The Green Pearl
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Average rating4.3
In the second volume of the Lyonesse trilogy, new threads are woven into the epic tapestry begun in Suldrun's Garden. While war rages across the Elder Isles, King Aillas's true love, Glyneth, is carried off to a parallel world by an amoral magician in the pay of the wicked King Casmir. Meanwhile, a sorceress's malice, condensed into a green pearl, passes from hand to hand bringing poignant misery to whomever it touches. Jack Vance conjures up a tale of war and politics, magic and derring-do, presented in the inimitable style that has made him one of fantasy's acknowledged grandmasters. - Matt Hughes "The Green Pearl" is Book II of the Lyonesse series, and Volume 53 of the Spatterlight Press Signature Series. Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collection is based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition. Select volumes enjoy up-to-date maps, and many are graced with freshly-written forewords contributed by a distinguished group of authors. Each book bears a facsimile of the author's signature and a previously-unpublished photograph, chosen from family archives for the period the book was written. These unique features will be appreciated by all, from seasoned Vance collector to new reader sampling the spectrum of this author's influential work for the first time. - John Vance II
Series
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3 primary books4 released books#2 in Lyonesse
Lyonesse is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1983 with contributions by Sierra Simone and Jack Vance.
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ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
The Green Pearl is another engrossing adventure in Jack Vance's whimsical world. This installment of Lyonesse mainly follows Aillas, now King of Troicinet, as he seeks revenge on the Ska, tests his infatuation with Tatzel, deals with a couple of traitors, and tries to thwart the ambitions of King Casmir of Lyonesse who, unbeknownst to Casmir, is Aillas's son's grandfather. We also spend quite a bit of time with Shimrod, Glyneth, Melancthe, and some new and excellent characters such as the duplicitous innkeeper Dildahl, the dogged but distractible Visbhume, and The Notable and Singular Zuck (Dealer in Objects Unique Under the Firmament).
There are two main reasons that I love Lyonesse. First, I admire Vance's florid imagination. His world and its creatures are unique and, while not as bizarre as Lewis Carroll's, there's plenty of weirdness. Second, I love Jack Vance's odd but irresistible style. There's no message, no lesson, no pretensions ??? it's just pure fast-paced entertainment. But best of all, Vance's deliberately peculiar and droll prose makes me laugh:
A crippled ex-soldier named Manting for ten years had served the county as executioner. He did his work efficiently and expunged Long Liam's life definitely enough, but in a style quite devoid of that extra element of surprise and poignancy, which distinguished the notable executioner from his staid colleague. ... [then Manting comes into possession of the Green Pearl which Long Liam had carried:] ... Thereafter, all who watched Manting declared that they had never seen the executioner's work done with more grace and attention to detail, so at times Manting and the condemned man seemed participants in a tragic drama which set every heart to throbbing; and at last, when the latch had been sprung, or the blow struck, or the torch tossed into the faggots, there was seldom a dry eye among the spectators.
