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Post by Finarvyn on Nov 24, 2021 7:36:18 GMT -6
I owned all three of the books in this series years ago in mass paperback format but never got "into" Vance at that time (plus the font size was small) so I eventually sold them unread. With the DE kickstart a while back, I started reading Vance with more enthusiasm. Recently a Lyonesse RPG (in another rules system) became the topic of discussion on another board and it got me interested in re-acquiring the books and reading them this time. I decided to avoid the mass paperback format but instead to focus on trade paperback, and I found all three on Amazon for a decent price. They came in and I'm happy to report that the book quality is good and the font size is highly readable. The copies I bought are the "Spatterlight Press" ones which, if my memory of Goodman podcasts is accurate, is officially sanctioned by Vance's son. I wanted to put in a plug for these books, and particularly this edition, in case any Dying Earth fans also wanted to pursue Lyonesse. www.amazon.com/Suldruns-Garden-Lyonesse-Jack-Vance/dp/1619470918/Be sure to pick "paperback" and not "mass market paperback" in order to get the Spatterlight edition. The books are 6x9" and have a distinctive silver band at the bottom that give the book's title. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2021 16:44:41 GMT -6
Read them all earlier this year and loved them, although I found it a bit jarring that Vance switched protagonists halfway through book 1. Not jarring in a way that ruins it, but it's a major tonal shift, like the early chapters of LOTR versus the rest, for instance.
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Post by Finarvyn on Nov 25, 2021 5:52:09 GMT -6
Read them all earlier this year and loved them, although I found it a bit jarring that Vance switched protagonists halfway through book 1. Not jarring in a way that ruins it, but it's a major tonal shift, like the early chapters of LOTR versus the rest, for instance. Um ... spoiler? I'm still early in book #1.  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2021 6:07:50 GMT -6
Read them all earlier this year and loved them, although I found it a bit jarring that Vance switched protagonists halfway through book 1. Not jarring in a way that ruins it, but it's a major tonal shift, like the early chapters of LOTR versus the rest, for instance. Um ... spoiler? I'm still early in book #1. Eh, sorry. Well, I didn't mention any details at least. Just a little commentary about the structure of the story. You can expect to be jarred a bit. If you like Vance's word play and characters, you'll like the story and setting, though. |
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Post by stonetoflesh on Nov 25, 2021 9:32:07 GMT -6
Vance's Lyonesse is one of my absolute favorite fantasy works, hope you enjoy it! I've heard great things about the Spatterlight Press editions, I have the 2-volume Fantasy Masterworks and the mammoth 1-volume Complete Lyonesse by Gollancz. The Design Mechanism's Lyonesse RPG is beautifully done, and IMHO worth picking up for all the setting info and flavorful magic even if (like me) you have no interest in the Mythras system.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2021 11:28:29 GMT -6
Spatter light Press puts out great editions of his work in paperback. All but one Vance book I own is through them (Dying Earth omnibus by Orb Books being the exception).
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Post by Finarvyn on Nov 26, 2021 4:48:38 GMT -6
Um ... spoiler? I'm still early in book #1. Eh, sorry. Well, I didn't mention any details at least. Just a little commentary about the structure of the story. You can expect to be jarred a bit. If you like Vance's word play and characters, you'll like the story and setting, though. I'm just pulling your chain. I'm pretty sure that no one would really complain about "spoilers" from a book from 1983.  Feel free to discuss as much as you like. |
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Post by Melan on Nov 28, 2021 6:19:33 GMT -6
You are in for a treat, Fynarvin! Lyonesse is a great, underappreciated series by a Vance who was at his creative peak. It is exciting, witty, funny, wise and sad, often all at the same time. It is kinda-sorta Game of Thrones done better, without the crass vulgarity and biting nihilism. It has a strange beauty that's very rich, painted in warm tones. And yes, it cycles through a cast of about half a dozen protagonists, so the individual story arcs read as interconnected novellas.
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Post by Otto Harkaman on Nov 29, 2021 11:22:31 GMT -6
I haven't read much Vance, might have to check these out.
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flightcommander
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"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
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Post by flightcommander on Nov 29, 2021 15:22:39 GMT -6
I've read the trilogy twice and look forward to reading it through again. One of the things I love about reading anything by Jack Vance is the palpable sense of joy he had in writing it. If you've read through The Dying Earth you will find familiar narrative elements in Lyonesse, woven into a more complete whole that, as always, makes you wish he had written more.
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Post by Starbeard on Nov 29, 2021 22:03:10 GMT -6
In my opinion, Lyonesse has some of the best descriptions ever printed of wizard tower culture, and of dimensional planes. If it weren't for the publication dates, you'd swear it was a direct inspiration for sages and planar cosmology in D&D.
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Post by stonetoflesh on Nov 30, 2021 11:03:28 GMT -6
It is exciting, witty, funny, wise and sad, often all at the same time. It is kinda-sorta Game of Thrones done better, without the crass vulgarity and biting nihilism. It has a strange beauty that's very rich, painted in warm tones. Very well put, Melan! It may sound strange, but one of the most beautiful things to me about Lyonesse is its underlying (but never overpowering) current of bittersweetness, very reminiscent in a way to "The Grey Havens" and the passing of the Third Age of Middle Earth at the end of Lord of the Rings. The reader knows that for all the characters' strivings, the Elder Isles will sink be lost... "All is vanity, a chasing after the wind," so to speak. |
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Post by derv on Nov 30, 2021 17:49:22 GMT -6
Wow! this thread is such a contrast to one I posted back in 2016 when I was making my way through The Complete Lyonesse. There really isn't an author out there that I could stand a steady diet of without reprieve, but Vance might be a close contender if push came to shove. |
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Post by retrorob on Dec 12, 2021 8:08:23 GMT -6
I've read the Lyonesse trilogy twice - once around 2000 and for the 2nd time a few years ago. It's a fun, beatifully described mix of history and legend - lost continent, elves, magic, politics, Atlantis, king Arthur, vikings. There is a sense of lurking tragedy, because we know that the isles are no more. It is set in the Dark Ages, but the culture resembles Late Medieval period (War of Roses), so if you're a diehard historian, better read some Bernard Cornwell instead. I'm sure Game of Thrones was inspired by Lyonesse, but for me Vance is much better writer and storyteller.
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Feel free to discuss as much as you like.
