The Blue World [Paperback]

Jack Vance (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sf Collector's | Publication Date: May 2003

This is classic Vance: a carefully thought-out world, a stratified society, and a man in conflict with its rules. During the space of twelve generations, the descendents of a crash on a water-covered planet have managed to adapt to the marine culture. But they are always at the mercy of the kragen, giant, squidlike monsters. The colonists can communicate with the biggest of these, King Kragen, and must appease him. But finally, one man has had enough of this life of slavery and sacrifice. Can he convince his fellow citizens that they must kill King Kragen? But...how can they do it in a world without weapons?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jack Vance was born in 1916 and studied mining engineering and journalism at the University of California. During the Second World War he served in the merchant navy and was torpedoed twice. He started contributing stories to the pulp magazines in the mid 1940s and published his first book, The Dying Earth, in 1950. Among his many books are The Dragon Master, for which he won his first Hugo, Big Planet, The Anome and the Lyoness sequence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; Collectors edition (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575073489
• ISBN-13: 978-0575073487
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,381,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Early Classic by Jack Vance, September 27, 2000

By 

David_A_Stever "David Allen Stever" (SAINT PAUL, MN, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue World (DAW Books, No. 527) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first Vance novel I ever read- humans marooned on a world without solid land. The themes of human beings as the most alien creatures we'll ever meet, the exotic societies, the strange worlds we are cast down on all combined to a memberable book. Look for how the folks on this planet gather iron; it's an image that has stayed with me for over thirty years.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaves a lasting impression, October 8, 2004

By 

Francis F. Kilkenny "france_8" (Charlottesville, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue World (DAW Books, No. 527) (Mass Market Paperback)

First, to all those who have never read Jack Vance: he is nothing like the vast multitudes of "space-opera" writers of today. And if you are expecting more of that kind of pulp you may not like his stories. If you are willing to let go of your notions of what scif-fi should be, then Vance is the writer for you! His writing style is detailed but very concise, and he rarely (basically never) wastes the reader's time with superfluous space-filler. This means his novels are usually quite short. His stories often have very strong themes (with a subtext of humor) and are generally very believable thought experiments; in the sense that all entities and characters act belivably within the context.

Blue World is a thought experiment. The setting revolves around a society situated on a planet with no land that must rely on a giant sea-plant for all of their needs. There is a strong conflict in the story between the the society (or members of it) and external factors (specifically a giant sea monster), but the real magic of this story is the interaction and conflict that goes on within the society (the sea monster is simply the catalyst, and the general theme of conflict is between religious conservatism and scientific progress). The individual characters in Blue World are generally static and proceed along specific trajectories from the outset. However, this is not a weakness since the interaction BETWEEN characters leads to dynamic and unpredictable results. It is almost as if the whole society of Blue World is Vance's character. It works very well.

A few further notes: the details in this story include a strange "religion" based sea-monster appeasment, comunication systems using towers and an interesting symbolic lights, and a whole slew of well thought out ways to use a sea-plant to build a civiliazation. Very imaginative!

My only complaint, the book is too short! But all great books are and this one leaves a lasting impression.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, December 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Blue World (DAW Books, No. 527) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had never read anything by Jack Vance before, and I expected this to be a rather juvenile effort. I mean, it was about a sea serpent, dammit! How do you make a decent story out of that? He sure as hell did! Everything in the book is not only scientifically but also sociologically plausible. If this is one of Vance's minor efforts, I can't wait to see his good stuff.