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Lyonesse #1
Suldrun's Garden
The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of ten contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
242 people are currently reading
10722 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
776 books1,583 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 460 reviews
July 25, 2022
"I've been King a week."
I don't know how this book ended up in my TBR, or what tempted me to pick it up out of nowhere, but this turned out to be one of the best fantasy stories I've read lately.
"Speak on; say what you will! I can think three thoughts at once."
It is through Suldrun of Lyonesse that we first delve into the story, the daughter of King Casmir, ruler of one of the ten 'sub-kingdoms' in Elder Isles. This beginning must have been one of the most complex starts to a fantasy series I've ever seen: I've lost count as to how many characters Vance had introduced in the first quarter alone, and the plot seemed to be all over the place. It took a considerable effort in getting used to the different regions and the key players, while staying sane with a myriad of sub-plots each complex on their own. It would be an understatement to say that this was an overwhelming start. I could easily picture many a reader abandoning the book after a couple of chapters. However, believe me when I tell you, that would be a huge mistake. What comes after is going to make up for everything! Around a third in to the book, the pieces will start to fall in to place, creating one of the most immersive reading experiences one could have!
"The fairy sense of humor never amuses its victim."
For me, the style of writing took a bit getting used to. It's not the modern, easy to read fantasy I've been lately (and frequently) acquainted with, but more of a Tolkien like prose, with a highly descriptive narrative. I've lost count the number of times I had to refer the dictionary, even across a single chapter. But it was strangely fulfilling, and now that I'm done, I wouldn't've preferred any other way. Vance definitely has a masterful way of handling the words. And the humor: again the author is a master and the book is full of little things to keep you smiling. Still, it never interrupts the ever building suspense, nor the fast pace of the story, but complements perfectly when required. It is that expert blend of suspense, adventure, humor, character development, and world building that we love to see in a single book.
"At sea as on the battlefield, respect does not come automatically. It must be earned. You will be judged by your competence rather than your birth."
You are going to encounter some incredible world building in Lyonesse. Although this being more of a low-fantasy story, the reader is going to forget that for the most part: the fictional kingdom of Elder Isles is developed in such an intriguing way, making it feel much closer to high-fantasy rather than anything else. I loved the geographical arrangement of the sub-kingdoms and how the author intelligently used it to steer the overall direction of the story, while also allowing politics to play a major role. There is no end to scheming by each leader in their plans to conquer neighboring kingdoms and you're going to love how thing are going to play out here. Another area Vance seems to have a knack for is describing meals: the description of each meal, irrespective of the size or worth or location felt quite appetizing, and got to be one of my favorite elements of the book.
"Brevity is the essence of wisdom."
"Extraordinary that those who command the perquisites of place are those most ready to ignore them!"
As for the character department, as I've mentioned before, the main complaint from majority of the readers could be the sheer amount of cast. It's easy to forget who's who, especially at the start, and it takes considerable effort even to keep track of the kings. But, in time, you get used to it. So, don't give up on the account of this difficulty. Characters themselves are quite complex, with distinct and intriguing personalities (and a few with multiple personalities), and it is hard not to fall in love with them. The apparent lack of a single protagonist was interesting to see as well, with it being more like a role that gets handed over around the mid point of the books to a second character. Anyway, I'm sure that most readers are going to love both of them.
"Good music always defeats bad luck, and never forget it!"
The ending was really really really good! Considering how some of the key characters got killed out of nowhere, I was a little apprehensive as the ending approached: There were too many ways Vance could've delivered a huge blow towards the end by killing off a few. Luckily, he gave a super satisfying ending with this first book, and hoping to see the same from next ones as well. Highly recommended to all fantasy lovers. But remember: Pace yourself during the first third of the book! (oh, and feel free to skip the prolog... it's mind numbingly tedious. If you must, read it after you're done with the book)
"Now, miss, my hat, and then you shall have your kiss."
I don't know how this book ended up in my TBR, or what tempted me to pick it up out of nowhere, but this turned out to be one of the best fantasy stories I've read lately.
"Speak on; say what you will! I can think three thoughts at once."
It is through Suldrun of Lyonesse that we first delve into the story, the daughter of King Casmir, ruler of one of the ten 'sub-kingdoms' in Elder Isles. This beginning must have been one of the most complex starts to a fantasy series I've ever seen: I've lost count as to how many characters Vance had introduced in the first quarter alone, and the plot seemed to be all over the place. It took a considerable effort in getting used to the different regions and the key players, while staying sane with a myriad of sub-plots each complex on their own. It would be an understatement to say that this was an overwhelming start. I could easily picture many a reader abandoning the book after a couple of chapters. However, believe me when I tell you, that would be a huge mistake. What comes after is going to make up for everything! Around a third in to the book, the pieces will start to fall in to place, creating one of the most immersive reading experiences one could have!
"The fairy sense of humor never amuses its victim."
For me, the style of writing took a bit getting used to. It's not the modern, easy to read fantasy I've been lately (and frequently) acquainted with, but more of a Tolkien like prose, with a highly descriptive narrative. I've lost count the number of times I had to refer the dictionary, even across a single chapter. But it was strangely fulfilling, and now that I'm done, I wouldn't've preferred any other way. Vance definitely has a masterful way of handling the words. And the humor: again the author is a master and the book is full of little things to keep you smiling. Still, it never interrupts the ever building suspense, nor the fast pace of the story, but complements perfectly when required. It is that expert blend of suspense, adventure, humor, character development, and world building that we love to see in a single book.
"At sea as on the battlefield, respect does not come automatically. It must be earned. You will be judged by your competence rather than your birth."
You are going to encounter some incredible world building in Lyonesse. Although this being more of a low-fantasy story, the reader is going to forget that for the most part: the fictional kingdom of Elder Isles is developed in such an intriguing way, making it feel much closer to high-fantasy rather than anything else. I loved the geographical arrangement of the sub-kingdoms and how the author intelligently used it to steer the overall direction of the story, while also allowing politics to play a major role. There is no end to scheming by each leader in their plans to conquer neighboring kingdoms and you're going to love how thing are going to play out here. Another area Vance seems to have a knack for is describing meals: the description of each meal, irrespective of the size or worth or location felt quite appetizing, and got to be one of my favorite elements of the book.
"Brevity is the essence of wisdom."
"Extraordinary that those who command the perquisites of place are those most ready to ignore them!"
As for the character department, as I've mentioned before, the main complaint from majority of the readers could be the sheer amount of cast. It's easy to forget who's who, especially at the start, and it takes considerable effort even to keep track of the kings. But, in time, you get used to it. So, don't give up on the account of this difficulty. Characters themselves are quite complex, with distinct and intriguing personalities (and a few with multiple personalities), and it is hard not to fall in love with them. The apparent lack of a single protagonist was interesting to see as well, with it being more like a role that gets handed over around the mid point of the books to a second character. Anyway, I'm sure that most readers are going to love both of them.
"Good music always defeats bad luck, and never forget it!"
The ending was really really really good! Considering how some of the key characters got killed out of nowhere, I was a little apprehensive as the ending approached: There were too many ways Vance could've delivered a huge blow towards the end by killing off a few. Luckily, he gave a super satisfying ending with this first book, and hoping to see the same from next ones as well. Highly recommended to all fantasy lovers. But remember: Pace yourself during the first third of the book! (oh, and feel free to skip the prolog... it's mind numbingly tedious. If you must, read it after you're done with the book)
"Now, miss, my hat, and then you shall have your kiss."
May 26, 2019
Mixed feelings.
I wanted to LOVE this book, wanted it to prove how Jack Vance is the vanguard of best writers you’ve not read, this was going to be the diamond in the rough, the treasure chest uncovered and raised from the depths of out-of-printness.
And there were parts, PARTS, I did love.
I loved the idea behind the book. Take a thirty-year mortgage of artistic license and slap a scotch tape amendment on the globe and you’ve got an idea about the cajones that Vance displayed. I mean, he just ADDED a continent. Take a truckload of myths and legends, and SMACK, there we go, right THERE, between Ireland, Cornwall and Gaul. Like a Steve Martin thumbprint on the snow globe of history.
I loved the Celtic, Gaelic, Druidic – Atlantean – themes riding bareback across the pages. Vance dredged up our collective mythic pre-history and made it fit somewhere in the early dark ages. Rome? Still there. Germanic migrations? Yep. Avalon and Ys? There – right here – right over here in the Elder Isles. The what? “Forget it, he’s rolling.”
And just like John “Brother Bluto” Blutarsky Jack Vance was rolling, but in his own, weird atavistic and eclectic style.
Along with faerie stories straight out of Celtic Twilight, there are creepy and dark tales from Brothers Grimm and the Black Forest, and also some gratuitous and graphic medieval violence.
There are the Ska, a dramatically interesting and cruelly charismatic race of people who have a fascinating ten thousand year cultural history – that we don’t read enough about.
There are characters to whom we are introduced and in whom we are invested that … kind of just go away.
There are great disjointed inconsistencies that … intrigue and make me want to read the next book.
It’s like the really pretty girl in high school who is inexplicably not asked out to prom. It’s like the New York Yankees who outspent every other team, have the best hitters and the most devastatingly unhittable pitchers … who miss the playoffs. It’s a good book that might have been, should have been great – but was just good.
I wanted to LOVE this book, wanted it to prove how Jack Vance is the vanguard of best writers you’ve not read, this was going to be the diamond in the rough, the treasure chest uncovered and raised from the depths of out-of-printness.
And there were parts, PARTS, I did love.
I loved the idea behind the book. Take a thirty-year mortgage of artistic license and slap a scotch tape amendment on the globe and you’ve got an idea about the cajones that Vance displayed. I mean, he just ADDED a continent. Take a truckload of myths and legends, and SMACK, there we go, right THERE, between Ireland, Cornwall and Gaul. Like a Steve Martin thumbprint on the snow globe of history.
I loved the Celtic, Gaelic, Druidic – Atlantean – themes riding bareback across the pages. Vance dredged up our collective mythic pre-history and made it fit somewhere in the early dark ages. Rome? Still there. Germanic migrations? Yep. Avalon and Ys? There – right here – right over here in the Elder Isles. The what? “Forget it, he’s rolling.”
And just like John “Brother Bluto” Blutarsky Jack Vance was rolling, but in his own, weird atavistic and eclectic style.
Along with faerie stories straight out of Celtic Twilight, there are creepy and dark tales from Brothers Grimm and the Black Forest, and also some gratuitous and graphic medieval violence.
There are the Ska, a dramatically interesting and cruelly charismatic race of people who have a fascinating ten thousand year cultural history – that we don’t read enough about.
There are characters to whom we are introduced and in whom we are invested that … kind of just go away.
There are great disjointed inconsistencies that … intrigue and make me want to read the next book.
It’s like the really pretty girl in high school who is inexplicably not asked out to prom. It’s like the New York Yankees who outspent every other team, have the best hitters and the most devastatingly unhittable pitchers … who miss the playoffs. It’s a good book that might have been, should have been great – but was just good.
April 16, 2009
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
As I'm writing this, Jack Vance's under-appreciated Lyonesse trilogy has been off the shelves for years. My library doesn't even have a copy — it had to be interlibrary loaned for me. Why is that? Publishers have been printing a seemingly endless stream of vampire and werewolf novels these days — same plot, same characters, blah blah blah. If not that, it's grit. We all want grit. Or maybe it's that more women are reading fantasy these days and publishers think we want to read about bad-ass heroines who kill vampires. But, the publishers and authors are just giving us what we demand, I suppose. We all got sick of the sweeping medieval-style multi-volume epics that take forever to write, publish, and read. So now we get vampires and sassy chicks with tattoos and bare midriffs. When we've become glutted with those (it can't be long now), what's next?
I've got a suggestion: Publishers, why don't you reprint some of the best classic fantasy? Let's start with Jack Vance's Lyonesse. Here we have a beautiful and complex story full of fascinating characters (even those we only see for a couple of pages are engaging), unpredictable and shocking plot twists, and rambling and entertainingly disjointed adventure. No clichés. No vampires.
As a psychologist, I especially appreciated the many insights into human cognition and perceptual processing that I found in Suldrun's Garden. But what's best is Jack Vance's unique style. He's quirky, funny, and droll. He uses language not just to tell us an interesting story, but he actually entertains us with the way he uses language to tell the story. Similar to Ursula Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, or Catherynne Valente, but in a different, completely unique style. I love authors who respect the English language and compose their prose with care and precision. Many of Jack Vance's sentences are purposely funny in their construction and I find myself laughing and delighted not at what was said, but at how it was said. Here's his description of Shimrod's excursion to another world:
And here is part of King Casmir's lecture to his daughter Suldrun when she announced that she's not ready to get married:
If you can find a used copy of Suldrun's Garden, the first of the Lyonesse trilogy, snatch it up. There are some available on Amazon and there's a kindle version, too. (Beware the Fantasy Masterworks version, which is known to have printing errors). Jack Vance is original; You won't get his books confused with anyone else's. This is beautiful work for those who love excellent fantasy literature!
Read this review in context at Fantasy Literature.
As I'm writing this, Jack Vance's under-appreciated Lyonesse trilogy has been off the shelves for years. My library doesn't even have a copy — it had to be interlibrary loaned for me. Why is that? Publishers have been printing a seemingly endless stream of vampire and werewolf novels these days — same plot, same characters, blah blah blah. If not that, it's grit. We all want grit. Or maybe it's that more women are reading fantasy these days and publishers think we want to read about bad-ass heroines who kill vampires. But, the publishers and authors are just giving us what we demand, I suppose. We all got sick of the sweeping medieval-style multi-volume epics that take forever to write, publish, and read. So now we get vampires and sassy chicks with tattoos and bare midriffs. When we've become glutted with those (it can't be long now), what's next?
I've got a suggestion: Publishers, why don't you reprint some of the best classic fantasy? Let's start with Jack Vance's Lyonesse. Here we have a beautiful and complex story full of fascinating characters (even those we only see for a couple of pages are engaging), unpredictable and shocking plot twists, and rambling and entertainingly disjointed adventure. No clichés. No vampires.
As a psychologist, I especially appreciated the many insights into human cognition and perceptual processing that I found in Suldrun's Garden. But what's best is Jack Vance's unique style. He's quirky, funny, and droll. He uses language not just to tell us an interesting story, but he actually entertains us with the way he uses language to tell the story. Similar to Ursula Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, or Catherynne Valente, but in a different, completely unique style. I love authors who respect the English language and compose their prose with care and precision. Many of Jack Vance's sentences are purposely funny in their construction and I find myself laughing and delighted not at what was said, but at how it was said. Here's his description of Shimrod's excursion to another world:
He apprehended a landscape of vast extent dotted with isolated mountains of gray-yellow custard, each terminating in a ludicrous semi-human face. All faces turned toward himself, displaying outrage and censure. Some showed cataclysmic scowls and grimaces, others produced thunderous belches of disdain. The most intemperate extruded a pair of liver-colored tongues, dripping magma which tinkled in falling, like small bells; one or two spat jets of hissing green sound, which Shimrod avoided, so that they struck other mountains, to cause new disturbance.
And here is part of King Casmir's lecture to his daughter Suldrun when she announced that she's not ready to get married:
That is sentiment properly to be expected in a maiden chaste and innocent. I am not displeased. Still, such qualms must bend before affairs of state ... Your conduct toward Duke Carfilhiot must be amiable and gracious, yet neither fulsome not exaggerated. Do not press your company upon him; a man like Carfilhiot is stimulated by reserve and reluctance. Still, be neither coy not cold ... Modesty is all very well in moderation, even appealing. Still, when exercised to excess it becomes tiresome.
If you can find a used copy of Suldrun's Garden, the first of the Lyonesse trilogy, snatch it up. There are some available on Amazon and there's a kindle version, too. (Beware the Fantasy Masterworks version, which is known to have printing errors). Jack Vance is original; You won't get his books confused with anyone else's. This is beautiful work for those who love excellent fantasy literature!
Read this review in context at Fantasy Literature.
February 8, 2017
Wow. What a wonderful surprise!
For an early eighties fantasy, it reads rather fantastically easy, with a near perfect blend of adventure, spry heroes and heroines, and an almost mythical command of myth, history, and magic in a hugely creative blend. We're not even bogged down in any such weird concepts like "historical accuracy", either.
And actually, I loved the whole idea of slap-dashing a whole continent next to Gaul and throwing in Merlin (Murgen), Mithra, evil christians, the fae, chivalry, high Celts, and so much more.
None of it overwhelmed the taste of adventure, where three kingdoms vied, played, made alliances, and started wars during a span of 30 years, and the characterizations were pure fantasy boilerplate, but lest you get turned off by that idea, just know that they all go through tons of changes... heck, they went through nearly as many as what happen to the plot, itself.
Is that a problem? Hell no. Not for me. I was actually rather amazed at the sheer scope of where we started, from a princess's childhood (Suldrun), her setup as a fairytale, then the betrayal of her wonderful prince (Aillas), their love, and their tragedy merely sets the stage, even if it takes up a sizable portion of the book. The rest of the tale happens to be one of the best written and most imaginative, quickly paced, and thoroughly satisfying traditional fantasy novels I've ever read, staying firmly on the road of adventure, adventure, adventure.
Aillas's tragedy is only the starting point, after all, and making a ladder out of bones is just the beginning, especially after he learns that his lost Suldrun had a child.
Tons of trigger points for me, and I've never gotten tired of such tales. I just can't believe how awesome the adventure was, or just how much was accomplished all the way to a mostly happy ending.
And now that I've finished the first book in the trilogy and loved it, I have absolutely no reason not to enthusiastically dive into The Green Pearl. :)
For an early eighties fantasy, it reads rather fantastically easy, with a near perfect blend of adventure, spry heroes and heroines, and an almost mythical command of myth, history, and magic in a hugely creative blend. We're not even bogged down in any such weird concepts like "historical accuracy", either.
And actually, I loved the whole idea of slap-dashing a whole continent next to Gaul and throwing in Merlin (Murgen), Mithra, evil christians, the fae, chivalry, high Celts, and so much more.
None of it overwhelmed the taste of adventure, where three kingdoms vied, played, made alliances, and started wars during a span of 30 years, and the characterizations were pure fantasy boilerplate, but lest you get turned off by that idea, just know that they all go through tons of changes... heck, they went through nearly as many as what happen to the plot, itself.
Is that a problem? Hell no. Not for me. I was actually rather amazed at the sheer scope of where we started, from a princess's childhood (Suldrun), her setup as a fairytale, then the betrayal of her wonderful prince (Aillas), their love, and their tragedy merely sets the stage, even if it takes up a sizable portion of the book. The rest of the tale happens to be one of the best written and most imaginative, quickly paced, and thoroughly satisfying traditional fantasy novels I've ever read, staying firmly on the road of adventure, adventure, adventure.
Aillas's tragedy is only the starting point, after all, and making a ladder out of bones is just the beginning, especially after he learns that his lost Suldrun had a child.
Tons of trigger points for me, and I've never gotten tired of such tales. I just can't believe how awesome the adventure was, or just how much was accomplished all the way to a mostly happy ending.
And now that I've finished the first book in the trilogy and loved it, I have absolutely no reason not to enthusiastically dive into The Green Pearl. :)
September 13, 2025
Jack Vance, creatore di fiabe oscure.
Tutte le numerosissime opere di Vance, siano esse prettamente fantasy o ambientate su pianeti lontani, hanno la capacità di farmi viaggiare in mondi complessi, tra fiaba, avventura e tragedia. Non mancano poi di una certa dose di stranezza che personalmente adoro. Apprezzo di Vance l'estro creativo e tengo ben presente il periodo di pubblicazione, in questo caso il 1983.
Non aspettatevi dunque personaggi con una accurata introspezione o una scrittura "moderna", lasciatevi invece cullare dal suo personalissimo stile e dalle vicende assurde che accadono ai protagonisti delle sue storie. Perchè è la storia la vera protagonista del romanzo.
Di Vance ho già letto i quattro romanzi del ciclo della Terra Morente e i quattro romanzi del ciclo di Tschai, un misto tra avventura e follia, e questo "I Giardini di Suldrun" presenta le stesse caratteristiche.
Continuo quindi a cercare ossessivamente i suoi romanzi perché ne rimango ogni volta incantato.
Le storie narrate nel primo romanzo del ciclo di Lyonesse sono paragonabili a quelle dei mondi di Alice nel paese delle meraviglie e al mago di Oz, tra leggende celtiche e le fiabe dei fratelli Grimm, con streghe, esseri fatati e orchi mangia bambini.
Non aspettatevi però le favole della buonanotte o un semplice romanzo per bambini, tutt'altro, questo è un mondo pericoloso e la morte è in attesa.
La magia è presente e favolosa, assolutamente incomprensibile e incredibilmente affascinante. Ho una predilezione per l'utilizzo della magia senza spiegazioni, altrimenti che magia sarebbe? Sanderson può tenersi per se le sue tre leggi noiosissime e mettersele in tasca.
I suoi personaggi subiscono le più infami disavventure e cercano con tutte le loro forze di sconfiggere il fato avverso e sopravvivere un altro giorno.
Non è presente un senso morale ed è difficile definire i buoni dai malvagi. Anche i protagonisti commettono tranquillamente atrocità se guidati da giusta causa. Nessuna pietà nelle storie di Vance.
Non so, molti potrebbero non apprezzare appieno il suo stile perchè forse mancante di quella modernità che di certo non gli appartiene. I personaggi sono un po ingessati e i dialoghi tendono ad essere sopra le righe. Io però continuo a rimanere incantato probabilmente per quel gusto fantasy weird e la capacità di creare mondi che solo i grandi sognatori possiedono.
---------------------------------
Jack Vance, creator of dark fairy tales.
All of Vance's numerous works, whether purely fantasy or set on distant planets, have the ability to make me travel into complex worlds, between fairy tales, adventure and tragedy. They also have a certain amount of strangeness that I personally adore. I appreciate Vance's creative flair and keep in mind the period of publication, in this case 1983.
So don't expect characters with accurate introspection or "modern" writing, instead let yourself be lulled by his very personal style and the absurd events that happen to the protagonists of his stories. Because history is the true protagonist of the novel.
I have already read Vance's four novels of the Dying Earth cycle and the four novels of the Tschai cycle, a mixture of adventure and madness, and this "The Gardens of Suldrun" presents the same characteristics.
So I continue to obsessively look for his novels because I am enchanted by them every time.
The stories told in the first novel of the Lyonesse cycle are comparable to those of the worlds of Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz, between Celtic legends and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, with witches, fairy beings and child-eating ogres.
However, don't expect bedtime stories or a simple children's novel, far from it, this is a dangerous world and death awaits.
The magic is present and fabulous, absolutely incomprehensible and incredibly fascinating. I have a predilection for using magic without explanation, otherwise what magic would it be? Sanderson can keep his three boring laws to himself and put them in his pocket.
His characters suffer the most infamous misadventures and try with all their might to defeat adverse fate and survive another day.
There is no moral sense and it is difficult to define the good from the evil. Even the protagonists calmly commit atrocities if guided by just cause. No mercy in Vance's stories.
I don't know, many might not fully appreciate his style because perhaps it lacks that modernity which certainly doesn't belong to him. The characters are a bit stiff and the dialogues tend to be over the top. However, I continue to be enchanted probably by that weird fantasy taste and the ability to create worlds that only great dreamers possess.
Tutte le numerosissime opere di Vance, siano esse prettamente fantasy o ambientate su pianeti lontani, hanno la capacità di farmi viaggiare in mondi complessi, tra fiaba, avventura e tragedia. Non mancano poi di una certa dose di stranezza che personalmente adoro. Apprezzo di Vance l'estro creativo e tengo ben presente il periodo di pubblicazione, in questo caso il 1983.
Non aspettatevi dunque personaggi con una accurata introspezione o una scrittura "moderna", lasciatevi invece cullare dal suo personalissimo stile e dalle vicende assurde che accadono ai protagonisti delle sue storie. Perchè è la storia la vera protagonista del romanzo.
Di Vance ho già letto i quattro romanzi del ciclo della Terra Morente e i quattro romanzi del ciclo di Tschai, un misto tra avventura e follia, e questo "I Giardini di Suldrun" presenta le stesse caratteristiche.
Continuo quindi a cercare ossessivamente i suoi romanzi perché ne rimango ogni volta incantato.
Le storie narrate nel primo romanzo del ciclo di Lyonesse sono paragonabili a quelle dei mondi di Alice nel paese delle meraviglie e al mago di Oz, tra leggende celtiche e le fiabe dei fratelli Grimm, con streghe, esseri fatati e orchi mangia bambini.
Non aspettatevi però le favole della buonanotte o un semplice romanzo per bambini, tutt'altro, questo è un mondo pericoloso e la morte è in attesa.
La magia è presente e favolosa, assolutamente incomprensibile e incredibilmente affascinante. Ho una predilezione per l'utilizzo della magia senza spiegazioni, altrimenti che magia sarebbe? Sanderson può tenersi per se le sue tre leggi noiosissime e mettersele in tasca.
I suoi personaggi subiscono le più infami disavventure e cercano con tutte le loro forze di sconfiggere il fato avverso e sopravvivere un altro giorno.
Non è presente un senso morale ed è difficile definire i buoni dai malvagi. Anche i protagonisti commettono tranquillamente atrocità se guidati da giusta causa. Nessuna pietà nelle storie di Vance.
Non so, molti potrebbero non apprezzare appieno il suo stile perchè forse mancante di quella modernità che di certo non gli appartiene. I personaggi sono un po ingessati e i dialoghi tendono ad essere sopra le righe. Io però continuo a rimanere incantato probabilmente per quel gusto fantasy weird e la capacità di creare mondi che solo i grandi sognatori possiedono.
---------------------------------
Jack Vance, creator of dark fairy tales.
All of Vance's numerous works, whether purely fantasy or set on distant planets, have the ability to make me travel into complex worlds, between fairy tales, adventure and tragedy. They also have a certain amount of strangeness that I personally adore. I appreciate Vance's creative flair and keep in mind the period of publication, in this case 1983.
So don't expect characters with accurate introspection or "modern" writing, instead let yourself be lulled by his very personal style and the absurd events that happen to the protagonists of his stories. Because history is the true protagonist of the novel.
I have already read Vance's four novels of the Dying Earth cycle and the four novels of the Tschai cycle, a mixture of adventure and madness, and this "The Gardens of Suldrun" presents the same characteristics.
So I continue to obsessively look for his novels because I am enchanted by them every time.
The stories told in the first novel of the Lyonesse cycle are comparable to those of the worlds of Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz, between Celtic legends and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, with witches, fairy beings and child-eating ogres.
However, don't expect bedtime stories or a simple children's novel, far from it, this is a dangerous world and death awaits.
The magic is present and fabulous, absolutely incomprehensible and incredibly fascinating. I have a predilection for using magic without explanation, otherwise what magic would it be? Sanderson can keep his three boring laws to himself and put them in his pocket.
His characters suffer the most infamous misadventures and try with all their might to defeat adverse fate and survive another day.
There is no moral sense and it is difficult to define the good from the evil. Even the protagonists calmly commit atrocities if guided by just cause. No mercy in Vance's stories.
I don't know, many might not fully appreciate his style because perhaps it lacks that modernity which certainly doesn't belong to him. The characters are a bit stiff and the dialogues tend to be over the top. However, I continue to be enchanted probably by that weird fantasy taste and the ability to create worlds that only great dreamers possess.
March 20, 2015
Centuries in the past, at that middle-distant time when legend and history start to blur, Blausreddin the pirate built a fortress at the back of a stony semi-circular harbor...
Blausreddin plays no further role in the present story, but his fortress eventually evolved into a city of fame and wonder : Lyonesse, the capital of the Elder Isles, an imaginary archipelago in the Atlantic, somewhere off the coasts of Britain and Bretagne. As for the period in which the adventure takes place, the meeting of legend and history is set a couple of generations before the advent of King Arthur and his Knights. Here in the Elder Isles there is to be found the original Round Table, a symbol of both leadership and power sharing that the kings of Lyonesse misplaced into the custody of a rival kingdom. It is worth noting here that the once united Isles are at the start of the epic divided into ten unruly and warring kingdoms: North Ulfland, South Ulfland, Dahaut, Caduz, Blaloc, Pomperol, Godelia, Troicinet, Dascinet and Lyonesse. The reader will get a chance to get familiar with all of them over the next three ample volumes.
The Arthurian Round Table and the quest of King Casmir of Lyonesse to recover it will form the main theme of the trilogy, but on this basic frame Jack Vance builds a meandering and many branched tale, often taking detours and sidetrips to explore the many natural wonders, the magical features and the curious habits of the people of the Elder Isles. This apparent lack of focus and leisure pacing has given reason to some reviewers more concerned about linear storytelling to give a lower rating, but in my case it has provided an immersive experience and a continuous sense of wonder at the imaginative powers of the author, already evident in his other major series about The Dying Earth.
Other similarities to that collection of stories include the numerous amoral protagonists, the wicked sense of humour, the elaborate and formal use of language, the gateways to parallel worlds and a pervasive melancholy, a sense of a doomed world that shines more brightly in its last flowering before a cataclysm or simple forgetfulness will erase it from our history books. The placing of the imaginary Elder Isles in the Atlantic is also drawing parallels to the ancient fate of Atlantis, the sunken kingdom, and hints at a similar impending doom are scattered throughout the epic, mostly from ‘gnomic utterances’ of the most powerful magician around, named Murgen.
To the north the Sfer Arct passed between the crags Maegher and Yax: petrified giants who had helped King Zoltra Bright Star dredge Lyonesse Harbor; becoming obstreperous, they had been transformed into stone by Amber the sorcerer: so the story went.
The short quote above illustrates how each turn in the road, each meadow in the forest and each mountain crag in the Elder Isles has a history, a hidden danger, a trace of magic infusing and defining its nature. It could be argued that the novels belong in the sword & sorcery niche of fantasy with their accent on individual feats of valor, scoundrels as anti-heroes, flashes of black humour and numerous instances of supernatural manifestations, but Jack Vance is diverging from the usual light fare of the genre by the awesome scope of his worldbuilding and his particular lyrical prose that is closer to Tolkien’s High English than to R E Howard, Michael Moorcock or Fritz Leiber.
The actual plot is so convoluted that I am having a bit of trouble knowing where to start, or how much to tell without spoiling the fun of discovery. Nominally, the first volume is about Suldrun, the beautiful, whimsical and sad daughter of the ambitious King Casmir of Lyonesse. A free spirit, she feels imprisoned in the sombre castle Haidion, roaming the cold stone halls in search of adventure. Her mother wants her to show proper deportment and her father desires to give her in marriage in exchange of political advantages, but Suldrun is reluctant to leave one gilded cage for another. From the unequal conflict of wills with her father, she is banished to a secluded spot of the palace grounds, the only place where she can find peace and solitude: an abandoned inlet of the sea under the palace walls that she tranforms into her personal garden. In here she will eventually learn both about true love and despair. Her tragic fate is hinted at early in the novel, as she comes across Persillian, a talking mirror with powers of prophecy, who shows her the face of a future lover, then mocks her following inquiries:
From time to time I demonstrate the inconceivable, or mock the innocent, or give truth to liars, or shred the poses of virtue – all as perversity strikes me. Now I am silent; this is my mood.
Other characters are divided between wizards (Murgen, Shimrod, Tamurello, Desmei) and knights / knaves (Aillas, Carfilhiot). While Suldrun languishes in her hidden garden, Aillas, Shimrod and the others roam the countryside far and wide, facing dangers from mortal and supernatural enemies. The one aspect of the world that remains in my mind at the end of the book, is the lack of a clear moral dividing line, the fickleness of destiny and the way bad things happen to innocent and guilty parties indiscriminately. As one of the wizards, Tamurello, remarks:
What a strange and unfamiliar world if everyone were treated according to his desserts!
Lyonesse will enchant you with its wonders, but will also break your heart when one of your favorite characters draws the short stick of chance. Until I return with the second installment, I will dwell for a time at the Inn of the Laughing Sun and the Crying Moon , deep in the Forest of Tantrevalles, waiting for the Midsummer Night and the festival that usually takes place at a nearby crossroads. I hope to meet with some of my friends there:
You’ll see all kinds of halflings: fairies and goblins, trolls and merryhews, and even an old falloy, though they show themselves seldom, out of shyness, despite being the most beautiful of all. You’ll hear songs and music and much chinking of fairy-gold, which they squeeze from buttercups. Oh they’re a rare folk, the fairies!
November 21, 2022
Honestamente no me apetece hacer una reseña muy extensa, porque no he disfrutado nada con esta lectura. Así que dejo una pequeña reseña:
No me ha gustado ningún personaje en especial, ni el lio que me he hecho con los nombres (en casi toda la novela), ni como está narrada la historia, ni lo difícil que se me ha hecho imaginarme casi todo: las descripciones, los personajes, los lugares, los sucesos...
Tampoco me gusta como mezcla las historias, es como si no tuviesen nada que ver unas con otras, cuando en realidad sí.
La novela mejora, para mi gusto, un poco hacia el final, pero no lo suficiente.
La verdad es que no se si es el libro, o soy yo, pero no he conectado nada con la novela. Le pongo las 2 estrellas porque objetivamente hablando no creo que sea un mal libro. Quizás no era mi momento para disfrutarlo.
No me ha gustado ningún personaje en especial, ni el lio que me he hecho con los nombres (en casi toda la novela), ni como está narrada la historia, ni lo difícil que se me ha hecho imaginarme casi todo: las descripciones, los personajes, los lugares, los sucesos...
Tampoco me gusta como mezcla las historias, es como si no tuviesen nada que ver unas con otras, cuando en realidad sí.
La novela mejora, para mi gusto, un poco hacia el final, pero no lo suficiente.
La verdad es que no se si es el libro, o soy yo, pero no he conectado nada con la novela. Le pongo las 2 estrellas porque objetivamente hablando no creo que sea un mal libro. Quizás no era mi momento para disfrutarlo.
April 14, 2023
'Suldrun's Garden' by Jack Vance is written with an amazingly huge number of disguised and re-imagined classic fairy-tale tropes using many of the non-fiction historical soap operas of England's actual royal families as a platform for the fictional plots. It is also book one in the Lyonesse trilogy.
Lyonesse was one of ten minor kingdoms on a large (fictional) island and some nearby smaller ones called the Elder Isles, situated to the west of Old Gaul (The actual United Kingdom) in the Atlantic. The Elder Isles are today sunk under the sea, like the famous city of Atlantis. The small realms which each of the ten kings' held on their apportioned acreage on the divided island live on in legends only. Many of the ancient tales seem to begin with Lyonesse at the center of the stories, either because its ambitious kings started much havoc in their attempts to control all of the Elder Isles or because ruthless people began nefarious activities around Lyonesse by chance.
The book describes a series of events which are begun by the birth of neglected and unappreciated Suldrun, princess and daughter of the crowned heads of Lyonesse - King Casmir and Queen Sollace. Princess Suldrun becomes increasingly disobedient as she grows up, but she can never overcome her parents' authority in a large way. Only a son can be heir to the throne of Lyonesse. Suldrun remains of value only as a pawn her father uses to dangle possible political alliances in discussions for trade, military support and power. When she finally defies her expected role, it sets in motion a set of unexpected outcomes and journeys for many other characters, some of whom do not appear linked to Lyonesse or Suldrun at all.
Jack Vance has created a fictional world so complete I forgot it was entirely imaginary until the intrusion of magical creatures and magicians. Maps, glossaries, and a history of infamous kings similar to those of the real European Middle Ages who constantly plotted against their neighbors for generations of skirmishes and warfare added to the effect of verisimilitude. Daughters and sons of kings find themselves used as chess pieces in ultimately meaningless but painfully life-altering political games involving marriage to seal alliances between frenemy kingdoms. These weddings do not ever seem to go well in fact or fiction. Commoners who serve their royal leaders live or die from whimsical commands and perceived slights. Common folk suffer even if they live far away from the Royal castle on farms and in towns, attacked by brigands, murderers and thieves. Everybody, including Kings, are afraid of the magical beings and creatures living in woods and other places. Magicians and witches of various strengths are almost as feared as the ten hereditary kings.
I hesitate to say much more than this, gentle reader. The book reminded me of novels that were serialized in newspapers where the narrated journey of the different characters is more interesting than the ending. Different characters take over the point of view. Readers find the entertainment of the reading in the exquisite writing and world building, rather than on a focused endgame for the characters. This book is primarily an entertainment of literary prowess and poetic writing.
The author writes in a lovely, but dense, lyrical style. His characters live in an interesting, and eventually interlocking, world, but it is a novel of seemingly separate Grimm's-like fairy tales at first. I do not recommended it for those looking for happy endings or a taut organized progression of forward movement or a novel to read with your children. Females are raped and men are punished with the typical violence utilized by our early primitive Middle Ages. Magical beings are completely into pursuits undifferentiated from ordinary men. The author has included a trope for every European fairy tale element and character I know about and many of whom I have never read anything, until now.
I was enchanted by the author's poetic lyricism and inventive imagination, and charmed by the intricate world-building, but I felt sad by the tragedies most characters endure.
Lyonesse was one of ten minor kingdoms on a large (fictional) island and some nearby smaller ones called the Elder Isles, situated to the west of Old Gaul (The actual United Kingdom) in the Atlantic. The Elder Isles are today sunk under the sea, like the famous city of Atlantis. The small realms which each of the ten kings' held on their apportioned acreage on the divided island live on in legends only. Many of the ancient tales seem to begin with Lyonesse at the center of the stories, either because its ambitious kings started much havoc in their attempts to control all of the Elder Isles or because ruthless people began nefarious activities around Lyonesse by chance.
The book describes a series of events which are begun by the birth of neglected and unappreciated Suldrun, princess and daughter of the crowned heads of Lyonesse - King Casmir and Queen Sollace. Princess Suldrun becomes increasingly disobedient as she grows up, but she can never overcome her parents' authority in a large way. Only a son can be heir to the throne of Lyonesse. Suldrun remains of value only as a pawn her father uses to dangle possible political alliances in discussions for trade, military support and power. When she finally defies her expected role, it sets in motion a set of unexpected outcomes and journeys for many other characters, some of whom do not appear linked to Lyonesse or Suldrun at all.
Jack Vance has created a fictional world so complete I forgot it was entirely imaginary until the intrusion of magical creatures and magicians. Maps, glossaries, and a history of infamous kings similar to those of the real European Middle Ages who constantly plotted against their neighbors for generations of skirmishes and warfare added to the effect of verisimilitude. Daughters and sons of kings find themselves used as chess pieces in ultimately meaningless but painfully life-altering political games involving marriage to seal alliances between frenemy kingdoms. These weddings do not ever seem to go well in fact or fiction. Commoners who serve their royal leaders live or die from whimsical commands and perceived slights. Common folk suffer even if they live far away from the Royal castle on farms and in towns, attacked by brigands, murderers and thieves. Everybody, including Kings, are afraid of the magical beings and creatures living in woods and other places. Magicians and witches of various strengths are almost as feared as the ten hereditary kings.
I hesitate to say much more than this, gentle reader. The book reminded me of novels that were serialized in newspapers where the narrated journey of the different characters is more interesting than the ending. Different characters take over the point of view. Readers find the entertainment of the reading in the exquisite writing and world building, rather than on a focused endgame for the characters. This book is primarily an entertainment of literary prowess and poetic writing.
The author writes in a lovely, but dense, lyrical style. His characters live in an interesting, and eventually interlocking, world, but it is a novel of seemingly separate Grimm's-like fairy tales at first. I do not recommended it for those looking for happy endings or a taut organized progression of forward movement or a novel to read with your children. Females are raped and men are punished with the typical violence utilized by our early primitive Middle Ages. Magical beings are completely into pursuits undifferentiated from ordinary men. The author has included a trope for every European fairy tale element and character I know about and many of whom I have never read anything, until now.
I was enchanted by the author's poetic lyricism and inventive imagination, and charmed by the intricate world-building, but I felt sad by the tragedies most characters endure.
December 5, 2010
If Lyonesse were a food, it would be:
Bits of different kinds of things all thrown into one receptacle but where you can still taste each individual food item, all smothered with custardy gooey goodness. So, how about a Lyonesse recipe you ask?
1 loaf of fantasy geopolitical intrigue, heated till crisp and diced finely
A large punnet of wild fairy tales
A large cup of piquant tongue-in-cheek
Another large cup of creamy purple prose
Old myths for seasoning
- Marinate your wild fairy tales with the piquant tongue-in-cheek
- Place one layer of wild fairy tales in your receptacle
- Cover with a layer of dicey hot geopolitical intrigue
- Repeat the layers until the receptacle is full
- Smother the whole thing with the creamy prose and douse with the remaining tongue-in-cheek
- Sprinkle heavily with old myths or to taste
Yummmm… delish!
Bits of different kinds of things all thrown into one receptacle but where you can still taste each individual food item, all smothered with custardy gooey goodness. So, how about a Lyonesse recipe you ask?
1 loaf of fantasy geopolitical intrigue, heated till crisp and diced finely
A large punnet of wild fairy tales
A large cup of piquant tongue-in-cheek
Another large cup of creamy purple prose
Old myths for seasoning
- Marinate your wild fairy tales with the piquant tongue-in-cheek
- Place one layer of wild fairy tales in your receptacle
- Cover with a layer of dicey hot geopolitical intrigue
- Repeat the layers until the receptacle is full
- Smother the whole thing with the creamy prose and douse with the remaining tongue-in-cheek
- Sprinkle heavily with old myths or to taste
Yummmm… delish!
January 18, 2013
Jack Vance is the best writer you've never heard of.
You can get lost in his tales whilst still believing that you are looking into the lives of real people. They may be people 10,000 or 100,000 years in the future; or further back, in some Ur-Common myth. His characters are what make his stories.
Lyonesse is a distant memory. I sought these books many times in yesteryear. The world has caught up a bit. What I remember from the first time is: being impressed with the way Vance did fantasy. I was moved in a way I have never been with Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, Martin, or whomever. He made it seem lie history. So, this is no ordinary fairy tale, it's adult. There are shades of grey (and not in the BDSM sense, either**). There's politics, dirt (even in fae land), and a truly wonderful human-ness*.
This is a good read. If I count a series as one book this somewhere around 7 or 8 on my top 10.
Hey, if anyone wants to send me the original first run hardcovers for Christmas, (or just because it's Tuesday), I would gladly accept them and mail you kisses back. (They are mine, now.)
* (Shut-up spell check, that is not a misspelling, neither is humany or humanish.)
** updated for 2013.
You can get lost in his tales whilst still believing that you are looking into the lives of real people. They may be people 10,000 or 100,000 years in the future; or further back, in some Ur-Common myth. His characters are what make his stories.
Lyonesse is a distant memory. I sought these books many times in yesteryear. The world has caught up a bit. What I remember from the first time is: being impressed with the way Vance did fantasy. I was moved in a way I have never been with Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, Martin, or whomever. He made it seem lie history. So, this is no ordinary fairy tale, it's adult. There are shades of grey (and not in the BDSM sense, either**). There's politics, dirt (even in fae land), and a truly wonderful human-ness*.
This is a good read. If I count a series as one book this somewhere around 7 or 8 on my top 10.
* (Shut-up spell check, that is not a misspelling, neither is humany or humanish.)
** updated for 2013.
February 3, 2024
I don’t write reviews.
This series is, of course, a fast-paced, enthralling fantasy, but it is by no means a “light read.” Vance introduces the readers to many lands and their people, many studies of characters, not limited by time. You will not guess the ending; Lyonesse is completely unpredictable. And unforgettable.
However, the scope Vance attempted is his one downfall. Often he had to omit parts of tales, due to the sheer amount of pages which would be necessary to fully tell the story. This three book series could have easily been nine, had he taken the time to fully elucidate each plot line. I wouldn’t have complained.
This story is very different than Vance’s SF. There’s something tender and nostalgic under all the adventure and magic and scheming. I feel like Lyonesse is a love letter to the fantasy Vance read, which shaped him as a youth. I’d like it if that was true.
This series is, of course, a fast-paced, enthralling fantasy, but it is by no means a “light read.” Vance introduces the readers to many lands and their people, many studies of characters, not limited by time. You will not guess the ending; Lyonesse is completely unpredictable. And unforgettable.
However, the scope Vance attempted is his one downfall. Often he had to omit parts of tales, due to the sheer amount of pages which would be necessary to fully tell the story. This three book series could have easily been nine, had he taken the time to fully elucidate each plot line. I wouldn’t have complained.
This story is very different than Vance’s SF. There’s something tender and nostalgic under all the adventure and magic and scheming. I feel like Lyonesse is a love letter to the fantasy Vance read, which shaped him as a youth. I’d like it if that was true.
May 29, 2018
First things first: we desperately need to have a deluxe illustrated edition of the Lyonesse series with art by Charles Vess.
Ok, now that that is out of the way what is Lyonesse? It is one of the few works of ‘pure’ fantasy by the speculative fiction Grand Master Jack Vance (as opposed to his much more numerous science fiction and science-fantasy books) which manages, like perhaps all of Vance’s work, to be pretty sui generis. The story ostensibly takes place in the early middle ages of our world, though in a medieval period that definitely never existed on our earth except perhaps in dreams. Vance has no interest in keeping pace with the technology and history of the actual middle ages and instead weaves a fantastic world where the ‘history’ of the dark ages rubs shoulders with the technology and culture of the high middle ages, and where even aspects of the renaissance peek through from time to time. To this mix Vance adds a dab of high fantasy with a soupçon of Arthuriana for flavour. It is, in short, a delightful anachronism in which Vance is free to take whatever most suits his purposes from a large range of human history as he creates a variety of strange and wonderful cultures, both human and supernatural (with the human cultures, as is natural for Vance, being as strange and bizarre as any of the faery races that inhabit these pages).
The lion’s share of the story takes place in the mythical ‘Elder Isles’, though the ‘real world’ pokes in its head from time to time. These isles are the home to many warring kingdoms from Lyonesse and Dahaut, to Troicinet and the Ulflands (to name only a few the major ones). It is the dream of one of these Kings, Casmir of Lyonesse, to unite the varied kingdoms as of old under his iron rule.
This first volume of the Lyonesse series sets up the main antagonist, the aforementioned King Casmir of Lyonesse, as a man of power and intelligence, willing to play the long game in his quest to overcome all obstacles that stand bewteen himself and absolute rule upon the ancient throne Evandig at the mythical round table of Cairbra an Meadhan. Casmir has no compunction with using all of the tools which nature, and his position, have granted him, not least of which is his neglected yet beautiful daughter Suldrun.
The first segment of the book concentrates on the melancholy story of the princess Suldrun as she navigates her way through the treacherous political waters of her father’s kingdom and resigns herself to a life of loneliness. This loneliness is only mitigated by the existence of a secret garden that Suldrun discovers in one of her forays away from the castle and it is here that she is able to find a kind of peace and contentment in her life. It is also here that she comes across a shipwrecked young man, Aillas of Troicinet, one of the first people to treat her kindly and with whom she soon falls in love. Alas, what is it that the bard said about the path of true love? Well, that of course applies here as well, and since Casmir has other plans for how best to apportion his daughter for political gain he is driven into a fury when he discovers the young lovers. Suffice it to say that Aillas, the shipwrecked lover, is summarily thrown into a pit to rot, while Sulrdun is confined to her garden once it is discovered that she is pregnant. In the end Suldrun’s story ends sadly and, without committing an egregious case of spoilers, I think I can say that it is left to Aillas to find a way to avenge his love and find his missing child.
The remainder of the book pursues several paths as we follow each of the main players in the drama that is unfolding: Shimrod, the ‘scion’ of Murgen the greatest magician of the Elder Isles, finds himself drawn into this royal drama that eventually becomes a war of vengeance and succession between two great kingdoms. Aillas, in a series of misadventures and tragedies, attempts to find his way both home and to his unknown son. The devious Faude Carfilhiot, himself the magical progeny of the witch Desmei and both lover and protégé of Murgen’s nemesis the wizard Tamurello, angles for power and the satisfaction of his many lusts, and ultimately runs afoul of both Shimrod and Aillas. Casmir continues to plot his rise to ultimate power, while Aillas’ son Dhrun, at first a human changeling abducted by the fairies of Thripsey Shee until he is summarily ejected, becomes a vagabond on the road with his friend the beautiful Glyneth. Typical Vancean picaresque adventures ensue, though with the overarching plots of both Casmir’s and Carfilhiot’s quests for power against the opposition presented by the heroes of our tale weaving together the myriad story threads.
The dialogue is, of course, very droll and urbane, as is to be expected in a work by Vance. The heroes are also perhaps the most sympathetic ones to be found in a Vancean tale, for while they may exhibit a normal human propensity for anger and vengeance, they also display a sense of justice and goodness not always apparent in Vance’s heroes. This has always been my favourite work by Vance (though admittedly I still have many volumes of his to read) and I thoroughly enjoy my trips to the Elder Isles. In the past I had occasionally been put off by some of the more fanciful, one might even say twee, elements of the story (most notably the fairy elements) though somehow they seem to have grown on me and going into the story knowing that I should expect something other than a typical ‘serious’ high fantasy helps to make the transition to these moments less jarring. As always I also love the way in which Vance uses his broad canvas to play with history and create fascinating cultures that point out the absurdities of human nature and the sometimes convoluted modes of human conduct. The Ska are a standout here, his own version of antediluvian humans that can trace their culture back to the stone age and view all other races as sub-humans with whom they are at war. Real life cultures are no less the object of Vance’s caustic eye as he makes fun of Celts, Christians, and any other real life cultures of the day that find themselves pulled into his tale and many ancient myths and cultures find themselves given a new spin and shine as they also become a part of the tangled history of his Elder Isles.
This is great fun and I look forward to re-visiting volume 2. Definitely check it out whether you’re a Vance aficionado that has yet to make the trip here, or you’re a neophyte looking for a place to start. You could do far worse than beginning your Vancean journey amongst the tangled roads of the Elder Isles.
Ok, now that that is out of the way what is Lyonesse? It is one of the few works of ‘pure’ fantasy by the speculative fiction Grand Master Jack Vance (as opposed to his much more numerous science fiction and science-fantasy books) which manages, like perhaps all of Vance’s work, to be pretty sui generis. The story ostensibly takes place in the early middle ages of our world, though in a medieval period that definitely never existed on our earth except perhaps in dreams. Vance has no interest in keeping pace with the technology and history of the actual middle ages and instead weaves a fantastic world where the ‘history’ of the dark ages rubs shoulders with the technology and culture of the high middle ages, and where even aspects of the renaissance peek through from time to time. To this mix Vance adds a dab of high fantasy with a soupçon of Arthuriana for flavour. It is, in short, a delightful anachronism in which Vance is free to take whatever most suits his purposes from a large range of human history as he creates a variety of strange and wonderful cultures, both human and supernatural (with the human cultures, as is natural for Vance, being as strange and bizarre as any of the faery races that inhabit these pages).
The lion’s share of the story takes place in the mythical ‘Elder Isles’, though the ‘real world’ pokes in its head from time to time. These isles are the home to many warring kingdoms from Lyonesse and Dahaut, to Troicinet and the Ulflands (to name only a few the major ones). It is the dream of one of these Kings, Casmir of Lyonesse, to unite the varied kingdoms as of old under his iron rule.
This first volume of the Lyonesse series sets up the main antagonist, the aforementioned King Casmir of Lyonesse, as a man of power and intelligence, willing to play the long game in his quest to overcome all obstacles that stand bewteen himself and absolute rule upon the ancient throne Evandig at the mythical round table of Cairbra an Meadhan. Casmir has no compunction with using all of the tools which nature, and his position, have granted him, not least of which is his neglected yet beautiful daughter Suldrun.
The first segment of the book concentrates on the melancholy story of the princess Suldrun as she navigates her way through the treacherous political waters of her father’s kingdom and resigns herself to a life of loneliness. This loneliness is only mitigated by the existence of a secret garden that Suldrun discovers in one of her forays away from the castle and it is here that she is able to find a kind of peace and contentment in her life. It is also here that she comes across a shipwrecked young man, Aillas of Troicinet, one of the first people to treat her kindly and with whom she soon falls in love. Alas, what is it that the bard said about the path of true love? Well, that of course applies here as well, and since Casmir has other plans for how best to apportion his daughter for political gain he is driven into a fury when he discovers the young lovers. Suffice it to say that Aillas, the shipwrecked lover, is summarily thrown into a pit to rot, while Sulrdun is confined to her garden once it is discovered that she is pregnant. In the end Suldrun’s story ends sadly and, without committing an egregious case of spoilers, I think I can say that it is left to Aillas to find a way to avenge his love and find his missing child.
The remainder of the book pursues several paths as we follow each of the main players in the drama that is unfolding: Shimrod, the ‘scion’ of Murgen the greatest magician of the Elder Isles, finds himself drawn into this royal drama that eventually becomes a war of vengeance and succession between two great kingdoms. Aillas, in a series of misadventures and tragedies, attempts to find his way both home and to his unknown son. The devious Faude Carfilhiot, himself the magical progeny of the witch Desmei and both lover and protégé of Murgen’s nemesis the wizard Tamurello, angles for power and the satisfaction of his many lusts, and ultimately runs afoul of both Shimrod and Aillas. Casmir continues to plot his rise to ultimate power, while Aillas’ son Dhrun, at first a human changeling abducted by the fairies of Thripsey Shee until he is summarily ejected, becomes a vagabond on the road with his friend the beautiful Glyneth. Typical Vancean picaresque adventures ensue, though with the overarching plots of both Casmir’s and Carfilhiot’s quests for power against the opposition presented by the heroes of our tale weaving together the myriad story threads.
The dialogue is, of course, very droll and urbane, as is to be expected in a work by Vance. The heroes are also perhaps the most sympathetic ones to be found in a Vancean tale, for while they may exhibit a normal human propensity for anger and vengeance, they also display a sense of justice and goodness not always apparent in Vance’s heroes. This has always been my favourite work by Vance (though admittedly I still have many volumes of his to read) and I thoroughly enjoy my trips to the Elder Isles. In the past I had occasionally been put off by some of the more fanciful, one might even say twee, elements of the story (most notably the fairy elements) though somehow they seem to have grown on me and going into the story knowing that I should expect something other than a typical ‘serious’ high fantasy helps to make the transition to these moments less jarring. As always I also love the way in which Vance uses his broad canvas to play with history and create fascinating cultures that point out the absurdities of human nature and the sometimes convoluted modes of human conduct. The Ska are a standout here, his own version of antediluvian humans that can trace their culture back to the stone age and view all other races as sub-humans with whom they are at war. Real life cultures are no less the object of Vance’s caustic eye as he makes fun of Celts, Christians, and any other real life cultures of the day that find themselves pulled into his tale and many ancient myths and cultures find themselves given a new spin and shine as they also become a part of the tangled history of his Elder Isles.
This is great fun and I look forward to re-visiting volume 2. Definitely check it out whether you’re a Vance aficionado that has yet to make the trip here, or you’re a neophyte looking for a place to start. You could do far worse than beginning your Vancean journey amongst the tangled roads of the Elder Isles.
Currently reading
February 18, 2017Crisp and complex, with a surprisingly bold earthiness, and an elegant opulent finish; the heady aromatics are reminiscent of oaks in bloom. Pairs well with edam.
August 24, 2021
A very bizarre and frenetic fantasy by Vance. First published in 1984 I have the lovely Granada edition. Vance seems to have gone for broke here, utilizing a wide range of classic fantasy tropes and mixing them in with his trademark snarky dialogue. Lyonesse is set on a large island off the coast of France and England named the "Elder Isles." In this universe, the Elder Isles co-exist with Earth around the time of the middle ages; in fact, King Arthur is said to have come from the Elder Isles to England. That stated, this is not some 'quest for the grail' saga. Instead, we basically explore the Elder Isles via a number of characters and Vance rapidly switches POVs among them. Besides humans, we also have a wide variety of Faeries and 'halflings', who are half human, half faerie. Besides the typical feudal setup of kings and such, we also have a handful of powerful magicians, who after lots of mischief, have avowed not to interfere with humanity.
We start off following Suldrun, a princess of Lyonesse, and hence are introduced gradually to the kingdom of Lyonesse and the king Casmir. Casmir has a bold plan to reunite the Elder Isles under him, but this will prove a difficult task, as there are several other kings who have no desire for his rule. Meanwhile, Suldrun grows up and Casmir seeks to wed her for political advantage, but she will have nothing of it. Frustrated, Casmir locks her in her favorite garden. One day a man washes ashore and falls in love with her and they start fomenting plans of escape. The man is none other than another price of a different kingdom thrown overboard from a ship by his no-good cousin, who wants to be king himself...
Lyonesse has a complicated plot, filled with intrigue, both among the kings and also the magicians. We also have the various faeries and their 'pranks' inflicted upon characters along the way. At times Lyonesse is surreal and absurd-- like the trolls that can take potions to grow large or small and must be burned to ashes to kill. Lots of transportation via magical means and other strange magics abound.
Not sure exactly what Vance was aiming for here. Lyonesse is a little hard to take too seriously given the bizarre events that occur along the way; it seems at times to be absurdist or weird fiction. At other times, it is exciting, filled with action and mystery. The dialogue snaps with snark and, coupled with frenetic pacing, pulls the story along nicely. Also, Vance explores the culture of the Ska, who descended from viking lands long before vikings came on the scene, and who now live on the islands off the West coast of the Elder Isles. We even have a Celtic kingdom from Ireland in the North!
Different fare from Vance's space opera but still entertaining. 3.5 rounding up.
We start off following Suldrun, a princess of Lyonesse, and hence are introduced gradually to the kingdom of Lyonesse and the king Casmir. Casmir has a bold plan to reunite the Elder Isles under him, but this will prove a difficult task, as there are several other kings who have no desire for his rule. Meanwhile, Suldrun grows up and Casmir seeks to wed her for political advantage, but she will have nothing of it. Frustrated, Casmir locks her in her favorite garden. One day a man washes ashore and falls in love with her and they start fomenting plans of escape. The man is none other than another price of a different kingdom thrown overboard from a ship by his no-good cousin, who wants to be king himself...
Lyonesse has a complicated plot, filled with intrigue, both among the kings and also the magicians. We also have the various faeries and their 'pranks' inflicted upon characters along the way. At times Lyonesse is surreal and absurd-- like the trolls that can take potions to grow large or small and must be burned to ashes to kill. Lots of transportation via magical means and other strange magics abound.
Not sure exactly what Vance was aiming for here. Lyonesse is a little hard to take too seriously given the bizarre events that occur along the way; it seems at times to be absurdist or weird fiction. At other times, it is exciting, filled with action and mystery. The dialogue snaps with snark and, coupled with frenetic pacing, pulls the story along nicely. Also, Vance explores the culture of the Ska, who descended from viking lands long before vikings came on the scene, and who now live on the islands off the West coast of the Elder Isles. We even have a Celtic kingdom from Ireland in the North!
Different fare from Vance's space opera but still entertaining. 3.5 rounding up.
March 12, 2025
Ufff me ha costado muchísimo terminar el libro, y no me apetece ni un poquito seguir con él.
Me han gustado ciertas semilllitas que tiene el libro, pero para mí ha envejecido muy mal.
La figura de la mujer es para uso del hombre no mucho más, y al principio parecía que tenía un toque de rebeldía pero no, la mujer esta para lo que esta. Además la trama se iba volviendo tan solo de conquista y planes de reinado.
Todo empieza con una princesa que no está conforme con lo que le ha tocado y su padre ávido de poder y de otras tierras (como todos los reyes) pero no llega ni la mitad del libro que el libro se vuelca en el príncipe del reino contrincante y su búsqueda y venganza. Todo muy rápido y cuanto más leía menos me importaban los personajes.
El mundo está bien. Tiene mucho de cuento, con un tono bastante oscuro cosa que me agrada mucho, pero es que siempre había algo que me rechinaba.
Me han gustado ciertas semilllitas que tiene el libro, pero para mí ha envejecido muy mal.
La figura de la mujer es para uso del hombre no mucho más, y al principio parecía que tenía un toque de rebeldía pero no, la mujer esta para lo que esta. Además la trama se iba volviendo tan solo de conquista y planes de reinado.
Todo empieza con una princesa que no está conforme con lo que le ha tocado y su padre ávido de poder y de otras tierras (como todos los reyes) pero no llega ni la mitad del libro que el libro se vuelca en el príncipe del reino contrincante y su búsqueda y venganza. Todo muy rápido y cuanto más leía menos me importaban los personajes.
El mundo está bien. Tiene mucho de cuento, con un tono bastante oscuro cosa que me agrada mucho, pero es que siempre había algo que me rechinaba.
August 11, 2022
Suldrun's Garden tells the story of the Elder Isles, comprising 10 separate kingdoms all vying for power, in a time of myth and magic. Suldrun is the beautiful daughter of the power-hungry King Casmir of Lyonesse, who dreams of ruling all the Elder Isles, and sees his daughter as a pawn to marry off as he will to his advantage. However, when Suldrun disobeys her father's wishes she is cast out and confined to the overgrown garden she so loves. It is here the story really begins.
I was not familiar with Jack Vance or his work as I started out on this book, but had read some positive reviews for this book and found myself intrigued. Certainly his writing style struck me as rather unique fairly early on, he has a distinctive dry, and at times dark humour, that overall lent the book rather a quirky feel to it; at times the story felt almost farcical in its tone.
I was very impressed with all the world-building. The story starts off in the medieval Lyonesse, however, through the course of the book we travel quite extensively across the Elder Isles, and the story is told with a great richness. Indeed the attention to detail is quite extraordinary. The book also seems to blend a number of different styles, at times reading very much like a children's fairytale, other times feeling much more epic in its scope, with the feel of a historic fantasy.
There are multiple characters in the story, and the narration jumps and switches about from different character perspectives. I will say that at times the sheer amount of characters and locations and different political stances could feel rather overwhelming, and the jumping about between perspectives somewhat jarring. Also parts of the book did feel rather slow in setting things up, and the book overall had a very meandering feel to it, often drifting off in a different direction, and whilst overall I could generally see the relevance and connection to things, it sometimes felt as if a lot of time was dedicated to an adventure that had small significance to the overall story.
The book often throws surprises at you, to the extent that I did not take anyone's survival in the story for granted, and I did enjoy the twists and turns.
I think some of my personal favorite parts of the book were following the adventures of young Dhrun, as these sections of the story felt very magical, with the fairytale like adventures, curses and obstacles and monsters to overcome.
I did also like how everything came together at the end, with the various different threads connecting, though ultimately the book doesn't have a definite ending, rather just leaves you at a certain point, I assume from which Vance continues in the next book.
I think one of my main criticisms of the book would be that the writing style was such that I found it hard to forge an emotional connection with any of the characters, even though horrible things happen to some of them. However, even at times where it felt the story should be conveying more emotional weight, Vance's handling of the matter seemed rather 'light'. Also I did think the female characterisation here was rather stereo-typed and limited, though I appreciate the book was written a while back.
Overall, this was certainly an interesting read, full of imagination and rich detail and told with a distinctive voice. Whilst there was plenty that I was impressed with, I just don't think the story and characters resonated enough with me to have me truly invested, and at times the style of the writing bordered too much on the ridiculous and bizarre for me personally. Not sure if I plan to read the rest of the series at this point in time.
I was not familiar with Jack Vance or his work as I started out on this book, but had read some positive reviews for this book and found myself intrigued. Certainly his writing style struck me as rather unique fairly early on, he has a distinctive dry, and at times dark humour, that overall lent the book rather a quirky feel to it; at times the story felt almost farcical in its tone.
I was very impressed with all the world-building. The story starts off in the medieval Lyonesse, however, through the course of the book we travel quite extensively across the Elder Isles, and the story is told with a great richness. Indeed the attention to detail is quite extraordinary. The book also seems to blend a number of different styles, at times reading very much like a children's fairytale, other times feeling much more epic in its scope, with the feel of a historic fantasy.
There are multiple characters in the story, and the narration jumps and switches about from different character perspectives. I will say that at times the sheer amount of characters and locations and different political stances could feel rather overwhelming, and the jumping about between perspectives somewhat jarring. Also parts of the book did feel rather slow in setting things up, and the book overall had a very meandering feel to it, often drifting off in a different direction, and whilst overall I could generally see the relevance and connection to things, it sometimes felt as if a lot of time was dedicated to an adventure that had small significance to the overall story.
The book often throws surprises at you, to the extent that I did not take anyone's survival in the story for granted, and I did enjoy the twists and turns.
I think some of my personal favorite parts of the book were following the adventures of young Dhrun, as these sections of the story felt very magical, with the fairytale like adventures, curses and obstacles and monsters to overcome.
I did also like how everything came together at the end, with the various different threads connecting, though ultimately the book doesn't have a definite ending, rather just leaves you at a certain point, I assume from which Vance continues in the next book.
I think one of my main criticisms of the book would be that the writing style was such that I found it hard to forge an emotional connection with any of the characters, even though horrible things happen to some of them. However, even at times where it felt the story should be conveying more emotional weight, Vance's handling of the matter seemed rather 'light'. Also I did think the female characterisation here was rather stereo-typed and limited, though I appreciate the book was written a while back.
Overall, this was certainly an interesting read, full of imagination and rich detail and told with a distinctive voice. Whilst there was plenty that I was impressed with, I just don't think the story and characters resonated enough with me to have me truly invested, and at times the style of the writing bordered too much on the ridiculous and bizarre for me personally. Not sure if I plan to read the rest of the series at this point in time.
July 17, 2021
Jack Vance in the 25th Century -- and Beyond
Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance: Suldrun's Garden (1983), The Green Pearl (1985), Madouc (1989, World Fantasy Award 1990)
Lyonesse is, I think, Vance's masterpiece: a mannered, leisurely faux-historical fantasy, set in the mythical Elder Isles (south of Ireland and west of France) at about the time of Uther Pendragon.
"The dark musings of Suldrun's Garden shade into the exuberant colours of The Green Pearl and then into the more intimate amusements of Madouc, in a sequence that, more than any other work of the 1980s, fulfils the true high potentials of the Fantasy genre."
-- Nick Gevers, "Lord of Language, and Emperor of Dreams", infinity plus, 2000
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfict...
I'm rereading the Lyonesse trilogy -- if you've missed it, you have a wonderful treat in store -- and, aside from reminding you of the beauty and grace of this masterwork, it strikes me that Lyonesse could be reinterpreted as science fiction -- say, along the lines of Gene Wolfe's SF-as-fantasy works, or indeed Vance's "true" SF:
Indistinguishable from magic?
Hans Moravec, in "Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind" (1999) speculates that ultimate machine-intelligences will someday be able to simulate, well, pretty much everything that ever did, or could, happen:
"... in an ultimate cyberspace, the physical 10 exp 45 bits of a single human body could contain the efficiently encoded biospheres of a thousand galaxies... The expanding bubble of cyberspace... will absorb astronomical oddities, geologic wonders, ancient Voyager spacecraft, outbound starships, and entire alien biospheres. These entities may continue to live and grow as if nothing had happened, oblivious to their new status as simulations in cyberspace..."
As Moravec notes, this could have already happened: "Single original events will be very rare compared to the indefinitely multiple cyberspace replays... There is no way to tell for sure, and the suspicion that we are someone else's thought does not free us from the burdens of life..." And the replays could be endlessly varied, to cover all of the possibilities of Alternate History, or indeed any fiction, as passing fancies strike the vast, cool Intellects that have supplanted us....
Well. See also Frank Tipler's "Omega Point" speculations -- these ideas show up pretty regularly in science fiction, notably in RC Wilson's interesting Darwinia (1998, reviewed elsewhere in infinity plus). Heinlein played with fiction becoming "real" as well, and his Glory Road (1963; Hugo 1964) is a masterpiece of SF-as-fantasy. And Vinge's True Names (1981; Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards, 1982) is a wonderful tour of the pioneer stage in "ficton"-cyberspace.
Wheels within wheels
So. Suppose for a moment that Lyonesse is an ultimate play-within-a-play at the end of time. Outside -- if there is an outside -- the stars are guttering out, the Earth is dying. Inside -- deep inside -- by the warm atotechnic hearths of Haidion, a subatomic Suldrun plays out Vance's immortal drama once again. It's real to her, to King Casmir, to Murgen, to Shimrod. Suldrun's old nurse Ehirme shrieks in true agony in the Peinhador as Zerling cuts out her tongue....
Shimrod "travels" to Irerly via a deep-forensic reconstruction of a malfunctioning VR-telepresence rig, c.2250: "The sheath of sandestin-stuff... allowed sound, toice, and gliry to chafe against his flesh... Further, the disks intended to assist perception were out of proper adjustment..."
Persilian, the magic mirror, is obviously an atotechnic simulation of an early 25th-century Medieval-Revival computer-toy: "... in one of its flippant moods, [Persilian] reflected the wall first upside-down, then reversed left-to-right, then..." -- cf. any adolescent AI in the literature.
Princess Madouc (my favorite Vancian pixie-princess) temporarily uploads herself to Faery, to meet Twisk, her carelessly cruel "mother" [note 1]. Twisk teaches Madouc a useful protective "spell": "Twinkle-Toes", an emulation of a 22nd-century medical-engineering self-defense implant, which injects a neurochemical cocktail into the target's CNS, simulating (among other possibilities) the well-known "tarantella" of ergot-poisoning. "Twinkle-Toes" itself is a whimsical projection-forward (or is it backward?) of mid-20th-century purse-size pepper-sprays....
Is it magic, or science? Or both?
I'm certainly not suggesting that Vance consciously wrote Lyonesse as science fiction -- but then, there really isn't that much difference between Vance's fantasy and SF anyway. His sfnal technology is almost always sci-magical -- really, it's the apotheosis of the 1940s and '50s pulp-consensus, polished to a high gloss and lapidary finish.
My point is simply that Vance's "magical" plot devices could be made to work in our universe, about as well as the standard sfnal sci-tech devices. Beneath Vance's baroque ruffles and flourishes beats the stout heart of an engineer -- his training was in mining engineering [note 2] -- and he keeps the engineer's rational worldview throughout almost all of his fiction.
Well, perhaps a poet-engineer.... and a marvelous writer. Truly SF/F's "Lord of Language and Emperor of Dreams". If you are new to Lyonesse -- or to Vance -- I envy you.
------
Notes
1) Working out Madouc's "true" sfnal relationship to Twisk is left as an exercise for the (simulated) reader.
2) Suldrun is one of the few of mining-engineer Vance's works that features a mining scene -- the secret tunnel-construction project at the fortress Poelitetz, with mining techniques straight out of Agricola's late-medieval "De Re Metallica".
Original review-essay published at Infinity-plus, 2001
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfict...
Lightly edited for here, 2020
Reread in 2021, and just as good as I recalled. On to "The Green Pearl"!
Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance: Suldrun's Garden (1983), The Green Pearl (1985), Madouc (1989, World Fantasy Award 1990)
Lyonesse is, I think, Vance's masterpiece: a mannered, leisurely faux-historical fantasy, set in the mythical Elder Isles (south of Ireland and west of France) at about the time of Uther Pendragon.
"The dark musings of Suldrun's Garden shade into the exuberant colours of The Green Pearl and then into the more intimate amusements of Madouc, in a sequence that, more than any other work of the 1980s, fulfils the true high potentials of the Fantasy genre."
-- Nick Gevers, "Lord of Language, and Emperor of Dreams", infinity plus, 2000
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfict...
I'm rereading the Lyonesse trilogy -- if you've missed it, you have a wonderful treat in store -- and, aside from reminding you of the beauty and grace of this masterwork, it strikes me that Lyonesse could be reinterpreted as science fiction -- say, along the lines of Gene Wolfe's SF-as-fantasy works, or indeed Vance's "true" SF:
Indistinguishable from magic?
Hans Moravec, in "Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind" (1999) speculates that ultimate machine-intelligences will someday be able to simulate, well, pretty much everything that ever did, or could, happen:
"... in an ultimate cyberspace, the physical 10 exp 45 bits of a single human body could contain the efficiently encoded biospheres of a thousand galaxies... The expanding bubble of cyberspace... will absorb astronomical oddities, geologic wonders, ancient Voyager spacecraft, outbound starships, and entire alien biospheres. These entities may continue to live and grow as if nothing had happened, oblivious to their new status as simulations in cyberspace..."
As Moravec notes, this could have already happened: "Single original events will be very rare compared to the indefinitely multiple cyberspace replays... There is no way to tell for sure, and the suspicion that we are someone else's thought does not free us from the burdens of life..." And the replays could be endlessly varied, to cover all of the possibilities of Alternate History, or indeed any fiction, as passing fancies strike the vast, cool Intellects that have supplanted us....
Well. See also Frank Tipler's "Omega Point" speculations -- these ideas show up pretty regularly in science fiction, notably in RC Wilson's interesting Darwinia (1998, reviewed elsewhere in infinity plus). Heinlein played with fiction becoming "real" as well, and his Glory Road (1963; Hugo 1964) is a masterpiece of SF-as-fantasy. And Vinge's True Names (1981; Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards, 1982) is a wonderful tour of the pioneer stage in "ficton"-cyberspace.
Wheels within wheels
So. Suppose for a moment that Lyonesse is an ultimate play-within-a-play at the end of time. Outside -- if there is an outside -- the stars are guttering out, the Earth is dying. Inside -- deep inside -- by the warm atotechnic hearths of Haidion, a subatomic Suldrun plays out Vance's immortal drama once again. It's real to her, to King Casmir, to Murgen, to Shimrod. Suldrun's old nurse Ehirme shrieks in true agony in the Peinhador as Zerling cuts out her tongue....
Shimrod "travels" to Irerly via a deep-forensic reconstruction of a malfunctioning VR-telepresence rig, c.2250: "The sheath of sandestin-stuff... allowed sound, toice, and gliry to chafe against his flesh... Further, the disks intended to assist perception were out of proper adjustment..."
Persilian, the magic mirror, is obviously an atotechnic simulation of an early 25th-century Medieval-Revival computer-toy: "... in one of its flippant moods, [Persilian] reflected the wall first upside-down, then reversed left-to-right, then..." -- cf. any adolescent AI in the literature.
Princess Madouc (my favorite Vancian pixie-princess) temporarily uploads herself to Faery, to meet Twisk, her carelessly cruel "mother" [note 1]. Twisk teaches Madouc a useful protective "spell": "Twinkle-Toes", an emulation of a 22nd-century medical-engineering self-defense implant, which injects a neurochemical cocktail into the target's CNS, simulating (among other possibilities) the well-known "tarantella" of ergot-poisoning. "Twinkle-Toes" itself is a whimsical projection-forward (or is it backward?) of mid-20th-century purse-size pepper-sprays....
Is it magic, or science? Or both?
I'm certainly not suggesting that Vance consciously wrote Lyonesse as science fiction -- but then, there really isn't that much difference between Vance's fantasy and SF anyway. His sfnal technology is almost always sci-magical -- really, it's the apotheosis of the 1940s and '50s pulp-consensus, polished to a high gloss and lapidary finish.
My point is simply that Vance's "magical" plot devices could be made to work in our universe, about as well as the standard sfnal sci-tech devices. Beneath Vance's baroque ruffles and flourishes beats the stout heart of an engineer -- his training was in mining engineering [note 2] -- and he keeps the engineer's rational worldview throughout almost all of his fiction.
Well, perhaps a poet-engineer.... and a marvelous writer. Truly SF/F's "Lord of Language and Emperor of Dreams". If you are new to Lyonesse -- or to Vance -- I envy you.
------
Notes
1) Working out Madouc's "true" sfnal relationship to Twisk is left as an exercise for the (simulated) reader.
2) Suldrun is one of the few of mining-engineer Vance's works that features a mining scene -- the secret tunnel-construction project at the fortress Poelitetz, with mining techniques straight out of Agricola's late-medieval "De Re Metallica".
Original review-essay published at Infinity-plus, 2001
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfict...
Lightly edited for here, 2020
Reread in 2021, and just as good as I recalled. On to "The Green Pearl"!
August 7, 2019
Perfection...
December 3, 2014
Does any other author write amazing and strange fantasy so eloquently as Jack Vance? The question is nuncupatory.
December 22, 2014
The first book in the Lyonesse series Suldrun's Garden is a mixed bag of reading experiences. Some aspects of the novel have been well portrayed but not so in some other cases.
Plot Suldrun's garden is a low fantasy set against the backdrop of Arthurian Myths. It tells the story of an Island king and his ambitions and his ignored daughter Suldrun. Apart from one surprising moment the story is pretty much straight forward.
World Building The author makes good use of Arthurian folklore and he blends it with his own set of myths. He also does a great work of using real life civilisations and mixing it with his world of fantasy. The magic does not have a strong foothold in the novel despite having creatures of fantasy, rather it adds to the semi historical setting of the novel.
Writing Narration dominates dialogues throughout the novel. There is very little conversation and a lot of observation. Many times the beautiful narration works its magic as we explore the world of Suldrun, but more often than not it slows down reading and fails to generate interest in the plot or the characters.
Characters The characters in the novel were often unsatisfying. There are good and evil characters and they tend to stick to one side permanently. There is little character development and often come out as stereotypical. Although since the book came out in the 80s it was perhaps not a stereotype then. There are a few good moments in the novel but they are far too few in between.
Recommended to readers who prefer traditional style of fantasy and love detailed narrations.
Plot Suldrun's garden is a low fantasy set against the backdrop of Arthurian Myths. It tells the story of an Island king and his ambitions and his ignored daughter Suldrun. Apart from one surprising moment the story is pretty much straight forward.
World Building The author makes good use of Arthurian folklore and he blends it with his own set of myths. He also does a great work of using real life civilisations and mixing it with his world of fantasy. The magic does not have a strong foothold in the novel despite having creatures of fantasy, rather it adds to the semi historical setting of the novel.
Writing Narration dominates dialogues throughout the novel. There is very little conversation and a lot of observation. Many times the beautiful narration works its magic as we explore the world of Suldrun, but more often than not it slows down reading and fails to generate interest in the plot or the characters.
Characters The characters in the novel were often unsatisfying. There are good and evil characters and they tend to stick to one side permanently. There is little character development and often come out as stereotypical. Although since the book came out in the 80s it was perhaps not a stereotype then. There are a few good moments in the novel but they are far too few in between.
Recommended to readers who prefer traditional style of fantasy and love detailed narrations.
Read
February 1, 2019DNF at 38%
"- Shimrod, do you love me?
- I am fascinated and obsessed.
And I am not even sorry.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it's Arthurian fantasy. The dreamy, all over the place Arthurian fantasy. I rarely read it, and while I wasn't warned by any notifications on the cover, I thought it will be fine. But it wasn't. I guess me and Arthurian fantasy are not meant to be together.
Everything happens just because, fairy there, princess here, everything is blurry and a little bit messy. Characters are far away from each other, their dialogues are meaningless, everything happens for no reason and has 0 impact. You are left at the cliffhanging point while the story shifts to completely new character and it's adventures. Even when the story comes back to the character, the point is not addressed. It takes Wiki 10 paragraphs to explain the plot (Game Of Thrones - 7 paragraphs). As I grew nowhere near Avalon and it's legends, most of the time I was puzzled - even if not getting the importance and grandiose of some mentioning was my own fault.
"- Shimrod, do you love me?
- I am fascinated and obsessed.
And I am not even sorry.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it's Arthurian fantasy. The dreamy, all over the place Arthurian fantasy. I rarely read it, and while I wasn't warned by any notifications on the cover, I thought it will be fine. But it wasn't. I guess me and Arthurian fantasy are not meant to be together.
Everything happens just because, fairy there, princess here, everything is blurry and a little bit messy. Characters are far away from each other, their dialogues are meaningless, everything happens for no reason and has 0 impact. You are left at the cliffhanging point while the story shifts to completely new character and it's adventures. Even when the story comes back to the character, the point is not addressed. It takes Wiki 10 paragraphs to explain the plot (Game Of Thrones - 7 paragraphs). As I grew nowhere near Avalon and it's legends, most of the time I was puzzled - even if not getting the importance and grandiose of some mentioning was my own fault.
January 29, 2018
This story...I can only say, the narrative brings the Lord of the Rings to mind, that with genealogies, the lore, the mild tone. And yet, and yet, I was glued to it. Suldrun's tale is riveting and no matter the omniscient narrator, or maybe thanks to its voice, immersing in the Elder Isles imagery, I turned and turned and turned the pages, forgetting everything else.
“What are dreams? Ordinary experience is a dream. The eyes, the ears, the nose: they present pictures on the brain, and these pictures are called ‘reality.’ At night, when we dream, other pictures, of source unknown, are impinged. Sometimes the dream-images are more real than ‘reality.’ Which is solid, which illusion? Why trouble to make the distinction? When tasting a delicious wine, only a pedant analyzes every component of the flavor. When we admire a beautiful maiden, do we evaluate the particular bones of her skull? I am sure we do not. Accept beauty on its own terms: this is the creed of Villa Meroe.”
“What are dreams? Ordinary experience is a dream. The eyes, the ears, the nose: they present pictures on the brain, and these pictures are called ‘reality.’ At night, when we dream, other pictures, of source unknown, are impinged. Sometimes the dream-images are more real than ‘reality.’ Which is solid, which illusion? Why trouble to make the distinction? When tasting a delicious wine, only a pedant analyzes every component of the flavor. When we admire a beautiful maiden, do we evaluate the particular bones of her skull? I am sure we do not. Accept beauty on its own terms: this is the creed of Villa Meroe.”
August 25, 2014
I was highly disappointed in this book, there was sparks of greatness but mostly disappointment
Pros-
-Thankfully the author didn't stretch the story out with useless dialog he gets straight to the point which was refreshing
- Suldrun is an awesome character and fully fleshed out
- I also enjoyed the references to Avalon and the setting of this book is a real place that I believe sunk into the ocean(don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure it's something similar)
Cons
- mostly horrible characters that feel one sided
-useless plot lines
- cringe worthy dialogue
-Drune's(he was a pretty good character I kinda liked him) storyline was pretty pointless IMO
I don't like to leave series unfinished and if anybody else has read the trilogy let me know if it's worth continuing cause I thought this first book was barely readable... I'm kinda on the fence about picking book 2 up
Pros-
-Thankfully the author didn't stretch the story out with useless dialog he gets straight to the point which was refreshing
- Suldrun is an awesome character and fully fleshed out
- I also enjoyed the references to Avalon and the setting of this book is a real place that I believe sunk into the ocean(don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure it's something similar)
Cons
- mostly horrible characters that feel one sided
-useless plot lines
- cringe worthy dialogue
-Drune's(he was a pretty good character I kinda liked him) storyline was pretty pointless IMO
I don't like to leave series unfinished and if anybody else has read the trilogy let me know if it's worth continuing cause I thought this first book was barely readable... I'm kinda on the fence about picking book 2 up
March 3, 2020
I've read Lyonesse 4 times - placing it in my own personal pantheon right at the top with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
I first read it as a teenager and immediately fell in love with it. Sure, there were some minor plot holes - especially as the story moved through the trilogy of the same name - but its overall charm won in the end. Then, a few years later in university, I tried reading it again and thought it was a terrible misogynistic creation - to the point where I took the whole trilogy to a nearby charity shop and gave it away.
Seventeen years later and I was tempted to revisit the series again and find out why I'd loved it in the first place, and if the misogyny was really so bad. What I discovered was a world firmly in the mold of Angela Carter's fairy tales - the bite and sting from fairies and trolls casually sitting beside the evil committed by kings and queens. Not only that but some of Chaucer's ribaldry too. Stories definitely not meant for children. It's been a reminder for me of how important it is to revisit loved books: the stories never remain the same - we see them through different eyes as we grow older.
Finally, in 2020, I read it for a fourth time. Devoured it, to be more correct. I now live in a remote farm in Brazil and Lyonesse - with its cruel fairies and valiant heroes - seemed like the perfect companion during rainy days. I wasn't wrong.
G.R.R. Martin took, no doubt, a lot of inspiration from Lyonesse for his A Song of Ice and Fire series - the geography of both worlds is similar as well as its intrigues, horrors, tragic love stories and magic. Lyonesse, however, is an expansion on the Arthurian legend which gives Vance more scope to play with motifs such as early Christianity (one of the biggest horrors in the book is the building of a chapel in a beautiful and remote garden.) G.R.R. Martin must have also taken note of the major plot twist in this novel that takes all readers by surprise which raises the novel above others in the fantasy genre.
I first read it as a teenager and immediately fell in love with it. Sure, there were some minor plot holes - especially as the story moved through the trilogy of the same name - but its overall charm won in the end. Then, a few years later in university, I tried reading it again and thought it was a terrible misogynistic creation - to the point where I took the whole trilogy to a nearby charity shop and gave it away.
Seventeen years later and I was tempted to revisit the series again and find out why I'd loved it in the first place, and if the misogyny was really so bad. What I discovered was a world firmly in the mold of Angela Carter's fairy tales - the bite and sting from fairies and trolls casually sitting beside the evil committed by kings and queens. Not only that but some of Chaucer's ribaldry too. Stories definitely not meant for children. It's been a reminder for me of how important it is to revisit loved books: the stories never remain the same - we see them through different eyes as we grow older.
Finally, in 2020, I read it for a fourth time. Devoured it, to be more correct. I now live in a remote farm in Brazil and Lyonesse - with its cruel fairies and valiant heroes - seemed like the perfect companion during rainy days. I wasn't wrong.
G.R.R. Martin took, no doubt, a lot of inspiration from Lyonesse for his A Song of Ice and Fire series - the geography of both worlds is similar as well as its intrigues, horrors, tragic love stories and magic. Lyonesse, however, is an expansion on the Arthurian legend which gives Vance more scope to play with motifs such as early Christianity (one of the biggest horrors in the book is the building of a chapel in a beautiful and remote garden.) G.R.R. Martin must have also taken note of the major plot twist in this novel that takes all readers by surprise which raises the novel above others in the fantasy genre.
April 3, 2016
This is the 29th Vance novel/collection that i have read and The Dying Earth novels with Cugel, Rialtho is still my all-time favorite Vance because i like the world of Dying Earth so much but this is easily the best i have read of this legendary author.
I dont even like to read High fantasy usually but a dense for a Vance novel, story that is so imaginative, bold, ambitious and Vance at his literary best when it comes to prose style, use of language. I would like to write a lengthy review to analyse this like a literary class essay the many sides of this mysterious, beautiful novel but it still wouldn't do justice to this magnificent novel.
I dont even like to read High fantasy usually but a dense for a Vance novel, story that is so imaginative, bold, ambitious and Vance at his literary best when it comes to prose style, use of language. I would like to write a lengthy review to analyse this like a literary class essay the many sides of this mysterious, beautiful novel but it still wouldn't do justice to this magnificent novel.
July 27, 2015
I first read Suldrun's Garden when it came out in the 1980s. At least I think I did; maybe it was later. In any case, I didn't like it much. I recall thinking that it seemed like an effort to get in on the latest Arthurian craze (Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon came out around the same time. It felt like references to myth and legend were shoehorned in, and Vancian imagination was crowded out. It was still written in his inimitable style, though, so I read the rest of the series anyway.
Re-reading it now, I can vaguely see what I was thinking of. But there's also a lot of traditional Vance in here, and I'm not sure why I didn't give it credit at the time. It's more in the style of The Dying Earth's Mazirian than it is The Dogtown Tourist Agency, but it's Vance without a doubt.
The story concerns the Elder Isles off the coast of France (now sadly sunken), including the large island Hybras, and its regions Avalon, Ulfland, and Lyonesse. Ambitious kings and magicians vie with each other for power and land. Some outcomes are sad, some brutal, many melancholy. Happiness tends to happen off stage.
In any case, the story is interesting, and I must update my earlier evaluation. One thing that I don't recall, however, and that is nonetheless true, is that this first volume of the trilogy just stops. Many plotlines are resolved, and there's really no barrier to a satisfying close, but there isn't one. Instead, the text just ends at a moderately convenient point, and the book is over. Or nearly over, since a very awkward epilogue is tacked on that starts "What now?", and frankly reads more like Vance's notes for the sequel than like text the reader should be seeing. While I've upgraded my ranking from a remembered two stars to three, it's this poor closing, rather than my earlier quibbles, that prevents the book from getting four.
It's a good story, but I continue to suspect that the praise it got when issued was more a recognition of Vance's historic skill than for the story itself. Overall, this is good, and worth reading (as a full trilogy), but it's not Vance's best work.
CVIE V
***
It took me a while to post this review, since I picked the book up to read just around the time Jack Vance died. I admire his writing so much that I was uncomfortable posting an unenthusiastic review just while I was encouraging people to (re-)discover his genius. Still, here it is. It also inspired me to write a story triggered by a scene in this novel , and titled ("Punctilio") in Vance's honor. I don't pretend to Vance's magic with words, but keep an eye out for it eventually.
Re-reading it now, I can vaguely see what I was thinking of. But there's also a lot of traditional Vance in here, and I'm not sure why I didn't give it credit at the time. It's more in the style of The Dying Earth's Mazirian than it is The Dogtown Tourist Agency, but it's Vance without a doubt.
The story concerns the Elder Isles off the coast of France (now sadly sunken), including the large island Hybras, and its regions Avalon, Ulfland, and Lyonesse. Ambitious kings and magicians vie with each other for power and land. Some outcomes are sad, some brutal, many melancholy. Happiness tends to happen off stage.
In any case, the story is interesting, and I must update my earlier evaluation. One thing that I don't recall, however, and that is nonetheless true, is that this first volume of the trilogy just stops. Many plotlines are resolved, and there's really no barrier to a satisfying close, but there isn't one. Instead, the text just ends at a moderately convenient point, and the book is over. Or nearly over, since a very awkward epilogue is tacked on that starts "What now?", and frankly reads more like Vance's notes for the sequel than like text the reader should be seeing. While I've upgraded my ranking from a remembered two stars to three, it's this poor closing, rather than my earlier quibbles, that prevents the book from getting four.
It's a good story, but I continue to suspect that the praise it got when issued was more a recognition of Vance's historic skill than for the story itself. Overall, this is good, and worth reading (as a full trilogy), but it's not Vance's best work.
CVIE V
***
It took me a while to post this review, since I picked the book up to read just around the time Jack Vance died. I admire his writing so much that I was uncomfortable posting an unenthusiastic review just while I was encouraging people to (re-)discover his genius. Still, here it is. It also inspired me to write a story triggered by a scene in this novel , and titled ("Punctilio") in Vance's honor. I don't pretend to Vance's magic with words, but keep an eye out for it eventually.
dnf
October 11, 2025DNF 90%
Audiobook wasn't the right choice here. Might be the narrator, or might just be me. But I suspect it ruined the experience.
A rich world, fascinating fairy magic, interesting politics... but the story didn't grab me. I'm pretty sure this book had a strong influence on A Song of Ice and Fire, which is an interesting comparison: Suldrun's Garden is a lot like A Game of Thrones (the specific book), only without the violence, without the sex, without the clever dialogue, and without the plot twists. What is left is still good, but it wasn't for me.
It feels too much like a history book. True, the world is fascinating and the prose is great, but the characters are lacking agency and the plot is told like... a history book. Suldrun is supposed to be married, but she refuses, so she is sent to her garden. A prince happen to go there after surviving war, and find Suldrun. They fall in love, and are then discovered, and... and it's too reactive for me, and too impersonal.
It can work, of course. And from the reviews, most of my GR friends liked it a lot. But this book has a combination of randomness and character passivity which simply pushes the wrong buttons for me.
I might try it again in print form, as I suspect I'll like it a lot more that way. Which is also why I'm not rating this book right now.
Audiobook wasn't the right choice here. Might be the narrator, or might just be me. But I suspect it ruined the experience.
A rich world, fascinating fairy magic, interesting politics... but the story didn't grab me. I'm pretty sure this book had a strong influence on A Song of Ice and Fire, which is an interesting comparison: Suldrun's Garden is a lot like A Game of Thrones (the specific book), only without the violence, without the sex, without the clever dialogue, and without the plot twists. What is left is still good, but it wasn't for me.
It feels too much like a history book. True, the world is fascinating and the prose is great, but the characters are lacking agency and the plot is told like... a history book. Suldrun is supposed to be married, but she refuses, so she is sent to her garden. A prince happen to go there after surviving war, and find Suldrun. They fall in love, and are then discovered, and... and it's too reactive for me, and too impersonal.
It can work, of course. And from the reviews, most of my GR friends liked it a lot. But this book has a combination of randomness and character passivity which simply pushes the wrong buttons for me.
I might try it again in print form, as I suspect I'll like it a lot more that way. Which is also why I'm not rating this book right now.
May 4, 2024
I think this fantasy trilogy may well be my favourite. It's one I still reread with pleasure, probably because it is so clearly written for adults, though when I first read it as a teenager the violent indignities inflicted on Christian missionaries and the fate of poor Suldrun scared me off after the cosy safety of Middle Earth and Narnia. Luckily I went back to it. The dangers and cruelties of the Elder Isles anticipate the modern hard-boiled fantasy epics of Martin, Abercombie et al, yet the language is that of high chivalry, arch wit and sharp irony. Even the most horrible monster is highly articulate and argues with logic and reason. For every danger and cruelty, however, there is wonder and kindness and joy. The books, also, are unashamedly drenched with magic and crowded with fey personages, possibly the best fictional representation of fairies I have ever read, wonderful creatures utterly without conscience.
The story is long and strange and always unexpected. Our protagonists suffer sudden changes or reversals of fortune at every turn, and it's only about halfway through before a narrative begins to take proper shape. Vance's evocation of a fantasy landscape is unparalleled. For the first time, I noticed that there was something missing from the detailed descriptions of meals and feasts and scavenged scraps and quick repasts: no potatoes. Because, of course, they haven't been brought back from the Americas yet. I don't know why, but that little detail made me unaccountably happy.
The story is long and strange and always unexpected. Our protagonists suffer sudden changes or reversals of fortune at every turn, and it's only about halfway through before a narrative begins to take proper shape. Vance's evocation of a fantasy landscape is unparalleled. For the first time, I noticed that there was something missing from the detailed descriptions of meals and feasts and scavenged scraps and quick repasts: no potatoes. Because, of course, they haven't been brought back from the Americas yet. I don't know why, but that little detail made me unaccountably happy.
May 7, 2020
One of the best fantasy novels that I have read in a long time, and probably the best example I have seen of a modern dark fairy tale. We have trapped princesses, tricky fairy folk, curses, witches and trolls that live in huts in the woods and who have a taste for children, etc.
Also be aware that when I say dark, I mean DARK. Like, children stuffed with vegetables and roasting on spits dark. This book makes Game of Thrones look like a quaint bedtime story.
Also be aware that when I say dark, I mean DARK. Like, children stuffed with vegetables and roasting on spits dark. This book makes Game of Thrones look like a quaint bedtime story.
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