Wrapping up the far-future trilogy begun with Araminta Station and continued in Ecce and Old Earth (1992), the struggle for control over the scenically spectacular and biologically diverse planet Cadwal. Here, the unspeakable Smonny Clattuc, her hordes of Yip subjects, and her allies at the cliffside town Stroma on the continent of Throy are preparing to invade and destroy Araminta Station. To forestall this, investigators Glawen Clattuc and Eustace Chilke must determine the facts behind the possibly significant involvement of interstellar engineer and entrepreneur Barduys and his adopted daughter Flitz in Smonny's complex affairs. After pursuing inquiries on several planets—one populated, hilariously, by food faddists and health freaks—Glawen and Chilke discover that Barduys himself has been swindled by Smonny's associate, the venal Namour; indeed, they arrive just in time to prevent Namour from murdering Barduys. On Cadwal, meanwhile, Smonny attempts to assert her authority by destroying Stroma; in retaliation, her erstwhile allies burn the atoll-town Yipton to the waterline. Would that all trilogists provided as succinct and pithy a summary as Vance does here. Otherwise, enjoyable but rather thin: Vance's tendency to invent brilliantly and prodigiously in the opening volume, and thereafter to lose interest, is particularly evident.
Pub Date: May 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-312-85133-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
After years of unprepossessing folderol—the wearisome Nine Princes in Amber retreads are depressingly typical—Zelazny bursts forth with, well, ``Victorian light supernatural fantasy'' just about covers it. Narrator Snuff, a guard dog who performs complex thaumaturgical calculations in his head, has many duties: to keep various Things firmly trapped in mirrors, wardrobes, and steamer trunks; to accompany his master, Jack—he of the magical blade—on weird collecting expeditions into the graveyards and slums of Victorian London; and—for a single hour each night—discuss the day's goings-on in human speech. Snuff's neighbors include: Jill the witch and her familiar, Graymalk the cat, with whom Snuff forms a friendly alliance; Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula, a werewolf, and a satanic vicar. The witches, detectives, doctors, vampires, etc., along with their equally industrious familiars, trade information and scheme for advantage as the full moon of Halloween approaches; at that time, a magical showdown to decide the fate of the Earth will occur. Some of the characters are ``openers,'' determined to open a magical doorway allowing the Old Gods to reoccupy the Earth; others are ``closers,'' equally resolved to keep the magical door nailed shut; and a few are involved yet stand outside the Game altogether. Snuff's problem is to discover who is which. Sparkling, witty, delightful: Zelazny's best for ages, perhaps his best ever.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-12508-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1993
Even though the cracks are beginning to show, and the sheer narrative power of the superb original series is lacking, Dune...
Third in the Dune prequel series from originator Frank Herbert's son Brian and collaborator Anderson (Dune: House Atreides, 1999, and Dune: House Harkonnen, 2000). Duke Leto Atreides plans to attack planet Ix and drive out the occupying genetic-whiz Tleilaxu, while his concubine Jessica must travel to the imperial capital, Kaitain, to give birth to her child—not the daughter she was ordered to bear by her Bene Gesserit superiors. The Emperor Shaddam grows crueler and less restrained as his conspiracy with the Tleilaxu to develop a synthetic substitute for the miraculous spice “melange” advances. Shaddam's coconspirator Ajidica, the Tleilaxu Master, has tested “amal” on himself and obtained a superhuman brain boost; better still, the imperial Sardaukar troops stationed on Ix are already addicted to amal, so that now they'll obey him rather than the Emperor. The Emperor's agent, Hasimir Fenring, isn't convinced that amal will be an effective substitute for melange and demands more tests. Regardless, Shaddam squeezes the Great Families to reveal their secret spice stockpiles; once equipped with amal, he can destroy planet Arrakis—the sole source of the natural spice—and hold the galaxy to ransom. The plot heads for one of those black-comic moments where everybody's holding a gun to somebody else's head.
Even though the cracks are beginning to show, and the sheer narrative power of the superb original series is lacking, Dune in any guise is as addictive as the spice itself.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2001
ISBN: 0-553-11084-5
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
