[PQQ]⇒ PDF Free Lyonesse Suldrun Garden Fantasy Masterworks Bk1 Jack Vance 9780575073746 Books

Lyonesse Suldrun Garden Fantasy Masterworks Bk1 Jack Vance 9780575073746 Books

Download As PDF : Lyonesse Suldrun Garden Fantasy Masterworks Bk1 Jack Vance 9780575073746 Books

Lyonesse Suldrun Garden Fantasy Masterworks Bk1 Jack Vance 9780575073746 Books

It is probably best to approach a new book with little if any expectations, regardless of whether one is familiar with the author or not. I wish I had heeded this advice before I picked up this book, for it would have saved me 200 pages of deliberation between continuing in complete boredom or opting for another book altogether. Lucky for me I chose the former and I'm very pleased with my choice. Having previously read The Dying Earth Tales, I felt it reasonable to expect a much more fantastical tale than that of a solitary maiden slowly withdrawing from her life to her secret garden to escape the confines of her life as a princess. Then, in the truest Jack Vance form, the story flipped (and flipped again and again) throughout the rest of the book, becoming ever more fantastic in it's progress, hence the 4 stars in stead of 1. In the end this book became a real joy to read, provided you have a bit of patience.


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Lyonesse Suldrun Garden Fantasy Masterworks Bk1 Jack Vance 9780575073746 Books Reviews

If Lord Dunsany had written "Game of Thrones", the result might have been something like this often overlooked fantasy gem by F&SF legend Jack Vance. The setting is the Elder Isles, a magical realm that occupies the seas south of Dark-Ages Britain and Ireland. The story is built on a wonderfully fractious narrative that spins out between a half-dozen characters caught up in the political turmoil roiling the isles' kingdoms. In Lyonesse, the princess Suldrun rejects her father's plans to marry her off for political gain, finding peace and solace in a lost garden. In Troicinet, the young prince Allais is comfortably out of the line of succession until his uncle dies, whereupon a jealous cousin tries to murder him and sets in motion a bittersweet tale of revenge and redemption. The people and the culture of the Elder Isles are beautifully brought to life by Vance's almost-poetic prose, which moves seamlessly between the hard edges of epic fantasy and the winsome quality of the Elder Isles' dark fairy-tale world. Mischievous fey, witches, trolls, and powerful sorcerers define the web of magic that weaves through the high-fantasy politics of Vance's realm, creating a fascinating hybrid that should appeal to readers across the fantasy spectrum.
I have been a fan of his for over fifty years, but had never gotten around to reading this series. Being based in mythology, it has a somewhat different flow and rhetoric style than the rest of his works. Nevertheless, he carries you inexorably along, not allowing you to put down the book.
Lyonesse, if you did not look at the flyleaf in your now-tattered paperback or at the copyright in your edition, was first published in the mid-1980's, but it is a beautiful, subtle, and lyrical throwback to the sort of fantasy that originally captivated me. If it is like anything, then it is much like Eddison's Worm Ouroborous or like something from Dunsany, rather than being closer to Cabell (like most of Vance's other works). This is fantasy untainted by Toklein or by the creeping modernity of most epic fantasy we get today.

Part of what makes it different is Vance's willingness to embrace a sort of Edwardian storytelling style. He does not drop us into a non-stop actionfest. Neither is this a coming of age story. At first the omniscient narrator, pace, and style is distancing. We are more observers than participants in Suldrun's early life. But gradually, gradually the reader is drawn into a world rich in detail, closely observed, and gloriously realized.

I mentioned Eddison's famous epic. The similarity to that 1922 novel is, I think, particularly deliberate there are placenames that both share, for example. Both novels follow multiple character arcs. And both are kind to, or at least understanding of their villains (of which there are many). While I think Eddison's work's flaws (he was too unwilling to give up some of his juvenalia) make is much less open to modern readers, Lyonesse shows that its author has closely and carefully observed these antique hallmarks of fantasy---the ones that he would have cut his teeth on and the ones that I love as well.

If you've never experienced this trilogy, get it now. The great thing about is that deserving books can find a life away from the ignominy of being out-of-print. Here is one example of a reason why this is a wonderful thing a classic, unfairly forgotten, that you can read today. If you love fantasy, then spend a little time, like Suldren, in a secret garden lost to memory.
I started reading Vance just recently after reading how good he was. Well, some of it is and some of it.....isn't . This is one of the better ones so far. Kinda standard story, wizards, fairies, lost thrones, etc. It has some Atlantis, Celtic and Norse touches that I enjoyed. Also some subtle dry wit that was refreshing. Vance sometimes uses some archaic language, which I really like. I hate it when the knight errant calls his sidekick "bro" and the fairy Queen is all " whatever". I'd recommend this book, but be aware it's one of those damned trilogies. At least this one is finished so you won't have to spend a good part of you're life waiting for the conclusion. [ Are you listening George R.R.?]
It is probably best to approach a new book with little if any expectations, regardless of whether one is familiar with the author or not. I wish I had heeded this advice before I picked up this book, for it would have saved me 200 pages of deliberation between continuing in complete boredom or opting for another book altogether. Lucky for me I chose the former and I'm very pleased with my choice. Having previously read The Dying Earth Tales, I felt it reasonable to expect a much more fantastical tale than that of a solitary maiden slowly withdrawing from her life to her secret garden to escape the confines of her life as a princess. Then, in the truest Jack Vance form, the story flipped (and flipped again and again) throughout the rest of the book, becoming ever more fantastic in it's progress, hence the 4 stars in stead of 1. In the end this book became a real joy to read, provided you have a bit of patience.