Take My Face

by Jack Vance, Peter Held (Pseudonym)

Peter Held is a pseudonym of famous science fiction writer Jack Vance. "Robert remembered what the plastic surgeon had promised -- a new face, a new identity. Now no one would be able to connect him with the maimed monster they had taunted. Suddenly he thought of the four lovely sorority girls who had goaded and teased him beyond his endurance. At last he would be able to get his revenge...."

Genres: Mystery

222 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Aka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, Ellery Queen, Alan Wade.

John Holbrook Vance was an American writer widely celebrated for his imaginative contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery literature. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became known for richly detailed worlds, inventive language, and stories that combined adventure with sharp social observation. His work influenced generations of speculative fiction writers and helped expand the literary possibilities of the genre. Vance wrote more than sixty books and numerous short stories, many first appearing in science fiction magazines before later being expanded into novels and collections. His fiction was widely translated and developed an international readership.
Vance grew up in California and spent part of his youth on a ranch near the Sacramento River delta, where he developed a love of the outdoors and an appetite for reading. The family experienced financial hardship during the Great Depression, prompting him to take a variety of jobs before completing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. During these years he worked in several trades and cultivated interests in music, travel, and sailing, experiences that later informed many of the settings and themes in his fiction. Before becoming a full-time writer he held numerous occupations, including shipyard worker, merchant seaman, carpenter, and surveyor.
His earliest published story appeared in the mid 1940s in a science fiction magazine, marking the beginning of a long writing career. Throughout the following decades he produced stories across multiple genres, though he became best known for science fiction and fantasy cycles that combined imaginative settings with elaborate cultures and social systems. Among his most famous works are The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle, both of which received Hugo Awards. The Last Castle also earned the Nebula Award, confirming Vance's reputation as one of the most distinctive voices in speculative fiction. His fantasy trilogy Lyonesse later received the World Fantasy Award, while his memoir This Is Me, Jack Vance! earned another Hugo decades later.
In addition to speculative fiction, Vance wrote several mystery novels, some under pseudonyms including Ellery Queen. These works often blended crime elements with psychological or social themes and sometimes anticipated ideas that later appeared in his science fiction. His storytelling frequently emphasized cultural conflict, moral ambiguity, and intricate social customs rather than large-scale warfare, setting him apart from many contemporaries in the genre.
Vance maintained close friendships with other science fiction writers and participated in literary communities that shaped postwar American speculative fiction. He traveled widely with his family and spent extended periods abroad, experiences that influenced the exotic settings and cosmopolitan tone found in many of his books. Music also played a role in his life and writing, reflecting his long-standing enthusiasm for traditional jazz.
Despite gradually losing his eyesight later in life, Vance continued writing with the aid of specialized software and completed both fiction and autobiography in his later years. Over time his reputation grew steadily, and he received numerous honors, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and recognition as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Critics and fellow writers often praised his distinctive style, wit, and imagination, and his stories remain widely read within the science fiction and fantasy community.

Reviews

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flesh Mask was written in 1948 and was first published in 1957 with the title Take My Face under the pseudonym of Peter Held. There were two other editions under this title, one in 1958 (under Peter Held) and another in 1988 (under Jack Vance). When it was published as part of the Vance Integral Edition in 2002 it was under Vance's name and was with his preferred title The Flesh Mask. Spatterlight released an eBook of it in 2012. An excellent quality 177 page paperback was issued by them February 2, 2018, making this once rare book readily available to many Vance fans such as myself who have been eagerly awaiting its release. Much thanks again to Spatterlight.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...


Although The Flesh Mask is an early Vance work and his primary concern was probably more monetary than literary, this novel is still entertaining and well worth reading if you are a Vance fan. As Michael Andre-Driussi points out in his preface The Flesh Mask is a darker work and lacks Vance's wonderful wit and humor. It is also not as polished as Vance's great works and does not have much of his justly famous clever dialog, although the dialog is perfectly adequate. There are a number of Vancian touches that his fans will surely note, such as a setting in a fictitious city near San Francisco (in this case "San Giorgio" 60 miles north of SF), well described odd characters, a quirky plot, and a very engaging and lively storyline. Two of Vance's passionate interests are also included in the novel, jazz music and boats. There are several discussions about bop jazz, some jam sessions and live concerts with the "Manley Hatch Trio." The main character also served as a merchant seaman (as did Vance) and makes a trip to Monterey where he attempts to locate a friend's fishing boat and admires and covets a sailing ketch. As with most Vance novels, I enjoyed it even more the second and third times I read it because I was able to catch more of the details.

The story begins in 1944 with the main character, a thirteen year old boy named Robert Strauve, who was very similar to other youth his age. He enjoys comic books and has a paper delivery route. One day he is on a motor scooter doing his paper delivery route when he is struck by a vehicle and has severe facial disfiguration from the injury and flames. "His mouth was drawn over to the side; his left cheek was like a dish of brains. Above the mouth was a low gristly ridge, with black holes for nostrils." Even after healing his face was described as being, "as nasty a wad of tissue as I've ever seen." Unfortunately he and his mother are cheated by the wealthy driver of the vehicle and the insurance company so that plastic surgery is not an option because of the expense. Robert's whole life changes as he returns to high school and has to cope with severe social pressure and ridicule of his fellow high school students. Robert tries to make the best of it. He becomes a star halfback football player and tries to live a normal life but is frequently reminded of his freakish face.

One day he and some of his male friends are invited to observe a high school sorority initiation of four pledges that will be held in an abandoned house. Robert arrives there in the evening but has had too much alcohol so goes off alone to lie down on the floor in one of the bedrooms. While he is in the bedroom resting the girls being initiated are assigned the unpleasant task of having to kiss Robert. When they find him in the bedroom he appears to be sleeping so they forgo kissing him but make many derogatory comments about how disgusting it would be to actually have to kiss him. Robert is actually awake, however, and hears their conversation about how hideous he looks. A few minutes later a different sorority girl approaches him alone to kiss him but she finds Robert fully alert and standing up. He is so angry by the comments the girls made that he physically assaults the girl. She and her family press charges and Robert ends up being sent to live at a detention home for boys. Eventually while residing at the detention home Robert is provided with corrective surgery but no photo is taken of his new appearance.

Some years later in 1952 one of the girls involved in the sorority induction incident is murdered and has her face severely disfigured with a knife. Earlier that evening she had told her brother that she met Robert and that he had a completely changed face and had a different name. Although a person confesses to the murder and is confined in prison, the same type of murder and facial mutilation happens to another one of the former sorority girls and Robert is suspected of the crime and disfiguring. But nobody knows what he looks like, what name he goes by or where he lives. The plot continues, sometimes improbably, but always engagingly, with some complex and unpredictable twists that are described in a deceptively simple manner. There are also romances, detective work including some by a private detective, social class pretentiousness, and secret letters.

I have read this novel three times so far. It is a crisply written, fast paced, easy to read mystery novel that is enjoyable even though it is not one of Vance's finest efforts. It should certainly be of interest to Vance fans or those wanting to read an entertaining dark mystery. I rated it a 3+ or "Liked it."

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flesh Mask, The-Jack Vance
The Flesh Mask is one of Vance’s mystery novels and was written in 1948. It was first published in 1957 with the title Take My Face under the pseudonym of Peter Held. There were two other editions under this title, one in 1958 (under Peter Held) and another in 1988 (under Jack Vance). When it was published as part of the Vance Integral Edition in 2002 it was under Vance's name and was with his preferred title The Flesh Mask. Spatterlight released an eBook of it in 2012. An excellent quality 177 page paperback was issued by them February 2, 2018, making this once rare book readily available to many Vance fans such as myself who had been eagerly awaiting its release. Much thanks again to Spatterlight.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...

Although The Flesh Mask is an early Vance work and his primary concern was probably more monetary than literary, this novel is still entertaining and well worth reading. As Michael Andre-Driussi points out in his preface The Flesh Mask is a darker work and lacks Vance's wonderful wit and humor. (He also mentions that this novel is a rework of an earlier, unpublished piece titled Cold Fish.) It is also not as polished as Vance's great works and does not have much of his justly famous clever dialog, although the dialog is perfectly adequate. There are a number of Vancian touches that his fans will surely note, such as a setting in a fictitious city near San Francisco (in this case "San Giorgio" 60 miles north of SF), well described odd characters, a quirky plot, and a very engaging and lively storyline. Two of Vance's passionate interests are also included in the novel, jazz music and boats. There are several discussions about bop jazz, some jam sessions and live concerts with the "Manley Hatch Trio." The main character also served as a merchant seaman (as did Vance) and makes a trip to Monterey where he attempts to locate a friend's fishing boat and admires and covets a sailing ketch.

The story begins in 1944 with the main character, a thirteen year old boy named Robert Strauve who was very similar to other youth his age. He enjoys comic books and has a paper delivery route. One day he is on a motor scooter doing his paper delivery route when he is struck by a vehicle and has severe facial disfiguration from the injury and flames. "His mouth was drawn over to the side; his left cheek was like a dish of brains. Above the mouth was a low gristly ridge, with black holes for nostrils." Even after healing his face was described as being, "as nasty a wad of tissue as I've ever seen." Unfortunately he and his mother are cheated by the wealthy driver of the vehicle and the insurance company so that plastic surgery is not an option because of the expense. Robert's whole life changes as he returns to high school and has to cope with severe social pressure and ridicule from his fellow high school students. Robert tries to make the best of it. He becomes a star halfback football player and attempts to live a normal life but is frequently reminded of his freakish face.

One day he and some of his male friends are invited to observe a high school sorority hazing initiation of four pledges that will be held in an abandoned house. Robert arrives there in the evening but has had too much alcohol so goes off alone to lie down on the floor in one of the bedrooms. While he is in the bedroom resting the girls being initiated are assigned the unpleasant task of having to kiss Robert. When they find him in the bedroom he appears to be sleeping so they forgo kissing him but make many derogatory comments about how disgusting it would be to actually have to kiss him. Robert is actually awake, however, and hears their conversation about how hideous he looks. A few minutes later a different sorority girl approaches him alone to kiss him but she finds Robert fully alert and standing up. He is so angry by the comments the girls made that he physically assaults the girl. She and her family press charges and Robert ends up being sent to live at a detention home for boys. Eventually while residing at the detention home Robert is provided with successful corrective surgery but no photo is taken of his new appearance.

Some years later in 1952 one of the girls involved in the sorority induction incident is murdered and has her face severely disfigured with a knife. Earlier that evening she had told her brother that she met Robert and that he had a completely changed face and had a different name. Although a person confesses to the murder and is confined in prison, the same type of murder and facial mutilation happens to another one of the former sorority girls and Robert is suspected of the crime and disfiguring. But nobody knows what he looks like, what name he goes by or where he lives. The plot continues, sometimes improbably, but always engagingly, with some complex and unpredictable twists that are described in a deceptively simple manner. There are also romances, detective work, including some by a private detective, social class pretentiousness, and secret letters.
I’ve read this novel three times so far. As with most Vance novels, I enjoyed it even more the second and third time I read it because I was able to catch more of the details. It is a crisply written, fast paced, easy to read novel that is enjoyable even though it is not one of Vance's finest efforts. It should certainly be of interest to Vance fans or those wanting to read an engaging mystery novel. I rated it good, a 3 or "Liked it."

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I confess: I was annoyed with the book halfway through. I thought it was too concise, too rushed. More description was necessary, I judged. The characters needed fleshing out. The whole thing, at the halfway point, seemed too ... simple, simplistic, and unmysterious.

I am glad I did not give up, though. The ending sported a twist that I did not see coming (though I had correctly speculated on the identity of the bad guy early on, only to forget about it as the story proceeded and the author set up his red herring). Though rushed and I suppose implausible, the ending may not have redeemed the book but it did redeem my reading of it.

Jack Vance almost certainly understood his story’s limitations. He had the story originally published under a nom de plume, “Peter Held” — which is almost certainly a phallic joke indicating the sin of onanism. Which is what he regarded the book. Not a stellar performance. Not masterful. Masturbatory, instead.

Neither the intro nor the outro to the book mentions that the author did not likely approve of the work.

Nevertheless, I was interested to see another example in the development of the author’s skill set.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read "The Flesh Mask," one of three novels in one volume of the Vance Integral Edition. It's a very straight forward mystery. With the exception of the protagonist, every character is very cookie cutter. The mystery wasn't too difficult, with one tricky bit in which the protagonist proves he couldn't not have committed one of the murders. The writing is not typical of Vance. If I hadn't been told otherwise, I'd swear it was a Bloch novel.

Only recommended for the Vance completist.

[Jeroen Verkroost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately forgettable 50’s slasher horror detective novel. Only worth reading for Jack Vance completionists, but no more than standard dime book work. Bland characters, predictable plot twist. There is a reason this was published under a pseudonym...

[Rick English · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK. Jack is probably one my all time favorite authors. This novel was readable but extremely dated. It was not hard to figure out the ending in advance. Many would find the book sexist. Others, like me, find it bland.
I am glad that Jack moved on.

[Erin Haight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated and a little simple-minded. Vance has written some pretty good murder mysteries, both in contemporary fiction as well as in science fiction, but this isn't one of his best. He's always had a bit of trouble finding his way into the female psyche and that's a little too apparent here. The plot isn't a disaster, but it's not without holes, either. At bottom, it's an uninspired genre exercise. For completists only.