Posted by Rodger Whitlock on August 10, 1998 at 10:55:58:
I'm re-reading Araminta Station, and what a delight it is! I thought I knew it cover to cover, but the first chapter or so came over almost as a book completely new to me.
One striking plot feature that I noticed: the principal characters — Glawen Clattuc, Wayness Tamm, Arles Clattuc et al, are teenagers at the start of the narrative and for some considerable distance into it. Does anyone know real-life teenagers with the poise and style of Vance's fictional gang?
Another pronounced characteristic of the narrative, typical of Vance, is the emphasis on detailed descriptions of dress, grooming, personal adornment, dining, interior decoration, and architecture. Do we know another writer who so effortlessly gives us a detailed description of the colour, cut, and styling of so many characters' dress?
This time through, I am reading the narrative closely enough to pick up a few plot discordancies: the lobby to the hotel in Yipton is first described as bamboo painted white (and Scharde Clattuc remarks on the improvement from its earlier state), but when the Bold Lions go on their trip to Yipton, the lobby is back to plain bamboo. And Bodwyn Wook's secretary Hilda, who is a thorn in Glawen Clattuc's side at points, only makes her debut by name in the last half of the book; earlier, she is referred to obliquely and anonymously.
There is also some confusion about how one pays at Yipton: the narrative repeatedly mentions currency controls and the issuance of scrip, but the Bold Lions offer coinage while there.
These descrepancies suggest that Vance's methods do not include a laborious re-writing, and that much of the rich detail of his narratives was invented spur of the moment as he progressed.
No matter. Vance's writing once again shows its considerable staying power. For those unfamiliar with Vance's work, Araminta Station is a good place to start, although in many ways its plot and characters are atypical of Vance.