The Brave Free Men (The World of Durdane - Book II)

The last ten years have seen a Jack Vance renaissance of sorts, with some of his best early work returning to print. New omnibus editions of The Demon Princes, the Alastair novels, "The Dragon Masters" and the Planet of Adventure novels have been put into print. But nobody has yet reprinted the Durdane Trilogy, presumably because the publishers don?t think there would be much interest. On the other hand, many Vance devotees list this trilogy among their favorites. Clearly Durdane is not typical Vance work. Compared with his other books, "The Brave Free Men" has only a few instances of humor, little sparkling and delightful prose, and none of those famous Vance societies that seem completely insane yet also entirely plausible. (Which isn?t to say that the book doesn?t unfold in a strange society. Rather, we never get a full explanation of what life in the various cantons is like. Instead, we must make do with tantalizing hints and brief glimpses of odd behavior.) The writing is quite plain, and the action is straightforward. Gatzel Etzwane, possessing the tools to manipulate Torcs, sets out to reorganize Shant for war. His adversary: the Roguskhoi, mysterious man-apes who roam the interior of the continent. Etzwane finds numerous obstacles to his efforts: rigid social structure, inadequate technology, and an apparent conspiracy among high-ranking officials. There are ample plot twists and turns, and an ending that explains all the mysteries and apparent contradictions. As I said, the book is a departure from Jack Vance?s typical style. The dry irony is mostly gone. Perhaps Vance felt like trying a story with plain style, so that he could focus on plot complexity. Indeed "The Brave Free Men" starts off with an apparently normal pace. At the end, however, you realize that quite a lot has happened, for a novel of only 250 pages. In that respect, "The Brave Free Men", though not Vance?s best, is well worth reading. A final note: The Durdane Trilogy is, in fact, a trilogy. It contains three books, no more and no less. Various editors and publishers muddied the waters by printing books under two different titles for their own strange purposes. Here are all the titles: Book 1: "The Anome", also published as "The Faceless Man" Book 2: "The Roguskhoi", also published as "The Brave Free Men" Book 3: "The Asutra" All three have been out of print for twenty years, so you?ll have to search through libraries, Z-shops or old dusty used book stores to get them. As you do so, remember to try looking for the alternate titles.

Vance has created another consuming world with this book; rich with culture and mystery. A young man find himself in a uniques position to affect change. Here, you find Vance creating one of his famous characters; hard, ruthless if necessary, clever and quick-witted and brave. In this instance, unlike others, this charcter Gastel has not receievd advanced training as a scout (Adam Reith - Planet of Advanture) or trained to be a killer by his grandfather(Keith Gersen - Demon Princes). In this instance, we see how it is possible for this toughness to be created from thin'ish' air. Perhaps, the tough, ruthless chararacter is one of Vance's favourites. Another classic from the master, nontherless.

The Durdane saga is vivid in every details. Only problem is that it's not printed anymore. As good as Tchai, with the mysterious intricacies of a strange rough world, where savageness and decadent societies coabitate.