cover art by Philippe Druille |
Part I
I don't recommend reading the version of The Palace of Love that was published in Galaxy. It appears to have been shortened by the editor. Near the beginning of the Galaxy version of The Palace of Love there is brief mention of the planet Sarkoy, but Vance's account of Gersen's visit to that world is missing. In my copy of the DAW edition of The Palace of Love, there are 26 additional pages about Sarkoy at the start of the story that did not appear in Galaxy. With a few clicks you can buy a copy of the complete story.
bar fight with the white-eyed man spills into the alley behind the Celestial Harmony Cafe |
Having stolen 10,000,000,000 SVU in The Killing Machine, Gersen uses some of his vast wealth to buy Cosmopolis magazine. He uses his credentials as a writer for Cosmopolis to carry out his search for Falushe. In one of many humorous scenes, without revealing that he now owns the company, Gersen visits the headquarters of Cosmopolis magazine in London in order to get his Cosmopolis identification card.
Gersen bar hopping with Navarth and Drusilla. |
After an evening of bar hopping, Gersen is at least half drunk by the time they cross paths with Falushe, first glimpsed as a man standing along the bar. Gersen won't allow Drusilla to go to Falushe and he gets into a fight with Falushe's body guard, the "white-eyed man".
Part II
Navarth's party |
The guests at the party must all wear disguises. There are naked serving girls at the party, who Vance described as "young girls". I've always imagined them as prepubescent, but the illustration by Morrow depicts them as full figured.
fun on Sogdian |
travel to the Palace of Love |
source |
After their ordeals, Gersen and Navarth are pleasantly surprised when Drusilla arrives. Now assembled, the guests set off for the Palace of Love.
Part III
Gersen suspects that one of the male guests is actually Falushe, but neither Gersen or Navarth knows for sure. Arriving at the Palace of Love, the guests scatter to different parts of the park-like environs and Drusilla again disappears. Gersen searches for and eventually finds Falushe's hidden headquarters.
Gersen penetrates the hidden headquarters of Viole Falushe, but he is knocked unconscious and ejected. |
source |
In the Ekcolir Reality. Original cover art by Stephen Fabian |
I like to imagine that there was a greater purpose behind the Palace of Love and Falushe's secret experiments. According to Zeta, in the Ekcolir Reality there were additional stories published that provided details about human breeding experiments on Sogdian using the clones of Jheral Tinzy.
Next: looking back at The Gods Themselves
visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers |
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