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Gaean Reach
Maske: Thaery
On Maske, one of twin planets that orbit around the lost star of Mora, the Droads, a clan of warlike dreamers rule, and with his brother Trewe destined to become ruler, second son Jubal Droad sets his sights on pursuing a life of adventure. Reprint.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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411 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
776 books1,582 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 60 reviews
October 13, 2019
quintessential Jack Vance adventure novel. swiftly-paced, dryly witty, deeply ironic, byzantine in its layers of back-story and multiple displays of world-building yet happily trim and stripped-down in its actual verbiage, featuring a sardonic young hero, his icy love interest and various mysteries that he is only slightly interested in solving.
Jubal Droad is a high-caste Glint in the land of Thaery, on the planet Maske, on the outskirts of the Gaean Reach. unfortunately being a noble son of Glint means practically nothing in the big city of Wysrod, where his homeland of Glentlin is an embarrassing country cousin to more sophisticated family members. Jubal is instantly identified as redneck. he gets offended. Jubal gets offended quite a lot; he chafes frequently at any sign of snobbery or high-handedness. fortunately for Jubal, he is a lad with both connections and some very dear secrets, and he is quickly given a job as an "Inn Inspector". which is code for glamorous, jet-setting spy. Jubal barely cares. it's just another job and his main goals are making lots of cash, getting his revenge on with a noble who offended him, and then, well, he doesn't know. doing something. he'll figure it out. whatever. and so the Grand Adventure begins! ha.
that 'whatever' is one of the wonderful qualities of this novel. this may be a novel featuring a spy tracking down a nefarious villain across three worlds, while getting embroiled in the affairs of the aristocracy and dealing with a violent regime change back home, but the tone of the whole thing is so charmingly nonchalant. Jubal may be seething with fury and resentment in general, gnashing his teeth with frustration at the cold treatment he receives from a lady who turns him on with that cold treatment, and forever haggling with his boss over money... but he is also so nonchalant about it. most characters in Vance novels are this way: oh so sardonic. i love the elegant and stylishly low-key way that all the characters converse with each other. this may be a pulp novel of sorts, but it is also pure style. Jack Vance, as ever, has a skilled and delightful way with words. i read this all in one long afternoon in the park and it was pure enjoyment.
Masque: Thaery has a real economy of words and yet the various science fantasy ideas on display are well thought-out, wide-ranging, just brimming over with creativity. there is enough imaginative awesomeness in this book to fill a whole mega-series of science fantasy, and yet the novel clocks in at a slim 216 pages.
i found two things to be particularly enjoyable.
first HEY THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH HAS A BIG SPOILER.
at one point, Vance spends several pages detailing various luxury tours that are available on a vacation planet. the tours described are wonderful flights of the imagination and i loved reading about them. but i did wonder - why spend so much time on something that has nothing to do with the plot? and then i forgot that, and continued to enjoy the narrative. but at the end - with the surprise reveal of the villain's surprisingly banal motives being based on mercenary exploitation of natural places for luxury tourism - the lengthy descriptions of luxury tours elsewhere made quick sense. i reread them again and noticed the subtle things that had escaped me at first: native animals being exploited; natural places being transformed and prettified for tourist eyes; sex tourism; the drug trade; exploitation of natural resources; etc. i appreciated the subtlety of the foreshadowing, and i appreciated even more the secretly furious perspective of the author on such things. who would have guessed that Vance would be such an ardent progressive when it comes to environmentalism? the heinous and gruesome ending for the villain illustrates exactly how Vance feels about raping natural places. plus some fairly brutal irony in the actual mode of (slow, slow) death.
the second thing: a lot of odd footnotes and a really random glossary. here's one entry from the glossary, describing points an employer must consider when using the services of the human-ish Djan:
Jubal Droad is a high-caste Glint in the land of Thaery, on the planet Maske, on the outskirts of the Gaean Reach. unfortunately being a noble son of Glint means practically nothing in the big city of Wysrod, where his homeland of Glentlin is an embarrassing country cousin to more sophisticated family members. Jubal is instantly identified as redneck. he gets offended. Jubal gets offended quite a lot; he chafes frequently at any sign of snobbery or high-handedness. fortunately for Jubal, he is a lad with both connections and some very dear secrets, and he is quickly given a job as an "Inn Inspector". which is code for glamorous, jet-setting spy. Jubal barely cares. it's just another job and his main goals are making lots of cash, getting his revenge on with a noble who offended him, and then, well, he doesn't know. doing something. he'll figure it out. whatever. and so the Grand Adventure begins! ha.
that 'whatever' is one of the wonderful qualities of this novel. this may be a novel featuring a spy tracking down a nefarious villain across three worlds, while getting embroiled in the affairs of the aristocracy and dealing with a violent regime change back home, but the tone of the whole thing is so charmingly nonchalant. Jubal may be seething with fury and resentment in general, gnashing his teeth with frustration at the cold treatment he receives from a lady who turns him on with that cold treatment, and forever haggling with his boss over money... but he is also so nonchalant about it. most characters in Vance novels are this way: oh so sardonic. i love the elegant and stylishly low-key way that all the characters converse with each other. this may be a pulp novel of sorts, but it is also pure style. Jack Vance, as ever, has a skilled and delightful way with words. i read this all in one long afternoon in the park and it was pure enjoyment.
Masque: Thaery has a real economy of words and yet the various science fantasy ideas on display are well thought-out, wide-ranging, just brimming over with creativity. there is enough imaginative awesomeness in this book to fill a whole mega-series of science fantasy, and yet the novel clocks in at a slim 216 pages.
i found two things to be particularly enjoyable.
first HEY THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH HAS A BIG SPOILER.
at one point, Vance spends several pages detailing various luxury tours that are available on a vacation planet. the tours described are wonderful flights of the imagination and i loved reading about them. but i did wonder - why spend so much time on something that has nothing to do with the plot? and then i forgot that, and continued to enjoy the narrative. but at the end - with the surprise reveal of the villain's surprisingly banal motives being based on mercenary exploitation of natural places for luxury tourism - the lengthy descriptions of luxury tours elsewhere made quick sense. i reread them again and noticed the subtle things that had escaped me at first: native animals being exploited; natural places being transformed and prettified for tourist eyes; sex tourism; the drug trade; exploitation of natural resources; etc. i appreciated the subtlety of the foreshadowing, and i appreciated even more the secretly furious perspective of the author on such things. who would have guessed that Vance would be such an ardent progressive when it comes to environmentalism? the heinous and gruesome ending for the villain illustrates exactly how Vance feels about raping natural places. plus some fairly brutal irony in the actual mode of (slow, slow) death.
the second thing: a lot of odd footnotes and a really random glossary. here's one entry from the glossary, describing points an employer must consider when using the services of the human-ish Djan:
One Djan performs aimlessly unless supervised.
Two Djan become intense; they either quarrel or fondle each other.
Three Djan create a disequilibrium; they work with agitation and resentful energy.
Four Djan form a stable system. They respond equably to orders but exert themselves only moderately and indulge themselves in comfort.
Five Djan form an unstable and dangerous combination. Four will presently form a group; the fifth, ejected, becomes resentful and bitter. He may go "solitary."
Six Djan yield one stable set and a pair of defiant lovers.
Seven Djan create an unpredictable flux of shifting conditions and a turmoil of emotions.
Eight Djan, after considerable shifting, conniving, testing, plotting, backbiting, yield two stable groups.
April 3, 2016
I went to see the 1980 David Lynch film Dune in the theaters. At the cinema we attended, there were handouts that explained some of the language and the culture that the viewers would see: those that were not familiar with Frank Herbert’s classic novel.
I think there should be such an introduction in most of Jack Vance’s books: a beginners guide to what’s going on in the pages to follow.
Vance actually does provide a short introductory chapter to his 1974 book Maske: Theary. It helps, I went back to it a few times for some roadmaps. There is also a glossary referenced and numerous footnotes throughout the narrative.
Like his good friend Frank Herbert, Jack Vance was wildly imaginative and joined this inventiveness with a literary discipline that allowed him to produce some of the most original speculative fiction in the genre and was probably one of the many reasons he was chosen for the title of Grandmaster.
First off: the title. To a causal observer this would seem to be akin to his Alastor novels, but all are actually a part of his Gaean Reach books (which makes me wonder how influential Vance was to Alistair Reynolds). Maske is a planet and Thaery is a city or region on that planet.
Centuries before, a convoy of 14 spaceships was stranded on the world and the residents of 12 of the vessels (theological pioneers all) pushed out the native peoples (a branch of humanity that had been so long divested from the rest of us that they had effectively begun a new species. The 14th vessel was full of rebels and miscreants and the 13th – the Glints - was of a faction ostracized by the dominant group – the Thaearians. Vance describes intrigue and politico-cultural shenanigans that must be read to be understood. And sometimes read again as in “what the hell?” and reading the introduction and referring to the footnotes and the glossary.
All in all, we follow the progress of hero Jubal Droud and this could probably be categorized as a bildungsroman. Much of the tone and style of the book (inventive as it is) made me think of Alfred Bester’s brilliant The Stars My Destination.
It’s complicated as hell, but Vance pulls it off and produces a great SF novel. A welterweight 259 pages and it works, but if he had stretched this out he would have lost me along the way. He didn’t, Vance is too good.
This is reminiscent of Robert Silverberg or even Ursula K. LeGuin with her Hainish cycle; and of course Herbert (especially his The Dosadi Experiment) but the author I thought most of was Philip K. Dick for his ability to apply several layers of meaning and inference into a spare quantity. His originality is just phenomenal, and the attention to detail – providing minute particulars to the created world - makes for a fun read.
Classic Jack Vance.
I think there should be such an introduction in most of Jack Vance’s books: a beginners guide to what’s going on in the pages to follow.
Vance actually does provide a short introductory chapter to his 1974 book Maske: Theary. It helps, I went back to it a few times for some roadmaps. There is also a glossary referenced and numerous footnotes throughout the narrative.
Like his good friend Frank Herbert, Jack Vance was wildly imaginative and joined this inventiveness with a literary discipline that allowed him to produce some of the most original speculative fiction in the genre and was probably one of the many reasons he was chosen for the title of Grandmaster.
First off: the title. To a causal observer this would seem to be akin to his Alastor novels, but all are actually a part of his Gaean Reach books (which makes me wonder how influential Vance was to Alistair Reynolds). Maske is a planet and Thaery is a city or region on that planet.
Centuries before, a convoy of 14 spaceships was stranded on the world and the residents of 12 of the vessels (theological pioneers all) pushed out the native peoples (a branch of humanity that had been so long divested from the rest of us that they had effectively begun a new species. The 14th vessel was full of rebels and miscreants and the 13th – the Glints - was of a faction ostracized by the dominant group – the Thaearians. Vance describes intrigue and politico-cultural shenanigans that must be read to be understood. And sometimes read again as in “what the hell?” and reading the introduction and referring to the footnotes and the glossary.
All in all, we follow the progress of hero Jubal Droud and this could probably be categorized as a bildungsroman. Much of the tone and style of the book (inventive as it is) made me think of Alfred Bester’s brilliant The Stars My Destination.
It’s complicated as hell, but Vance pulls it off and produces a great SF novel. A welterweight 259 pages and it works, but if he had stretched this out he would have lost me along the way. He didn’t, Vance is too good.
This is reminiscent of Robert Silverberg or even Ursula K. LeGuin with her Hainish cycle; and of course Herbert (especially his The Dosadi Experiment) but the author I thought most of was Philip K. Dick for his ability to apply several layers of meaning and inference into a spare quantity. His originality is just phenomenal, and the attention to detail – providing minute particulars to the created world - makes for a fun read.
Classic Jack Vance.
October 16, 2023
While not Vance's best work, Maske: Thaery still packs a fun punch. Set largely on the planet Maske in the Gaean Reach (a common universe Vance set many novels in), this largely follows the exploits of Jubal. Maske prohibited connections with other planets in the Reach long ago and hence a variety of societies and customs arose around those that settled there. The last round of settlers came on 14 ships, and long story short, established Thaery, a loose political state that encompasses 13 'kingdoms', one for each of the ship's crew (the 14th ship crashed).
Jubal comes from one of the lesser regarded kingdoms (provinces would be more apt) and is just making his way in life. When one comes of age, it is tradition that you take a journey among the provinces before settling down to do what you do. He made an enemy in his travels, a high ranking fellow, and vows revenge upon him. He ends up working as spy on the guy, who is obviously up to no good...
Vance goes full on snark here with the dialogue, and, as usual, creates an amazing world without excess prose. The societies are also well thought out and you can relate to the trials and tribulations of all the characters involved. This is more 'space adventure' than anything else, with some amusing speculations on the human condition along the way. Perhaps not the best introduction to Vance, but if you like his work, you should enjoy this one. 3 stars!!
Jubal comes from one of the lesser regarded kingdoms (provinces would be more apt) and is just making his way in life. When one comes of age, it is tradition that you take a journey among the provinces before settling down to do what you do. He made an enemy in his travels, a high ranking fellow, and vows revenge upon him. He ends up working as spy on the guy, who is obviously up to no good...
Vance goes full on snark here with the dialogue, and, as usual, creates an amazing world without excess prose. The societies are also well thought out and you can relate to the trials and tribulations of all the characters involved. This is more 'space adventure' than anything else, with some amusing speculations on the human condition along the way. Perhaps not the best introduction to Vance, but if you like his work, you should enjoy this one. 3 stars!!
June 2, 2018
A better than average planetary romance with a really clever twist.
November 3, 2013
I might have to make my own separate 'Jack Vance' shelf one day.
So, 'Mask:Thaery' has an awkward-ass name for a book. Its back cover and online descriptions is a confusing word salad of awkwardly lifted introduction, and in a long and prolific career its certainly not one of the more famous or well reviewed works of Vance.
But despite all of this, Mask: Thaery, is awesome. It is at least as good (if way less long and varied) as 'Planet of Adventure' for travel/action, and comes nearest of any of the Gaen Reach independent stories I have thus far read in approaching 'Dying Earth' levels of wit and sleaze.
The main character is a somewhat typical is somewhat more sympathetic Vance-rogue, and the villain, though not commonly seen, is on par with Vance's best when he does show up. Rhamus Ymph is a proper Tamurello or Ioucounnu (cant remember the actual spelling of that one)and its a shame he doesnt show up more.
One wishes also that this planet's setting had been used more often as well is other Vance books, but that hardly matters. Much of the very long narrated introduction became unnecessary to the actual story being told.
But all that is irrelevant, it was a really fun romp, as it usually is.
So, 'Mask:Thaery' has an awkward-ass name for a book. Its back cover and online descriptions is a confusing word salad of awkwardly lifted introduction, and in a long and prolific career its certainly not one of the more famous or well reviewed works of Vance.
But despite all of this, Mask: Thaery, is awesome. It is at least as good (if way less long and varied) as 'Planet of Adventure' for travel/action, and comes nearest of any of the Gaen Reach independent stories I have thus far read in approaching 'Dying Earth' levels of wit and sleaze.
The main character is a somewhat typical is somewhat more sympathetic Vance-rogue, and the villain, though not commonly seen, is on par with Vance's best when he does show up. Rhamus Ymph is a proper Tamurello or Ioucounnu (cant remember the actual spelling of that one)and its a shame he doesnt show up more.
One wishes also that this planet's setting had been used more often as well is other Vance books, but that hardly matters. Much of the very long narrated introduction became unnecessary to the actual story being told.
But all that is irrelevant, it was a really fun romp, as it usually is.
July 27, 2015
Vance novels are usually worth reading for the fantastic language and wordplay alone, and this is no except. Maske also contains the usual tropes of disaffected wealth, disillusioned youth, and a fair amount of no-longer-appropriate sexism. It also has, however, one of Vance's more human and likable protagonists.
In brief, Jubal, from a disadvantaged group, sets out on a wanderjahr to find fame, fortune, and his way in the world. He encounters and employs the usual Vance Machiavellian tricks, but eventually wins through. Aside from a brief excursion, the action takes place on one world.
If not highly different from Vance's other work, Maske is at least as enjoyable, and in some ways a more sympathetic read. I recommend it to all Vance fans. If you're not one yet, this is a good place to start.
In brief, Jubal, from a disadvantaged group, sets out on a wanderjahr to find fame, fortune, and his way in the world. He encounters and employs the usual Vance Machiavellian tricks, but eventually wins through. Aside from a brief excursion, the action takes place on one world.
If not highly different from Vance's other work, Maske is at least as enjoyable, and in some ways a more sympathetic read. I recommend it to all Vance fans. If you're not one yet, this is a good place to start.
August 26, 2022
3 1/2 stars. David Langford's introduction to my edition describes the book as "one of Vance's solidly enjoyable mid-period novels". It is hard to expand further on that review. It's a fun read (Jubal Droad is one of Vance's most memorable protagonists, and some of the dialogue is fabulous), and I found the hints of worldbuilding fascinating. But the novel ends very abruptly and seems curiously half-finished, as though it was originally supposed to the the first part in a series and was hastily ended when Vance lost interest in the larger project.
September 26, 2018
Maske: Thaery was first published in 1976 and is currently available in paperback and Kindle editions thanks to Spatterlight Press. My out of print hardcover copy is 181 pages long. This is the second time I have read this interesting Vance novel in recent years. I liked it equally well both times and continue to rate it a 4.
Maske is a planet and Thaery is a region on the planet that is composed of 13 different "districts" or "counties". The district our main character, Jubal Droad, is from is called Glentlin. People from there are known as Glints and are considered independent and proud but also rather crude and boisterous. For many years Glentlin was independent from the 12 districts of Thaery whose people were called Thariots. But the Glints were conquered after three centuries of piracy and conflict so that Glentlin is now one of the 13 districts of Thaery.
The original inhabitants of the planet are called Saidanese (homo moras) and cannot interbreed with Homo gaeas, the people from the planet of Diosophede who came to Maske many years ago to settle in Thaery. The Saidanese were pushed out of Thaery and now live mostly in the region called Djanad so are also known as Djans. Djans are famous for their exotic hand made rugs and are widely employed as laborers by the Thariots. The Thariots also employ specially trained warrior Djans known as perrupters. But Djans, for reasons that are explained, only seem to get along with one another when in groups of four.
Jubal is the second son in an aristocratic Glint family. When his father dies his older brother assumes responsibility for the Droad home and family affairs. Jubal is free to do as he pleases and decides to go on a Yallow, a rite of passage to adulthood whereby a young Thariot (of either sex) contemplates life while wandering through the thirteen counties of Thaery to work on the land by planting trees, repairing trails, clearing thickets, and performing other public service tasks.
Jubal is working in the countryside repairing a trail in the hills when a man leading a group of riders begins to enter the trail that is being repaired. Jubal yells out a warning to him that the trail is too unstable, but the man intentionally ignores him and continues on. The trail collapses with some of it falling on Jubal. None of the men on horseback are injured but Jubal is seriously hurt. After Jubal recovers from his injuries he wants revenge on this man who caused the accident. He eventually learns that the man is Ramus Ymph, an arrogant nobleman from a powerful family.
After Jubal finishes performing his Yallow his uncle provides him with a letter of introduction to an important man in the city of Wysrod. This man, Nai the Hever, offers Jubal a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Department of Sanitation with minimal pay. At first Jubal is taken aback by being offered such a lowly job, but he learns that the Department of Sanitation is a cover for Nai the Hever's spy network. Jubal soon encounters opportunities (and pay) far beyond the scope of an ordinary Sanitary Inspector. His first assignment is to investigate his enemy, Ramus Ymph, the man who nearly killed him when the trail in the hills collapsed.
Thariots are forbidden to travel to other planets, but Jubal provides evidence to Nai the Hever that Ramus Ymph has secretly been going off planet. In one of his first assignments Jubal is assigned to visit another planet to track down Ramus Ymph to determine why he is going off planet. He makes a trip a half a million miles away to the city of Kyash on the planet of Eiselbar where tourists are highly valued and music is an obsession. Every person living there or visiting is expected to play "personal music" also called "chote" out loud when in public through a "musical adjunct" that is worn on the shoulders. One cannot become too lackadaisical while listening to the music, however, because "mobile slime" are almost everywhere on the planet and a false step off a protected path can bring painful stings or even death. After careful investigation Jubal learns that Ramus Ymph is involved with marketing rare Dijan rugs from Maske in order to finance the purchase of a space ship.
Jubal is called away during a family crisis in Glentlin. After returning home and dealing with the problem he begins to suspect that Ramus Ymph was also involved with his family affairs. When Ymph leaves Thaery by sailboat, Jubal teams up with a Sea Nationalist friend and follows. After arriving at the destination we learn about the mysterious tree worshipers called Waels from Wellas who came to the planet with the other Thariots but went their own way culturally and religiously. Jubal is also able to learn the secret of why Ymph has been traveling off world and getting involved with so many plots and intrigues. The ending is very creative.
In the novel there is some fascinating world building and imaginative descriptions of different people, regions and planets. In addition to learning about the history and people of Thaery, the music obsessed people on Eiselbar, and the Waels with their tree worshipping and their magical "Minie" who seems to disappear at will, we also hear about the Sea Nationalists who rule the seas, fortress-fish that try to harpoon sailing ships, and a secret Pan-Djan Binadary that appears to be dedicated to the expulsion of all Thariots from Maske. Jubal is developed as a main character and others are presented in about as much detail as one can expect in such a short novel. There are also a number of humorous and satirical scenes. The plot is minimal but, as usual for Vance, the novel is very well written. Maske: Thaery is more of a fantasy, adventure, and investigative novel than science fiction, though.
Maske: Thaery is also a novel that is dense with details, and I frequently referred back to the three page introduction or other sections of the book as I read it. Because of this, it is probably better suited to Vance fans than to general readers. Although Maske-Thaery is not one of Vance's really great novels, it is a very fascinating one and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it both times.
Maske is a planet and Thaery is a region on the planet that is composed of 13 different "districts" or "counties". The district our main character, Jubal Droad, is from is called Glentlin. People from there are known as Glints and are considered independent and proud but also rather crude and boisterous. For many years Glentlin was independent from the 12 districts of Thaery whose people were called Thariots. But the Glints were conquered after three centuries of piracy and conflict so that Glentlin is now one of the 13 districts of Thaery.
The original inhabitants of the planet are called Saidanese (homo moras) and cannot interbreed with Homo gaeas, the people from the planet of Diosophede who came to Maske many years ago to settle in Thaery. The Saidanese were pushed out of Thaery and now live mostly in the region called Djanad so are also known as Djans. Djans are famous for their exotic hand made rugs and are widely employed as laborers by the Thariots. The Thariots also employ specially trained warrior Djans known as perrupters. But Djans, for reasons that are explained, only seem to get along with one another when in groups of four.
Jubal is the second son in an aristocratic Glint family. When his father dies his older brother assumes responsibility for the Droad home and family affairs. Jubal is free to do as he pleases and decides to go on a Yallow, a rite of passage to adulthood whereby a young Thariot (of either sex) contemplates life while wandering through the thirteen counties of Thaery to work on the land by planting trees, repairing trails, clearing thickets, and performing other public service tasks.
Jubal is working in the countryside repairing a trail in the hills when a man leading a group of riders begins to enter the trail that is being repaired. Jubal yells out a warning to him that the trail is too unstable, but the man intentionally ignores him and continues on. The trail collapses with some of it falling on Jubal. None of the men on horseback are injured but Jubal is seriously hurt. After Jubal recovers from his injuries he wants revenge on this man who caused the accident. He eventually learns that the man is Ramus Ymph, an arrogant nobleman from a powerful family.
After Jubal finishes performing his Yallow his uncle provides him with a letter of introduction to an important man in the city of Wysrod. This man, Nai the Hever, offers Jubal a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Department of Sanitation with minimal pay. At first Jubal is taken aback by being offered such a lowly job, but he learns that the Department of Sanitation is a cover for Nai the Hever's spy network. Jubal soon encounters opportunities (and pay) far beyond the scope of an ordinary Sanitary Inspector. His first assignment is to investigate his enemy, Ramus Ymph, the man who nearly killed him when the trail in the hills collapsed.
Thariots are forbidden to travel to other planets, but Jubal provides evidence to Nai the Hever that Ramus Ymph has secretly been going off planet. In one of his first assignments Jubal is assigned to visit another planet to track down Ramus Ymph to determine why he is going off planet. He makes a trip a half a million miles away to the city of Kyash on the planet of Eiselbar where tourists are highly valued and music is an obsession. Every person living there or visiting is expected to play "personal music" also called "chote" out loud when in public through a "musical adjunct" that is worn on the shoulders. One cannot become too lackadaisical while listening to the music, however, because "mobile slime" are almost everywhere on the planet and a false step off a protected path can bring painful stings or even death. After careful investigation Jubal learns that Ramus Ymph is involved with marketing rare Dijan rugs from Maske in order to finance the purchase of a space ship.
Jubal is called away during a family crisis in Glentlin. After returning home and dealing with the problem he begins to suspect that Ramus Ymph was also involved with his family affairs. When Ymph leaves Thaery by sailboat, Jubal teams up with a Sea Nationalist friend and follows. After arriving at the destination we learn about the mysterious tree worshipers called Waels from Wellas who came to the planet with the other Thariots but went their own way culturally and religiously. Jubal is also able to learn the secret of why Ymph has been traveling off world and getting involved with so many plots and intrigues. The ending is very creative.
In the novel there is some fascinating world building and imaginative descriptions of different people, regions and planets. In addition to learning about the history and people of Thaery, the music obsessed people on Eiselbar, and the Waels with their tree worshipping and their magical "Minie" who seems to disappear at will, we also hear about the Sea Nationalists who rule the seas, fortress-fish that try to harpoon sailing ships, and a secret Pan-Djan Binadary that appears to be dedicated to the expulsion of all Thariots from Maske. Jubal is developed as a main character and others are presented in about as much detail as one can expect in such a short novel. There are also a number of humorous and satirical scenes. The plot is minimal but, as usual for Vance, the novel is very well written. Maske: Thaery is more of a fantasy, adventure, and investigative novel than science fiction, though.
Maske: Thaery is also a novel that is dense with details, and I frequently referred back to the three page introduction or other sections of the book as I read it. Because of this, it is probably better suited to Vance fans than to general readers. Although Maske-Thaery is not one of Vance's really great novels, it is a very fascinating one and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it both times.
July 16, 2019
Muy divertido. Aventuras a cascoporro.
July 18, 2011
While I agree with with some other reviewers that Maske: Thaery is not one of Jack Vance's best books, this story of young Jubal Droad is still a good enjoyable coming of age adventure story, the type that Vance really seems to like writing.
I thought the culture of Thaery and the surrounding areas could have been a little bit more clearly explained, and that the book could have easily been a little longer, but as one of my goodreads.com friends who also read and reviewed the book remarked "even second rate Vance is fun to read." Thanks to Terrence for that wonderful quote, which I think pretty much sums up the literary gift that is author Jack Vance.
I thought the culture of Thaery and the surrounding areas could have been a little bit more clearly explained, and that the book could have easily been a little longer, but as one of my goodreads.com friends who also read and reviewed the book remarked "even second rate Vance is fun to read." Thanks to Terrence for that wonderful quote, which I think pretty much sums up the literary gift that is author Jack Vance.
September 22, 2008
More of a 2.5 or so but I'm being generous and rounding up because even second-rate Vance is fun to read.
Maske: Thaery is your typical Vance SF novel: The protagonist, Jubal Droad, is smart, cynical and emotionally distant, though underneath there is a passionate, involved person. The action is swift-paced and the villain is contemptuously evil but it's formulaic and not Vance at his best.
If you're already a Vance fan, you'll be pleasantly diverted for a few hours. If you're not yet a Vance fan, you should start with one of his classics like The Dying Earth or The Demon Princes so you can see his lyricism and the fun he has with language at their best.
Maske: Thaery is your typical Vance SF novel: The protagonist, Jubal Droad, is smart, cynical and emotionally distant, though underneath there is a passionate, involved person. The action is swift-paced and the villain is contemptuously evil but it's formulaic and not Vance at his best.
If you're already a Vance fan, you'll be pleasantly diverted for a few hours. If you're not yet a Vance fan, you should start with one of his classics like The Dying Earth or The Demon Princes so you can see his lyricism and the fun he has with language at their best.
March 8, 2019
7/10. Media de los 30 libros leídos del autor : 7/10.
Nada menos que 30 libros leí de Vance, la mayoría de joven lector de CF en editoriales míticas: Orbis, Edhasa, Ultramar, Nova,...
De imaginación desbordante, creaba mundos y sociedades como churros, desbordando imaginación y superando nuestra capacidad de asombro. Una media de 7/10 en tantos libros no es fácil de mantener.
Una vez más en esta novela se crea el tío una sociedad sorprendente y, sin ser una obra maravillosa, entretiene y engancha. Vance no defrauda.
Nada menos que 30 libros leí de Vance, la mayoría de joven lector de CF en editoriales míticas: Orbis, Edhasa, Ultramar, Nova,...
De imaginación desbordante, creaba mundos y sociedades como churros, desbordando imaginación y superando nuestra capacidad de asombro. Una media de 7/10 en tantos libros no es fácil de mantener.
Una vez más en esta novela se crea el tío una sociedad sorprendente y, sin ser una obra maravillosa, entretiene y engancha. Vance no defrauda.
March 17, 2023
A cautionary tale about the importance of hiking etiquette. An entertaining case of nuclear revenge. This was a unique little sci fi novel that I deeply enjoyed.
June 4, 2014
This book details the adventures(?) of Jubal Droad the Glint in Thaery on the planet Maske as his tries to decipher the motives of Ramus Ymph via the help of Nai the Hever and Shrack the sailor, a trial which takes him from Djan to Glentlin and to other worlds. That sentence pretty much gives you the tone of the book. It fluctuates between being a compelling story of a driven man and feeling overstuffed. Overall I just wasn't very captivated by the world of Maske and its various customs. Which is a shame, because that's about 90% of the book. Dang.
The protagonist, the aforementioned Jubal Droad, is a hilariously self-important fellow. Even though he's of the lowest caste in the country he continually asserts his superiority to pretty much everyone around him. These scenes are probably the book's strongest, along with one or two interesting confrontation sequences. Vance definitely has an ear for dialogue.
Still, when the climax came I barely noticed it was happening until it was over. I can't necessarily recommend this book in particular, but I will definitely look for more works from this author.
The protagonist, the aforementioned Jubal Droad, is a hilariously self-important fellow. Even though he's of the lowest caste in the country he continually asserts his superiority to pretty much everyone around him. These scenes are probably the book's strongest, along with one or two interesting confrontation sequences. Vance definitely has an ear for dialogue.
Still, when the climax came I barely noticed it was happening until it was over. I can't necessarily recommend this book in particular, but I will definitely look for more works from this author.
May 30, 2013
Jack Vance was a fairly prolific author during his writing career, publishing over sixty novels and various short stories in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. During the 1960’s and 70’s many of his science fiction stories were set in a far future milieu which he termed the Gaean Reach. In these stories interstellar travel is common place, as is colonization of a multitude of solar systems throughout the galaxy. While some of the colonized planets contain alien life forms with which the human colonies have to co-exist, the majority of Vance’s works in the Gaean Reach deals with the many unusual human cultures that have developed over the many centuries of colonization. Vance is never what can be termed a “hard-science fiction” writer, but he shines at the “softer sciences” especially coming up with strange and varied types of future human cultures and ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
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September 30, 2015
New to Vance; picked this off my shelf after having got it months ago from a yard sale intrigued by the wonderully lurid cover to the 1976 Fontana edition. Not quite the swashbuckling space opera I was expecting, but I found it interesting that Vance's world-building is ham fisted and slapdash on the one hand (huge info dumps in footnotes and the accompanying glossary) and quietly cumulative on the other (delivered through bureaucratic entanglements and long stretches of sparring dialogue). It's also more of a spy novel than anything else, and though our hot-headed and amusingly arrogant young protagonist grates at times, and though a large chunk of the accompanying characters betray little depth and act in sometimes counter-intuitive ways, discovering a rich fantastical world through the kind of dizzying intrigues our protagonist is subjected to made for a curious treat.
August 8, 2022
Gerade eben entdeckt, dass ich diesen Roman schon vor einer Weile hier als "gelesen" zu meinen Büchern dazugestellt habe. Habe ihn zunächst mit "Showboot-Welt" verwechselt. Der Grund war, dass in beiden Roman von Planeten erzählt wird, auf denen verschiedene Gesellschaften von Menschen sich angesiedelt haben. Dieses Konzept der heterogenen Planetenbevölkerung hat Vance in der SF zur Blüte verholfen. Kaum einer konnte so gut exotischer Gesellschaften schildern wie er. Für mich und meine Vorstellungen von der Zukunft der Menschheit im All war das sehr wichtig. Diese Idee ein bunten Planetenbevölkerung, die sich dann auch noch (regional) an die Umwelt anpasst, gefällt mir immer noch.
Maske:Thaery war eine Road-Romance, ein Abentuer- und Reiseroman auf einem fremden Planeten. Es war eine kurzweilige Lektüre, und ich würde gerne noch mehr von seinen "galaktischen Heimat-Romanen" lesen.
Maske:Thaery war eine Road-Romance, ein Abentuer- und Reiseroman auf einem fremden Planeten. Es war eine kurzweilige Lektüre, und ich würde gerne noch mehr von seinen "galaktischen Heimat-Romanen" lesen.
December 31, 2019
Sits next to Night Lamp and Emphyrio on the virtual shelf, a third Bildungsroman: As ever, Vance has created a rich and fascinating setting. His protagonist, the young man Jubal Droad, has to navigate many of its perilous aspects on his path to self-determination and overcoming the obstacles that appear before him. His irrepressible nature make it fun to follow his exploits. Thaery is a country populated by descendants of pilgrim settlers fleeing decadence. Their way of life and creed in crisis, the young generation struggles with the dreary contentedness and lack of prospects. With less humor than Night Lamp and far less emotional and social import than Emphyrio, the novel nevertheless engages and hits a few high notes, ending with phrases reminiscent of couplets of Omar Khayyam.
May 23, 2015
Brilliant, highly quotable ("While we are alive we should sit among colored lights and taste good wines, and discuss our adventures in far places; when we are dead, the opportunity is past.”), I simply couldn't put it down. Not only great characters and immense fun, there are also passing intelligent and prescient obvervations on the ravages of mass tourism and the lurking dangers of an understated police state. Amazingly good entertainment.
September 24, 2022
Jack Vance is one of my favorite authors. I must own at least twenty of his novels. He has so many great works it is hard to identify a favorite -The Dying Earth series? The Lyonesse Trilogy? Planet of Adventure series? The Dragon Masters? Vance has a unique style, a wonderful gift for constructing fantastic civilizations with bizarre customs (such as all the mask wearers in The Moon Moth). Despite his ornate language and delight at constructing strange societies, Vance is not a verbose, showy writer - his characters are usually men of action, not talk (though when they do speak, it is with concise sentences that usually express air of cyncism mixed with practicality). With the exception of the Lyonese series, most of his book are relatively short. But Vance packs a lot into a few pages.
Maske is a planet. Thaery is the land on Maske colonized by 13 founding families of a shipwrecked starship. (There is a fourteenth family, but those humans have become something strange, beyond the pale.) The families have built a stratified society, where everyone must know their place. (This is a typical Vance setup - he describes a strange, bounded system, and then introduces a character who chafes under those constraints, and sets about changing things; see Vance's novels: Emphyrio, The Blue World and To Live For Ever) In this case, the resourceful hero is Jubal Droat. He is an intelligent, industrious man, but alas - the Droats are from Glentin, the "thirteenth" province of the thirteen founding families - when he applies for positions, others sneer at him - "Oh, you are just a Glint!". But Jubal will not accept a lowly position in society, he is determined to advance according to his abilities.
Early in the novel, Jubal is directing a gang of native aliens to build a wall along a roadside, when a party of guards and a proud noble march up the road. Jubal tries to deter them because of the on-going repairs, but he is swept aside, the construction work is destroyed, and Jubal is left for dead by the heedless noble. Jubal has made an enemy, and he seeks redress, undeterred by the man's lofty station.
Jubal travels to the city of Wysrod, seeking redress. He arrives in time to witness a vote on whether the excellent Ramus Ymph should be allowed to join the council - but Jubal recognizes Ymph as the arrogant noble who left Jubal's broken body beside the road! Jubal speaks with Nai-the-Hever, who has a vote on the council, and Ymph's candidacy is denied. Now Jubal has made a power enemy indeed.
Jubal's determination gets him a position with Nai-the-Hever's secret intelligence organization. Jubal uses the position to pursue information on Ymph. The plot develops - attempts are made on Jubal's life, his ancestral home is attacked. More spying reveals further information - it appears Ymph travels off planet, which is strictly forbidden. What is his agenda? There are betrayals and hidden agendas. Jubal chases after Ymph.
Vance never writes a bad book, but Maske : Thaery isn't one of his best. The final chapters are not that satisfying - Jubal seeks his revenge, but the fate of Ymph seems more of a deus ex machina, not due to any action taken by Jubal. And what was Ymph up to anyway - he wanted to build a resort hotel? Maske : Thaery is fun to read simply because of Vance's writing style, his baroque societies. Vance is a stylist, and it always a treat to read his works. But if you are not a full fledged fan yet, the best introduction to Jack Vance is probably his Dying Earth books or Lyonesse.
Maske is a planet. Thaery is the land on Maske colonized by 13 founding families of a shipwrecked starship. (There is a fourteenth family, but those humans have become something strange, beyond the pale.) The families have built a stratified society, where everyone must know their place. (This is a typical Vance setup - he describes a strange, bounded system, and then introduces a character who chafes under those constraints, and sets about changing things; see Vance's novels: Emphyrio, The Blue World and To Live For Ever) In this case, the resourceful hero is Jubal Droat. He is an intelligent, industrious man, but alas - the Droats are from Glentin, the "thirteenth" province of the thirteen founding families - when he applies for positions, others sneer at him - "Oh, you are just a Glint!". But Jubal will not accept a lowly position in society, he is determined to advance according to his abilities.
Early in the novel, Jubal is directing a gang of native aliens to build a wall along a roadside, when a party of guards and a proud noble march up the road. Jubal tries to deter them because of the on-going repairs, but he is swept aside, the construction work is destroyed, and Jubal is left for dead by the heedless noble. Jubal has made an enemy, and he seeks redress, undeterred by the man's lofty station.
Jubal travels to the city of Wysrod, seeking redress. He arrives in time to witness a vote on whether the excellent Ramus Ymph should be allowed to join the council - but Jubal recognizes Ymph as the arrogant noble who left Jubal's broken body beside the road! Jubal speaks with Nai-the-Hever, who has a vote on the council, and Ymph's candidacy is denied. Now Jubal has made a power enemy indeed.
Jubal's determination gets him a position with Nai-the-Hever's secret intelligence organization. Jubal uses the position to pursue information on Ymph. The plot develops - attempts are made on Jubal's life, his ancestral home is attacked. More spying reveals further information - it appears Ymph travels off planet, which is strictly forbidden. What is his agenda? There are betrayals and hidden agendas. Jubal chases after Ymph.
Vance never writes a bad book, but Maske : Thaery isn't one of his best. The final chapters are not that satisfying - Jubal seeks his revenge, but the fate of Ymph seems more of a deus ex machina, not due to any action taken by Jubal. And what was Ymph up to anyway - he wanted to build a resort hotel? Maske : Thaery is fun to read simply because of Vance's writing style, his baroque societies. Vance is a stylist, and it always a treat to read his works. But if you are not a full fledged fan yet, the best introduction to Jack Vance is probably his Dying Earth books or Lyonesse.
December 2, 2024
3.5/5
Maske:Thaery is at its heart a story of revenge and coming of age in a rich world of caste and privilege. Unlike a lot of Vance's other work, the protagonist Jubal Droad is from a disadvantaged background and family, meaning that he has to work uphill against the rigid caste system from the start. Despite his insistence on breaking every social more because of his own sense of justice, Jubal finds himself in the employ of a state funded covert intelligence agency, tracking the movements of a person from the highest caste who is suspected of nefarious activity. Political intrigue, stealth, and deception play major roles in the story.
Maske itself is a world of beautiful landscapes and complex history. Jubal is a descendant of the group who colonized a portion of Maske centuries ago, and there is still tension with the locals who resemble the Thariots but can not procreate with them. There is a strict policy against traveling off-world, and a frightening judicial system that imposes a maze of confusing and intricate laws. There is an absurd level of detail in the world building. This is perhaps Vance's strongest trait. He is creative to the point of being overwhelming in the amount of texture that he gives the world of Maske. I especially enjoyed the mysterious tree-worshiping Waels, the music-obsessed world of Eiselbar, the Seas Nationalist who somehow draw distinction from the central government but still heel to them, and the consistent naming of plants that line the streets. There's a huge learning curve to understanding this world that is somewhat aided by Vance defining some of the alien terminology in a dry footnote style formula. Vance is specifically focused on politics, caste, and social order.
I'm also a fan of Vance's style of writing. It's in turns dry, witty, and ironic. He has a broad and colorful vocabulary that he's not afraid to use every single sentence. I think this could be turn off for a lot of readers. Sometimes it feels comparative to a creative writing major using a thesaurus to punch up a half-assed story, but there's a certain ineffable quality of earnestness that Vance writes with that neutralizes this distaste for me. It's clear that this vocabulary has been earned by Vance honestly through study. Every character speaks hyper-formally at all times, which can be distracting and take me out of the story, but is also better than the boring dialogue that a lot of pulp writers tended toward.
While I love Vance's exploration of the maddening social order of the world, and the descriptive xenobiology, the plot never condensed into anything noteworthy despite its complexity. Similarly, the characters aren't necessarily bad, but never escape their surface level characterizations. Like a sad, half-inflated balloon, these elements drag the rest of the novel down, preventing it from transcending the sum of it's parts. The world is so memorable and rich though that I can't help but give Maske:Thaery a favorable rating.
Maske:Thaery is at its heart a story of revenge and coming of age in a rich world of caste and privilege. Unlike a lot of Vance's other work, the protagonist Jubal Droad is from a disadvantaged background and family, meaning that he has to work uphill against the rigid caste system from the start. Despite his insistence on breaking every social more because of his own sense of justice, Jubal finds himself in the employ of a state funded covert intelligence agency, tracking the movements of a person from the highest caste who is suspected of nefarious activity. Political intrigue, stealth, and deception play major roles in the story.
Maske itself is a world of beautiful landscapes and complex history. Jubal is a descendant of the group who colonized a portion of Maske centuries ago, and there is still tension with the locals who resemble the Thariots but can not procreate with them. There is a strict policy against traveling off-world, and a frightening judicial system that imposes a maze of confusing and intricate laws. There is an absurd level of detail in the world building. This is perhaps Vance's strongest trait. He is creative to the point of being overwhelming in the amount of texture that he gives the world of Maske. I especially enjoyed the mysterious tree-worshiping Waels, the music-obsessed world of Eiselbar, the Seas Nationalist who somehow draw distinction from the central government but still heel to them, and the consistent naming of plants that line the streets. There's a huge learning curve to understanding this world that is somewhat aided by Vance defining some of the alien terminology in a dry footnote style formula. Vance is specifically focused on politics, caste, and social order.
I'm also a fan of Vance's style of writing. It's in turns dry, witty, and ironic. He has a broad and colorful vocabulary that he's not afraid to use every single sentence. I think this could be turn off for a lot of readers. Sometimes it feels comparative to a creative writing major using a thesaurus to punch up a half-assed story, but there's a certain ineffable quality of earnestness that Vance writes with that neutralizes this distaste for me. It's clear that this vocabulary has been earned by Vance honestly through study. Every character speaks hyper-formally at all times, which can be distracting and take me out of the story, but is also better than the boring dialogue that a lot of pulp writers tended toward.
While I love Vance's exploration of the maddening social order of the world, and the descriptive xenobiology, the plot never condensed into anything noteworthy despite its complexity. Similarly, the characters aren't necessarily bad, but never escape their surface level characterizations. Like a sad, half-inflated balloon, these elements drag the rest of the novel down, preventing it from transcending the sum of it's parts. The world is so memorable and rich though that I can't help but give Maske:Thaery a favorable rating.
November 6, 2018
Jack Vance is one of those authors who often wrote fantasy novels that masquerade as science fiction, and "Maske: Thaery" is a prime example of this. The story takes place on a world in deep space cut off from most the rest of human colony worlds. On Maske, the descendants of human colonists have more or less renounced technology and modern state-based politics for a medieval system. There are some references to telephones, what are possibly self-driving cars, and a few other technical accoutrements, but for the most part everything is medieval level. The inhabitants have more or less forbidden contact with other high-tech worlds, and the plot revolves around keeping things that way. There is even a bit of straight-out magic near the end when a man is turned into a tree without any explanation of how this would be accomplished. I ask about these far-future medieval settings (such as Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels): Why bother with the science-fiction elements at all? If the novel works perfectly well as a medieval fantasy, why not go ahead and write the damn fantasy? Taking this novel as the medieval fantasy it really is, we have the story of Jubal Droad, a young aristocrat from a despised section of the world who is forced to make his fortune on his own. He is steered toward employment from a noble of one of the more powerful sectors, where he begins working in the spy department, even though it's so secret he does not realize this until halfway through his training. His main job is to monitor the activities of an upstart lordling named Ramus Ymph, with whom Jubal has a grudge even though Ramus has no idea who Jubal is. For fans of court intrigue, this novel will be a real treat. It abounds. Certainly, the intrigue, the mental sparring between Jubal and his employer, and deeply bizarre honor code of this world keep the plot interesting. I found myself not much liking Jubal Droad, who seems to me to be a self-important, humorless jerk most of the time. Vance is famous for his creation of societies that run on their own particular and peculiar kind of social logic. This, at least, is a standout feature of the novel.
May 20, 2025
Maske: Thaery, published in 1976, is one of Jack Vance's standalone novels of his Gaean Reach super-series. The edition I read, published by Fontana in 1978, has strangely appropriate cover art by Peter Tybus.
Theary is a region of the planet Maske, which, together with its twin-planet Skay, revolves around the star Mora. An isolated star, Mora stands alone in the the Great Hole of the Gaean Reach eddy of the galaxy.
In the far future, the human race has spread throughout the Gaean Reach, giving rise to many different forms of humanity who are gradually evolving away from the ancestral stock. Maske has two human subspecies, the Djans and the Waels, as well as the later-arriving star-spanning Gaean people, homo gaea, who inhabit Thaery itself. I had read The Gray Prince just before Maske: Thaery, and I can see that Vance has followed a very similar formula in both books: indigenous peoples versus more recent invaders—though the cultures and peoples of both books are very different.
The Djans and the Waels are suitably distinct peoples. So, too, are the people who inhabit Thaery, though the latter, as homo gaea rather than homo mora, are presumably closer to us. Even the people of Thaery, however, have a bizarre and interesting way of life. They would be as different from us, as say, the people of Restoration England, though with a high level of technology. However, it is the manners and the culture that Vance is presenting, not science, and any technology is very unobtrusive.
Jack Vance does a good job in Maske: Thaery, as he did in The Gray Prince, of describing peoples and cultures on the edge of humanity. The language is elegant and measured, and Vance has a special skill with dialogue. In these two books he reminds me of nothing more than Mervyn Peake in the Gormenghast books: here are isolated peoples with their own cultures and systems of manners—human, certainly, but viewed through a distorting lens.
Theary is a region of the planet Maske, which, together with its twin-planet Skay, revolves around the star Mora. An isolated star, Mora stands alone in the the Great Hole of the Gaean Reach eddy of the galaxy.
In the far future, the human race has spread throughout the Gaean Reach, giving rise to many different forms of humanity who are gradually evolving away from the ancestral stock. Maske has two human subspecies, the Djans and the Waels, as well as the later-arriving star-spanning Gaean people, homo gaea, who inhabit Thaery itself. I had read The Gray Prince just before Maske: Thaery, and I can see that Vance has followed a very similar formula in both books: indigenous peoples versus more recent invaders—though the cultures and peoples of both books are very different.
The Djans and the Waels are suitably distinct peoples. So, too, are the people who inhabit Thaery, though the latter, as homo gaea rather than homo mora, are presumably closer to us. Even the people of Thaery, however, have a bizarre and interesting way of life. They would be as different from us, as say, the people of Restoration England, though with a high level of technology. However, it is the manners and the culture that Vance is presenting, not science, and any technology is very unobtrusive.
Jack Vance does a good job in Maske: Thaery, as he did in The Gray Prince, of describing peoples and cultures on the edge of humanity. The language is elegant and measured, and Vance has a special skill with dialogue. In these two books he reminds me of nothing more than Mervyn Peake in the Gormenghast books: here are isolated peoples with their own cultures and systems of manners—human, certainly, but viewed through a distorting lens.
May 28, 2024
Maske: Thaery was first published in 1976 and is currently available in a high quality paperback edition by Spatterlight Press. My Berkeley/Putnam out of print hardcover copy is 181 pages long.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
Maske is a planet and Thaery is a region on the planet that is composed of 13 different "districts" or "counties". The district our main character, Jubal Droad, is from is called Glentlin. People from Glentlin are known as Glints and are considered independent and proud but also rather crude and boisterous. For many years Glentlin was independent from the 12 districts of Thaery whose people were called Thariots. But the Glints were conquered after three centuries of piracy and conflict so that Glentlin is now one of the 13 districts of Thaery.
The original inhabitants of the planet are called Saidanese (homo moras) and cannot interbreed with homo gaeas, the people from the planet of Diosophede who came to Maske many years ago to settle in Thaery. The Saidanese were pushed out of Thaery and now live mostly in the region called Djanad so are also known as Djans. Djans are famous for their exotic hand made rugs and are widely employed as laborers by the Thariots. The Thariots also employ specially trained warrior Djans known as “perrupters.” But Djans, for reasons that are explained, only seem to get along with one another when in groups of four.
Jubal is the second son in an aristocratic Glint family. When his father dies his older brother assumes responsibility for the Droad home and family affairs. Jubal is free to do as he pleases and decides to go on a Yallow, a rite of passage to adulthood whereby a young Thariot (of either sex) contemplates life while wandering through the thirteen counties of Thaery to work on the land by planting trees, repairing trails, clearing thickets, and performing other public service tasks.
Jubal is working in the countryside repairing a trail in the hills when a man leading a group of riders begins to enter the trail that is being repaired. Jubal yells out a warning to him that the trail is too unstable, but the man intentionally ignores him and continues on. The trail collapses with some of the debris falling on Jubal. None of the men on horseback are injured but Jubal is seriously hurt. After Jubal recovers from his injuries he wants revenge on this man who ignored his warnings and caused the accident. He eventually learns that the man is Ramus Ymph, an arrogant nobleman from a powerful family.
After Jubal finishes performing his “Yallow” duties his uncle provides him with a letter of introduction to an important man in the city of Wysrod. This man, Nai the Hever, offers Jubal a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Department of Sanitation with minimal pay. At first Jubal is taken aback by being offered such a lowly job, but he learns that the Department of Sanitation is a cover for Nai the Hever's spy network. Jubal soon encounters opportunities (and pay) far beyond the scope of an ordinary Sanitary Inspector. His first assignment is to investigate his enemy, Ramus Ymph, the man who nearly killed him when the trail in the hills collapsed.
Thariots are forbidden to travel to other planets, but Jubal provides evidence to Nai the Hever that Ramus Ymph has secretly been going off planet. In one of his first assignments Jubal is assigned to visit another planet to track down Ramus Ymph to determine why he is going off planet. He makes a trip a half a million miles away to the city of Kyash on the planet of Eiselbar where tourists are highly valued and music is an obsession. Every person living there or visiting is expected to play out loud "personal music" also called "chote" when in public through a "musical adjunct" that is worn on the shoulders. One cannot become too lackadaisical while walking and listening to the music, however, because "mobile slime" are almost everywhere on the planet and a false step off a protected path can bring painful stings or even death. After careful investigation Jubal learns that Ramus Ymph is involved with marketing rare Dijan rugs from Maske in order to finance the purchase of a space ship.
Jubal is called away during a family crisis in Glentlin. After returning home and dealing with the problem he begins to suspect that Ramus Ymph was also involved with his family affairs. When Ymph leaves Thaery by sailboat, Jubal teams up with a Sea Nationalist friend and follows. After arriving at the destination we learn about the mysterious tree worshipers called Waels from Wellas who came to the planet with the other Thariots but went their own way culturally and religiously. Jubal is also able to learn the secret of why Ymph has been traveling off world and getting involved with so many plots and intrigues. The ending is very creative.
In the novel there is some fascinating world building and imaginative descriptions of different people, regions and planets. In addition to learning about the history and people of Thaery, the music obsessed people on Eiselbar, and the Waels with their tree worshipping and their magical "Minie" who seems to disappear at will, we also learn about the Sea Nationalists who rule the seas, fortress-fish that try to harpoon sailing ships, and a secret Pan-Djan Binadary that appears to be dedicated to the expulsion of all Thariots from Maske. Jubal is developed as a main character and others are presented in about as much detail as one can expect in such a short novel. There are also a number of humorous and satirical scenes. The plot is minimal but, as usual for Vance, the novel is very well written. Maske: Thaery is more of a fantasy, adventure, and investigative novel than science fiction, though.
Maske: Thaery is also a novel that is dense with details, and I frequently referred back to the three page introduction or other sections of the book as I read it. Because of this, it is probably better suited to Vance fans than to general readers. Although Maske-Thaery is not one of Vance's really great novels, it is a very fascinating. I have read this novel twice so far and thoroughly enjoyed reading it both times and continue to rate it a 4 “Really liked it.”
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Maske is a planet and Thaery is a region on the planet that is composed of 13 different "districts" or "counties". The district our main character, Jubal Droad, is from is called Glentlin. People from Glentlin are known as Glints and are considered independent and proud but also rather crude and boisterous. For many years Glentlin was independent from the 12 districts of Thaery whose people were called Thariots. But the Glints were conquered after three centuries of piracy and conflict so that Glentlin is now one of the 13 districts of Thaery.
The original inhabitants of the planet are called Saidanese (homo moras) and cannot interbreed with homo gaeas, the people from the planet of Diosophede who came to Maske many years ago to settle in Thaery. The Saidanese were pushed out of Thaery and now live mostly in the region called Djanad so are also known as Djans. Djans are famous for their exotic hand made rugs and are widely employed as laborers by the Thariots. The Thariots also employ specially trained warrior Djans known as “perrupters.” But Djans, for reasons that are explained, only seem to get along with one another when in groups of four.
Jubal is the second son in an aristocratic Glint family. When his father dies his older brother assumes responsibility for the Droad home and family affairs. Jubal is free to do as he pleases and decides to go on a Yallow, a rite of passage to adulthood whereby a young Thariot (of either sex) contemplates life while wandering through the thirteen counties of Thaery to work on the land by planting trees, repairing trails, clearing thickets, and performing other public service tasks.
Jubal is working in the countryside repairing a trail in the hills when a man leading a group of riders begins to enter the trail that is being repaired. Jubal yells out a warning to him that the trail is too unstable, but the man intentionally ignores him and continues on. The trail collapses with some of the debris falling on Jubal. None of the men on horseback are injured but Jubal is seriously hurt. After Jubal recovers from his injuries he wants revenge on this man who ignored his warnings and caused the accident. He eventually learns that the man is Ramus Ymph, an arrogant nobleman from a powerful family.
After Jubal finishes performing his “Yallow” duties his uncle provides him with a letter of introduction to an important man in the city of Wysrod. This man, Nai the Hever, offers Jubal a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Department of Sanitation with minimal pay. At first Jubal is taken aback by being offered such a lowly job, but he learns that the Department of Sanitation is a cover for Nai the Hever's spy network. Jubal soon encounters opportunities (and pay) far beyond the scope of an ordinary Sanitary Inspector. His first assignment is to investigate his enemy, Ramus Ymph, the man who nearly killed him when the trail in the hills collapsed.
Thariots are forbidden to travel to other planets, but Jubal provides evidence to Nai the Hever that Ramus Ymph has secretly been going off planet. In one of his first assignments Jubal is assigned to visit another planet to track down Ramus Ymph to determine why he is going off planet. He makes a trip a half a million miles away to the city of Kyash on the planet of Eiselbar where tourists are highly valued and music is an obsession. Every person living there or visiting is expected to play out loud "personal music" also called "chote" when in public through a "musical adjunct" that is worn on the shoulders. One cannot become too lackadaisical while walking and listening to the music, however, because "mobile slime" are almost everywhere on the planet and a false step off a protected path can bring painful stings or even death. After careful investigation Jubal learns that Ramus Ymph is involved with marketing rare Dijan rugs from Maske in order to finance the purchase of a space ship.
Jubal is called away during a family crisis in Glentlin. After returning home and dealing with the problem he begins to suspect that Ramus Ymph was also involved with his family affairs. When Ymph leaves Thaery by sailboat, Jubal teams up with a Sea Nationalist friend and follows. After arriving at the destination we learn about the mysterious tree worshipers called Waels from Wellas who came to the planet with the other Thariots but went their own way culturally and religiously. Jubal is also able to learn the secret of why Ymph has been traveling off world and getting involved with so many plots and intrigues. The ending is very creative.
In the novel there is some fascinating world building and imaginative descriptions of different people, regions and planets. In addition to learning about the history and people of Thaery, the music obsessed people on Eiselbar, and the Waels with their tree worshipping and their magical "Minie" who seems to disappear at will, we also learn about the Sea Nationalists who rule the seas, fortress-fish that try to harpoon sailing ships, and a secret Pan-Djan Binadary that appears to be dedicated to the expulsion of all Thariots from Maske. Jubal is developed as a main character and others are presented in about as much detail as one can expect in such a short novel. There are also a number of humorous and satirical scenes. The plot is minimal but, as usual for Vance, the novel is very well written. Maske: Thaery is more of a fantasy, adventure, and investigative novel than science fiction, though.
Maske: Thaery is also a novel that is dense with details, and I frequently referred back to the three page introduction or other sections of the book as I read it. Because of this, it is probably better suited to Vance fans than to general readers. Although Maske-Thaery is not one of Vance's really great novels, it is a very fascinating. I have read this novel twice so far and thoroughly enjoyed reading it both times and continue to rate it a 4 “Really liked it.”
December 10, 2024
Jubal Droad is at a crossroads in his teenage life. Being the youngest son, he does not stand to inherit the family business, and does not wish what he considers a subaltern's role within it. So he must make his own fortune one way or another on the idyllic world of Maske. Still considering whys and wherefores, a chance encounter on a hillside sends him in a direction he would never have dreamt of, one involving a complex clandestine off-planet operation, subterfuge, assault, pitched battles, and an aloof, enigmatic young woman and her equally aloof -though less enigmatic- father.
This is epitome Vance: heroes and villains, heroines and villainesses, are each dour and pragmatic, proud and restrained (pride, in fact, is probably the driving force of the novel, with almost every character suffering from -and for- it). The setting is often eerily beautiful, the societies quirky where they aren't downright crazy. Outcomes to situations are often off-handedly brutal. The dialogue is a joy.
An absolute delight from start to finish (though possibly not one to recommend for the neophyte Vance reader). And, yes, I am biased.
This is epitome Vance: heroes and villains, heroines and villainesses, are each dour and pragmatic, proud and restrained (pride, in fact, is probably the driving force of the novel, with almost every character suffering from -and for- it). The setting is often eerily beautiful, the societies quirky where they aren't downright crazy. Outcomes to situations are often off-handedly brutal. The dialogue is a joy.
An absolute delight from start to finish (though possibly not one to recommend for the neophyte Vance reader). And, yes, I am biased.
November 20, 2022
Another masterpiece of prose by one of my favourite authors. This tale of an ambitious but initially impecunious young man determined to forge his rightfully exalted place in on isolated partially feudally run world. His devious nature is helpful in this regard as he attempts to outwit his enemies and secure his future despite being considered a heretical nonentity by those in power. Vance’s dry and twisted humour pervades the novel as the various eclectic characters and bizarre settings impinge upon the readers attention. Few authors manage to create such convincing worlds in which both high technology and mystical elements are effortlessly infused into a space sailors yarn*. *Yarn: A type of seafarers beverage believed to have a mildly debilitating effect on the veracity of pilots of boats and spacecraft or reviewers when returning to port.
July 19, 2019
Pretty solid Jack Vance novel. The title indicates this was meant to be part of a series of weird-culture worlds, like the Alastor novels. Wonder what the potential follow-ups might have been.
The action sprawls over a wide area considering the short length of the novel, yet the conspiracy at the core is small in scale and rather amusing once revealed.
Substantial portions of the action happen off-screen, increasing the pace quite a bit. The main character is, as in the case of many Vance novels, a young yokel out to make his mark on the world. The character in this case is a bit atypical, though, being more arrogant and direct than the usual omnicapable sort.
The action sprawls over a wide area considering the short length of the novel, yet the conspiracy at the core is small in scale and rather amusing once revealed.
Substantial portions of the action happen off-screen, increasing the pace quite a bit. The main character is, as in the case of many Vance novels, a young yokel out to make his mark on the world. The character in this case is a bit atypical, though, being more arrogant and direct than the usual omnicapable sort.
May 20, 2024
Mi ci è voluto un eminente sforzo di volontà per non gettare questo libro nel cassonetto della raccolta differenziata e continuare a leggerlo. Trama evanescente e confusa, personaggi molto poco incisivi, plot ridicolo e altezzoso. Il susseguirsi della vicenda raccontata ha un andamento penoso e non c'è assolutamente niente, in questa storia, che spinga un volenteroso lettore ad andare avanti. Avevo già letto un altro libro di Vance (appartenente ad un altro ciclo) ma questo per me è stato duro. Della sterminata produzione di Vance ormai mi interessa poco.
November 1, 2024
Vance punta tutto sulla minuziosa costruzione di mondi alieni, con un'abbondanza di particolari e di definizioni che sembra talvolta quasi prendere in giro ironicamente il lettore. Al netto di questa maniacale iniziativa enciclopedica, la vicenda ha la tipica struttura della storia di redenzione, alla quale però manca l'intensità necessaria per farsi leggere con la necessaria leggerezza. Vorrei poter aumentare il numero di stelle ma, mio malgrado, la fatica di affezionarsi ai personaggi, anche quelli principali, è il segno di una scrittura indubbiamente ricca ma troppo fredda.
April 6, 2023
Although Maske has all the typical Vancian signs: convoluted amoral plots, exotic locales and food, weird social customs and an unhealthy fascination with hats and other pieces of clothing, for some reason I did not enjoy it as much as usual.
I think the problem is that I did not like any of the characters of the novel. So the events, the elaborate revenge and the fake indignation just seemed pointless.
The details save the story and kept me going till the end.
I think the problem is that I did not like any of the characters of the novel. So the events, the elaborate revenge and the fake indignation just seemed pointless.
The details save the story and kept me going till the end.
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