Rating: 
Summary: Dull beyond belief
Review: I am a big fan of jack vance, but I got the impression that he was just trying to sell a book with this one. This is by far the worst book of his I have read-and I have read them all.Instead of creating a vast and descriptive set of societies as he usually does so well, Port of Call spends most of it's time in concersation between characters that goes absolutely no where.
Rating: 
Summary: entertaining
Review: I couldn't put it down. The characters are variously involved with pursuit of their ideals: most seeking profit, some seeking spiritual enlightenment, or the joy of life through artistry. The main character is uncommitted, kind of like Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth, an inexperienced mild-mannered boy suddenly on a ship of highly experienced rogues. The boy accidentally (?) kills someone. What I like about Jack Vance's writing, is that he simply follows the characters where they will go, and makes no value judgment about them as good or bad. However, I can't make out any themes or purpose. Maybe the purpose is too subtle for me. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and I will buy the sequel as soon as Jack Vance is finished with it.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: I couldn't put it down. The characters are variously involved with pursuit of their ideals: most seeking profit, some seeking spiritual enlightenment, or the joy of life through artistry. The main character is uncommitted, kind of like Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth, an inexperienced mild-mannered boy suddenly on a ship of highly experienced rogues. The boy accidentally (?) kills someone. What I like about Jack Vance's writing, is that he simply follows the characters where they will go, and makes no value judgment about them as good or bad. However, I can't make out any themes or purpose. Maybe the purpose is too subtle for me. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and I will buy the sequel as soon as Jack Vance is finished with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoying but a meandering plot
Review: I enjoyed the book enormously - it contains many amusing situations and witty conversations. I felt that it was more original than several of his latest books but not up to the level of his best. The plot seemed to start out strongly then meandered off, got lost and ended suddenly. Presumably there are more books following Ports of Call. Hopefully, Jack Vance will enjoy good health and continue writing.
Rating:
Summary: No one writes like Vance
Review: I heard that Jack Vance was slowing down in his old age, but I bought Ports of Call anyway, figuring that bad Vance is better than no Vance at all. Perhaps it was the reduction in my expectations from the negative opinions I'd heard about the book, but Ports of Call came as a very pleasant surprise to me. It's true that there is nothing of the epic scope of some of Vance's other works in this book. It is also true that there is even less structure to the story of Myron Tany's career as a spacecraft crewman than Vance put in even nearly plotless picaresque adventures such as his Cugel books. Tany just wanders in search of adventure and exotic situations. But that's fine, because he gets in adventures and exotic situations, and they are beautifully written in Vance's elegant style and conceived by Vance's inimitable mind. They're a kick to read even if they don't seem to be leading to some huge climax down the road. The whole "life goes on," "one thing after another" feel of the book even evolves into a kind of theme in itself, causing me to reflect that life itself does not have an arc or a climax. I wonder whether Vance did this on purpose in case he does not have time to complete the series on Myron Tany he obviously contemplates. When I think of how the other greats, like Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, sold themselves at the end of their careers, allowing lesser writers to graft themselves to their finest works for marketing purposes, I love Vance even more for doing his own work and staying true to his own vision. Ports of Call proves that he remains the master we know and love. If he's slowing down a bit, becoming a bit more contemplative and deliberate, digressing a bit more, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Rating:
Summary: No one writes like Vance
Review: I heard that Jack Vance was slowing down in his old age, but I bought Ports of Call anyway, figuring that bad Vance is better than no Vance at all. Perhaps it was the reduction in my expectations from the negative opinions I'd heard about the book, but Ports of Call came as a very pleasant surprise to me. It's true that there is nothing of the epic scope of some of Vance's other works in this book. It is also true that there is even less structure to the story of Myron Tany's career as a spacecraft crewman than Vance put in even nearly plotless picaresque adventures such as his Cugel books. Tany just wanders in search of adventure and exotic situations. But that's fine, because he gets in adventures and exotic situations, and they are beautifully written in Vance's elegant style and conceived by Vance's inimitable mind. They're a kick to read even if they don't seem to be leading to some huge climax down the road. The whole "life goes on," "one thing after another" feel of the book even evolves into a kind of theme in itself, causing me to reflect that life itself does not have an arc or a climax. I wonder whether Vance did this on purpose in case he does not have time to complete the series on Myron Tany he obviously contemplates. When I think of how the other greats, like Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, sold themselves at the end of their careers, allowing lesser writers to graft themselves to their finest works for marketing purposes, I love Vance even more for doing his own work and staying true to his own vision. Ports of Call proves that he remains the master we know and love. If he's slowing down a bit, becoming a bit more contemplative and deliberate, digressing a bit more, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the story?
Review: I read this entire book waiting for it to get to the point but it never did. It's sort of like a long road trip on which you forget where you're going after the first few miles but you keep driving anyway because you're supposed to be going somewhere. Perhaps Vance should have waited to figure out where he wanted to go before writing this. He does well with the main character but the rest seem flimsy. Perhaps with something driving them (like a plot for instance) they would be more fleshed out.
Rating:
Summary: It grows on you.
Review: I was a little disapointed at the first read. Perhaps I was expecting too much -- A new Jack Vance book is after all a new JACK VANCE book. But I found that I had to go back to it again and again as bits of the charicterisation stuck to my mind. It may seem light and frothy but I feel that it has a deep murky strain running just under the surface. I want more!
Rating:
Summary: Cool Adventure amonsg the Stars
Review: In this book, Jack Vance gives us a delightful and apparently gentle look at the Gaian Reach. Myron Tany gets the chance to journey amongst the stars instead of becoming an accountant. Unfortunately he was travelling with his eccentric great aunt who took against his staid choices, leaving him to make his own way home
Rating:
Summary: Poorly Organized
Review: Jack starts this one on the money. It promises to be vintage Vance - well developed character and interesting plot. Sadly, he stumbles mid-way through and never gets back on course. Nice book, where's the rest of it?
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