Posted by Steven R. Harbin on March 21, 1999 at 03:35:37:
In Reply to: Re: Big Planet: impenetrable posted by Dan Gunter on March 20, 1999 at 11:17:08:
: : Is it just me--a distinct probability--or has anyone else had trouble with this one? It galls me. (Not the book, but my own inability to get into the thing.) I've tried 3 times.
: I'm surprised by your difficulties with "Big Planet." I first read the book when I was about 11 or 12 years old; it hooked me on Vance, and it also helped solidify my interest in reading. I've reread it a number of times since then, and I continue to enjoy it. I think it blends wonderful action scenes with delightful "sociological" scenes. In some ways "Big Planet" (like "Slaves of the Klau/Gold and Iron") is an early draft of the Tschai books, but it stands well on its own. You might try thinking of it against the backdrop of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his imitators; "Big Planet" is vastly better than any of those, even Burroughs at his best. (Of course, the comparison is unfair in many ways: although "Big Planet" is technically an "interplanetary adventure" book, it's vastly different in many ways from the Barsoom and Venus books.)
: I urge you to give "Big Planet" another try, and this time just let yourself relax into it. I think you'll enjoy the effect!
I read "Big Planet" at about the same time in my life, 11 or 12 years of age. I was hooked into buying it because of my interest at the time in Burroughs, and I seem to remember that it was an ACE pocketbook that had a quote on it that would lead one to think that it was written in a similar vein as ERB's books. Of course, once I got into reading it I saw many differences, but I was also on my way to becoming a life long fan of Vance. While I agree it's not one of his better works, I also have really fond memories of reading it for the first time. Upon re-reading it's still fun. Of course, one person's meat is another's poison, etc. etc., but I would also urge that you try reading it again, thinking of it as a precursor of some of Vance's later adventure novels that got more deeply in other cultures and social systems.