The Demon Princes, Vol. 2: The Face * The Book of Dreams (Paperback)

Both these books are vintage Vance of the highest order, especially The Face.

1- Language: Vance's use of language is stilted, strange, peculiar, old-fashioned, even bizarre, surely a cause to complain. No! It is because of this very usage that the language is melodic, the names whimsical, charming, the characters robust, bold, hopping a' skither-and-tither with quirks and mannerisms.

2- Hero: in contrast Vance's 'hero' seems a very cold fish indeed in comparison to his outlandish foes, acquaintances and romantic partners. Yet you are slowly drawn into understanding him, liking him and hoping he succeeds in both his quest and his hope of living a normal life, not that of a hunter-killer. You also end up ever so slightly hating his grandfather, who knowingly cut off his grandson from hope of a normal human existence in his desire to exact revenge from beyond the grave.

3- Redemption: These last two volumes allow the redemption of Kirth Gersen - read 'em and see what I mean. Vance also saves the best villain for last with Howard Alan Treesong, truly a character who gives a new meaning to schizophrenia.

4- Invention: No-one, not one other sci-fi or supposed fantasy author can beat Vance for sheer scope of invention. He creates cultures from sketches and schemes, draws you in, tumbles you about and casts you back out. Yet they have an inherent life to them that makes you suspect they carry on ticking after our attention has moved on.

5- A good 'ol cop with an attitude story - the outsider, the loner, the cop-turned-near criminal - all these are wrapped up in here. It's almost too much but Gersen's character and motivations remain coherent and clear throughout.

Look these books are so good that it's they're almost worth buying for the inter-chapter tales of Marmaduke and his companions alone - little skits that make other, more 'serious' sci-fi series scene setters as found in the likes of Dune and Foundation look pompous.

Let Vance light up your world, put a smile on your face and thank the Lord that someone else has to deal with Demon Princes.

This book is a pretty fast read, even though it contains more than one story. My favorite story is "The Face". If you're like me, you will discover that you are thinking like the main character by the end of the story. That is, before the "suprise" ending, you will know exactly what the surprise is. And because of the way the story is told, the ending is even better!!

Jack Vance has written other sci-fi novels, and they all make for great airplane or subway reading. If you are serious about the "sci" part of the sci-fi, you might want to check out Neal Stephenson, or Michael Crichton. But for people who can appreciate the "fi" side, spend a few hours on this--you won't regret it.