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City Of The Chasch (1968)

by Jack Vance(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0312940432 (ISBN13: 9780312940430)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Bluejay

series

Planet of Adventure

review 1: Two hundred and twelve light years from Earth the Explorator IV spaceship enters the orbit of a planet that has the appearance of sustaining life. Immediately it is shot down, all the crew killed except for the two scouts, who had left the ship in a smaller vessel.The scouts effect an emergency landing and the site of their crash is instantly attended by three very different life forms, one human, the other two alien. One scout is brutally beheaded, the other, Adam Reith, survives more by luck than judgement.Taken as hostage and slave by the human species, the Kruthe or 'Emblem Men', Reith recovers his strength, learns that he is on a planet called Tschai, and sets about the seemingly impossible task of recovering his vessel and heading for home.In this book, the first in ... morea series of four with the umbrella title 'Planet of Adventure', Reith is introduced in some way to all the principle species of Tschai, but his main business is with the Chasch, giant pangolin-like creatures with superior olfactory organs and an eccentric and capricious sense of entertainment. Scouts are described by the captain of the Explorator as being "half acrobat, half mad scientist, half cat burglar", and Reith is certainly a man endowed with more attributes than usual, not be mention a smart, ruthless and masterful character.He shows no respect for the inhabitants of Tschai, ridiculing their customs, challenging their leaders and even stealing their women in a stirring display of Terran superiority. A thrilling romp to kick-start an excellent series from Vance.
review 2: This book is ungodly entertaining. Vance creates an alien planet, Tschai, in the form of an alternate earth with beautiful scenic descriptions and characters that, while they generally conform to certain archetypes, are instantly loveable in one way or another. The civilizations that he creates are the really interesting parts, inventing strange customs and tribal rituals that just blow my mind. Highly recommended to anyone and everyone who can tolerate reading with a dictionary as their constant companion- this man has probably the most diverse vocabulary I've ever come across. less

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