Posted by Lyall Simmons on May 17, 1998 at 13:47:01:
In Reply to: Re: Jack Vance and Ports of Call posted by Mick Scannell on May 15, 1998 at 04:28:26:
:
: : There has been a lot of discussion concerning the lack of plot in Ports of Call. As I read the novel it occurred to me that this was probably very much the sort of life that Jack led during his merchant marine days, moving from port to port, picking up and leaving off cargo, having brief shore leaves in communities whose cultures might be far removed from that of the U.S., perhaps seeing unusual or unique events. Just a thought.
: A thought it may be, and one which is very much in phase with my own! Such travelogue-style fare is meat and two veg for us Vancians, allowing the bloke to regale us with many more permutations of humanity in farflung and differing environs. If this is at the expense of a tight plot then so be it! As a minor critique I'd say that perhaps if it had been mentioned on the cover that this was the first in a series of 'x' tomes then one might have been pre-warned of the sudden cut-off.
: As a further aside, I'd just like to voice my opinion that I'd very much like to see him produce a pure fantasy novel; as much as I enjoy his science fiction work (which often itself 'blurs' into the genre of fantasy) I feel that his rampant imagination is equally if not better suited to this genre, which seems to be itself devoid of quality authors willing to break the bland and boring Tolkein-stylee trilogy mould. Any sympathisers out there in phase with this thought themselves?
: Best Regards,
: Mick
I would have thought the 'Lyonesse' series would have qualified as pure fantasy, more so than science fiction.
Cheers, Lyall