Galactic Effectuator

The hero of these adventures is a private investigator with a twist, he does not only investigate, but also effectuate a certain result. The name is strange for Jack Vance, the hero's name being Miro Hetzel, probably the author thought of the editor of Jules Verne whose name was Hetzel. With Jules Verne's adventures this book and so many others by Jack Vance share the phantastic scenery, the strange customs and of course the travel and the travails of the hero. Unusual also for Jack Vance is the presence of intelligent, developed, starfaring races which compete with the humans, even though they play little direct role in the plot. So this work stands out in the opus of Jack Vance as portayal of vastly different cultures and outlooks from human view, whereas in most of his other books it is just evolved humans who form colorful societies which give the background for the adventures.

Jack Vance is the rare writer who can fill you of sense of wonder,entertain and exilarate you...and,contemporarily,be a master of S.F. Mystery.You find yourself investigating a strange world lit with an oddly coloured sun...meet strange people,interact with fierce aliens at home in hot climates.You savor the athmosphere,absorb the feeling.Vance is the artist of alien landscapes.Only a flaw:you can only guess how the Olefract and the Liss look like.A good mystery,and an exquisite Vancean xperience

It is an extremely well constructed PI type of adventure set in the far distant future, told in his typically highly literate style. The depth of the universe it is set in is ostensibly his usual Gaian Reach, although it smacks somewhat of an earlier model. The proponent, Miro Hetzel, charms, scams and thinks his way through violent but gentlemanly primitives and strange effete cultures to solve the "case" he was originally given - that, strangely, hardly told him what he was in for. Classic Vance, told with his usual brilliance and erudition.I have read it many times, and still have the original copy I bought nearly twenty years ago.