Durdane: Trilogia degli Asutra

Durdane #1-3 omnibus

by Jack Vance, Gaetano Luigi Staffilano (Translator), Roberta Rambelli (Translator)

Il pianeta Durdane è stato colonizzato migliaia di anni fa da vari gruppi di persone che volevano sfuggire a una Terra troppo meccanizzata, e col passare dei secoli è diventato il regno di ogni sorta di comunità eccentriche. La parte più civile del pianeta è tradizionalmente governata dall'Anome, un individuo che non rivela mai la propria identità, e che vive in mezzo al popolo, distribuendo premi e punizioni immediate. Il protagonista di questo romanzo è un giovane musicista, Gastel Etzwane, che scopre un grave pericolo che minaccia la sua regione: un'invasione di esseri simili all'uomo, ma non del tutto umani. I suoi appelli cadono nel vuoto, e in breve comprende che per salvare tutto il suo pianeta dovrà impadronirsi dei poteri dell'Anome e sostituirsi a lui. Iniziano così le avventure del musicista Etzwane e del terrestre Ifness: avventure che li porteranno a sciogliere gradualmente i misteri di Durdane... e ad affacciarsi sui misteri, assai più vasti, della comunità stellare che li circonda.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Space Opera

523 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Aka 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.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading Vance in January of 2011. He immediately became my favorite author and has remained as such ever since. Because he was so prolific, I felt only the need to go at a leisurely pace with new material. A few new books a year. A new series every other year, on average.

This brings me to the end of the journey I started back then. With the exception of a few of his stand alone detective novels I have now read all of his genre work. This was the last multiple volume series for me to tackle. While it is not his best, it is still very good. The third book seems quite the tonal break from the first two...there was a period near the end where I thought it was going to come together perfectly and it kind of missed the mark...but still an enjoyable read as Vance always is.

Being put in a reflective mood by having finished all of these multi-arc stories, I am now of a mind to rank them. Counting only settings/series that have multiple entries (and noting that The Gaen Reach is too vague to be a specific setting on its own as a concept) I would say:

1. The Dying Earth
2. The Demon Princes
3. Cadwal Chronicles
4. Lyonesse
5. Planet of Adventure
6. Durdane
7. Alastor
8. Big Planet
9. Ports of Call/Lurulu


Of course, this being Vance I enjoyed them all, so the lower ranked ones are only to be seen as low compared to the others.

I won't list all of the many many stand alone novels in order, but while I am ranking I would point out that my three favorites are:

1. The Moon Moth
2. The Blue World
3. Space Opera

From these lists I think we can see that the thing that drives me most to Vance is surreal imagery paired with cultural anthropology.

[John Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book one begins with a Boy named Etzwane. The story here is about religious oppression from which our protagonist must escape (a staple Vance storyline). Broadly the story is about the boy escaping and growing up and wanting to gather the cash necessary to pay off his mother's indenture (enslavement) but in classic vance style the plot takes a bit of a left turn half way through and his mother is just killed by some random aliens. So the boy goes to find the head of state and find out why he is doing nothing about these aliens. Then he ends up in a battle of wits with this head of state and also finds an incognito earthman who decides to help him. A lot of random plot developments, a lot of plot threads that don't really pay off.

Book two is the most coherent of the three. Our protagonist Etzwane is now in charge of the government and is engineering a battle against the alien invaders and all the while trying to deal with figures who are entrenched in their institutions and oppose new leadership. This story chronicles Etzwane's choppy navigation of these issues and more or less ends with the defeat of the enemy, so it's a pretty solid, straightforward and satisfying story.

Book 3 is another random one which begins with Etzwane and his earthman colleague searching for... something I couldn't quite follow... An important mission anyway. About halfway through Etzwane is kidnapped by a different but connected group of alien antagonists and the story suddenly changes into some claustrophobic, war-time resistance POW type thing. When this story is resolved (through a combination of guts and verve and lazy random plot developments) it eventually becomes clear that Etzwane's earthman colleague was secretly and unwittingly arranging for Etzwane's imprisonment to be ended, thus invalidating Etzwane's seemingly successful struggle for freedom. The whole series is a frustrating and befuddling sequence of chaotic plot twists but book three takes the cake.

It's definitely one of the weaker vance series... I think my opinion of vance hasn't really changed. There are 2 fantastic series (Lyonesse and Dying Earth) which any SF fan should read. There are 2 pretty good series (Planet of Adventure, Demon Princes) which are worth reading if you liked the other 2. Then there are 3 slightly dodgy ones which are only worth reading if you have become a massive Jack vance fan (Cadwal, Durdane, Alastor). I enjoyed those 3 weaker series but I still would only strongly recommend the two really good series.

I've yet to delve into Vance's short story catalog which is apparently very strong but I always seem to be underwhelmed when I read the short stories of my favourite writers... Not my preferred format I suppose. Either way, I think my journey through the works of Jack vance must be coming to an end. If all that's left is going to be weaker than Durdane then it probably isn't worth proceeding...

[Jeske · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very fun and entertaining read. Vance is not the author to look for when craving for poetic language, clever playing with words and deep psychological / anthropolical or philosophical digging. It is, however, a story that pulls you through the book in full speed as the story develops quickly and is greatly imaginative from beginning to end. I enjoyed it.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Durdane Trilogy
The Anome
AKA: The Faceless Man and Durdane 1
The Anome is the first book of the three part Durdane series. It was first published in February, 1971 under the title The Faceless Man as a two part serial in The Magazine of Science and Science Fiction. It was released as a novel under the title The Anome in 1973. The Anome should be read first, followed by The Brave Free Men. It does not work well as a stand-alone novel. There is no resolution at the end of The Anome so the two novels should really be considered one work with The Asutra as a sequel. I do not find The Anome (or the Durdane series) to be among Vance’s really great works. But the Durdane series novels are well worth reading by Vance fans. Those who enjoy reading about the customs and cultures of unusual societies and alternative worlds might also want to explore this series. For readers unfamiliar with the writings of Jack Vance this would probably not be a good starting point.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...

The setting for the novel is in the far future on the planet of Durdane which was colonized nine thousand years ago by people from Earth. The people on Durdane now have no contact with Earth and are not sure it even exists. Durdane is quite backward and has little technology with carriages and hot air balloons being used for transportation. The planet is composed of the regions Shant, Caraz, Palasedran and Beljamar. Our main character lives in Shant where citizens seem to know little about any of the people outside Shant. It is an irregular oblong 1,300 miles long and 500 miles wide that is composed of 62 cantons that are “in loose confederation under the rule of the Faceless Man.” The Faceless Man (formally referred to as the “Anome”) enforces all the laws of the 62 cantons so rules over all of Shant and is feared by the citizens. The Faceless Man also employs deputies who are known as Benevolences and Discriminators. He is called “faceless” because nobody, not even his deputies, know his real identity.

Different Faceless Men have ruled over Shant for over a thousand years and during their rule there has been no war and very little crime. But for citizens there is a high price to pay. When each person in Shant becomes of age, he or she is forced to wear a collar or "torc" around their neck. The torc can never be removed and will explode if an attempt is made to take it off. Each torc is specially coded so that the Faceless Man can locate every person who wears one. If a person is identified as having committed a crime then the Faceless Man can impart “justice” by remotely exploding the torc which usually results in decapitation of the persons head. Torcs are detonated “by means of coded radiation.” All citizens may petition the Faceless Man for a hearing or decision on issues of concern. Each canton has its own set of laws and The Faceless Man does not interfere with canton laws; he just enforces them. He also responds in writing to all citizen petitions submitted to him but has zero tolerance for any crime.

Every canton has its own local rulers, laws and culture. “The cantons of Shant were alike only in their mutual distrust.” Our main character lives in the town of Bashon in the canton called Bastern. Bastern is locally managed or ruled by an all-male religious cult run by the Ecclesiarchs. Followers of the Ecclesiarchs are called Chilites. The head of the Chilites is Grand Male Osso. Only some citizens of Bastern become Chilites. The Ecclesiarchs advocate religious practices focused on self-denial and purity but they do engage in the ritual use of a hallucinogenic drug. They consider all women and girls to be impure and have strict ascetic rules for its members who are initially called “Pure Boys.” Osso has even been known to berate others for even smelling a flower because he says it is a “female procreative organ of the plant.”

Our protagonist, a nine year old boy, is studying to become a Chilite. Initially his name is Mur but he chooses the new name of Gastel Etzwane after being initiated. Mur lives with his mother with whom he is very close. He never knew his father, who is a very famous wandering musician who abandoned his family. One day an old man gives Mur a stringed musical instrument called the Khitan and Mur begins to love playing music and finds music to be more appealing than being a Chilite although he initially tries to combine the two only to find out that the Ecclesiarchs and Chiltes are the only ones in Shant to abhor music, considering it sinful.

Initially Mur likes the idea of becoming a Chilite and defends their practices, denies it is a cult. His mother even defends their practices and laws telling him “If a person breaks Chilite law the Ecclesiarchs punish him. If he runs away, the Faceless Man takes his head.” “If you obey Chilite law, you need never fear the loss of your head.” But Chilite law is very strict with laws and rules that can easily be unintentionally violated because most of them make little sense. Mur is also something of a mischief maker and is not well suited to becoming a Chilite

After going through the purification ritual to become a Chilite, Etzwane visits his mother in her home, something forbidden for him to do. When Osso finds out about this he sends Etzwane’s mother to work as a indentured worker in the tannery as punishment for allowing Etzwane to visit her and thereby contaminating him with “womantaint.” Etzwane as his punishment is locked in a dungeon pending repurifcation rites.

Sending his mother to be a slave in the tannery and locking him up causes Etzwane to rebel against being a Chilite, however, and he manages to break out and flee. His plan is go to the city of Garwiy to petition the Faceless Man to free his mother from having to be indentured to work at the tannery. He also plans to become a wandering musician like his blood father. He does not have a torc yet so he can’t be beheaded but without a torc he also has no protection and can be kidnapped, clamped with a torc and indentured or sold into slavery anywhere in Shant. Etzwane is also certain that Osso will send ahulph trackers to try to find him to either capture him or kill him. Aulphs are creatures used for tracking that have “hairy dog-spider” heads noses in their feet to facilitate tracking. They have a “hairy dog-spider head,” noses in their feet to facilitate tracking and talons that can rip apart the person they are tracking.

Etzwane’s adventures include his development as a musician, petitioning of the Faceless Man for his mother’s freedom, meeting his father who does not know he even exists and dealing with the problem of large murderous human like creatures called Roguskhoi who attack Shant villages while raping and pillaging. Roguskhois are “a kind of mountain savage that can’t be controlled except by its yearnings for strong drink.” The Faceless Man’s minimizes their attacks and refuses to use a militia or other forceful means to control them. Etzwane also meets a man named Ifness who is an interesting and very mysterious character who plays a significant role in all three Durdane novels.

The beginning of The Anome has many strange names and details contained in a few pages but the story soon picks up and moves along. Also, there is no resolution at the end so readers when finishing it should begin reading The Brave Free Men for a satisfactory continuation of the story. I’ve read The Anome three times so far and enjoyed it even more each time. The first time I read it I rated it a 3 or “Liked it” but I now consider it a 4 “Really liked it.”

The Brave Free Men
The Brave Free Men was first published in 1972 in digest form in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Released in 1973 as a novel, this is the second book in the three volume Durdane Chronicles. It is a continuation of the story begun in The Anome and should be read after that book and not as a stand alone novel. This is the second time I have read this series and I liked each of the books even better after rereading. Although the three books are not the very finest Vance has written, I found them fascinating, easy to read and entertaining and recommended them to all Vance fans. The first book, The Anome, introduced most of the characters and had interesting revelations about the government, customs and culture of Slant. The Brave Free Men is more action oriented, continuing the story but focusing more on getting the corrupt government to work properly and motivating the citizens to actively defend themselves against the invading Roguskhoi. In The Brave Free Men the main protagonist, Gastel Etzwane, now has control over the Faceless Man and the government. He and his supporters must mobilize the entire country to defend themselves against the Roguskhoi who keep increasing the frequency and intensity of their attacks on the people of Shant. The Roguskhoi invade towns, killing all men and children and kidnapping the women. The citizens of Shant do not know where these monstrous humanoid creatures came from but suspect that a neighboring country might have created them from cloning to use as a weapon against the Shant. A single Roguskhoi can handle ten equally armed men in combat, but the Roguskhoi have only simple weapons such as clubs so the challenge is to invent and manufacture new more technologically advanced weapons that can turn the odds in the fight against the Roguskhois. Slant has also been without any wars for over a thousand years and has no military or combat trained citizens. The whole country must now mobilize to defend against the invading Roguskhoi. Rallying the citizens proves to be very difficult, however, because the people are extremely passive and have only known the dictatorial, highly centralized and controlled government of the Faceless Man who had total control over their lives but also protected them and kept things peaceful and crime free. When scientists, for example, are asked to invent new more advanced weapons to supplement their swords and crossbows, the scientists want to know exactly what weapons the Faceless Man wants. They are not use to thinking independently or being innovative or creative and expect detailed instructions on how to proceed. The citizens are use to the total control and protection of the Faceless Man and do not know how to take initiative, organize or defend themselves. Many of them are in situations similar to indentured servants with such low wages and high expenses that almost no workers ever pay off their debts to earn their freedom. The Brave Free Men is easy to read, interesting and bristling with action. There is enough resolution at the end of it that the third volume, The Asutra, could be considered optional reading. But I found The Asutra to be an intriguing continuation of the story and the most satisfying of the three books so advise reading it next. I think the Durdane Chronicles are underappreciated by some Vance fans because Vance created some marvelous works of genius that tower over almost everything else in the genre. The Durdane trilogy is not the very best of Vance but is certainly worth reading. I rated The Brave Free Men at a 4 "Really liket it."

The Asutra
The Asutra was first published in digest form in The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 1973. It was released as a novel in 1974. This is the third volume of the Durdane Chronicles and builds upon the first two novels. These two initial books in the series (The Anome and The Brave Free Men) should be read one after the other because they are really one novel in two books. The Asutra is best read after reading the other two, but I read it the first time (this is my second reading of the series) as a stand alone novel, and it made sense by itself because the beginning of The Asutra briefly summarizes the previous two novels. The Asutra was for me the most interesting of the three novels although I enthusiastically recommend all three to any Vance fan. In The Asutra the main character, Gastel Etzwane, has withdrawn from public life to devote himself to playing music, but becomes restless for some new adventure. He again encounters Ifness, the visitor from Earth, and learns more about the Asutra, an intelligent, alien creature that controlled the Roguskhoi soldiers who had attacked Shant. It appears that the Asutra, a technologically advanced species, could have used very sophisticated weapons but were experimenting by using the Roguskhoi with their primitive weapons. The home planet of the Asutra and the reason for their experiments are unknown. Etzwane hears rumors from mariners that on a continent called Caraz a large horde of Roguskhoi have reportedly appeared. He and Ifness decide to use a power vehicle from Earth to visit Caraz to investigate. A new adventure begins involving nomadic desert tribes, strange kidnappings, creatures called the Ka, and a risky rescue attempt that involves advanced alien cultures and other planets. It is difficult to discuss anymore without giving too much away. I found The Asutra to be the most intriguing and complex of the three novels in the Durdane Chronicles. Each time I read it I liked it even better and noticed new details that made it more fascinating. The Asutra also brought a more satisfying conclusion to the Durdane Chronicles. What seemed like an ending after The Brave Free Men was actually only an intermission before the storyline took some twists and continued to develop until the underlying mystery was finally revealed and we arrived at a more complete resolution. I am well aware that some Vance fans think the Durdane Chronicles are not among his very best writings. I won't argue with that because some of Vance's novels reach pretty lofty heights. But I have found the three books in this series to be well worth reading and like them even more upon rereading them. I rated The Asutra a 5 "Love it."

[Werehare · Rating 3 out of 5]

4,5/10

Decisamente al di sopra di “Lyonesse” come qualità complessiva, ma ancora “meh”. L'inizio mi ha impressionata positivamente con una società e una cultura davvero ottime, originali come se ne vedono poche, che fanno da sole gran parte del punteggio che ho assegnato al romanzo; passato l'entusiasmo iniziale, però, la storia si è rivelata per il classico “giovane eroe ribelle dal passato tragico sconfigge da solo grazie al proprio ingegno pronto il governo kattivo/gli alieni kattivi”, una trama peraltro mal condotta nel ritmo e tranciata nel finale – sia dei singoli libri sia nel complesso. L'unico personaggio interessante è l'aiutante terrestre del protagonista, in quanto spesso ambiguo e non prevedibile; per il resto, abbiamo il classico eroe di umili origini che non fa una piega nel gestire una ribellione nazionale tutta da solo e le solite donne-accessorio (la mamma nel congelatore, la segretaria da far saltare sulle ginocchia, la donnina isterica che fa arredamento finché non muore accidentalmente, le centinaia di vittime di violenze assortite che devono giustificare le azioni dell'eroe, la civetta che in situazioni di vita o di morte si preoccupa solo del proprio aspetto fisico, e che la fa annusare ma non la dà perché ama essere lusingata). Il tocco di classe lo dà il velato razzismo di cui Vance dà prova nel rappresentare gli “stranieri” come nei bingo-bonghi, che vivono nel fango e si possono comprare con una manciata di perline di vetro.

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eindelijk weer een beter boek van Vance. Vance is nou niet bepaald een auteur voor als je poetische proza verwacht, maar meer een recht door zee schrijver

Het is een verhaal dat uitnodigt om door te lezen. Op 12 jarige leeftijd wordt Mur een 'Zuivere Knaap', bestemt om later ingewijd te worden in de sekte der Chilieten - een hallucinerende groep vrouwenhaters . De toekomst er in zijn ogen niet bepaald aanlokkelijk uit. Veel liever wordt Mur khitanspeler. Als hij ontsnapt aan een zware straf wegens heiligschennis, stuurt Grote Man Osso vleesetende ahulfs achter hem aan!

Tot zijn geluk overleeft hij de jacht en hij wordt opgenomen door een troep rondtrekkende muzikanten. Zo belandt hij in de stad Garwiy, waar hij in botsing komt met de mysterieuze Anome, de gevreesde Man zonder Gezicht die vanouds over alle kantons regeert. Zijn heerschappij heeft weinig om het lijf, hij deelt alleen straffen uit: overtreders en kwaadsprekers laat hij op afstand ontploffen. Maar aan het grootste gevaar dat Durdane bedreigt, doet hij eigenaardig genoeg niets.De Rode mensen vallen steeds vaker aan, doden mannen, ontvoeren vrouwen en kinderen. Niemand weet precies waar deze wezens vandaan komen.

..

[PPWinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grande épopée comme sait seule le faire Jack Vance. A la limite du space-opéra, les deux premiers tomes sont très captivant, avec moult péripétie et aventures,description de diverses cultures et de paysages fantasmagoriques avec même un lexique pour comprendre l'univers crées de toute pièce par Vance; alors que le troisième tome se perd dans un récit guerrier endoctrinant. Avec un soupçon de politique-fiction et de philosophie sur l'intérêt d'un être gérant la destinée des habitants d'un continent entier avec des cultures et des lois diverses, ce livre assez conséquent se lit assez facilement (enfn pour ceux qui ne sont pas rebuter par du Proust science-fictionnesque ;) =

[André · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een zeer onderhoudende roman van Jack Vance, misschien wel mijn meest favoriete SF auteur. Niet zijn beste. Wel een interessant gegeven de verschillende zienswijzen van de hoofdrolspelers Etzwane en Ifness. Soms gaan de (grote) gebeurtenissen te snel, of anders gezegd: worden ze te snel verteld.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting series - never re-read

[Paul]

#54-56 1989