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5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!, Jul 19 2002
By A Customer
"Many fine things your father had planned for you: learning and useful work; a life of satisfaction and peace. All this is gone now, do you understand? But the learning you shall have - the use of your hands and mind. And useful work: the elimination of evil men. What work is more useful than this? Finally, I cannot give you peace, but I promise you ample satisfaction, for I shall teach you to crave the blood of these men more than the flesh of a woman."These are the words uttered by Kirth Gersen's (sometimes called Keith Gersen) grandfather after a raid on their homeworld by 5 super-criminals (known as the 5 Demon Princes) leaves everyone but these two either dead or enslaved. True to his word, the old man forges his grandson into an unstoppable instrument of vengeance. In fact, Gersen often seems more a force a nature than a human being, more machine than man in his single-minded quest for revenge. His fighting prowess and physical abilities are without peer; likewise, his mind is sharp and focused. I actually like some of the other books in this series better, but I found the villian in this one to be the most complex and intriguing; this particular villian has schemes within schemes and plots to take over the Gaean Reach (the area of space inhabited by man) in such a sublime and surprising manner that you won't believe it. As with the others before him, this Demon Prince hides his true identity and Gersen must ferret him out. After his epic swindling of Interchange to the tune of 10 billion SVU, Gersen has ample financial resources, but must invariably use his hands and mind to track down the elusive demon prince known as Alan Howard Treesong. Once again, Vance's unstoppable hero Gersen takes us on an adventure that is part sci-fi, part mystery, part thriller and all fun. This book marks the end of the series. The only part I found vaguely unsatisying is that there was not a strong enough indication of Gersen would do after his long quest for vengeance was over. The character is so memorable that it is hard to imagine that he is not the central figure in at least a dozen books/stories, like Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes. That's the worst part of this series: that we are not likely to see Kirth Gersen again after it's all over.
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