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jammies · 11-27-2008, 07:15 PM

For my next pick, in the category of Fantasy, jammies' Fahrenheit 451 would like to pick the 2nd book of the Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance, The Green Pearl.

Published back in 1986, this is (I think) the best book written by one of the best SF/Fantasy writers of the 20th century. It is set in the Elder Isles, a mythical land southwest of Cornwall and west of Brittany, where the grim King Casmir plots to reunite the various petty kingdoms of the Isles under his suzerainty. Casmir is opposed by the protaganist of the first two books, Aillas, who is king in his own right of Troicinet and Dascinet, two lesser islands in the southern part of the Isles, and who is forced by Casmir into trying to match him scheme for scheme lest he be outmanuevered and destroyed.

There is political intrigue, vendetta, great journeys, battles, magicians and most of all, the endlessly inventive dialogue of Vance, who is master at creating memorable voices and characters. The Green Pearl itself, exudate of the last malign purpose of a suicidal witch, is the centre of many of the interweaving stories which make up the book, but along with this evil of the supernatural variety there is the mundane evil of men to overcome, and all along the way the characters express their moral and immoral certainties to illuminate the events and entertain the reader.

I highly recommend this book if you love fantasy, along with Madouc, the third in the trilogy (where the protagonist is the fey-born changeling daughter of Casmir), and Suldrun's Garden, the first (and least, although still very good) of the books, as Vance's distinctive style is both worth experiencing and subtly unlike any other.

11-27-2008, 07:15 PM	#192
jammies Basement Chicken Choker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: In a land without pants, or war, or want. But mostly we care about the pants. Exp:	For my next pick, in the category of Fantasy, jammies' Fahrenheit 451 would like to pick the 2nd book of the Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance, The Green Pearl. Published back in 1986, this is (I think) the best book written by one of the best SF/Fantasy writers of the 20th century. It is set in the Elder Isles, a mythical land southwest of Cornwall and west of Brittany, where the grim King Casmir plots to reunite the various petty kingdoms of the Isles under his suzerainty. Casmir is opposed by the protaganist of the first two books, Aillas, who is king in his own right of Troicinet and Dascinet, two lesser islands in the southern part of the Isles, and who is forced by Casmir into trying to match him scheme for scheme lest he be outmanuevered and destroyed. There is political intrigue, vendetta, great journeys, battles, magicians and most of all, the endlessly inventive dialogue of Vance, who is master at creating memorable voices and characters. The Green Pearl itself, exudate of the last malign purpose of a suicidal witch, is the centre of many of the interweaving stories which make up the book, but along with this evil of the supernatural variety there is the mundane evil of men to overcome, and all along the way the characters express their moral and immoral certainties to illuminate the events and entertain the reader. I highly recommend this book if you love fantasy, along with Madouc, the third in the trilogy (where the protagonist is the fey-born changeling daughter of Casmir), and Suldrun's Garden, the first (and least, although still very good) of the books, as Vance's distinctive style is both worth experiencing and subtly unlike any other. __________________ Better educated sadness than oblivious joy.