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Alastor #1
Trullion: Alastor 2262
Trullion - world 2262 of the Alastor Cluster - is a water-world of fens, mists, and idyllic islands set in clear oceans whose teeming richness provides food for the taking. The Trill are a carefree and easy-living people, but violence enters their lives during raids of the Starmenters, freebooting galactic pirates who live short, perilous lives in pursuit of adventure, rape and pillage. Then there's the planet-wide game of hussade - when the Trill's passion for gambling drives them to risk all - even life itself, on the hazardous water-chessboard gaming fields. Their prize? The beautiful sheirlmaiden..
170 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
18 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
778 books1,588 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 55 reviews
January 15, 2016
The name of the planet is Trullion! World #2262 of the Alastor Cluster! The descriptions of this beautiful world and its backwoods society of islands and watery fens were the best part of the novel. As always, the author conveys a lot with a little; his spare prose is wonderfully stylish and his dry voice is just as wonderfully ironic. This is the kind of light world-building that I can only sit back and droolingly admire. Vance knows how to envision a world where I actually want to live!
The name of the game is Hussade! It is the most celebrated pasttime on Trullion! It appears to be a combination of rugby, baseball, and soccer that takes place above a shallow pool of water. Much like the many descriptions of Quidditch in the Harry Potter novels, I fear my disinterest in the minutia of made-up sports forced me to skim a good number of paragraphs!
The name of the hero is Glinnes! He "entirely enjoyed the pleasures of the Fens: feasts, amorous adventures, star-watching and sailing, hussade, nocturnal merling hunts, simple idleness." Upon returning to Trullion after some years of military service, he finds much in disarray regarding his family, property, and finances - disarray that must be put back in order and which require brooding, long-game planning, and the playing of many games of hussade. Glinnes is a charming character and an ideal protagonist!
The name of the monsters are Merlings! They live in the water and creep out at night, to snatch unwary children and drunken adults foolish enough to wander waterside in the evening. They are fearsome and fascinating but unfortunately rarely appear on the page. But when they do appear, their actions are quite eye-opening!
The name of the people are Trills! Much like amiable Glinnes, a typical Trill, Trill society is casual and low-key; the Trill way of life centers on relaxing on their porches while gazing at the water, eating, making love, sailing their little boats, watching sports, and after those strenuous activities, relaxing some more. Surely this is an ideal society. If only it included the reading of books as a regular past time, I would immediately move there!
The name of the cult is Fanscherade! Its proponents detest the Trill way of life as lazy, slovenly, without purpose, and far too focused on making love, watching sports, and eating. As always, Vance wryly caricatures any group or person who thinks arrogant tunnel-vision is an appropriate perspective. And it surely must be true that such uptight cults that do not know how to relax only deserve what will inevitably come to them!
The name of the author is Jack Vance! For the Vance enthusiast such as myself, even this bit of minor-note inside baseball provided me several hours of pleasure and amusement!
The name of the game is Hussade! It is the most celebrated pasttime on Trullion! It appears to be a combination of rugby, baseball, and soccer that takes place above a shallow pool of water. Much like the many descriptions of Quidditch in the Harry Potter novels, I fear my disinterest in the minutia of made-up sports forced me to skim a good number of paragraphs!
The name of the hero is Glinnes! He "entirely enjoyed the pleasures of the Fens: feasts, amorous adventures, star-watching and sailing, hussade, nocturnal merling hunts, simple idleness." Upon returning to Trullion after some years of military service, he finds much in disarray regarding his family, property, and finances - disarray that must be put back in order and which require brooding, long-game planning, and the playing of many games of hussade. Glinnes is a charming character and an ideal protagonist!
The name of the monsters are Merlings! They live in the water and creep out at night, to snatch unwary children and drunken adults foolish enough to wander waterside in the evening. They are fearsome and fascinating but unfortunately rarely appear on the page. But when they do appear, their actions are quite eye-opening!
The name of the people are Trills! Much like amiable Glinnes, a typical Trill, Trill society is casual and low-key; the Trill way of life centers on relaxing on their porches while gazing at the water, eating, making love, sailing their little boats, watching sports, and after those strenuous activities, relaxing some more. Surely this is an ideal society. If only it included the reading of books as a regular past time, I would immediately move there!
The name of the cult is Fanscherade! Its proponents detest the Trill way of life as lazy, slovenly, without purpose, and far too focused on making love, watching sports, and eating. As always, Vance wryly caricatures any group or person who thinks arrogant tunnel-vision is an appropriate perspective. And it surely must be true that such uptight cults that do not know how to relax only deserve what will inevitably come to them!
The name of the author is Jack Vance! For the Vance enthusiast such as myself, even this bit of minor-note inside baseball provided me several hours of pleasure and amusement!
April 17, 2016
This was a lot of fun.
Trullion: Alastor 2262 begins with this:
“Out towards the rim of the galaxy hangs Alastor Cluster, a whorl of thirty thousand live stars in an irregular volume twenty to thirty light years in diameter. … Scattered about the cluster are three thousand inhabited planets with a population of approximately five trillions persons.”
And so begins another wild and wooly Jack Vance experience.
Like so many of his books, this 1970 publication is about a lot of things and Vance packs it all together into a fun sized 246 pages. Trullion is number 2262 in the Alastor Clustor and resembles as a planet and corresponding culture a mix between Louisiana, Venice Italy, Venice Beach California and the Flash Gordon universe.
Trullion is mainly inhabited by a people who call themselves the Trills and live an idyllic, damn near utopian existence of sex, drinking, partying … and playing hussade.
This is also a sports book. Vance creates Hussade, this wildly popular spectator sport (actually played throughout the Cluster) that resembles a mix between water polo, chess, and the Miss Universe pageant.
Along the way, there are Scooby Doo mysteries to solve, some Byzantine cultural and sociological excursions, a love triangle, oodles of ozols (money) at stake and the merlings. Swimming ominously beneath the surface of the ubiquitous swamp water of this bucolic ocean world are man-eating sentients who lives in a precarious stalemate with the surface dwelling humans.
I have wondered before how much Alistair Reynolds was influenced by Jack Vance and Trullion: Alastor 2262 really makes me think that Reynolds has been inspired by the GrandMaster.
Reynolds began his Revelation Space novels in 2000, but Vance’s Gaean Reach series (of which the Alastor Cluster series is one) began in 1964 with Vance’s The Star King.
A fun book, most definitely for JV fans (I am one). Maybe not the best introduction to his work for a new reader ( The Dying Earth is likely that book) but still a very enjoyable visit with cousin Jack.
Trullion: Alastor 2262 begins with this:
“Out towards the rim of the galaxy hangs Alastor Cluster, a whorl of thirty thousand live stars in an irregular volume twenty to thirty light years in diameter. … Scattered about the cluster are three thousand inhabited planets with a population of approximately five trillions persons.”
And so begins another wild and wooly Jack Vance experience.
Like so many of his books, this 1970 publication is about a lot of things and Vance packs it all together into a fun sized 246 pages. Trullion is number 2262 in the Alastor Clustor and resembles as a planet and corresponding culture a mix between Louisiana, Venice Italy, Venice Beach California and the Flash Gordon universe.
Trullion is mainly inhabited by a people who call themselves the Trills and live an idyllic, damn near utopian existence of sex, drinking, partying … and playing hussade.
This is also a sports book. Vance creates Hussade, this wildly popular spectator sport (actually played throughout the Cluster) that resembles a mix between water polo, chess, and the Miss Universe pageant.
Along the way, there are Scooby Doo mysteries to solve, some Byzantine cultural and sociological excursions, a love triangle, oodles of ozols (money) at stake and the merlings. Swimming ominously beneath the surface of the ubiquitous swamp water of this bucolic ocean world are man-eating sentients who lives in a precarious stalemate with the surface dwelling humans.
I have wondered before how much Alistair Reynolds was influenced by Jack Vance and Trullion: Alastor 2262 really makes me think that Reynolds has been inspired by the GrandMaster.
Reynolds began his Revelation Space novels in 2000, but Vance’s Gaean Reach series (of which the Alastor Cluster series is one) began in 1964 with Vance’s The Star King.
A fun book, most definitely for JV fans (I am one). Maybe not the best introduction to his work for a new reader ( The Dying Earth is likely that book) but still a very enjoyable visit with cousin Jack.
April 4, 2016
The person at Orb books who is blurbing these editions clearly has not read them. "The Trill, a once-peaceful race populating the waters of Trullion, are now gambling their lives away on the planet-wide game hussade. What reward could be worth such risks?" That's a good question, and unfortunately we'll never know the answer because that's not what happens in this book at all.
What does happen is this: Glinnes Hulden returns home after ten years of military service to find his father dead, his older brother missing and himself the presumptive heir of his estate, part of which his younger twin has illegally sold to a nobleman. Gypsies are making a nuisance of themselves on his land. His mother and brother have joined an emergent cult. What to do? Fortunately, Glinnes is your typical Vancian protagonist and has the wits, scrappiness, perseverance and luck to put things right.
What does happen is this: Glinnes Hulden returns home after ten years of military service to find his father dead, his older brother missing and himself the presumptive heir of his estate, part of which his younger twin has illegally sold to a nobleman. Gypsies are making a nuisance of themselves on his land. His mother and brother have joined an emergent cult. What to do? Fortunately, Glinnes is your typical Vancian protagonist and has the wits, scrappiness, perseverance and luck to put things right.
June 10, 2021
Edit: reread 2021. I just got copies of the next three books in this loose trilogy set in the Alastor cluster of stars, so thought I would reread the first one before moving on. Hussade, the main sport, not just on Alastor 2262, but throughout the cluster, definitely took some time to work out the details. You do not find many 'sport stories' in science fiction; I can only think of The Player of Games. This also introduces us to the 'king' of the cluster as well, and he will probably play a role in the next books. He is like the ancient Roman leader who likes to 'go native' and explore his realm incognito...
A nifty space opera by Vance! Alastor 2262 is set in the far future on a planet (2262) in the Alastor cluster. The planet is something of a tropical paradise and the 'Trillies' (what the locals are called) are for the most part hedonistic, albeit with a passion for a team sport called hussade. Hussade has two teams who struggle on a grid suspended above water; the objective is for one of the team members to pull the ring holding the dress on a sheirl (a young virgin). The opposing team must pay a ransom if this happens to save the maiden. Vance obviously has some fun thinking this game through and it forms the heart of the story's background. Glinnes, the main protagonist, is the son of a former hussade champion who left home early to join the space police, known as the whelm. Upon his return after a ten year contract, he discovers many changes, and not many of them good.
Trullion, while a space opera to be sure, is also something of a mystery, with a lot of suspect characters and events that Vance brings to a very satisfying ending. Vance had a vivid imagination and brings lots of color to Trullion, along with his deft prose. My main issue with the novel concern the female characters; Trullion definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. I can cut Vance some slack as this was written in 1973, but still. 3.5 stars. After rereading this, rounding up!
A nifty space opera by Vance! Alastor 2262 is set in the far future on a planet (2262) in the Alastor cluster. The planet is something of a tropical paradise and the 'Trillies' (what the locals are called) are for the most part hedonistic, albeit with a passion for a team sport called hussade. Hussade has two teams who struggle on a grid suspended above water; the objective is for one of the team members to pull the ring holding the dress on a sheirl (a young virgin). The opposing team must pay a ransom if this happens to save the maiden. Vance obviously has some fun thinking this game through and it forms the heart of the story's background. Glinnes, the main protagonist, is the son of a former hussade champion who left home early to join the space police, known as the whelm. Upon his return after a ten year contract, he discovers many changes, and not many of them good.
Trullion, while a space opera to be sure, is also something of a mystery, with a lot of suspect characters and events that Vance brings to a very satisfying ending. Vance had a vivid imagination and brings lots of color to Trullion, along with his deft prose. My main issue with the novel concern the female characters; Trullion definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. I can cut Vance some slack as this was written in 1973, but still. 3.5 stars. After rereading this, rounding up!
April 4, 2013
Although all of Jack Vance's book are very, very good, this one is just brilliant - something which isn't apparent from just a plot synopsis. It's definitely one that I am going to have to read again. It starts off with a description of the Allastor cluster of worlds, presided over by the Connactor, who makes cameo appearances on the various worlds. I would bet my last dollar that he makes an appearance as a character somewhere in this book, another good reason why I should read it again. The character that I had pegged for the Connactor wasn't which left me wondering who it might be! As well as guessing that the Connactor might have made an appearance, I also sort of guessed the outcome which is revealed in the last couple of pages. It's funny how the outcome can be so predictable but then the book is still brilliant - it's how you get there I suppose.
July 18, 2017
It was O.K.
June 4, 2021
Die Alastor Trilogie war eines meiner Lieblingsbücher in den 90ern und Teil meiner Jugend. Wieviel ist noch übrig von dem Charme und was ist reine Nostalgie?
Um es gleich vorwegzunehmen, "Trullion" hat für mich den Test der Zeit bestanden und ist der beste Teil der Trilogie. Glinnes Hulden kehrt nach 10 Jahren Militärdienst zurück in seine Heimat. Was er dort findet, gefällt ihm nicht. Er muss um sein Erbe kämpfen, Zigeuner machen ihm das Leben schwer, eine neue Lebensphilosophie findet immer mehr Anhänger und gerät in Konflikt mit der Tradition und zu allem Überfluss gibt es auch Weltraum-Piraten. Mit Hilfe des Hussade Spiels versucht Glinnes, das notwendige Geld aufzutreiben, aber das ist alles andere als leicht.
Der Mix in diesem Buch ist einzigartig. Es wäre zu leicht, wenn man Vance auf seine exotischen Welten reduziert. Gerade in "Trullion" wird viel philosophiert über die richtige Art zu leben. Soll man das Leben einfach nur genießen oder ist es besser, nach Höherem zu streben und etwas zu erreichen? Auch wenn es für die eine Seite nicht gut ausgeht, die Frage ist noch lange nicht beantwortet und wird im 3. Teil (Wyst) wieder aufgegriffen.
Mich haben auch die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen fasziniert. Glinnes ist sehr naiv und versteht bei weitem nicht die komplizierten Verflechtungen. Er macht es sich einfach und stößt damit häufig an - aber hat damit natürlich die Sympathie auf seiner Seite. Mit Verbissenheit kann er sich aus jeder misslichen Situation wieder befreien.
Fazit: die Alastor Trilogie muss man zur richtigen Zeit gelesen haben, um von ihr gefesselt zu sein. Moderne Leser werden sie vermutlich nicht so begeistern wie mich damals. Ich gebe 4 von 5 Sternen.
Um es gleich vorwegzunehmen, "Trullion" hat für mich den Test der Zeit bestanden und ist der beste Teil der Trilogie. Glinnes Hulden kehrt nach 10 Jahren Militärdienst zurück in seine Heimat. Was er dort findet, gefällt ihm nicht. Er muss um sein Erbe kämpfen, Zigeuner machen ihm das Leben schwer, eine neue Lebensphilosophie findet immer mehr Anhänger und gerät in Konflikt mit der Tradition und zu allem Überfluss gibt es auch Weltraum-Piraten. Mit Hilfe des Hussade Spiels versucht Glinnes, das notwendige Geld aufzutreiben, aber das ist alles andere als leicht.
Der Mix in diesem Buch ist einzigartig. Es wäre zu leicht, wenn man Vance auf seine exotischen Welten reduziert. Gerade in "Trullion" wird viel philosophiert über die richtige Art zu leben. Soll man das Leben einfach nur genießen oder ist es besser, nach Höherem zu streben und etwas zu erreichen? Auch wenn es für die eine Seite nicht gut ausgeht, die Frage ist noch lange nicht beantwortet und wird im 3. Teil (Wyst) wieder aufgegriffen.
Mich haben auch die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen fasziniert. Glinnes ist sehr naiv und versteht bei weitem nicht die komplizierten Verflechtungen. Er macht es sich einfach und stößt damit häufig an - aber hat damit natürlich die Sympathie auf seiner Seite. Mit Verbissenheit kann er sich aus jeder misslichen Situation wieder befreien.
Fazit: die Alastor Trilogie muss man zur richtigen Zeit gelesen haben, um von ihr gefesselt zu sein. Moderne Leser werden sie vermutlich nicht so begeistern wie mich damals. Ich gebe 4 von 5 Sternen.
April 6, 2021
Forse il problema è che pensavo che mi sarebbe piaciuto tantissimo ma... Devo dire che questo romanzo di Vance è stata una mezza delusione. Saranno state le lunghe descrizioni delle partite di hussade (di cui il protagonista è un giocatore professionista), uno sport decisamente troppo sessista per i miei gusti e il cui scopo è denudare una vergine...; sarà che i merling, la specie autoctona del pianeta, sono una copia troppo sputata delle salamandre di Čapek; sarà che la storia si svolge in modo abbastanza lineare... Insomma, un insieme di elementi non mi hanno fatto amare questo libro, pur apprezzando l'inventiva nella costruzione dell'ammasso di Alastor con il suo singolare dittatore assoluto. Non escludo dunque di visitarne gli altri mondi ma di certo questo primo volume non me ne ha fatto venire una voglia travolgente!
June 16, 2020
To review Vance's books is to be a broken record. Brilliant, deep settings. An artist's sense of color. Sparkling dialog. An appealingly sardonic cast of supporting characters. Trullion has all of these qualities.
Where Vance gets more difficult is figuring out if there's a worldview behind the artistic virtuosity. Trullion is a tough one.
Looking at Vance's entire body of work, he believes that one's life is brief and precious. Time spent doing nothing is an inexcusable waste. We should go for the gusto and make our mark!
The planet Trullion is therefore an obvious Vancian foil. It's a place so lush and temperate that the wonderfully named "Trills" just hang out on beaches all day, gaze at the stars, do drugs, eat alien seafood and play a sport called Hussade.
But does the main character Glinnes rebel against this indolence as we would expect (and as occurs in many other Vance books)? Strangely no! Our hero is a proud Trill! The central plot thread is that Glinnes' darn twin brother sold the family island and Glinnes is forced to raise money to get it back. Not only that, it's the twin who bucks Trill society. He joins a group of young people who hilariously rebel against the hippie Trills by dressing in somber gray uniforms and taking everything very seriously.
Vance generally presents the rebels as seen from a Trill perspective, so they're absurd and self-important. Are they though? Aren't these enthusiastic kids the only ones who are actually trying to live a worthwhile life? Trullion doesn't really give us the answer. Vance just leaves us with the situation and the Trills' unexamined mockery.
There are various other troubling elements to Trills society. They have a space-pirate problem and their answer is elaborate and cruel public torture for captured pirates. They occupy the planet at the expense of a group of aliens (Merlings), and Merling and Trill generally accept a detente where they let off steam by killing one another for sport. The Trill also share the planet with the Trevanyi, an itinerant, Romani-like people with all the baggage of that dynamic.
But it's the sexual politics portrayed in Trullion that are truly bizarre and, frankly, repugnant. The Trill sport of Hussade involves teams of men sparring over a grid of watery pits. There is one woman--the "Shierl"--on each team who stands at the end of the field wearing a white gown fastened by a gold ring. The goal is to make it to the other team's Shierl and pull the ring, leaving her naked and humiliated. The Shierls take on a mystical quality, each imbuing their team with a sort of identity and will to win. Also they have to be virgins.
What the fuck?
Vance plays the entire thing totally straight. Trill culture is never explicitly judged except according to Trill standards. Everyone loves Hussade! Everyone cheers when the rebel kids are crushed! The women don't mind that they're ruthlessly objectified and exploited. And the whole thing is delivered as a wholesome adventure story about Glinnes winning back the family farm. And it totally works on that level. Glinnes is a likable hero. The story is engaging and satisfying.
So is Trullion a utopia or a dystopia? I really, really don't know. I am reminded of both Thomas More's Utopia and R.A. Lafferty's Past Master. Lafferty complained that nobody understood that the point he was making in Past Master is that the "utopia" is actually awful. I don't know if Vance ever has that sort of explicit agenda. But Jesus Christ, Trullion has some uncomfortable aspects to it for light, soft sci-fi.
Where Vance gets more difficult is figuring out if there's a worldview behind the artistic virtuosity. Trullion is a tough one.
Looking at Vance's entire body of work, he believes that one's life is brief and precious. Time spent doing nothing is an inexcusable waste. We should go for the gusto and make our mark!
The planet Trullion is therefore an obvious Vancian foil. It's a place so lush and temperate that the wonderfully named "Trills" just hang out on beaches all day, gaze at the stars, do drugs, eat alien seafood and play a sport called Hussade.
But does the main character Glinnes rebel against this indolence as we would expect (and as occurs in many other Vance books)? Strangely no! Our hero is a proud Trill! The central plot thread is that Glinnes' darn twin brother sold the family island and Glinnes is forced to raise money to get it back. Not only that, it's the twin who bucks Trill society. He joins a group of young people who hilariously rebel against the hippie Trills by dressing in somber gray uniforms and taking everything very seriously.
Vance generally presents the rebels as seen from a Trill perspective, so they're absurd and self-important. Are they though? Aren't these enthusiastic kids the only ones who are actually trying to live a worthwhile life? Trullion doesn't really give us the answer. Vance just leaves us with the situation and the Trills' unexamined mockery.
There are various other troubling elements to Trills society. They have a space-pirate problem and their answer is elaborate and cruel public torture for captured pirates. They occupy the planet at the expense of a group of aliens (Merlings), and Merling and Trill generally accept a detente where they let off steam by killing one another for sport. The Trill also share the planet with the Trevanyi, an itinerant, Romani-like people with all the baggage of that dynamic.
But it's the sexual politics portrayed in Trullion that are truly bizarre and, frankly, repugnant. The Trill sport of Hussade involves teams of men sparring over a grid of watery pits. There is one woman--the "Shierl"--on each team who stands at the end of the field wearing a white gown fastened by a gold ring. The goal is to make it to the other team's Shierl and pull the ring, leaving her naked and humiliated. The Shierls take on a mystical quality, each imbuing their team with a sort of identity and will to win. Also they have to be virgins.
What the fuck?
Vance plays the entire thing totally straight. Trill culture is never explicitly judged except according to Trill standards. Everyone loves Hussade! Everyone cheers when the rebel kids are crushed! The women don't mind that they're ruthlessly objectified and exploited. And the whole thing is delivered as a wholesome adventure story about Glinnes winning back the family farm. And it totally works on that level. Glinnes is a likable hero. The story is engaging and satisfying.
So is Trullion a utopia or a dystopia? I really, really don't know. I am reminded of both Thomas More's Utopia and R.A. Lafferty's Past Master. Lafferty complained that nobody understood that the point he was making in Past Master is that the "utopia" is actually awful. I don't know if Vance ever has that sort of explicit agenda. But Jesus Christ, Trullion has some uncomfortable aspects to it for light, soft sci-fi.
June 21, 2015
The Alastor Cluster consists of around 30 thousand stars with 3000 inhabited planets. It is the setting for a trilogy of novels by Jack Vance, each named after the planet on which it takes place.
Trullion is a largely aquatic planet with only one landmass. After years of wars, the settlers on the planet have divided into four peaceful prefectures and a social system headed by an aristocratic class, followed by landowning, professional, and working classes. Peace seems to have resulted from the Trills, as they are known, realizing that their planet is so outrageously abundant in both the necessities and most of the pleasures of life, that fighting among themselves was absurd. They are now a hedonistic race, working when they must, drinking great quantities of the excellent local wines, taking out their hostilities with the violent spectator sport of hussade or on occasion enjoying the public execution of criminals in vats of boiling oil. They are also casually promiscuous, and yet set a high standard on virginity. They need virgins to serve as shierls, the beauties who find themselves stripped naked before a crowd of thousands should their team lose at hussade. Yes, Trullion is a 20th century, men's magazine vision of the good life.
Not too far into Trullion, I realized that it could work as a Western, a too-spicy-for-tv episode of The Big Valley or Bonanza. The story centers on a family of landowners, a son returning from military service to find the situation at home changed for the worse, and his efforts to regain his rightful inheritance. The rich folk are shifty, the son must prove himself (in this case by playing hussade), and instead of Apaches we get the merlings, an indigenous aquatic race that drag incautious Trills to underwater caverns and carve them up for dinner.
Although Vance wrote a great deal of fantasy, Trullion is clearly a far future SF novel. It simply doesn't make much use of science. Space travel is a given, but the boats Trills use to get from island to island range from rowboats to motorboats and yachts as they would today. The communication system includes video screens, but people still dial the telephone when they want to reach some one. Vance spent much time traveling internationally with his wife and son, at times island hopping in the South Pacific or the Mediterranean. While on these extended trips he wrote much of his fiction, turning over his handwritten pages to his wife for typing. I can imagine the life on Trullion coming from this nomadic strain in Vance's life.
Trullion has little structure but it is an enjoyable read, Several chapters involve such detailed descriptions of hussade tournaments that I thought I was reading a SF version of a Matt Christopher sports book for boys. But I like hussade. As a child my favorite group sport was Smear the Man with the Ball, which is not unlike hussade, except hussade has done away with the ball. Also, we never ended our games by stripping a female classmate naked.
There is a subplot involving an ascetic movement called Fanscherade but not much comes of it. There are also the Trevanyi, a gypsy-like race who can be trusted only to steal from you but still command a level of respect among Trills. I don't think Vance ever shied away from stereotyping.
All the Alastor novels fit my criteria for the perfect SF book. I like them to be mass market paperbacks published in the 1970s or '80s, and between 188 and 235 pages long. My 1973 Ballantine edition wrapped up in 247 pages.
Trullion is a largely aquatic planet with only one landmass. After years of wars, the settlers on the planet have divided into four peaceful prefectures and a social system headed by an aristocratic class, followed by landowning, professional, and working classes. Peace seems to have resulted from the Trills, as they are known, realizing that their planet is so outrageously abundant in both the necessities and most of the pleasures of life, that fighting among themselves was absurd. They are now a hedonistic race, working when they must, drinking great quantities of the excellent local wines, taking out their hostilities with the violent spectator sport of hussade or on occasion enjoying the public execution of criminals in vats of boiling oil. They are also casually promiscuous, and yet set a high standard on virginity. They need virgins to serve as shierls, the beauties who find themselves stripped naked before a crowd of thousands should their team lose at hussade. Yes, Trullion is a 20th century, men's magazine vision of the good life.
Not too far into Trullion, I realized that it could work as a Western, a too-spicy-for-tv episode of The Big Valley or Bonanza. The story centers on a family of landowners, a son returning from military service to find the situation at home changed for the worse, and his efforts to regain his rightful inheritance. The rich folk are shifty, the son must prove himself (in this case by playing hussade), and instead of Apaches we get the merlings, an indigenous aquatic race that drag incautious Trills to underwater caverns and carve them up for dinner.
Although Vance wrote a great deal of fantasy, Trullion is clearly a far future SF novel. It simply doesn't make much use of science. Space travel is a given, but the boats Trills use to get from island to island range from rowboats to motorboats and yachts as they would today. The communication system includes video screens, but people still dial the telephone when they want to reach some one. Vance spent much time traveling internationally with his wife and son, at times island hopping in the South Pacific or the Mediterranean. While on these extended trips he wrote much of his fiction, turning over his handwritten pages to his wife for typing. I can imagine the life on Trullion coming from this nomadic strain in Vance's life.
Trullion has little structure but it is an enjoyable read, Several chapters involve such detailed descriptions of hussade tournaments that I thought I was reading a SF version of a Matt Christopher sports book for boys. But I like hussade. As a child my favorite group sport was Smear the Man with the Ball, which is not unlike hussade, except hussade has done away with the ball. Also, we never ended our games by stripping a female classmate naked.
There is a subplot involving an ascetic movement called Fanscherade but not much comes of it. There are also the Trevanyi, a gypsy-like race who can be trusted only to steal from you but still command a level of respect among Trills. I don't think Vance ever shied away from stereotyping.
All the Alastor novels fit my criteria for the perfect SF book. I like them to be mass market paperbacks published in the 1970s or '80s, and between 188 and 235 pages long. My 1973 Ballantine edition wrapped up in 247 pages.
July 28, 2023
Jack Vance creates another unique world, painted in broad strokes, yet original and vivid. Our protagonist, who returns home after a tour of duty in the international space force, finds his ancestral home changed and his family estranged. When it turns out that he almost certainly will lose a significant part if the family heritage, he looks to a professional Hussade sports career to quickly gather the funds needed to avert this fate, encountering gypsies, false prophets and foppish noblemen on his path. Vance at his best, he comes up with a complete new sport, as well as the tactics and the lifestyle that go with it. Very entertaining.
January 21, 2016
This is, as many of Vance's books are, a beautiful story and a simple one. While most reviews concentrate on the sports aspect, they fail to tell you that the sport is just as Vancean as anything else in the story. The game is Hussade. It's played over a pool using trapezes with players wielding buffs to knock their opponents in the water. At either end of the pool, each team guards their sheirl, a virgin girl who wears a toga-like garment that can be removed with a single pull of a gold ring at the waist, revealing her nudity to the spectators and shaming the losing team.
As strange as that sounds, to read it is exhilarating (and, no, I don't mean the nude women), and I absolutely hate watching sports. This was different. It was because of the sports aspect that I hesitated to read this one, but that was a mistake. I should have known better since it was written by Vance.
Besides Hussade, which is a minor part of the book anyway, the setting is superbly realized, the characters spout beautiful and ironic dialogue, and shady villains sneak about in the darkness.
This, it turns out, is one of my favorite Vance books. It just possesses some unnameable charm. As with all Vance, it is more than the sum of its parts and summaries are inadequate. Give it a try. It's just over 200 pages, and every one a gem.
As strange as that sounds, to read it is exhilarating (and, no, I don't mean the nude women), and I absolutely hate watching sports. This was different. It was because of the sports aspect that I hesitated to read this one, but that was a mistake. I should have known better since it was written by Vance.
Besides Hussade, which is a minor part of the book anyway, the setting is superbly realized, the characters spout beautiful and ironic dialogue, and shady villains sneak about in the darkness.
This, it turns out, is one of my favorite Vance books. It just possesses some unnameable charm. As with all Vance, it is more than the sum of its parts and summaries are inadequate. Give it a try. It's just over 200 pages, and every one a gem.
July 27, 2015
reviews.metaphorosis.com
Trullion is classic Vance. Arcane vocabulary, lush landscapes, disaffected characters - this book has it all. It also introduces Alastor Cluster, ruled by the idosyncratic Connatic, who wanders incognito amongst his subjects.
Trullion is classic Vance. Arcane vocabulary, lush landscapes, disaffected characters - this book has it all. It also introduces Alastor Cluster, ruled by the idosyncratic Connatic, who wanders incognito amongst his subjects.
Briefly, Glinnes is an ex-policeman, come home to Trullion after retirement. Naturally, he finds that all is not well, and part of his patrimony has been squandered. He turns to his skills at hussade, a complex team sport, to raise funds. As always with Vance, there are quirky customs, strange habits, and unattainable, stand-offish women. The plot is on the thin side, but the language and characterizations are fantastic (in several senses).
If you're a Vance fan, this is a must. If you're not (yet), this is a great place to start. Highly recommended.
CVIE VI
August 16, 2020
One of the rare science fiction sports stories, the only other title I can think of is Hunger Games, but there have been a few others. Trullion society seems carefree and happy on the surface but it has its dark spots as well, a strange culture in the Vance tradition. Glinnes's struggle to recover some of the family property sold off by his younger brother drives him back to hussade to raise money. The game hussade is like a competitive burlesque circus act down to the ending where the sheirl is stripped naked, its a man's game and there's a Male Gaze aspect to it. Glinnes is a complex person and has a cruel, amoral streak. He succeeds in the end with some trickery and luck. An excellent, if a bit sexist, read.
While this is a series, you can read them in any order.
Also this cover should be nominated for a Cheesiest Cover award.
While this is a series, you can read them in any order.
Also this cover should be nominated for a Cheesiest Cover award.
April 19, 2020
Trullion is one of three novels written by Vance that are set in Alastor Cluster. Trullion was the first of these stories to be written, and with its setting in the Fens, it seems to have been the closest to Vance's heart. Marune and Wyst are also interesting novels, but Trullion is my favorite.
Part of what makes Trullion interesting is the setting: Originally published in 1973, Vance created an imaginary world dominated by a type of free-love philosophy similar to that explored by California "hippies". The plot revolves around a social revolutionary movement that arises in opposition to the dominant "free love" culture of Trullion. Adding to the interest generated by Vance's imaginative world building is the colorful array of characters that Vance throws together in the story.
Glinnes Hulden must deal with "his team's shierl". Glinnes meets and begins "dealing with" Duissane before she becomes a hussade shierl. When Glinnes arrives back on Trullion after serving in the military for ten years, he discovers that Duissane's family is literally living in his back yard. Duissane's family is Trevanyi, a minority group on Trullion.
Duissane's family (the Drossets) is nomadic, living in tents and moving from place to place around Trullion. They met Glay Hulden (the twin brother of Glinnes) when Glay was wandering around Trullion for a few years. Glay now owes the Drossets favors, so he allows them to pitch their tents on Rabendary Island. Immediately upon returning home after his tour of duty in the military, Glinnes comes into conflict with the Drossets.
The relationship of Glinnes with Duissane brings new meaning to the idea of falling in love with the girl next door. Glinnes is immediately attracted to Duissane, but he soon learns that the Drossets robbed and murdered his brother Shira. The Drossets also rob and beat Glinnes, leaving him at the mercy of the man-eating merlings. Glinnes survives the attack; he burns for revenge against the Drossets but he is still smitten by Duissane.
A romance between Glinnes and Duissane seems impossible, but even more unlikely is that Duissane becomes a hussade shierl. Nobody can remember another Trevanyi girl being a shierl. Compounding the unlikelihoods, Duissane's father has only given Duissane permission to be shierl for the hussade team that Glinnes plays for. In Vance's skilled authorial hands, the multiplying absurdities become sources of drama and even humor.
I suspect that Vance was simply having fun and trying to place difficult challenges between Glinnes and happiness, which makes for an interesting story and keeps readers turning the pages. We learn that Shira apparently tried to seduce Duissane. This resulted in a dangerous clash of cultures. Shira and Glinnes are Trullion's version of jocks; they grew up playing hussade and chasing girls. They would not hesitate to ask a pretty girl for casual sex. In contrast, the Trevanyi seem to treat their daughters like valuable property. Duissane's father apparently views it as his responsibility to defend the virginity of his daughter; so he killed Shira.
Here are the first words spoken by Duissane to Glinnes: "Oh you wicked urush, you've spoiled our meal. May your tongue grow a beard. And you with your paunch full of dog-guts, get away from this place before we name you a stiff-leg Fanscher. We know you, never fear! You're a worse spageen than your horn of a brother..."
Later, Glinnes and Duissane are alone together on a small island. Glinnes attempts to seduce Duissane and he kisses her. Duissane pushes him away and says, "You're all alike you Trills! You reek with cauch; you brain is a single lecherous gland. Do you aspire only to turpitude?" And then a bit later, "Oh you are a despicable person; I want nothing to do with you."
However, just 15 pages later, when Duissane suspects that Glinnes has come into possession of a large amount of money, she comes to his house and tries to seduce him. "Duissane dropped her cape. She wore only sandals and a thin frock." Duissane said, "Henceforth, I live only to exalt you, to make you the happiest of men." However, when she realizes that Glinnes has no money, she leaves him and agrees to marry a wealthy aristocrat (Lord Gensifer).
Eventually, towards the end of Trullion, Duissane's father and Lord Gensifer are both dead. Glinnes finally does end up with a large sum of money. At the end of the novel, Glinnes and Duissane walk together down a beach and we can imagine that finally nothing remains to keep them apart.
Duissane is an interesting character because she desperately wants to transcend the restricted existence that she was born to. This contrasts starkly with Glinnes who seemingly enjoys the kind of life that he was born into and would happily live as his father had lived. However, Glinnes has his life disrupted by both Duissane and his brother Glay.
Glay joins the revolutionary Fancher movement that seeks to create a new way of living on Trullion, one entirely opposed to the conventional Trill lifestyle that Glinnes enjoys. Through the entire story, Glay is a source of annoyance for Glinnes. In particular, Glay sells one of the two islands that is owned by the Hulden family, donating the money to the Fanscherade revolutionaries. However, Vance is a master of constructing plots in which great rewards are ultimately gained by a protagonist who persists in his pursuit of a goal against the tide of adversity.
In the end, after Fanscherade has been crushed by the social momentum of Trullion, Glay returns home to Rabendary Island. Glinnes finds it impossible to remain angry at Glay: it is through Glay's actions that Duissane came into his life and while scheming to buy back Ambal Island Glinnes had managed to obtain a large fortune, thirty million ozols.
Science fiction stories often deal with imaginary scientific and technological advances and their imagined impacts on people and societies. I feel comfortable viewing Vance's Alastor Cluster stories as science fiction because it is as if Vance asked, "What types of worlds might exist if humans were given access to cheap and convenient interstellar space travel technology?"
Trullion, like many Vance stories, includes alien creatures. The merlings of Trullion are taken for granted by the human residents of the planet. Lord Gensifer along with the father and sister of Glinnes are killed by merlings. Another endless source of danger are the space pirates who constantly raid the planets of Alastor Cluster.
Alastor Cluster was a playground for Vance's imagination. Trullion is a fine starting point for readers who want to explore the many worlds of Jack Vance.
http://wikifiction.blogspot.com/2018/...
Part of what makes Trullion interesting is the setting: Originally published in 1973, Vance created an imaginary world dominated by a type of free-love philosophy similar to that explored by California "hippies". The plot revolves around a social revolutionary movement that arises in opposition to the dominant "free love" culture of Trullion. Adding to the interest generated by Vance's imaginative world building is the colorful array of characters that Vance throws together in the story.
Glinnes Hulden must deal with "his team's shierl". Glinnes meets and begins "dealing with" Duissane before she becomes a hussade shierl. When Glinnes arrives back on Trullion after serving in the military for ten years, he discovers that Duissane's family is literally living in his back yard. Duissane's family is Trevanyi, a minority group on Trullion.
Duissane's family (the Drossets) is nomadic, living in tents and moving from place to place around Trullion. They met Glay Hulden (the twin brother of Glinnes) when Glay was wandering around Trullion for a few years. Glay now owes the Drossets favors, so he allows them to pitch their tents on Rabendary Island. Immediately upon returning home after his tour of duty in the military, Glinnes comes into conflict with the Drossets.
The relationship of Glinnes with Duissane brings new meaning to the idea of falling in love with the girl next door. Glinnes is immediately attracted to Duissane, but he soon learns that the Drossets robbed and murdered his brother Shira. The Drossets also rob and beat Glinnes, leaving him at the mercy of the man-eating merlings. Glinnes survives the attack; he burns for revenge against the Drossets but he is still smitten by Duissane.
A romance between Glinnes and Duissane seems impossible, but even more unlikely is that Duissane becomes a hussade shierl. Nobody can remember another Trevanyi girl being a shierl. Compounding the unlikelihoods, Duissane's father has only given Duissane permission to be shierl for the hussade team that Glinnes plays for. In Vance's skilled authorial hands, the multiplying absurdities become sources of drama and even humor.
I suspect that Vance was simply having fun and trying to place difficult challenges between Glinnes and happiness, which makes for an interesting story and keeps readers turning the pages. We learn that Shira apparently tried to seduce Duissane. This resulted in a dangerous clash of cultures. Shira and Glinnes are Trullion's version of jocks; they grew up playing hussade and chasing girls. They would not hesitate to ask a pretty girl for casual sex. In contrast, the Trevanyi seem to treat their daughters like valuable property. Duissane's father apparently views it as his responsibility to defend the virginity of his daughter; so he killed Shira.
Here are the first words spoken by Duissane to Glinnes: "Oh you wicked urush, you've spoiled our meal. May your tongue grow a beard. And you with your paunch full of dog-guts, get away from this place before we name you a stiff-leg Fanscher. We know you, never fear! You're a worse spageen than your horn of a brother..."
Later, Glinnes and Duissane are alone together on a small island. Glinnes attempts to seduce Duissane and he kisses her. Duissane pushes him away and says, "You're all alike you Trills! You reek with cauch; you brain is a single lecherous gland. Do you aspire only to turpitude?" And then a bit later, "Oh you are a despicable person; I want nothing to do with you."
However, just 15 pages later, when Duissane suspects that Glinnes has come into possession of a large amount of money, she comes to his house and tries to seduce him. "Duissane dropped her cape. She wore only sandals and a thin frock." Duissane said, "Henceforth, I live only to exalt you, to make you the happiest of men." However, when she realizes that Glinnes has no money, she leaves him and agrees to marry a wealthy aristocrat (Lord Gensifer).
Eventually, towards the end of Trullion, Duissane's father and Lord Gensifer are both dead. Glinnes finally does end up with a large sum of money. At the end of the novel, Glinnes and Duissane walk together down a beach and we can imagine that finally nothing remains to keep them apart.
Duissane is an interesting character because she desperately wants to transcend the restricted existence that she was born to. This contrasts starkly with Glinnes who seemingly enjoys the kind of life that he was born into and would happily live as his father had lived. However, Glinnes has his life disrupted by both Duissane and his brother Glay.
Glay joins the revolutionary Fancher movement that seeks to create a new way of living on Trullion, one entirely opposed to the conventional Trill lifestyle that Glinnes enjoys. Through the entire story, Glay is a source of annoyance for Glinnes. In particular, Glay sells one of the two islands that is owned by the Hulden family, donating the money to the Fanscherade revolutionaries. However, Vance is a master of constructing plots in which great rewards are ultimately gained by a protagonist who persists in his pursuit of a goal against the tide of adversity.
In the end, after Fanscherade has been crushed by the social momentum of Trullion, Glay returns home to Rabendary Island. Glinnes finds it impossible to remain angry at Glay: it is through Glay's actions that Duissane came into his life and while scheming to buy back Ambal Island Glinnes had managed to obtain a large fortune, thirty million ozols.
Science fiction stories often deal with imaginary scientific and technological advances and their imagined impacts on people and societies. I feel comfortable viewing Vance's Alastor Cluster stories as science fiction because it is as if Vance asked, "What types of worlds might exist if humans were given access to cheap and convenient interstellar space travel technology?"
Trullion, like many Vance stories, includes alien creatures. The merlings of Trullion are taken for granted by the human residents of the planet. Lord Gensifer along with the father and sister of Glinnes are killed by merlings. Another endless source of danger are the space pirates who constantly raid the planets of Alastor Cluster.
Alastor Cluster was a playground for Vance's imagination. Trullion is a fine starting point for readers who want to explore the many worlds of Jack Vance.
http://wikifiction.blogspot.com/2018/...
August 15, 2023
I'm running out of library time so I'll have to review this tomorrow. Very typical fanciful yet earthy Vance storytelling/world building.
So, there are 3,000 human-settled planets in the Alastor Cluster and JV managed to write about three of them, Trullion being the first. The Gaean Reach is nearby. More about that in The Demon Princes. While TDP is apex Vance storytelling, this one is a bit of fluff in a minor key, as much goofy as serious. Life is easy on Trullion, but for the occasional soul lost to the disgusting and water-bound and predatory Merlings and a certain degree of criminality in the form of space pirates. There are some cultural wars going on that get hot and bloody for a while, but no one has to break much of a sweat to stay warm and well-fed in this water-bound world. JV seems to be saying that a culture that has passed well beyond mere survival is at risk of evolving into triviality. The prominence of a complicated game called "hussade" and elaborate/decorative forms of dress suggests the prominence of big time sports and high fashion in the USA and elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm not about to give my friend Jack anything less that a 3.5* rating. That rounds down to 3*. I enjoyed looking at the various semi-salacious paperback covers on display. My copy from interlibrary loan from Hobart/William Smith was a paperback but got library-ated(library-ized?) and the cover is a goner. Too bad...
So, there are 3,000 human-settled planets in the Alastor Cluster and JV managed to write about three of them, Trullion being the first. The Gaean Reach is nearby. More about that in The Demon Princes. While TDP is apex Vance storytelling, this one is a bit of fluff in a minor key, as much goofy as serious. Life is easy on Trullion, but for the occasional soul lost to the disgusting and water-bound and predatory Merlings and a certain degree of criminality in the form of space pirates. There are some cultural wars going on that get hot and bloody for a while, but no one has to break much of a sweat to stay warm and well-fed in this water-bound world. JV seems to be saying that a culture that has passed well beyond mere survival is at risk of evolving into triviality. The prominence of a complicated game called "hussade" and elaborate/decorative forms of dress suggests the prominence of big time sports and high fashion in the USA and elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm not about to give my friend Jack anything less that a 3.5* rating. That rounds down to 3*. I enjoyed looking at the various semi-salacious paperback covers on display. My copy from interlibrary loan from Hobart/William Smith was a paperback but got library-ated(library-ized?) and the cover is a goner. Too bad...
April 27, 2020
A re-read in the original English (I've read the Dutch omnibus containing all three Alastor novels multiple times a long time ago).
A classic Vance novel. The solitary, capable, but still sociable hero, the reluctant romantic interest, the older vagabond passing out tasty morsels of wisdom, usually served with some irony and a dash of mystery.
I must admit, I skimmed some of the Husssade (the sport featured in the novel) games.
I never really noticed how conservative the protagonist is. He does not like the people who want to change their society: especially the people who want to add some ambition to the pretty hedonistic society of Trullion. Pretty ironic, but fun.
Some of the more sexist and even racist ideas are a bit dated (Vance has a tendency of painting some of the cultures with pretty broad strokes, which left a bit of a bad taste when it concerned the gypsy like Trevanyi). Of course the novel was written in 1973, so well, I can accept it.
I do miss this kind of science fiction: the book is tightly plotted, the dialogs are humorous, and it focusses on the social aspects and the sense of wonder, more then on explaining (pseudo-)scientific ideas.
A classic Vance novel. The solitary, capable, but still sociable hero, the reluctant romantic interest, the older vagabond passing out tasty morsels of wisdom, usually served with some irony and a dash of mystery.
I must admit, I skimmed some of the Husssade (the sport featured in the novel) games.
I never really noticed how conservative the protagonist is. He does not like the people who want to change their society: especially the people who want to add some ambition to the pretty hedonistic society of Trullion. Pretty ironic, but fun.
Some of the more sexist and even racist ideas are a bit dated (Vance has a tendency of painting some of the cultures with pretty broad strokes, which left a bit of a bad taste when it concerned the gypsy like Trevanyi). Of course the novel was written in 1973, so well, I can accept it.
I do miss this kind of science fiction: the book is tightly plotted, the dialogs are humorous, and it focusses on the social aspects and the sense of wonder, more then on explaining (pseudo-)scientific ideas.
May 30, 2024
Trullion: Alastor 2262 was first published in 1973 in digest form in Amazing Science Fiction magazine. It was released as a paperback novel later the same year. It is currently in print in paperback or Kindle by Spatterlight Press. My out of print copy has 247 pages of text. This is the second time I have read the novel in recent years and rated it a 4 both times.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters. Trullion is also known as Chamber 2262 and is the lone planet of a small white star. It has one narrow continent called Merlank that is divided into twenty prefectures. There are thousands of waterways and many islands on Trullion. An aristocratic class is at the top of the hierarchy in society with the nomadic Trevanyi at the bottom. Residents of Trullion, with the exception of Trevanyis, are called Trills.
Our main character is Glinnes Hulden who was born one hour earlier than his brother Glay. When Glinnes turned seventeen he enlisted in the military like police force called the Whelm. The main narrative begins ten years later when Glinnes resigns from the Whelm to return home. Glinnes oldest brother had taken over as head of the family after their father was killed by merlins, an indigenous, semi-intelligent, humanoid like creature that lives mostly in water but often emerges at night to search for food, sometimes killing humans. But Glinnes learns that his oldest brother has been missing for two months and is likely dead. If his brother is dead, Glinnes is the next oldest by one hour and will be head of the family estate.
Glinnes is surprised to learn that his twin brother Glay recently sold Amber Isle, one of the family estates with its manor house. Not only did he not have any legal authority to do so, but he sold it at a very low price and then donated the proceeds to the leader of a philosophical cult, called the Fanschers, of which Glay is a member. Glay also allowed a family of gypsy like Trevanyi to camp on their main family estate on Rabendary Island. They are very irresponsible and destructive, chopping down old trees, killing most the game and destroying plants that are relied on for food. Glinnes insists that they, the Drosset family, leave his island. This creates intense animosity, almost a family feud, by the Drosset family, directed at Glinnes, that continues throughout the novel.
Glinnes could cancel the sale of the other family estate if he had the money to reimburse the new buyer, but he does not have the funds. He is unable to borrow the money from the bank because he is not technically the head of the estate since his oldest brother is not considered legally dead yet. It would take four years to declare him dead if the body is not found. When Glinnes learns about the creation of a local hussade team he decides to join the team after negotiating with the owner. Hussade is the fanatically popular team sport played throughout the Alastor Cluster, and Glinnes is a highly skilled player. Hussade team owners share a portion of their winnings with the players. If he is on a winning team Glinnes might be able to make enough money to buy back the estate on Ambal Isle. This seems to be his only realistic option.
About 61 pages of the novel are devoted to describing the organizing of the hussade teams, their practices and some play by play action of actual games. Some readers report really enjoying reading these sports scenes. Others seem less enthusiastic. Vance, of course, does a very good job of describing an odd sport in a lively way. Hussade involves two teams that try to charge over runs above four feet of water to attempt to get into the other team's territory. The defending team tries to body block opponents from crossing, hopefully pushing them into the water. Either team may use trapezes to swing sideways over the water to reach a different run. The wings, strikes and rovers of each team attempt to reach the end of the opponent's field where a girl called the "sheirl" is stationed on a platform. Each team has guards who mostly defend the sheirl. If a player reaches the opposing team's sheirl, he takes hold of a ring on the sheirl's clothing (a white gown) and "ransom" must be paid by the other team or he pulls the ring with all the clothing off the sheirl. If the ring is pulled a team is disgraced and loses the game. Players and fans are both extremely passionate and committed.
Vance does an excellent job of interweaving different themes, elements and plot lines. In addition to the sport of hussade, we have space pirates called starmenters, human eating merlings, the Fanscher cult, gypsy like Trevanyi, sibling rivalry, romances, family feuds, thefts, murders, a sacred burial ground called Vale of Green Ghosts, an arrogant aristocracy with its strict class system, and many interesting characters. Vance not only pulls all of this together but presents us with an excellent and unpredictable ending.
I found the novel to be thoroughly engaging, although there were a few sections about the game of hussade where my attention lagged slightly the second time I read it. Overall the action, adventure, world building, interesting characters and talented writing prevailed for me. All Vance fans will probably want to read this novel, and some general readers might like it although I can think of many other novels I'd recommend more readily for those new to the writings of Jack Vance
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
The Alastor Cluster consists of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets with a human population of about five trillion. All of the people share a common language and are ruled by the Connatic who lives on the planet Numenes. The Connatic uses his wits and a powerful military like police force to keep the peace, especially focusing on space pirates called starmenters. Trullion is also known as Chamber 2262 and is the lone planet of a small white star. It has one narrow continent called Merlank that is divided into twenty prefectures. There are thousands of waterways and many islands on Trullion. An aristocratic class is at the top of the hierarchy in society with the nomadic Trevanyi at the bottom. Residents of Trullion, with the exception of Trevanyis, are called Trills.
Our main character is Glinnes Hulden who was born one hour earlier than his brother Glay. When Glinnes turned seventeen he enlisted in the military like police force called the Whelm. The main narrative begins ten years later when Glinnes resigns from the Whelm to return home. Glinnes oldest brother had taken over as head of the family after their father was killed by merlins, an indigenous, semi-intelligent, humanoid like creature that lives mostly in water but often emerges at night to search for food, sometimes killing humans. But Glinnes learns that his oldest brother has been missing for two months and is likely dead. If his brother is dead, Glinnes is the next oldest by one hour and will be head of the family estate.
Glinnes is surprised to learn that his twin brother Glay recently sold Amber Isle, one of the family estates with its manor house. Not only did he not have any legal authority to do so, but he sold it at a very low price and then donated the proceeds to the leader of a philosophical cult, called the Fanschers, of which Glay is a member. Glay also allowed a family of gypsy like Trevanyi to camp on their main family estate on Rabendary Island. They are very irresponsible and destructive, chopping down old trees, killing most the game and destroying plants that are relied on for food. Glinnes insists that they, the Drosset family, leave his island. This creates intense animosity, almost a family feud, by the Drosset family, directed at Glinnes, that continues throughout the novel.
Glinnes could cancel the sale of the other family estate if he had the money to reimburse the new buyer, but he does not have the funds. He is unable to borrow the money from the bank because he is not technically the head of the estate since his oldest brother is not considered legally dead yet. It would take four years to declare him dead if the body is not found. When Glinnes learns about the creation of a local hussade team he decides to join the team after negotiating with the owner. Hussade is the fanatically popular team sport played throughout the Alastor Cluster, and Glinnes is a highly skilled player. Hussade team owners share a portion of their winnings with the players. If he is on a winning team Glinnes might be able to make enough money to buy back the estate on Ambal Isle. This seems to be his only realistic option.
About 61 pages of the novel are devoted to describing the organizing of the hussade teams, their practices and some play by play action of actual games. Some readers report really enjoying reading these sports scenes. Others seem less enthusiastic. Vance, of course, does a very good job of describing an odd sport in a lively way. Hussade involves two teams that try to charge over runs above four feet of water to attempt to get into the other team's territory. The defending team tries to body block opponents from crossing, hopefully pushing them into the water. Either team may use trapezes to swing sideways over the water to reach a different run. The wings, strikes and rovers of each team attempt to reach the end of the opponent's field where a girl called the "sheirl" is stationed on a platform. Each team has guards who mostly defend the sheirl. If a player reaches the opposing team's sheirl, he takes hold of a ring on the sheirl's clothing (a white gown) and "ransom" must be paid by the other team or he pulls the ring with all the clothing off the sheirl. If the ring is pulled a team is disgraced and loses the game. Players and fans are both extremely passionate and committed.
Vance does an excellent job of interweaving different themes, elements and plot lines. In addition to the sport of hussade, we have space pirates called starmenters, human eating merlings, the Fanscher cult, gypsy like Trevanyi, sibling rivalry, romances, family feuds, thefts, murders, a sacred burial ground called Vale of Green Ghosts, an arrogant aristocracy with its strict class system, and many interesting characters. Vance not only pulls all of this together but presents us with an excellent and unpredictable ending.
I found the novel to be thoroughly engaging, although there were a few sections about the game of hussade where my attention lagged slightly the second time I read it. Overall the action, adventure, world building, interesting characters and talented writing prevailed for me. All Vance fans will probably want to read this novel, and some general readers might like it although I can think of many other novels I'd recommend more readily for those new to the writings of Jack Vance
December 15, 2025
Jack Vance is one of my all time favorite authors, but this one is shockingly bad. I normally think Vance hit his stride about 1966 and produced most of his best work after that point. But this one (1973), the Gray Prince (1974) and the Asutra (1974) are poorly done, with unappealing characters and incoherent plots. If the three, this is easily the worst. Vance still manages to create some interesting cultural vignettes and the sub-plot about the sport of Hussade was promising. What a disappointment.
November 1, 2021
A thoroughly entertaining romp which, as with Vance's best, seems to hint that there are more profound themes lurking deep below its surface. Are the Trills what they really present themselves to be? Does free love (or hookup culture, as we might now put it) actually conceal profound sexual inequality? Is rural bliss inevitably won at brutal cost to the natural world? Vance's genius lies in playing it all with the straightest of bats: you never know what he thinks the answers to such questions to be, or even if he is asking them in the first place.
February 22, 2022
A quick, addictive book about Glinnes, a former Whelm commander who returns home when he hears his father has been killed by Merlings (basically murderous, human-eating mermaids), to find his twin brother Glay has sold their property illegally to Lute Casagrave, a suspicious social aspirant. He must procure 12,000 ozoles to restore his land, or prove his eldest brother Shira, who’s gone mysteriously missing, is dead. Much is left unsaid, only hinted at through a passing detail or two, because Glinnes just wants his land back. His lack of interest in social movements and intrigues beyond his own concrete concerns made him a pretty unique character to follow.
Glinnes’s mom hates him, as apparently does his love interest, the bewitching Treyvani girl Duissane. Duissane seems to have some hidden affection for Glinnes but is mostly motivated by money, and commits several armed robberies throughout the book. She also performs as the Sheirl in the fictional sport of Hussane, a role that involves mythic levels of inner spirit that motivates the team to performing at their best (like a cheerleader, but with no cheering) standing on a pedestal in a sexy white gown; the goal of the game is to touch the gold ring on the virginal maiden’s dress, and if the other team doesn’t pay a ransom the girl is “publicly denuded” and the game is won. This is the kind of ridiculous custom that Vance’s novels are rife with, and I’m sure some readers found it offensive, but it’s handled with a sociologist’s remove, and little judgment in one way or another is found in the writing, only a wry observational style that I love.
Glinnes is preternaturally talented at Hussane, and attempts to fund his procurement of his rightful land with the spoils of the game. The sport scenes were really exciting, sometimes funny (they intentionally knock out their own incompetent captain, Lord Gensifer, so they can win a game), and provided a nice counterpoint to the sometimes dry sections about estate law and an austere communistic enclave called Fanschers.
In the one scene where he’s about to—hesitantly— disrobe his opponent’s Sheirl, space pirates, or Starmanders, descend and rob everyone blind. Glinnes saves both girls and a funny sequence ensues of Duissane falling in mud and getting really cranky, Glinnes and the girls secretly rowing to safety, Glinnes kindly turning down the other Sheirl who clearly has the hots for him, and Druissade stealing their ramshackle boat and getting lost herself.
There’s then a kerfuffle about lost ransom money that was intended for the victims of the Starmanders, and the only way for Glinnes to get his land back is to solve the case, because the notary for his paperwork has been framed for the theft. I liked how little Glinnes cared about things; he was a simple dude who just wanted to make sure no one spoiled the view from his dilapidated cottage by building on his ancestral land.
As always with Jack Vance, the writing in TRULLION: ALASTOR 2662 was gorgeous and deft, full of fun words that I’d never heard before. I actually keep a list of words I didn’t know and their definitions (it’s fun!), and 90% of the list is from Vance’s work, since his writing often features archaic or esoteric words that confuse and delight. A few fun ones:
Empyrean: (noun) the highest heaven or heavenly sphere in ancient and medieval cosmology
Corybantic: being in the spirit or manner of a Corybant; WILD, FRENZIED
Asthenic: weak
Corpuscle: a minute particle
I wrote down the sentence with “corpuscle” because it was just so delightful-
“To affirm the shining brilliance of one’s soul alone but alive among 5 trillion placid gray corpuscles”
Glinnes’s mom hates him, as apparently does his love interest, the bewitching Treyvani girl Duissane. Duissane seems to have some hidden affection for Glinnes but is mostly motivated by money, and commits several armed robberies throughout the book. She also performs as the Sheirl in the fictional sport of Hussane, a role that involves mythic levels of inner spirit that motivates the team to performing at their best (like a cheerleader, but with no cheering) standing on a pedestal in a sexy white gown; the goal of the game is to touch the gold ring on the virginal maiden’s dress, and if the other team doesn’t pay a ransom the girl is “publicly denuded” and the game is won. This is the kind of ridiculous custom that Vance’s novels are rife with, and I’m sure some readers found it offensive, but it’s handled with a sociologist’s remove, and little judgment in one way or another is found in the writing, only a wry observational style that I love.
Glinnes is preternaturally talented at Hussane, and attempts to fund his procurement of his rightful land with the spoils of the game. The sport scenes were really exciting, sometimes funny (they intentionally knock out their own incompetent captain, Lord Gensifer, so they can win a game), and provided a nice counterpoint to the sometimes dry sections about estate law and an austere communistic enclave called Fanschers.
In the one scene where he’s about to—hesitantly— disrobe his opponent’s Sheirl, space pirates, or Starmanders, descend and rob everyone blind. Glinnes saves both girls and a funny sequence ensues of Duissane falling in mud and getting really cranky, Glinnes and the girls secretly rowing to safety, Glinnes kindly turning down the other Sheirl who clearly has the hots for him, and Druissade stealing their ramshackle boat and getting lost herself.
There’s then a kerfuffle about lost ransom money that was intended for the victims of the Starmanders, and the only way for Glinnes to get his land back is to solve the case, because the notary for his paperwork has been framed for the theft. I liked how little Glinnes cared about things; he was a simple dude who just wanted to make sure no one spoiled the view from his dilapidated cottage by building on his ancestral land.
As always with Jack Vance, the writing in TRULLION: ALASTOR 2662 was gorgeous and deft, full of fun words that I’d never heard before. I actually keep a list of words I didn’t know and their definitions (it’s fun!), and 90% of the list is from Vance’s work, since his writing often features archaic or esoteric words that confuse and delight. A few fun ones:
Empyrean: (noun) the highest heaven or heavenly sphere in ancient and medieval cosmology
Corybantic: being in the spirit or manner of a Corybant; WILD, FRENZIED
Asthenic: weak
Corpuscle: a minute particle
I wrote down the sentence with “corpuscle” because it was just so delightful-
“To affirm the shining brilliance of one’s soul alone but alive among 5 trillion placid gray corpuscles”
April 19, 2020
Probably one of the worst books ever, if you are a decent person.
Let us for a moment forget the blatant sexism (Women are supposed to be pretty and virgins, and the purpose of sports is to derobe the prettiest... Luckily women are also very stupid; They don't seem to mind).
The protagonist returns home to the farm after 10 years in the military. He discovers that the farm has been neglected. His father and his elder brother are dead, making him the new owner. Immediately he becomes an a...hole, making outrageous demands of everybody to give him some sort of compensation for everything that has gone wrong the last 10 years. Nobody cares.
Then he starts a career in crime, assaulting and robbing what he believes to be 'Bad people'. He also gets involved in harebrained "get-rich-fast"-schemes.
He never quite gets around to actually doing anything useful around the farm.
How can this be the hero?.. But he is!...
(How did it merit two stars: Well. I found myself NOT tossing it away. I kept reading chapter after chapter, wondering how the author would salvage the story... He didn't, but I finished the book. That alone earns the book an extra star.)
Let us for a moment forget the blatant sexism (Women are supposed to be pretty and virgins, and the purpose of sports is to derobe the prettiest... Luckily women are also very stupid; They don't seem to mind).
The protagonist returns home to the farm after 10 years in the military. He discovers that the farm has been neglected. His father and his elder brother are dead, making him the new owner. Immediately he becomes an a...hole, making outrageous demands of everybody to give him some sort of compensation for everything that has gone wrong the last 10 years. Nobody cares.
Then he starts a career in crime, assaulting and robbing what he believes to be 'Bad people'. He also gets involved in harebrained "get-rich-fast"-schemes.
He never quite gets around to actually doing anything useful around the farm.
How can this be the hero?.. But he is!...
(How did it merit two stars: Well. I found myself NOT tossing it away. I kept reading chapter after chapter, wondering how the author would salvage the story... He didn't, but I finished the book. That alone earns the book an extra star.)
July 7, 2020
"I must have read this at least ten times over the years. It's not one of Jack Vance's epic tales but it is a charming story and one of my favourites." was what I wrote on 26 November 2012 when I gave it four stars.
I first read this in 1973 and I bought a copy in 1987. The author not only creates a world he also creates a sport "hussade" and several pages of the book are about hussade games. The protagonist, Glinnes Hulden, is one of the author's more likeable characters who is not only a good hussade player but also has some sound detective instincts. I have spent the last five months reading through my collection of the author's books and this is probably my favourite so deserves five stars.
I first read this in 1973 and I bought a copy in 1987. The author not only creates a world he also creates a sport "hussade" and several pages of the book are about hussade games. The protagonist, Glinnes Hulden, is one of the author's more likeable characters who is not only a good hussade player but also has some sound detective instincts. I have spent the last five months reading through my collection of the author's books and this is probably my favourite so deserves five stars.
June 24, 2016
Typical Vance - fast paced, short (written in an era when books with fewer than 200 pages could make a profit), and fun.
If you're already a Vance fan, this is an diverting trifle (Vance is always strong with the amusing repartee between his characters) and recommended. If you're not, but you're interested, I'd start with something else. Trullion isn't Vance at his best and you're better off with Lyonesse or The Dying Earth series, or - an idiosyncratic favorite of mine - Galactic Effectuator.
If you're already a Vance fan, this is an diverting trifle (Vance is always strong with the amusing repartee between his characters) and recommended. If you're not, but you're interested, I'd start with something else. Trullion isn't Vance at his best and you're better off with Lyonesse or The Dying Earth series, or - an idiosyncratic favorite of mine - Galactic Effectuator.
September 15, 2009
"To the south was a view of Ambal Broad and Ambal Isle, a property of three acres supporting a number of beautiful pomanders, russet-silver against a background of solemn menas, and three enormous fanzaneels, holding their great shaggy pom-poms high in the air."
August 15, 2011
Absolutely magnificent. Another beautifully constructed world, evocatively described. Glinnes Hulden another brilliantly typical Vancean hero. Wry humour permeates. Jack Vance is truly the master.
September 9, 2016
Pulpy goodness.
July 24, 2012
Retreading after 40 years, the book holds up.
January 2, 2023
Aardig boek, met een naar mijn mening onbevredigend einde.
December 19, 2017
zzzZZzzZzz
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