I
previously listed Jack Vance and
Isaac Asimov as my two favorite writers of science fiction stories. Yes, they are both dead, but there is good reason to suspect that their literary creations will continue to be read by future generations of Sci Fi fans. In my own case, I find it impossible to resist keeping Asimov and Vance alive in my own fan fiction stories.
Asimov was a tireless promoter of both science fiction as a literary genre in general and his own writings. Since
1977 there has been
Asimov's Science Fiction magazine keeping alive the Asimov name. There are many fan-created websites that provide guides to reading Asimov's science fiction (
example). Much of Asimov's science fiction is
readily available in ebook format.
Long, Medium, Short
In the case of Asimov, I have no difficulty suggesting paths by which new readers of his work can begin to explore his writing. His short story "
Cal" is a fun introduction to his
robot stories. Similarly, I recommend his time travel novel
The End of Eternity as an entry point for a reader who wants to start sampling Asimov's longer works. At the very long end of the Sci Fi reading spectrum, I'm eternally impressed by how Asimov knit together his positronic robot stories with his famous
Foundation saga. See
this page for details.
 |
| Whimsical depiction of Asimov traveling through time to meet Jack Vance. |
More Knitting
What about the works of Vance... where should a reader begin (ebooks available
here)?
Trullion was the first novel by Vance that I ever read and I suggest that it is a good first read for a Sci Fi fan who is beginning to explore Vance's fiction. Is it possible that
Trullion was given an unfair advantage simply by being the first Vance novel that I read? I've been asking myself that question for years and exploring my personal reasons for obsessing over Vance's stories.
4 years ago, I began thinking seriously about the difficult task of selecting among Vance's novels and deciding which is my favorite. Since that time, I've written a
sequel to Trullion, so I suppose that has further biased me in the direction of selecting
Trullion as the one Vance novel that I would recommend for someone who has never read any of Vance's stories.
Three years ago I fantasized that Vance and Asimov had co-authored a story called
Cryptesthesiology. It is fun to imagine that Vance and Asimov were
part of a struggle to find a safe path to a future among the stars for Humanity in an age of rapid technological change.
Finally,
last year, I wrote a story about how Isaac Asimov traveled back through time in order to save the life of Jack Vance. I like to imagine that it was
essential for Humanity's future that Jack Vance live long and share his science fiction stories with us.
One of Three
Trullion is one of three novels written by Vance that are set in Alastor Cluster.
Trullion was the first of these stories to be written, and with its setting in the
Fens, it seems to have been the closest to Vance's heart.
Marune and
Wyst are also interesting novels, but
Trullion is my favorite. I like to imagine that in earlier
Realities, Vance was able to write 3
additional Alastor Cluster novels, for a total of six.
There is a
good review of
Trullion by
Thomas M. Wagner.
Wagner stressed the fact that
Trullion is interesting. Part of what makes
Trullion interesting is the setting: Originally published in 1973, Vance created an imaginary world dominated by a type of free-love philosophy similar to that explored by California "
hippies". The plot revolves around a social revolutionary movement that arises in opposition to the dominant "free love" culture of
Trullion. Adding to the interest generated by Vance's imaginative world building is the colorful array of characters that Vance throws together in the story.
Wagner mentions that
Glinnes Hulden must deal with "his team's shierl". Glinnes meets and begins "dealing with" Duissane before she becomes a
hussade shierl. When Glinnes arrives back on Trullion after serving in the military for ten years, he discovers that Duissane's family is literally living in his back yard. Duissane's family is Trevanyi, a minority group on Trullion.
 |
| Source. (click image to enlarge) The Hulden family home is on Rabendary Island, in the Fens |
Duissane's family (the Drossets) is nomadic, living in tents and moving from place to place around Trullion. They met Glay Hulden (the twin brother of Glinnes) when Glay was wandering around Trullion for a few years. Glay now owes the Drossets favors, so he allows them to pitch their tents on Rabendary Island. Immediately upon returning home after his tour of duty in the military, Glinnes comes into conflict with the Drossets.
The relationship of Glinnes with Duissane brings new meaning to the idea of falling in love with the girl next door. Glinnes is immediately attracted to Duissane, but he soon learns that the Drossets robbed and murdered his brother Shira. The Drossets also rob and beat Glinnes, leaving him at the mercy of the man-eating merlings. Glinnes survives the attack; he burns for revenge against the Drossets but he is still smitten by Duissane.
A romance between Glinnes and Duissane seems impossible, but even more unlikely is that Duissane becomes a hussade shierl. Nobody can remember another Trevanyi girl being a shierl. Compounding the unlikelihoods, Duissane's father has only given Duissane permission to be shierl for the hussade team that Glinnes plays for. In Vance's skilled authorial hands, the multiplying absurdities become sources of drama and even humor. Still, for
my fan fiction sequel to
Trullion I've tried to imagine logical reasons for the unlikely collision of Glinnes and Duissane.
I suspect that Vance was simply having fun and trying to place difficult challenges between Glinnes and happiness, which makes for an interesting story and keeps readers turning the pages. We learn that Shira apparently tried to seduce Duissane. This resulted in a dangerous clash of cultures. Shira and Glinnes are Trullion's version of
jocks; they grew up playing hussade and chasing girls. They would not hesitate to ask a pretty girl for casual sex. In contrast, the Trevanyi seem to treat their daughters like valuable property. Duissane's father apparently views it as his responsibility to defend the virginity of his daughter; so he killed Shira.
 |
| Rabendary Island |
Here are the first words spoken by Duissane to Glinnes: "
Oh you wicked urush, you've spoiled our meal. May your tongue grow a beard. And you with your paunch full of dog-guts, get away from this place before we name you a stiff-leg Fanscher. We know you, never fear! You're a worse spageen than your horn of a brother..."
Later, Glinnes and Duissane are alone together on a small island. Glinnes attempts to seduce Duissane and he kisses her. Duissane pushes him away and says, "
You're all alike you Trills! You reek with cauch; you brain is a single lecherous gland. Do you aspire only to turpitude?" And then a bit later, "
Oh you are a despicable person; I want nothing to do with you."
 |
| Duissane seduces Glinnes |
However, just 15 pages later, when Duissane suspects that Glinnes has come into possession of a large amount of money, she comes to his house and tries to seduce him. "
Duissane dropped her cape. She wore only sandals and a thin frock." Duissane said, "
Henceforth, I live only to exalt you, to make you the happiest of men." However, when she realizes that Glinnes has no money, she leaves him and agrees to marry a wealthy aristocrat (Lord Gensifer).
Eventually, towards the end of
Trullion, Duissane's father and Lord Gensifer are both dead. Glinnes finally does end up with a large sum of money. At the end of the novel, Glinnes and Duissane walk together down a beach and we can imagine that finally nothing remains to keep them apart.
Duissane is an interesting character because she desperately wants to transcend the restricted existence that she was born to. This contrasts starkly with Glinnes who seemingly enjoys the kind of life that he was born into and would happily live as his father had lived. However, Glinnes has his life disrupted by both Duissane and his brother Glay.
 |
Investigating Lord Gensifer's
dealings with space pirates.
(source) |
Fanscherade
Glay joins the revolutionary Fancher movement that seeks to create a new way of living on Trullion, one entirely opposed to the conventional Trill lifestyle that Glinnes enjoys. Through the entire story, Glay is a source of annoyance for Glinnes.
In particular, Glay sells one of the two islands that is owned by the Hulden family, donating the money to the Fanscherade revolutionaries. However, Vance is a master of constructing plots in which great rewards are ultimately gained by a protagonist who persists in his pursuit of a goal against the tide of adversity.
In the end, after Fanscherade has been crushed by the social momentum of Trullion, Glay returns home to Rabendary Island. Glinnes finds it impossible to remain angry at Glay: it is through Glay's actions that Duissane came into his life and while scheming to buy back Ambal Island Glinnes had managed to obtain a large fortune, thirty million ozols.
But is it Science Fiction?
Science fiction stories often deal with imaginary scientific and technological advances and their imagined impacts on people and societies. I feel comfortable viewing Vance's Alastor Cluster stories as science fiction because it is as if Vance asked, "What types of worlds might exist if humans were given access to cheap and convenient interstellar space travel technology?"
And Aliens, too
Trullion, like many Vance stories, includes alien creatures. The native merlings of Trullion are taken for granted by the human residents of the planet. Lord Gensifer along with the father and sister of Glinnes are killed by merlings. Another endless source of danger are the space pirates who constantly raid the planets of Alastor Cluster.
 |
| a star-watch |
I like to imagine that Alastor Cluster is an artifact, an artificial star cluster, created by aliens. "Out toward the rim of the galaxy hangs Alastor Cluster, a whorl of thirty thousand live stars... Alastor presents a flamboyant display of star-streams, luminous webs, sparkling nodes."
Alastor Cluster was a playground for Vance's imagination. Trullion is a fine starting point for readers who want to explore the many worlds of Jack Vance.
No comments:
Post a Comment