Ports of Call

I heard that Jack Vance was slowing down in his old age, but I bought Ports of Call anyway, figuring that bad Vance is better than no Vance at all. Perhaps it was the reduction in my expectations from the negative opinions I'd heard about the book, but Ports of Call came as a very pleasant surprise to me.It's true that there is nothing of the epic scope of some of Vance's other works in this book. It is also true that there is even less structure to the story of Myron Tany's career as a spacecraft crewman than Vance put in even nearly plotless picaresque adventures such as his Cugel books. Tany just wanders in search of adventure and exotic situations. But that's fine, because he gets in adventures and exotic situations, and they are beautifully written in Vance's elegant style and conceived by Vance's inimitable mind. They're a kick to read even if they don't seem to be leading to some huge climax down the road. The whole "life goes on," "one thing after another" feel of the book even evolves into a kind of theme in itself, causing me to reflect that life itself does not have an arc or a climax. I wonder whether Vance did this on purpose in case he does not have time to complete the series on Myron Tany he obviously contemplates.When I think of how the other greats, like Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, sold themselves at the end of their careers, allowing lesser writers to graft themselves to their finest works for marketing purposes, I love Vance even more for doing his own work and staying true to his own vision. Ports of Call proves that he remains the master we know and love. If he's slowing down a bit, becoming a bit more contemplative and deliberate, digressing a bit more, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Jack Vance is one of the premier stylists writing in America today, the best in SciFi. Plot is secondary in his stories, merely a minimum requirement of the novel form. If SciFi were not Vances's chosen form, he would win every writing award worth winning. But I am afraid that he doomed to be read by people who can not understand Vance's approach and never to be read by those who can-because of the genre. Vance is always an entertaining read and a thoughtful one. Sign me-just a fan.

"Ports of Call" is an enchanting, lovely, scary and sad Vance book, as good as any. It clearly has no end. This is a pity, but it may well be that the author is ill or tired. Nobody can finish this story but him. I hope he will. There are not so many people who brought more light and poetic justice into my life. Jack Vance is one of the few. -- AF

Anyone who has read Vance will find their appetite whetted from the first page - and their hope raised. Could this be an even better book from the master, rather than just something from the fringe of an illustrious career? Yes, it is as good as his very best, joining Emphyrio, the Blue World, Wyst, the Cugel and Lyonnesse books. A treat. Long may he write!

Vance has again returned to the Gaean Reach we first became acquainted with in Star King (1964), and the style and atmosphere is remarkably consistent with all the intervening works. This one is a series of vignettes, rather than a plot heading for a particular outcome, and some, expecting a more conventional form, may find this frustrating. You are left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end, which makes one hope that this is in effect just the first chapters of a larger novel in the works. Vance is a grand master, as has been finally formally acknowledged. He's probably nearing the end of his career, but we can hope for a sequel to this book, which keeps to his truly inimitable style admirably.