In 1995, TOR Books published an omnibus edition of Jack Vance’s Alastor novels. Alastor is a region of 30,000 stars in an area roughly 30 light-years in diameter. Trullion: Alastor 2262 (Ballantine, 1973), Marune: Alastor 933 (Ballantine, 1975), and Wyst: Alastor 1716 (DAW, 1978), each named after a world in the cluster. Vance planned a fourth novel Pharism: Alastor 458, but it was never written.
Trillion: Alastor 2262 follows the adventures of Glinnes Hulden, a young man who served in the Whelm–the military agency of the Connatic (who rules the Alastor Sector from his palace on Lusz)–and then retires to his home on Trillion. Glinnes arrives to find his twin brother, Glay, has sold the family homestead without his approval. Glinnes tries various strategies to earn the money to recover the land, but the only avenue he’s successful at is playing a team game called hussade. A conspiracy involving starmenters (aka, space pirates) changes Glinnes’ fortunes. GRADE: B
Marine: Alastor 933 opens on Bruse-Tansel, Alastor 1102 at the Carfaunge spaceport. A young man is found who claims he’s lost his memory. With help, the young man reaches the Connatic’s Hospital on Lusz. Although the doctors fail to restore the man’s memory, they determine the man’s origin: he is a member of a group called Rhunes on Marine, Alastor 933. The young man travels to Marine and discovers his identity: he’s Efraim, the Eighteenth Kairark of Scharrode.
Efraim’s return isn’t welcomed by everyone. Efraim’s father died in a military encounter so Efraim now succeeds him as leader. But political machinations, treachery, and murder threaten Efraim. I found the amnesia aspect skillfully manipulated by Jack Vance to produce a powerful conclusion. GRADE: B+
Wyst: Alastor 1716 begins with a strange interview between The Whispers of Wyst and the Connatic on Lusz. The Whispers are leaders, but the Connatic senses something is very wrong on Wyst. The story then shifts to Jantiff Ravenstroke, a talented artist on Zeck, Alastor 503. Jantiff decides to visit Wyst to pursue his artistic ambitions. What Jantiff encounters on Wyst is a society that disdains work and exceptionalism. Early on, Jantiff’s painting supples are stolen–a normal occurrence on Wyst–in the cause of “equality.”
Jack Vance plunges Jantiff, a naive young man, into a conspiracy with massive implications. Jantiff loses everything and Vance paints his hero into such a corner only a deus ex Machina solution resolves all the plot entanglements. GRADE: B-
The Alastor novels center around young men in desperate situations in very strange societies. I enjoyed the series and wish Vance had written more novels with this formula.
One of my favorite. sf/f writers.. These are among the few novels of his that have never read although i own a couple of them.
Steve, ALASTOR features Jack Vance’s creation of exotic societies on distant planets. I enjoy the mysteries in these books, too.
Not my usual fare. I think Vance wrote a few mysteries too.
Jeff, Jack Vance did write a few mysteries:
Take My Face (1957), as “Peter Held”
Isle of Peril (1957), as “Alan Wade” (also titled Bird Isle)
Strange People, Queer Notions (1958)
The Man In the Cage (1960)
The Four Johns (1964), as “Ellery Queen” (also titled Four Men Called John, UK 1976)
A Room to Die In (1965), as “Ellery Queen”
The Fox Valley Murders (1966)
The Madman Theory (1966), as “Ellery Queen”
The Pleasant Grove Murders (1967)
The Deadly Isles (1969)
Bad Ronald (1973)
The View from Chickweed’s Window (1979)
The House on Lily Street (1979)
The Dark Ocean (1985)
Never liked him or PK Dick. Prefer Aldi’s or Simak.
Jeanne, Jack Vance is an acquired taste. You might want to give Vance’s THROY a try.