tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post7243915893122065934..comments2024-03-28T19:49:24.277-07:00Comments on Strange at Ecbatan: A Classic Ace Double: Big Planet/Slaves of the Klau, by Jack VanceRich Hortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07659613066689174738noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-70213809837219452992019-09-02T05:49:59.384-07:002019-09-02T05:49:59.384-07:00So you consider the creation of a strong individua...So you consider the creation of a strong individualistic heroine like Jean Parlier as an act of misogyny? Incredible.<br /><br />For your information: both Big Planet and Slaves of the Klau, in that Ace Double, are severely abridged from their original appearances in Startling Stories and Space Stories, as we discovered when preparing them for the VIE. In the case of Big Planet, even character names are changed for no apparent reason (well, in one case the reason is known, thanks to Norma Vance: Heinzelman the Hellhorse was changed to Atman the Scourge because it was feared the former would be taken for Jewish!).<br /><br />The main changes to Planet of the Damned, yielding Slaves of the Klau, had the effect of emasculating the character of Komeitk Lelianr and extirpating her relationship with Barch: she doesn't exactly jump into his arms--that would not be in character--but she does carry his child. That the version in Space Stories is as Vance originally intended it is confirmed by the Ace setting copy, now in the possession of the Vance estate, which retains the author's text while exposing the editor's blue pencil.<br /><br />The only mass market editions of these stories that are as Vance originally wrote them are those published by Spatterlight Press, which reflect the VIE's restorations and, in the case of Gold and Iron, the evidence of the manuscript mentioned above.<br /><br />Your mention of the misuse of women in hussade indicates that you understand that an author may depict aspects of a society of which he does not approve. This is especially true of Vance, who very rarely judges what he depicts. He pays his readers the compliment of assuming they are capable of making up their own minds.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09971386784990632882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-5379254997151322892018-05-20T07:21:12.699-07:002018-05-20T07:21:12.699-07:00My preference would be to say that Vance's nov...My preference would be to say that Vance's novels often showed a hint of misogyny in the treatment of the females leads, to to claim that he himself was a misogynist. (Just for the record.) This is particularly obvious is the depiction of the game Hussade in the three Alastor Cluster novels.<br /><br />And, yes, I've read "Abercrombie Station", and its sequel "Cholwell's Chickens". The depiction of Jean Parlier certainly could be seen as misogynist in flavor, yes.<br /><br />This isn't, I would argue, a bad thing as long as the implication isn't that all women are like Kometk Lolianr or like Jean Parlier, and I wouldn't say that's the implication to take from Vance's oeuvre. (In at least one of the Alastor novels the depiction of the fate of the women in the Hussade games is very uncomfortable, but that's also, I think, to be seen as an indication of the terrible nature of the society in question.)Rich Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07659613066689174738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-62518138431025265092018-05-20T06:23:41.835-07:002018-05-20T06:23:41.835-07:00I found Big Planet to be rather overrated.
BTW, i...I found Big Planet to be rather overrated.<br /><br />BTW, if you think Jack Vance was a misogynist, you should read Abercrombie Station.PetrusOctavianusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-2445992008251186912017-04-29T05:50:29.959-07:002017-04-29T05:50:29.959-07:00One of my favorite ACE Doubles features THE LAST C...One of my favorite ACE Doubles features THE LAST CASTLE on one side and THE DRAGON MASTERS on the other side. Classic Jack Vance!Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-45892202286370602682017-04-28T13:42:50.451-07:002017-04-28T13:42:50.451-07:00I read Big Planet in that Ace edition when it hit ...I read Big Planet in that Ace edition when it hit the spinner rack in my hometown and became a Vance fan for life.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.com