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Lens Larque
Op de ruimtehaven van Rath Eileann op Aloysius wordt het vrachtschip Ettilia Gargantyr verwacht. Kirth Gersen weet dat de eigenaar van het schip niemand minder is dan de Duivelsprins Lens Larque, en bedenkt een list om de Gargantyr aan de ketting te laten leggen teneinde Lens Larque ertoe te verleiden voor de Vegaanse rechtbank te verschijnen om zijn eigendom voor inbeslagname te vrijwaren. Van de op anonimiteit gestelde Lens Larque weet Gersen enkel dat hij een uitgestoten Darsh is van de Bugoldclan van de woestijnplaneet Dar Sai. Zich uitgevend voor een verslaggever van het tijdschrift Cosmopolis infiltreert Gersen de Darshe gemeenschap van Rath Eileann in de hoop Lens Larque te identificeren zodra deze voet zet op Aloysius. Gersen komt er snel achter dat de cuisine van Dar Sai al even grotesk en wansmakelijk is als de Darsh zelf, en een aandelenzwendel rondom het Kotzash Onderlinge mijnbouwsyndicaat lijkt alles te maken te hebben met een mysterieus project van de op grappen beluste Lens Larque die nooit een vernedering vergeet. Het Kotzash spoor zal Gersen uiteindelijk naar de wereld Dar Sai en diens zusterplaneet Methel leiden in zijn jacht op de gevreesde Duivelsprins… Lens Larque is het vierde boek van de vijfdelige Duivelsprinsen reeks, waarin Kirth Gersen een voor een met zijn aartsvijanden afrekent. Lens Larque is deel 41 van de digitale editie van Het Verzameld Werk van Jack Vance, uitgegeven door Spatterlight. David Russell. Deze vertaling van Jaime Martijn verscheen eerder bij Meulenhoff, Amsterdam 1979. De tekst van de Spatterlight editie is op diverse punten gecorrigeerd en aangepast aan de hedendaagse spelling.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 19, 2018
About the author
Jack Vance
778 books1,598 followersAka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, Ellery Queen, Alan Wade.
John Holbrook Vance was an American writer widely celebrated for his imaginative contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery literature. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became known for richly detailed worlds, inventive language, and stories that combined adventure with sharp social observation. His work influenced generations of speculative fiction writers and helped expand the literary possibilities of the genre. Vance wrote more than sixty books and numerous short stories, many first appearing in science fiction magazines before later being expanded into novels and collections. His fiction was widely translated and developed an international readership.
Vance grew up in California and spent part of his youth on a ranch near the Sacramento River delta, where he developed a love of the outdoors and an appetite for reading. The family experienced financial hardship during the Great Depression, prompting him to take a variety of jobs before completing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. During these years he worked in several trades and cultivated interests in music, travel, and sailing, experiences that later informed many of the settings and themes in his fiction. Before becoming a full-time writer he held numerous occupations, including shipyard worker, merchant seaman, carpenter, and surveyor.
His earliest published story appeared in the mid 1940s in a science fiction magazine, marking the beginning of a long writing career. Throughout the following decades he produced stories across multiple genres, though he became best known for science fiction and fantasy cycles that combined imaginative settings with elaborate cultures and social systems. Among his most famous works are The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle, both of which received Hugo Awards. The Last Castle also earned the Nebula Award, confirming Vance's reputation as one of the most distinctive voices in speculative fiction. His fantasy trilogy Lyonesse later received the World Fantasy Award, while his memoir This Is Me, Jack Vance! earned another Hugo decades later.
In addition to speculative fiction, Vance wrote several mystery novels, some under pseudonyms including Ellery Queen. These works often blended crime elements with psychological or social themes and sometimes anticipated ideas that later appeared in his science fiction. His storytelling frequently emphasized cultural conflict, moral ambiguity, and intricate social customs rather than large-scale warfare, setting him apart from many contemporaries in the genre.
Vance maintained close friendships with other science fiction writers and participated in literary communities that shaped postwar American speculative fiction. He traveled widely with his family and spent extended periods abroad, experiences that influenced the exotic settings and cosmopolitan tone found in many of his books. Music also played a role in his life and writing, reflecting his long-standing enthusiasm for traditional jazz.
Despite gradually losing his eyesight later in life, Vance continued writing with the aid of specialized software and completed both fiction and autobiography in his later years. Over time his reputation grew steadily, and he received numerous honors, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and recognition as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Critics and fellow writers often praised his distinctive style, wit, and imagination, and his stories remain widely read within the science fiction and fantasy community.
John Holbrook Vance was an American writer widely celebrated for his imaginative contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery literature. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became known for richly detailed worlds, inventive language, and stories that combined adventure with sharp social observation. His work influenced generations of speculative fiction writers and helped expand the literary possibilities of the genre. Vance wrote more than sixty books and numerous short stories, many first appearing in science fiction magazines before later being expanded into novels and collections. His fiction was widely translated and developed an international readership.
Vance grew up in California and spent part of his youth on a ranch near the Sacramento River delta, where he developed a love of the outdoors and an appetite for reading. The family experienced financial hardship during the Great Depression, prompting him to take a variety of jobs before completing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. During these years he worked in several trades and cultivated interests in music, travel, and sailing, experiences that later informed many of the settings and themes in his fiction. Before becoming a full-time writer he held numerous occupations, including shipyard worker, merchant seaman, carpenter, and surveyor.
His earliest published story appeared in the mid 1940s in a science fiction magazine, marking the beginning of a long writing career. Throughout the following decades he produced stories across multiple genres, though he became best known for science fiction and fantasy cycles that combined imaginative settings with elaborate cultures and social systems. Among his most famous works are The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle, both of which received Hugo Awards. The Last Castle also earned the Nebula Award, confirming Vance's reputation as one of the most distinctive voices in speculative fiction. His fantasy trilogy Lyonesse later received the World Fantasy Award, while his memoir This Is Me, Jack Vance! earned another Hugo decades later.
In addition to speculative fiction, Vance wrote several mystery novels, some under pseudonyms including Ellery Queen. These works often blended crime elements with psychological or social themes and sometimes anticipated ideas that later appeared in his science fiction. His storytelling frequently emphasized cultural conflict, moral ambiguity, and intricate social customs rather than large-scale warfare, setting him apart from many contemporaries in the genre.
Vance maintained close friendships with other science fiction writers and participated in literary communities that shaped postwar American speculative fiction. He traveled widely with his family and spent extended periods abroad, experiences that influenced the exotic settings and cosmopolitan tone found in many of his books. Music also played a role in his life and writing, reflecting his long-standing enthusiasm for traditional jazz.
Despite gradually losing his eyesight later in life, Vance continued writing with the aid of specialized software and completed both fiction and autobiography in his later years. Over time his reputation grew steadily, and he received numerous honors, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and recognition as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Critics and fellow writers often praised his distinctive style, wit, and imagination, and his stories remain widely read within the science fiction and fantasy community.
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