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5.0 out of 5 stars
Original title: The Thirteenth Majestral, Jan 3 2004
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Rating: "A-" -- very cool, very Vanceian dinosaur-adventure tale.
Jack Vance fans shouldn't miss this one.My copy of this had gone astray, so I picked up another at the used
bookstore the other day. I'd forgotten how Vanceian it is -- not really
a pastiche, it reads pretty much like a mid-period, mid-quality Vance
SF novel. 10-year old Kerryl Ryson pulls a prank that humiliates an
offworld grandee and starts a riot. As a result, his father is executed,
and Ryson and his whole clan are enslaved. Ryson grows up obsessed
with vengeance. He makes a galaxy-wide search for the Immaculate
Ultima of Aberdown, who ordered his father's death. Along the way,
he encounters exotic worlds, strange people, stranger religions, and
acquires a luxurious space yacht from one Baron Bodissey, in case
you're still wondering who the book reminds you of... Even Vance's
signature footnotes are here. Ryson's search eventually brings him to old Earth, which has become
an extraordinarily reclusive, stratified world, with the arrogant,
aristocratic Palatines served by pallid, puling leperons, an artificial
human subspecies (another Vance trademark). He meets the
beautiful but troubled Yveena Soolis, and the tale is resolved with
some (somewhat) surprising revelations. Yes, dinosaurs are featured,
along with possibly the silliest explanation yet for their demise. I really like The Thirteenth Majestral, and I'm pretty sure that you
Vance fans will like it too. Peirce's hommage to Vance is, well, just
about as entertaining and well-done as the real thing. Check it out. Happy reading!
Pete Tillman
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