Lurulu

Rating:
Summary: A Reluctant Review
Review:
This is still good Vance but not great Vance. I have to take issue with Harriet Klausners review (Harriet is amazons number one reviewer). This is not Seinfeld in outer space. Her review sounds like a publicity gloss - sonething put together by a publishing house hack who has not read the book.

The book might indeed be a meandering picaresque type. But this is the type Jack Vance loves doing and he does so well - see Cudgels saga - Planet of Adventure - Show Boat World - The Demon Princes Series - etc etc - the picareque miander is Jacks favourite and preferred style of book.

Jack Vances style is very special and very perculiar - it mixes danger with commedy. But the danger is rather restrained and clean and the commedy is a rare brew of brutal wistfulness coupled with dashes of irony, satire and physical buffoonery.

It is a rather rarified and strange mix - a rare tincture which readers enjoy but find hard to pin down with any exactitude.

I repeat it is not Seinfeld in outerspace - and it is not some existential tome that tells of lifes petit meaningless.

Rather it is good writing for good writings sake.





Rating:
Summary: superb satirical tale ironically of life's petit meaningless
Review: As a youth growing up on peaceful Vermazan, Myron Tany dreamed of space exploration in the unknown regions of the Gaean Reach although his wealthy parents prefer he become a finance advisor. He joins his Aunt Dame Hestor, but abandoned Myron at Port Tanjee when she had to choose between her daydreaming nephew and a hunk. Myron obtains work on the freighter Glicca because Captain Maloof felt he was "qualified" to take over the accounts from Klim who will work on big rocks instead of imaginary numbers.

Myron learns that the Glicca goes wherever the cargo leads to that is if the incredibly inaccurate Handbook of the Planets guides them correctly. While Glicca rambles in space, Myron, learns of the LURULU, a follow your heart to find your soul Myth. With time to waste, Myron wants to help Maloof with a personal vendetta and become more knowledgeable of the differing cultures of the galaxy, but his LURULU remains undefined.

More a satirical series of vignettes, LURULU entertains the audience as if Seinfeld and crew were in space. Myron is terrific as he goes from one escapade to another learning the diversity of the universe, but wondering if that is all there is to life as his LURULU remains aimless and shapeless. Maloof is actually more complex than the lead character while the crew and those they meet on their journey add insight to Myron's meandering mentality. Though some sidebars seem unnecessary they augment the feel of endless eternal nothingness that seems to make up the vastness of space and the chaotic microcosm, Myron's mind. Not for everyone, Jack Vance has written a superb satirical tale ironically of life's petit meaninglessness.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: A Bittersweet End to Vance's Long Writing Career?
Review: As noted by others, Lurulu is the last part of the same novel begun in "Ports of Call." Reading Lurulu on its own without having read PoC will be unsatisfying.

Lurulu picks up (sort of) where Ports of Call had ended rather abruptly, following the adventures of typical young Vance hero Myron Tany and his shipmates aboard the Glicca (the taciturn captain, Maloof Adair, the impressionable Wingo, and the fabulous Fay Schwatzendale (another typical Vancean type)).

Most of the loose plot threads from PoC are resolved in Lurulu, though some are disposed of very abruptly. But Lurulu is not to be read for its plot structure. The characterization is fairly well done, though Myron takes a backseat to Maloof and Schwatzendale is surprisingly neglected. As is often the case with Vance, the scenery and sociology dominate the narrative. The various planets visited by the Glicca are given somewhat short shrift compared to the usual (over-)meticulous Vance treatment. And as he approaches 90, Vance has begun to repeat his earlier works at times (PoC was very reminiscent in spots of Vance's Space Opera).

Also at times, Vance's usual air of sardonic detachment deserts him, and a merely querulous attitude is apparent.

But all in all, Lurulu and PoC comprise a very representative Vance novel. It is not however a book likely to make the sadly unappreciated author any new fans. You almost have to be familiar with Vance already to appreciate Lurulu. I second the recommendation of the Tschai novels as a good introduction to Vance.

Lurulu's ending, however, is almost perfect if unsurprising. The ex-sailor Vance is one of the last romanticizers of the spaceways, and none of his readers will fail to be affected by the way in which Myron's story is resolved.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome nourishment for Vance fans; Disappointing overall
Review: I have read all (or virtually all) of Vance's science fiction, and have been looking forward to "Lurulu" for the last five years, since I finished reading "Ports of Call."

You'll remember that "Ports of Call" and "Night Lamp" were published about the same time. "Night Lamp" was a masterwork; "Ports of Call" was not. "Ports" was interesting and amusing but ended suddenly, without resolving any of the numerous plot threads left hanging. At the beginning of "Lurulu," Vance includes a note to readers explaining that, at end of "Ports," he had enough material for a book, so he stopped writing. Huh??? That is not the typical approach of fiction or science fiction authors, who generally stop writing when the story reaches some kind of logical resting point. Did Vance have some sort of oddball contract with his publisher, where he was required to write two books before getting the promised payment? But, maybe I'm being uncharitable. Other reviews suggest that he is in ill health -- which I would be very sorry to hear.

At any rate, as a conclusion to Ports of Call, "Lurulu" is underwhelming. The inimitable Vance style is present, particularly in the negotiations between the crew of the Glicca and various port agents. This, for me, made the book indispensable. But, the plot is pretty much a lost cause.

Captain Maloof's imperious, aged, seduced mother distractingly echoes Myron's imperious, aged, seduced Aunt Hester. The mysterious crew of pilgrims bound for Kyril, who appeared in "Ports" to be involved in some nefarious business, turn out to be just a crew of pilgrims. Their mysterious trunks, said to be full of sacred soil, turned out to be a non-event. The troupe of Mouse-riders performs a memorable show on one planet, but (as another reviewer comments) really doesn't add much to the rest of the book. Indeed, since they have been underemployed and penniless for months, their sudden departure leaves one wondering how, realistically, they could have paid their fare.

In sum, if you have read Vance and love his work (as I do), and particularly if you have read "Ports of Call," you will want "Lurulu." But, if you are unfamiliar with Vance and/or haven't read "Ports," don't buy this book -- buy "Night Lamp" or "Cugel's Saga" instead.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for the single novel Ports of Call + Lurulu
Review: I have some individual points of disagreement in detail with my reviewing predecessors, but they are not important, compared to the following:

Lurulu is not the second book in a series. It is the second half of a single novel, of which Ports of Call is the first half. And while the first chapter of Lurulu summarizes Ports of Call nicely, it is no substitute for reading the real thing. Would you be satisfied with a one-chapter summary of Pride and Prejudice up to the point where Elizabeth rejects Darcy's offer of marriage, and then continuing on with the rest? You--as a serious reader--will do yourself a disservice if you do not read Ports of Call before tackling Lurulu.

Another point: this is not the right place to begin an acquaintance with Jack Vance, who indeed is one of the great writers of the 20th Century (and not only among genre writers), any more than you should make your first acquaintance of Verdi's operas with Otello and Falstaff. If you do not yet know Vance, I would suggest starting with The Demon Princes or The Planet of Adventure, omnibus volumes of his brilliant multinovel planetary adventures (which of course are much more than that), which have the considerable virtue of being in print and purchasable from this site. Once you have begun to get a sense of Vance's inimitable style--utterly atypical of the science fiction genre, yet of trememdous influence on it--as presented in the works of his maturity, you will be ready to experience the mastery displayed in the works of his old age: the Lyonesse trilogy, the Cadwal Chronicles, Night Lamp and, finally (or dare we hope--not?) Ports of Call + Lurulu. The other side is this: if you are not captivated by The Demon Princes or The Planet of Adventure, then you are pitiably immune to Vance.

Bottom line: read this, by all means. But read it after reading its first half and after reading enough mature Vance to be sufficiently prepared for its uniqueness and to be convinced of your receptiveness to it. Not everybody is, just as there are poor souls immune to Jane Austen.

And while you're at it, read the rest of Vance. The man has been writing for more than six decades. He has produced an immense body of work of unbelievably high quality. Much of it is not in print, but is available from used bookstores and catalogued at ABEbooks. Many are not aware of his excursions into the genre of mystery under his full name, John Holbrook Vance, and a number of pseudonyms (under one of which he won an Edgar). These are works of varying quality, but the best of them are as good as it gets (The Fox Valley Murders, The Pleasant Grove Murders, The House on Lily Street, The View from Chickweed's Window and especially The Dark Ocean, which incredibly never found a publisher other than Underwood-Miller. And then there is the immensely disturbing Bad Ronald, a portrayal of a psychopath so true that it leaves one feeling uncomfortable with one's emotions and desires, much like Nabokov's Lolita, another of the 20th Century's greatest novels).

And if you're a part of the choir I'm preaching to, you should know about the Vance Integral Edition (http://www.vanceintegral.com), where you can acquire Vance's complete works, stripped of the considerable editorial intervention to which he was subject, for probably less money than you would spend for five of the rarer mysteries. But hurry: I'm writing on the 11th of December, 2004. Subscriptions will close in a month or so. (Full disclosure: I've been a volunteer on the VIE project since September of 1999. If this posting recruits one additional subscriber I will feel like a hero.)

Rating:
Summary: Long-awaited conclusion for the "Ports of Call"
Review: Intentionally or not, "Ports of Call" and "Lurulu" are Vance's "Candide" in form as well as in spirit, and the very discernible morale of his story is surprisingly Voltairian: neither idealistic self-abnegation nor accidental wealth bring peace and fulfillment to human mind. A man is best off doing something pertaining to his inborn nature, cultivating his chosen garden and spending his free time taking a dram or two of "ardent liquor" while conversing with his good old friends.

"Lurulu" is a wise and somewhat tired ending to the less tired "Ports of Call." It brings the scant plot threads of "Ports" to their disparate conclusions -- sort of. One of the main ideas of both "Ports" and "Lurulu," however, is not the plot in itself, it is a farewell kaleidoscope of Jack's favorite planet-vistas, which become noticeably bleaker and sketchier to the end. The other major idea of these two half-books is a search for the nature of human happiness, fulfillment and destiny, which is shown to be quite futile. The best thing in life is, Vance concludes, a relative isolation of a small group of the detached observers of life, preferably well-heeled, in the constant state of mental, emotional, and physical escape. Dismal thoughts it evokes, indeed. Life is not unlike an onion of delusions: the more you peel them, the more you cry, and in the end there's nothing.

Many Vance's readers would feel that these last two books are anticlimactic, overly schematic, too founderous, even unconvincing time to time, and -- let us not mince the words -- lacking in novelty, in engrossing situations and in well-shaped, likable characters. All true. Even Vance's fortissimo, his descriptions of alien landscapes and weird customs, are devoid of their former vividness and conviction.

Reconsider, however. Maybe "Lurulu" is not such an anticlimax after all. Jack Vance always had a penchant for the cold, somewhat frustrating touch of reality in the last paragraphs of his books. Perhaps, "Lurulu" serves well as one large, cold, somewhat frustrating conclusion to all of his life's work.

Jack makes several strong statements: not surprisingly, against the ugliness and immorality of religion, against the ugliness and immorality of modernist ("avant-garde") art. To the end he remains a humanist, a preacher of doubt and moderation, of reasonable kindness without mandatory compassion, of self-restraint without self-punishment, of minimizing the inevitable sufferings we all cause each other in order to survive. Taking into account Jack's age, his blindness, and the substandard milieu he must lean upon and endure, Jack Vance remains a miracle giant of mind and spirit, an enviable example of graceful, endlessly forgiving genius who illuminated the dusk of the Western civilization with his (last?) Voltairian smile of reason.




Rating:
Summary: enjoyable but a bit disappointing
Review: This book does all the things that Vance typically does better than anyone else. His style still has the dry humor, distance, and color that is so distinctive and instantly recognizable. The plot consists of the typical picaresque interplanetary romance that Vance has so often written, creating culture after culture to display human foolishness in a hundred different and amusing manifestations. If you've enjoyed everything else Vance has written, as I have, you'll enjoy this book too.

The inescapable fact is, however, that the book is far from Vance's prime, and Vance is clearly tired. The last half of the book ties up every loose plot thread as quickly as it decently can just to get it over with. Ports of Call was definitely a stronger beginning, and it seems as if he intended a bigger work but just ran out of energy. Although Lurulu is enjoyable on its own terms, the biggest disappointment is the realization that given Vance's situation, there aren't going to be any more Demon Princes, Tschai, Cugel, Lyonesse, or the countless other books that have given so much pleasure for so many years.