Rating: 
Summary: tedious potboiler doesn't hold my interest
Review: Sci-fi is often something else. Maybe westerns, or adventure stories. This is a detective novel masquerading as sci-fi.This has to be the weakest Jack Vance novels I ever read. The story involves these five villians who mudered the protagonist's family. He seeks revenge. For some reason I can't fathom, the villians can change their appearance so no one can recognize them, even friends or former victims. They often turn out to be some minor character, so their motivation is difficult to follow once you know who they are. And after you do know, you don't care. I kept getting bored with this potboiler and after I struggled for months to read it, thinking it would get better, I stopped after volume one. I guess everyone has to pay the rent and that includes Jack Vance. Sometimes the Muse just isn't there. Jack Vance is a gifted writer, one of, the greatest fantasy sci-fi novelists of all time. For a MUCH better read, try "The Dying Earth", perhaps the best and most influential fantasy of all time, or the "Lyoness" series.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent story of 70s Soft Science Fiction
Review: The feel of technology in these books is quite alien to what you will read in hard science fiction novels, but this is not necessarily a bad thing, as no one can perfectly predict or extrapolate technology into the future. I was disappointed by many references to things that were obviously on the way out even in the 70s, things like manila folders full of files (yes, we have them now, but less than we did 30 years ago, and centuries from now, I doubt that high-tech socities will be using them). However, once you get by these small problems (and the problems are made small by the stories other strengths), you will find an absolute bare-bones story, hard on target, without frills and distractions, flying toward conclusion from the first words of each book. The plots are well done and the pacing excellent. The obstacles the characters face are difficult to overcome and many times are intangible things which must be thought around rather than simply blown up. One of the worst dangers faced by the author is that the main character is, to put it simply, quite nasty. A master of many martial arts, weapons, espionage techniques, slieght of hand, and chemistry (especially as relates to poison); it can be difficult to present a story with any challenges for such a character, but Jack Vance does a good job by the by. Kirth's main problem is that he is overconfident, and this comes back to haunt him a time or two. Personally, I wish he'd had a few other shortcomings to make it easier to relate to him and to make obstacles harder to overcome (although, as I said, many of the obstacles aren't of the sort that any physical skill will help on). Overall, an excellent series, with better than average writing, and in some cases, excellent writing. I bought them both the moment they appeared (on the recommendation of a friend), and I was not disappointed. Definitely worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: First books offer fine introduction: both to ...
Review: The first time I read this book was about 10 years ago (I was 15 at the time I think). I was just interesting myself for SF-literature, more precisely, for literature that had more elements of 'science' in it (Asimov for example). Before that, I mostly read 'fantasy'-books, like Tolkiens, Julian May's, Terry Pratchett's and Frank Herbert. So I knew already some books where complete worlds where described, and after readin' the first books of the Demon Princes, I was convinced that Jack Vance had done a great job! I read it in one, giant - cuz 1000+ pages - breath and I had the feeling that Jack Vance deserved, atleast in my opinion, a place between the great writers I previously mentioned.
Ofcourse, this will never happen, cuz Jack Vance has never really broke through to the great public, but he still has his own small group of hardcore-fans.
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These first three books give an excellent introduction regarding the main character Kirth Gersen, his motivations and his 'life-style'. The readers gets also overwhelming information about the worlds, habitats, social, cultural and flora&fauna.
The first book is really strong, with a good intro, mid-plot and vividly written end. Great! The second book tries to do the same; to deepen the main character - through flashbacks, etc -and to describe more of the fantasy-world(s) this all takes place. Two new elements are added: romance and action. Good move of the writer ofcourse. The Palace of Love is the 'least' book of the three and most readers will agree with me. The general feeling about it, was that it was somewhat hastily, untidy written. Vance tried to combine the strong elements of the first two books, but has failed at most points in my opinion.
Conclusion: Book 1 + 2 get def. 5 stars and book 3 gets only 3 stars. Overall; still 5 stars I think.
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With kind regards,
Rating:
Summary: Sublime
Review: The most literate, witty, sophisticated, inventive space opera ever written. Vance tosses off entire, elaborate cultures with unmatched ease. Entertaining, exhilarating, suspenseful, and occasionally horrifying, told in Vance's inimitable dry, ironic voice. Superb.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for Vance fans
Review: These first three books in the Demon Princes series are some of Jack Vance's finest work. You've seen and heard this story a thousand times but seeing it through the strangely colored glasses of Mr. Vance will bring a new freshness to this tale of a young man seeking revenge. Keith Gersen hunts the Demon Princes with a determination that would make Bulldog Drummond proud. He allows no obstacles to slow his search, no feeling, no doubts. Man, you just know this guy is going to come crashing down if he finally gets all the bad guys. Guess you'll have to find out for yourself. Buy it
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Series -written by a Grand Master
Review: This is a terrific series. I have read and re-read these books many times. A good buy for those that love mystery, action, strange settings and unique cultures. They also have quite a sense of humor. In the Palace of Love, the character Navarth is classic, humorous and thought provoking. You'll also want Vol 2. The thought of having to wait to get it when you finish Vol 1 is unthinkable! Also of interest to fans of Jack Vance is the Vance Integral Edition. http://www.vanceintegral.com/index.htm
Rating:
Summary: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Avenger
Review: This is really a review of both volumes One and Two, which belong together, although each one is long enough that a single book would be unwieldy. There are five novellas collected here, three in the first volume and two in the second, that make up the episodic story of Kirth Gerson, who has devoted his life to revenge on the five Demon Princes, who are galactic super-criminals, for a massacre they all cooperated on when he was a child that left him bereft of family, friends, and home. Since then they have all pursued their imaginative evils independently. Gerson was raised by his grandfather to be a revenge machine. He has perfected the arts of killing in all their variety, and cultivates a bland and harmless appearance so as to pursue, undetected and undeterred, the deaths of these (mostly) men. But they will not succumb easily. Gerson's greatest weapon is that these enormously clever and ruthless criminals are not aware of him, or of his mission. They are, however, preternaturally vigilant (as befits those extravagantly beyond the law), masters of disguise and misdirection, and playful in ghastly and terrifying ways. They assume they have enemies, and each time Kirth Gerson draws near his quarry the roles of hunter and hunted become less clear. The premise is gripping, the prose luxuriant and witty, and the action a tasteful mixture of violence and elegant repartee. Vance's inventiveness never flags, and he clearly enjoys the implausible colorful worlds he constructs with so much attention to the details of diet, costume, architecture, and custom. And what could be more appealing than innocence avenged, and dangerous evil decisively defeated? These stories appeared in the old Galaxy magazine (I think!) back in the sixties, over a period of years. I remember getting hold of new ones in college after having gotten hooked by the first two stories years earlier. So, just as it took Kirth Gerson a long time to fully effect his revenge, it was a long time before we readers had his whole story in hand. But this two-volume collection replaces that years-long suspense with more-or-less instant gratification. The stories are long, but they are all there, in the proper order. It would be cruel indeed to give volume One as a gift without supplying volume Two as well. But Vance's prose is a rich diet, and it's likely that after these books a reader will be ready for some leaner fare for quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff.
Review: Vance's best work, next to "The Dying Earth" and the Cugel novels. Highly entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff.
Review: Vance's best work, next to "The Dying Earth" and the Cugel novels. Highly entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing societies, outstanding characters and plot
Review: Vance's trademark of delightful style, bizarre yet somehow logically consistent future planetary societies, and imaginative plotting reaches a peak in the "demon princes" series. Some of these tales I have not read since they first came out decades ago, yet many of the characters and events stick in my mind almost as if I'd lived it myself (well, not quite... if I had gone through all that I'd be a wreck from flashbacks). Jokes, tortures, detective work, deep insights into twisted human personalities and social structure: Vance has poured everything into this. Classic and classy
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