Throy (Cadwal Chronicles, Book 3)

Rating:
Summary: A serious disappointment
Review: I adored the first two books in this series and despaired at ever being able to find a copy of Throy on sale. Finally, it surfaced on Marketplace, and I snapped it up...to find a book about a third the size of the others, no sub plots, and abrupt solutions to plots carried throughout the other two books. "Gutted", as we say in the UK! Sure, the Vancian humour is there...but this is a pale imitation of the man at his best. A real anticlimax :(

Rating:
Summary: A serious disappointment
Review: I adored the first two books in this series and despaired at ever being able to find a copy of Throy on sale. Finally, it surfaced on Marketplace, and I snapped it up...to find a book about a third the size of the others, no sub plots, and abrupt solutions to plots carried throughout the other two books. "Gutted", as we say in the UK! Sure, the Vancian humour is there...but this is a pale imitation of the man at his best. A real anticlimax :(

Rating:
Summary: Welcome conclusion to monumental trilogy
Review: In the Cadwal Chronicles, as in all his work, Jack Vance's sparse and succinct but wonderfully idiosyncratic mode of expression allows the reader to flesh out specific imagery on the bones of his narrative. While the Demon Princes pentology may be his masterpiece, the Cadwal Chronicles set is definitely worth a read. Glawen Clattuc continues Vance's tradition of strong but vulnerable (if not damaged) protagonists who find their destiny through adversity. I wish I could lay hands on 'Throy' for a second read!!

Rating:
Summary: A too short conclusion to a wonderful story.
Review: In the first two books of this trilogy was set a tangled web of intrigues so complex that you would have expected a much more elaborate conclusion. But as is often the case in Vance's stories, the end is rather abrupt (see the Lyonesse trilogy for another example). It evokes me of a child building a nice tower with blocks, then destroying it in a blow when she's had enough. If you've read the preceeding books, you might want to refrain from reading this one to keep the magic alive. You can't? I know, it's irresistible... But you've been warned!

Rating:
Summary: I can only surmise that Vance was tired of Cadwal.
Review: The first two books ("Araminta Station" and "Ecce and Old Earth") were wonderful creations. "Throy" is a conclusion, of sorts: but your heart will sink when you see how short it is, and you realise that, given that the storyline had to be wrapped up, it could hardly be any shorter. With one bound, the Yip problem is solved forever. -Still, having read the earlier books, you'll want to read this one, too. Good luck finding it.

Rating:
Summary: Just read it once but I want to read it over and over again
Review: Well, the biggest disadvantage of this book is that I cannot buy it anywhere, not even in a 2-hand store. What I can remember when reading the story a long time ago, was a thrilling plot in a way only Jack Vance can write it.