book more. Jack Vance has certainly created nastier villains in books I really enjoyed. I don't know. I wonder if Jack Vance himself felt uneasy as the ending is more positive than in many of his other books." was what I wrote on 11 December 2012.
I did debate whether to read this again but as I was re-reading all my collection of the author's books I felt obliged to include it. The callous nastiness of the "villains" still makes me feel uneasy. I suppose it could be described as black comedy and maybe I am over-sensitive.
I did debate whether to read this again but as I was re-reading all my collection of the author's books I felt obliged to include it. The callous nastiness of the "villains" still makes me feel uneasy. I suppose it could be described as black comedy and maybe I am over-sensitive.
April 21, 2011
I was late to the Vance party. I started reading Jack Vance about 7 years ago. Looking back on all of the Vance books I read, Wyst stands out in my mind. It had the most humor, and it just makes me smile thinking about it. I also really enjoyed the Demon Princes Series - but Wyst was just cleverly done. I really hate rereading novels, but this is one I'll be rereading at some point.
June 27, 2021
Aardig verhaal. Niets meer of minder dan dat.
January 12, 2012
Couldn't put it down.
April 7, 2024
Er is altijd wel een genre dat ik volgens mij altijd te weinig aandacht gegeven heb. Sci-fi. Fantasie lees ik veel maar die verhalen op andere planeten, reizen tussen kolonies, mogelijke toekomsten. Ooit zei mij een veellezer van dit genre me dat ik eens een boek moest lezen van de oude sci-fi meesters.
Denk daarbij aan Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Huxley en Jack Vance.
Vance had ik ooit als jongere versie van mezelf een kans gegeven maar niet goed bevonden. Ja, niet boos zijn, ik durf gevestigde waardes soms minder schatten dan de rest. Op Facebook leidt dit soms tot virtuele lynchpartijen. Gelukkig is de beschaving op Hebban als goed doorgedrongen.
Maar terug naar Vance. (Aandacht houden he mensen!) Het plezante aan een ruilkast is dat je nooit op voorhand weet wat er in zal zitten. En ja, op een dag zaten er verschillende boeken in de kast van deze oudere grootmeesters in het sci-fi genre. Een boek of twee van Vance meegenomen om hem toch die tweede kans te geven. Even zien of de oudere versie van mezelf het boek meer naar waarde kan schatten. (Bij de volgende ronde waren de andere boekjes verdwenen maar had niets mee om ze allemaal in te doen.)
De titel van het Vance boek dat ik gelezen heb is Wyst, Alastor 1716. Een verhaal uit 1978 en vertaald in 1979. Ik was bij het uitkomen van de vertaling dus -4 jaar oud.
Het verhaal
Wyst is een planeet waar egalisme de maatstaf is en waar zwoegen voor de kost bijna uitgebannen is. Hierdoor stromen immigranten toe en de planeet begint zeer druk te worden. Men leeft in appartementsblokken en beweegt zich via menswegen waarop ze meegevoerd worden naar hun bestemming.
Jantiff Ravenstroke, een tekenaar, is naar Wyst gekomen op zoek naar avontuur en om het bijzondere licht van de ster Dwan te zien. Tussen hedonistische Arrabijnen proeft hij van het egalisme. Met zijn tekeningen brengt hij enkele Arrabijnen op een slecht plan waardoor hij moet vluchten naar de Griezellanden in het zuiden. Maar zelfs daar laat het ongeluk hem niet los.
Mijn gedacht.
De oudere versie van Sven kan dit boek meer smaken. De schrijfstijl las zelfs na al die jaren vlot. Ik ging redelijk snel van pagina naar pagina.
Dat het boek nu overal even spannend was ga je mij ook niet horen zeggen maar wel spannend genoeg om mijn aandacht vast te houden.
Het gebruik van egalisme bij het schrijven van dit boek kun je nog altijd herkennen te hedendage.
Gelijkheid blijft een enorme strijd die vandaag nog gestreden wordt.
Jantiff is een personage die bij mij wel geliefd is. Hij stelt zich de juiste vragen en hoewel hij soms wat naïef overkomt, is hij toch, naarmate het verhaal vordert, daadkrachtiger aan het worden.
Door de beschrijvingen kon ik mij wel een redelijk beeld van Wyst opmaken. En als er iets is wat ik graag heb in fantasie of sci-fi is het een goeie wereldopbouw. Een opbouw die je voor uw eigen ogen ziet voorbijkomen als je het verhaal aan het lezen bent.
Het slot bevat de meeste spanning van het hele boek. Een slot dat de kronkels bevat om de aandacht vast te houden tot de laatste pagina.
Conclusie
Een verhaal uit 1978 die de dag van vandaag nog altijd onderhoudend genoeg is om te lezen. Een onderwerp egalisme dat de dag van vandaag nog steeds een topic is. Alhoewel dat ze voor mij de toiletten uit dit boek niet moeten in gang steken. Man en vrouw samen in de toiletten zonder muren en deuren. Zie het nog niet direct zitten.
Dit boekje vliegt nu terug in de ruilkast zodat een ander ook de kans krijgt te genieten van deze oudere sci-fi meester. Heb ik het boek volledig naar waarde geschat? Ik denk het niet. Als ik recensies zie van Johan Klein Haneveld dan weet ik dat ik nooit alle lagen van dit soort verhalen zal kunnen ontleden. Maar dit is niet volledig nodig ook. Ik geniet van het lezen van deze meester van de sci-fi. Alle, iedereen nog veel leesgenot.
PS misschien laatste vraagje.
Lezen jullie liever nieuwe verhalen of mogen er nu en dan oudere verhalen de revue passeren?
Denk daarbij aan Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Huxley en Jack Vance.
Vance had ik ooit als jongere versie van mezelf een kans gegeven maar niet goed bevonden. Ja, niet boos zijn, ik durf gevestigde waardes soms minder schatten dan de rest. Op Facebook leidt dit soms tot virtuele lynchpartijen. Gelukkig is de beschaving op Hebban als goed doorgedrongen.
Maar terug naar Vance. (Aandacht houden he mensen!) Het plezante aan een ruilkast is dat je nooit op voorhand weet wat er in zal zitten. En ja, op een dag zaten er verschillende boeken in de kast van deze oudere grootmeesters in het sci-fi genre. Een boek of twee van Vance meegenomen om hem toch die tweede kans te geven. Even zien of de oudere versie van mezelf het boek meer naar waarde kan schatten. (Bij de volgende ronde waren de andere boekjes verdwenen maar had niets mee om ze allemaal in te doen.)
De titel van het Vance boek dat ik gelezen heb is Wyst, Alastor 1716. Een verhaal uit 1978 en vertaald in 1979. Ik was bij het uitkomen van de vertaling dus -4 jaar oud.
Het verhaal
Wyst is een planeet waar egalisme de maatstaf is en waar zwoegen voor de kost bijna uitgebannen is. Hierdoor stromen immigranten toe en de planeet begint zeer druk te worden. Men leeft in appartementsblokken en beweegt zich via menswegen waarop ze meegevoerd worden naar hun bestemming.
Jantiff Ravenstroke, een tekenaar, is naar Wyst gekomen op zoek naar avontuur en om het bijzondere licht van de ster Dwan te zien. Tussen hedonistische Arrabijnen proeft hij van het egalisme. Met zijn tekeningen brengt hij enkele Arrabijnen op een slecht plan waardoor hij moet vluchten naar de Griezellanden in het zuiden. Maar zelfs daar laat het ongeluk hem niet los.
Mijn gedacht.
De oudere versie van Sven kan dit boek meer smaken. De schrijfstijl las zelfs na al die jaren vlot. Ik ging redelijk snel van pagina naar pagina.
Dat het boek nu overal even spannend was ga je mij ook niet horen zeggen maar wel spannend genoeg om mijn aandacht vast te houden.
Het gebruik van egalisme bij het schrijven van dit boek kun je nog altijd herkennen te hedendage.
Gelijkheid blijft een enorme strijd die vandaag nog gestreden wordt.
Jantiff is een personage die bij mij wel geliefd is. Hij stelt zich de juiste vragen en hoewel hij soms wat naïef overkomt, is hij toch, naarmate het verhaal vordert, daadkrachtiger aan het worden.
Door de beschrijvingen kon ik mij wel een redelijk beeld van Wyst opmaken. En als er iets is wat ik graag heb in fantasie of sci-fi is het een goeie wereldopbouw. Een opbouw die je voor uw eigen ogen ziet voorbijkomen als je het verhaal aan het lezen bent.
Het slot bevat de meeste spanning van het hele boek. Een slot dat de kronkels bevat om de aandacht vast te houden tot de laatste pagina.
Conclusie
Een verhaal uit 1978 die de dag van vandaag nog altijd onderhoudend genoeg is om te lezen. Een onderwerp egalisme dat de dag van vandaag nog steeds een topic is. Alhoewel dat ze voor mij de toiletten uit dit boek niet moeten in gang steken. Man en vrouw samen in de toiletten zonder muren en deuren. Zie het nog niet direct zitten.
Dit boekje vliegt nu terug in de ruilkast zodat een ander ook de kans krijgt te genieten van deze oudere sci-fi meester. Heb ik het boek volledig naar waarde geschat? Ik denk het niet. Als ik recensies zie van Johan Klein Haneveld dan weet ik dat ik nooit alle lagen van dit soort verhalen zal kunnen ontleden. Maar dit is niet volledig nodig ook. Ik geniet van het lezen van deze meester van de sci-fi. Alle, iedereen nog veel leesgenot.
PS misschien laatste vraagje.
Lezen jullie liever nieuwe verhalen of mogen er nu en dan oudere verhalen de revue passeren?
May 27, 2024
Wyst: Alastor 1716 was first published as a paperback novel in 1978. It is the third and final novel in the Alastor series. Each book in this series is a stand alone novel connected only by their shared setting in the Alastor Cluster. My out of print paperback has 218 pages of text with 5 pages more of a glossary at the end.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force called the Whelm to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters.
Wyst is one of the planets in the Alastor Cluster. It is also known as Alastor 1716. Most of the novel takes place on Wyst in the Arrabus Nation. Uncibal is one of the main cities in Arrabus. All Arrabus residents live under the Egalistic Manifold. Everyone is considered absolutely equal and individualism is considered elitism, the opposite of egalism. Arrabus is suppose to be a utopia, but things are not always as they seem.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is one of the more sociological and political novels by Vance, although in many ways it is simply a creative, intriguing mystery novel set on an exotic planet. The main character, Jantiff Revensroke, resides on the planet Zeck and wins the grand prize in an art contest with the award being a free round trip ticket to another planet of one's choice with spending money. Jantiff chooses to travel to the planet Wyst because he saw an announcement for the centennial celebration of Arrabus Nation. He is curious to visit Arrabus because it claims that it is a nation that has developed a utopian society where everyone is equal and residents do not have to work much or worry. While visiting Arrabus, Jantiff hopes to paint and draw pictures of local people, sites and scenery and to study the local customs and society.
Many people have been immigrating to Arrabus recently because it is known as an egalistic country where the government requires residents to work only thirteen hours a week and provides everyone with food and a place to live. It is "a fantastic social experiment, where food and shelter, like air, are considered the natural gift of all men." Work is called "drudge" and jobs are assigned randomly so nobody has a specialty, skill or occupation. Outside contractors are hired for work that Arrabus residents don't want to do or that they do not have the skills to perform. Machines are expected to do most of the work. Free time, of which there is much, is suppose to be for pleasure in this "society dedicated to self-fulfillment, pleasure and frivolity." There is very little that can be purchased in local stores so the "tokens" residents earn doing drudge have only minimal utility. Alcohol is not sold so many residents try to make their own alcoholic beverages from their rationed food.
In order to provide inexpensive food for all of its citizens, the government of Arrabus rations the food and serves the same three foods each day for every meal to all the residents. This food is produced in food synthesizers from an unknown substance called sturge. It comes in three different forms, each of them rather bland tasting. There is a pudding like form called wobbly, a white drink called deedle and a cake called gruff. Natural food is called "bonter" and is highly coveted. Arrabus residents even make raids outside Arrabus, marauding "into the primitive" to a place called the Weirdlands where they steal fruit, chickens, vegetables etc. from farms. The farmers use trip wires, pit falls, dogs and clubs to try to protect their crops and livestock from theft.
Government assigned housing is available to everybody but to minimize expenses it is very bleak and crowded. Housing is in gigantic block tenements with, "row after row, sector after sector, of apartment blocks, each to house three thousand folk." Everyone shares an apartment with at least one other person who is assigned randomly without regard to age, sex or other factors. Jantiff is assigned to a small apartment with a middle aged woman who sleeps in a bed next to his separated only by a thin curtain. Her boyfriend, child and friends also are frequently there, allowing for little privacy.
Any possessions or property of residents of Arrabus are subject to theft, something that is socially sanctioned and referred to as snergery. "Snerging ensures egalism. It's a very direct remedy against anyone accumulating goods. In Arrabus we share and share alike." Soon after Jantiff arrives in Arrabus his camera and other property is stolen. When he complains he is told to get over it and quit being an "elitist." Jantiff does not like having his valuables stolen any more than he likes stealing produce and livestock from farmers in the Weirdlands. Jantiff's attitudes about individual responsibility, privacy and fairness cause frequent problems for him.
The plot is fairly straightforward and involves a political conspiracy that originates from some innocent drawings done by Jantiff. Intrigue, treachery, conspiracy and mystery follow with many interesting events in between. There is the marauding trip into the Weirdlands to raid farmers crops and livestock. Those around Jantiff continually try to manipulate him and to get him to pay for things. Jantiff attends a national sport called shunkery pits huge mounted beasts against one another with participants and observers often being injured or killed during shunk battles. Jantiff also attends a food orgy event called a bonterfest that is contracted through Weirdlands gypsies. Jantiff flees the city, meets witches, encounters a hostile townspeople who try to blind him and smash his fingers. There are witch hunts using dog like creatures to try murder harmless witches and their children. Conspirators plot to overthrow the Arrabus government and replace the Whispers who officially represent Arrabus. Terrorists attack with knives and powerful explosives. There are also plans to try to kill the Connatic who sends high level representatives to Wyst to investigate. The strange experiences, adventurous situations and unusual people Jantiff encounters, plus the other events and intrigues in the novel, are far too numerous to even mention much less describe. In addition to the fascinating plot and story, I thought the resolution and ending were also very good.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is recommended to all Vance fans as are the other two Alastor novels. This is not one of the novels that comes to mind when I recommend a book to a reader new to Vance. But it could serve that purpose since it is a stand alone novel that is well written, interesting, and engaging. Vance fans will certainly want to read Wyst and it should have some appeal to science fiction devotees and wider audiences. I’ve read this novel several times so far and rate it a 4 “Really liked it.”
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force called the Whelm to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters.
Wyst is one of the planets in the Alastor Cluster. It is also known as Alastor 1716. Most of the novel takes place on Wyst in the Arrabus Nation. Uncibal is one of the main cities in Arrabus. All Arrabus residents live under the Egalistic Manifold. Everyone is considered absolutely equal and individualism is considered elitism, the opposite of egalism. Arrabus is suppose to be a utopia, but things are not always as they seem.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is one of the more sociological and political novels by Vance, although in many ways it is simply a creative, intriguing mystery novel set on an exotic planet. The main character, Jantiff Revensroke, resides on the planet Zeck and wins the grand prize in an art contest with the award being a free round trip ticket to another planet of one's choice with spending money. Jantiff chooses to travel to the planet Wyst because he saw an announcement for the centennial celebration of Arrabus Nation. He is curious to visit Arrabus because it claims that it is a nation that has developed a utopian society where everyone is equal and residents do not have to work much or worry. While visiting Arrabus, Jantiff hopes to paint and draw pictures of local people, sites and scenery and to study the local customs and society.
Many people have been immigrating to Arrabus recently because it is known as an egalistic country where the government requires residents to work only thirteen hours a week and provides everyone with food and a place to live. It is "a fantastic social experiment, where food and shelter, like air, are considered the natural gift of all men." Work is called "drudge" and jobs are assigned randomly so nobody has a specialty, skill or occupation. Outside contractors are hired for work that Arrabus residents don't want to do or that they do not have the skills to perform. Machines are expected to do most of the work. Free time, of which there is much, is suppose to be for pleasure in this "society dedicated to self-fulfillment, pleasure and frivolity." There is very little that can be purchased in local stores so the "tokens" residents earn doing drudge have only minimal utility. Alcohol is not sold so many residents try to make their own alcoholic beverages from their rationed food.
In order to provide inexpensive food for all of its citizens, the government of Arrabus rations the food and serves the same three foods each day for every meal to all the residents. This food is produced in food synthesizers from an unknown substance called sturge. It comes in three different forms, each of them rather bland tasting. There is a pudding like form called wobbly, a white drink called deedle and a cake called gruff. Natural food is called "bonter" and is highly coveted. Arrabus residents even make raids outside Arrabus, marauding "into the primitive" to a place called the Weirdlands where they steal fruit, chickens, vegetables etc. from farms. The farmers use trip wires, pit falls, dogs and clubs to try to protect their crops and livestock from theft.
Government assigned housing is available to everybody but to minimize expenses it is very bleak and crowded. Housing is in gigantic block tenements with, "row after row, sector after sector, of apartment blocks, each to house three thousand folk." Everyone shares an apartment with at least one other person who is assigned randomly without regard to age, sex or other factors. Jantiff is assigned to a small apartment with a middle aged woman who sleeps in a bed next to his separated only by a thin curtain. Her boyfriend, child and friends also are frequently there, allowing for little privacy.
Any possessions or property of residents of Arrabus are subject to theft, something that is socially sanctioned and referred to as snergery. "Snerging ensures egalism. It's a very direct remedy against anyone accumulating goods. In Arrabus we share and share alike." Soon after Jantiff arrives in Arrabus his camera and other property is stolen. When he complains he is told to get over it and quit being an "elitist." Jantiff does not like having his valuables stolen any more than he likes stealing produce and livestock from farmers in the Weirdlands. Jantiff's attitudes about individual responsibility, privacy and fairness cause frequent problems for him.
The plot is fairly straightforward and involves a political conspiracy that originates from some innocent drawings done by Jantiff. Intrigue, treachery, conspiracy and mystery follow with many interesting events in between. There is the marauding trip into the Weirdlands to raid farmers crops and livestock. Those around Jantiff continually try to manipulate him and to get him to pay for things. Jantiff attends a national sport called shunkery pits huge mounted beasts against one another with participants and observers often being injured or killed during shunk battles. Jantiff also attends a food orgy event called a bonterfest that is contracted through Weirdlands gypsies. Jantiff flees the city, meets witches, encounters a hostile townspeople who try to blind him and smash his fingers. There are witch hunts using dog like creatures to try murder harmless witches and their children. Conspirators plot to overthrow the Arrabus government and replace the Whispers who officially represent Arrabus. Terrorists attack with knives and powerful explosives. There are also plans to try to kill the Connatic who sends high level representatives to Wyst to investigate. The strange experiences, adventurous situations and unusual people Jantiff encounters, plus the other events and intrigues in the novel, are far too numerous to even mention much less describe. In addition to the fascinating plot and story, I thought the resolution and ending were also very good.
Wyst: Alastor 1716 is recommended to all Vance fans as are the other two Alastor novels. This is not one of the novels that comes to mind when I recommend a book to a reader new to Vance. But it could serve that purpose since it is a stand alone novel that is well written, interesting, and engaging. Vance fans will certainly want to read Wyst and it should have some appeal to science fiction devotees and wider audiences. I’ve read this novel several times so far and rate it a 4 “Really liked it.”
April 21, 2022
Vance je taky autor, u kterého jsem přešel ze „zkusím ještě knihu“ k „no tak už ho dočtu celého“. Což mě samotného překvapuje, že mě baví ho číst. Možná je to pro jeho podehrávání, ironický pedantismus, cílený archaismus díky kterému romány psané v roce 1970 působí, že vznikly tak minimálně o sto let dřív… nebo to, že mi to nějakým způsobem evokuje staré pohádky, s pevně nastavenými pravidly, kterých se musel hrdina držet.
Jasně, ne všechno je paráda, poslední dvě knížky byly spíš průměr, ale tohle je zase návrat k tomu, co mám od Vanceho rád. Čili podivné světy se specifickým sociálním systémem a hrdina, který se jimi snaží… v podstatě prosmlouvat. A samozřejmě, spousta poznámek pod čarou.
Tady se mladý umělec, v touze po inspiraci, vydává na planetu žijící v podstatě v socialismu. Nebo hipísácké komunitě. Všichni jsou si absolutně rovní, což znamená ale i stále stejné jídlo, stejné skromné ubytování a to, že za nežádoucí projev elitářství jsou i větší znalosti nebo schopnosti a že na důležitější práci je nutné najímat zahraniční manuály. Na druhou stranu každý pracuje jen třináct hodin týdně a zbytek se věnuje zábavě a sexu (případně výpravám ven z města, aby se ukradlo nějaké nedostupné jídlo), takže to zase nikomu tak nevadí. Hrdina se dostává mezi lidi, kteří mi svou sebestřednou sobeckostí a absolutním nezájmem o ostatní připomínali postavy z komiksu Krásná temnota, zaplete se do spiknutí a je nucený utíkat přes tu část světa, která ještě není zastavěná a který žije až tak trochu ve středověku a pronásleduje čarodějky. Ano, na konci zasáhne sice deus ex machina, ale jinak je fajn sledovat proměnu hrdiny z totálního slušňáka na člověka, který si dokáže prosadit svou.
Wyst patří do volné trilogie Alastor, takže jsem vážně zvědavý, jaké světy má Vance ještě v záloze.
Jasně, ne všechno je paráda, poslední dvě knížky byly spíš průměr, ale tohle je zase návrat k tomu, co mám od Vanceho rád. Čili podivné světy se specifickým sociálním systémem a hrdina, který se jimi snaží… v podstatě prosmlouvat. A samozřejmě, spousta poznámek pod čarou.
Tady se mladý umělec, v touze po inspiraci, vydává na planetu žijící v podstatě v socialismu. Nebo hipísácké komunitě. Všichni jsou si absolutně rovní, což znamená ale i stále stejné jídlo, stejné skromné ubytování a to, že za nežádoucí projev elitářství jsou i větší znalosti nebo schopnosti a že na důležitější práci je nutné najímat zahraniční manuály. Na druhou stranu každý pracuje jen třináct hodin týdně a zbytek se věnuje zábavě a sexu (případně výpravám ven z města, aby se ukradlo nějaké nedostupné jídlo), takže to zase nikomu tak nevadí. Hrdina se dostává mezi lidi, kteří mi svou sebestřednou sobeckostí a absolutním nezájmem o ostatní připomínali postavy z komiksu Krásná temnota, zaplete se do spiknutí a je nucený utíkat přes tu část světa, která ještě není zastavěná a který žije až tak trochu ve středověku a pronásleduje čarodějky. Ano, na konci zasáhne sice deus ex machina, ale jinak je fajn sledovat proměnu hrdiny z totálního slušňáka na člověka, který si dokáže prosadit svou.
Wyst patří do volné trilogie Alastor, takže jsem vážně zvědavý, jaké světy má Vance ještě v záloze.
September 19, 2020
I am a huge Jack Vance fan; the man's books, though somewhat uneven (ranging from just very good to absolutely brilliant :-), never disappoint (this book is in the "very good" category). I am happy as a clam at high tide that all of Jack Vance's books are appearing on Kindle as part of his literary estate being digitized and made available at shocking low prices. This gives me the opportunity to catch up on books that I haven't read in decades (and in some cases never in English) or that I just hadn't read at all.
Wyst is a book in the series about the Alastor cluster; a cluster of human occupied worlds of grewat variety, ruled by the secretive Connatic. The book shines because it exposes so well what Vance excels at: Creating a totally believable world inhabited by colorful characters that have interesting adventures.
The story is not mind-blowing (and I won't review it here), but it is entertaining and never boring. And while the story unfolds you can wonder about the cultures and peoples that Vance so masterfully paints.
Three points of criticism on the story:
1) Deus ex Machina.
2) Like most of Vance's books, the women are ... not strong characters.
3) As is common for Vance the people are fantastically gifted in terms of astute responses to surprising and unexpected situations. I aspire to be as astute as Vance's characters :-)
Apart from that second element, which is clearly out of sync with modern times, the book holds up fantastically well because it is not really _science_ fiction; technology plays almost no role of importance; it's just there and used.
Wyst is a book in the series about the Alastor cluster; a cluster of human occupied worlds of grewat variety, ruled by the secretive Connatic. The book shines because it exposes so well what Vance excels at: Creating a totally believable world inhabited by colorful characters that have interesting adventures.
The story is not mind-blowing (and I won't review it here), but it is entertaining and never boring. And while the story unfolds you can wonder about the cultures and peoples that Vance so masterfully paints.
Three points of criticism on the story:
1) Deus ex Machina.
2) Like most of Vance's books, the women are ... not strong characters.
3) As is common for Vance the people are fantastically gifted in terms of astute responses to surprising and unexpected situations. I aspire to be as astute as Vance's characters :-)
Apart from that second element, which is clearly out of sync with modern times, the book holds up fantastically well because it is not really _science_ fiction; technology plays almost no role of importance; it's just there and used.
July 11, 2020
I re-read this book because I remembered it from many years ago as a Vance that holds a certain fascination, even though it is not very likeable. And that still sums up the qualities of Wyst.
Among its several weaknesses is a rather implausible plot that winds to an artificial, hasty conclusion. It serves its purpose, in that good people are finally rewarded and evil people duly punished, wrapping up the story. But as it relies on powerful outside intervention, it sort of breaks its own rules.
This leaves the main construct of the story, the “egalistic” society of Arrabin on the planet Wyst, as bleak a distopia as any writer has ever constructed. Some readers have taken “egalism” to be a satirical take on socialism or communism, but it isn’t — if anything, because communist regimes expect their people to work hard for the state. Instead, the people of Arrabin are living the life of battery chickens: Minimal housing, minimal activity, a steady diet of gruff, deedle, wobbly and swill, and a government that taps their organs every year to extract hormones that it sells for export. Under the circumstances, they resort to casual sex, public suicide, theft, and cannibalism in attempts to give some meaning to their lives.
A memorable and interesting book, if not a very pleasant one. Much of the dialogue is of course typical Vance, and enjoyable for it, even if you are familiar with his tics.
Among its several weaknesses is a rather implausible plot that winds to an artificial, hasty conclusion. It serves its purpose, in that good people are finally rewarded and evil people duly punished, wrapping up the story. But as it relies on powerful outside intervention, it sort of breaks its own rules.
This leaves the main construct of the story, the “egalistic” society of Arrabin on the planet Wyst, as bleak a distopia as any writer has ever constructed. Some readers have taken “egalism” to be a satirical take on socialism or communism, but it isn’t — if anything, because communist regimes expect their people to work hard for the state. Instead, the people of Arrabin are living the life of battery chickens: Minimal housing, minimal activity, a steady diet of gruff, deedle, wobbly and swill, and a government that taps their organs every year to extract hormones that it sells for export. Under the circumstances, they resort to casual sex, public suicide, theft, and cannibalism in attempts to give some meaning to their lives.
A memorable and interesting book, if not a very pleasant one. Much of the dialogue is of course typical Vance, and enjoyable for it, even if you are familiar with his tics.
Read
January 23, 2023So the last of the three Alastor books surprised me as being at least partially political, or capable of being read that way. The Vancian hero, in no way out for revenge (at the novel's outset) journeys to an "egalist" "paradise" where work is minimal and life is gray, but strangely not mundane. The novel has a libertarian sensibility probably at odds with say, the Disposessed (which was published 4 years earlier.) Did Vance read Le Guin? I find it hard to imagine, but I think it likely it's a slightly Rand-esque critique of socialist ideas. (Don't worry Egalists! Laissez-faire patriarchal autocracy will swoop in to save the day!)
At least the first half of the novel has political (and tragic) overtones, before settling in to more familiar territory with picturesque hamlets, witches, villager double-dealing and (spoiler alerts) dishes best served cold. All in all, I found it quite unlike the first two Alastor books, which I enjoyed a lot, mostly because it seemed a little more ambitious. There's a tremendous bunch of plot, humor, satire and intrigue packed into 222 or so pages and it's all done in his illimitable style, spare and understated yet colorful and memorable... I'd pay good money to read a menu or bus schedule if Vance wrote them.
At least the first half of the novel has political (and tragic) overtones, before settling in to more familiar territory with picturesque hamlets, witches, villager double-dealing and (spoiler alerts) dishes best served cold. All in all, I found it quite unlike the first two Alastor books, which I enjoyed a lot, mostly because it seemed a little more ambitious. There's a tremendous bunch of plot, humor, satire and intrigue packed into 222 or so pages and it's all done in his illimitable style, spare and understated yet colorful and memorable... I'd pay good money to read a menu or bus schedule if Vance wrote them.
January 9, 2024
Classic Vancian tale, in which artistic and optimistic protagonist Jantiff Ravensroke ends up in Numenes, a bustling city of 3 million souls on the alien planet Wyst. The city is the heart of an egalistic society where everyone works only a few hours a week, and everyone is equally important. The drawback is that this way of living comes with very little expendable income and drab food. After 100 years of egalism, this has created a situation where people, who have a lot of time on their hands, spend it looking for morsels of better food, riding the always busy slideways, trading copulation for favors and generally plotting and scheming. Poor Jantiff is being taken advantage of by the locals time and again, but keeps his wits about him while he gets tied up in a huge plot. Humoristic and totally original like only Jack Vance can write, thisstand alone volume is the third story set in the Alastor cluster of worlds and may be the best of the three. Warmly recommended, also for it’s Agatha Christie like plot.
August 23, 2023
The story begins with a favorite "trick" of JV in which he references documentary account of what Wyst is all about, as if it were a real place. He also does this to great effect in "The Demon Princes".
Almost done, as the setting for the first half is radically different from that of the second half. The planet Wyst is about as messed up as can be. In an ultimate system of conservation of resources in it's crowded metro space(think billions) people are "recycled" - endlessly. Ick... very suggestive of "Soylent Green". Meanwhile, the cultural situation harkens back to "Brave New World". Like my recent previous Alastor read(there are three in all), this seems like throwaway Vance: juicy enough but not up the stuff on his "A" list.
- Some poor editing as Jantiff has to tell the bargeman TWICE that he(Jantiff) hails from Zeck.
- The name "Ailas" is mentioned. Seems like I encou9ntered that name before - in another Vance?
- "Red Harvest," Fistful of Dollars", "Yojimbo" = Jantiff's economic activity by the sea side.
Goodreads just f'ed up my final review. Oh well... no great loss. I can never not recommend anything by Jack Vance but the two Alastor books I read were not up to the standard of The Demon Princes, Planet of Adventure, Lyonnesse and The Dying Earth. Both of the Alastor books I read were notable for some more overt political content/commentary by the author.
- 3.25* rounds down to 3*.
Almost done, as the setting for the first half is radically different from that of the second half. The planet Wyst is about as messed up as can be. In an ultimate system of conservation of resources in it's crowded metro space(think billions) people are "recycled" - endlessly. Ick... very suggestive of "Soylent Green". Meanwhile, the cultural situation harkens back to "Brave New World". Like my recent previous Alastor read(there are three in all), this seems like throwaway Vance: juicy enough but not up the stuff on his "A" list.
- Some poor editing as Jantiff has to tell the bargeman TWICE that he(Jantiff) hails from Zeck.
- The name "Ailas" is mentioned. Seems like I encou9ntered that name before - in another Vance?
- "Red Harvest," Fistful of Dollars", "Yojimbo" = Jantiff's economic activity by the sea side.
Goodreads just f'ed up my final review. Oh well... no great loss. I can never not recommend anything by Jack Vance but the two Alastor books I read were not up to the standard of The Demon Princes, Planet of Adventure, Lyonnesse and The Dying Earth. Both of the Alastor books I read were notable for some more overt political content/commentary by the author.
- 3.25* rounds down to 3*.
January 2, 2026
Like so many Vance SF books, this one includes a mystery which one may solve through careful following of the clues. Here he paints a world of Socialism run to its ultimate end, people work as little as possible, making life and its trappings as bland as possible, while laying on both guilt and hatred for anyone who gets ahead, while still completely reliant upon these people.
As with many Vance heroes, here the protagonist is a young, morale but imperfect man through whom we view the lazy and immoral people of Wyst. You can't help but root for the kid, who does manage to meet a few good folks among the dozens of leeches he meets along the way.
A few good laughs in here as well.
As with many Vance heroes, here the protagonist is a young, morale but imperfect man through whom we view the lazy and immoral people of Wyst. You can't help but root for the kid, who does manage to meet a few good folks among the dozens of leeches he meets along the way.
A few good laughs in here as well.
July 24, 2024
Maybe my favorite of the three Alastor books, this story has a few good peaks, but also felt uneven. This tale offers a few more twists than the prototypical Vance book, although the plotting and expression is a bit cumbersome. I found the final third of the book to be especially fun.
The plot revolves around a planet whose political system is a weird sort of space-socialism, expressed by means of a society where everyone is basically a feckless loser who works only a few hours per week while only ever eating recycled dead people as nutritious but boring food. Because of their loser nature, the society as a whole is being taken advantage of by space capitalists.
However, the ending, like that of Trullion, the first Alastor book, is too neat in the way a representative of the greater space-government literally descends from the sky, immediately discerns that the protagonist is the good guy, and applies justice by using the overwhelming force of the space-government to fix all of the hero's problems, while the hero tags along like an injured puppy. The government man even kills the main villain, "rescues" the girl whom the protagonist wants to export to his home planet, and literally delivers her to the hero's doorstep on that world. Space-socialism is in the end defeated as the space-government enforces austerity measures and sends all the lazy moochers back to work.
The sexual assault element which Vance shoehorns into all of his books is here expressed oddly and in my opinion distastefully: women volunteer to become the avatar of a sports team; when her team loses the woman is raped before the stadium crowd in a horrifying way by some kind of disturbing device which has been created for this purpose. A minor character undergoes this degradation and commits suicide shortly afterward. The protagonist more than once ponders why anyone would choose to assume this role, but his wondering is curiously inconclusive.
Most Vance novels have one or more additional themes which are quietly threaded through the story. Here the theme is color and light, and how they influence what is seen.
The plot revolves around a planet whose political system is a weird sort of space-socialism, expressed by means of a society where everyone is basically a feckless loser who works only a few hours per week while only ever eating recycled dead people as nutritious but boring food. Because of their loser nature, the society as a whole is being taken advantage of by space capitalists.
However, the ending, like that of Trullion, the first Alastor book, is too neat in the way a representative of the greater space-government literally descends from the sky, immediately discerns that the protagonist is the good guy, and applies justice by using the overwhelming force of the space-government to fix all of the hero's problems, while the hero tags along like an injured puppy. The government man even kills the main villain, "rescues" the girl whom the protagonist wants to export to his home planet, and literally delivers her to the hero's doorstep on that world. Space-socialism is in the end defeated as the space-government enforces austerity measures and sends all the lazy moochers back to work.
The sexual assault element which Vance shoehorns into all of his books is here expressed oddly and in my opinion distastefully: women volunteer to become the avatar of a sports team; when her team loses the woman is raped before the stadium crowd in a horrifying way by some kind of disturbing device which has been created for this purpose. A minor character undergoes this degradation and commits suicide shortly afterward. The protagonist more than once ponders why anyone would choose to assume this role, but his wondering is curiously inconclusive.
Most Vance novels have one or more additional themes which are quietly threaded through the story. Here the theme is color and light, and how they influence what is seen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"Wyst: Alastor 1716 (1978), the second book of the Alastor Trilogy I’ve read, is more involving, satirical, and thought-provoking than Marune: Alastor 933 (1975). Each book takes place in the same star cluster so there’s no need to read them in order. As with every Vance book I’ve had the pleasure [...]"
"Wyst: Alastor 1716 (1978), the second book of the Alastor Trilogy I’ve read, is more involving, satirical, and thought-provoking than Marune: Alastor 933 (1975). Each book takes place in the same star cluster so there’s no need to read them in order. As with every Vance book I’ve had the pleasure [...]"
June 17, 2017
Wyst, first published in 1978, is another of Vance's stories of the Alastor star cluster near the Gaean Reach. In this, the lotus-eating wastrel population of Marune are pretty irritating and deserve all that they ultimately get. But nonetheless a good addition to the series, as later stories are marked often by plots that go nowhere.
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