Complete Lyonesse [Hardcover]

Jack Vance (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1040 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575090243
• ISBN-13: 978-0575090248
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2.4 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete, September 11, 2010

By 

Musashi Miyamoto "Musashi Miyamoto" (Miyamoto Village, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Lyonesse (Hardcover)

The stories are familiar to Vance fans. The complete trilogy of Lyonesse, however, has never been reprinted in an omnibus, leatherbound, archival quality edition. And for such a price as presently offered (about 40 dollars U.S.) this is an edition no Vance fan will want to be without.
Using the Vance Integral Edition texts, this reprint offers a complete version, unedited, exactly as Vance wrote it himself (perhaps dismissing the U added to colour and honour and the like, this book being republished in London.)
It is sparesly illustrated, but they are well done, entirely appropriate to the atmosphere of the trilogy. The book itself, aesthetically, is beautiful to this beholder.
It is about 1035 pages and I was concerned it would be a bit unwieldy, and possibly becuase of its size, easily damaged. Im positive now upon seeing it that it is a durable and sturdy tome. I am very well pleased and recommend this book to veterans of Vance and newcomers alike.

(Upon finishing the book, I now realize that there is at least one error in the text (one half paragraph repeats halfway through, without finishing the second half),not negligible yet not detracting whatsoever from the story as a whole; what it did for me is dampen the atmosphere in that scene. However, such an error was not repeated, and I did not notice any spelling errors, grammatical errors, or anything else after this. And I was on guard. As another reviewer noted, the map is wonderfully drawn, but "Haut", instead of Dahaut, did irk me something fierce, as it detracted from the otherwise good looking map.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massive, December 18, 2010

By 

Harold Russell (St. George, UT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Lyonesse (Hardcover)

I love these books, and am delighted to have them available in an omnibus edition. I am not going to comment on the writing - it is Jack Vance at his finest, which is saying a lot - but instead comment on this edition. Reviewers have called this volume 'gorgeous' and 'stunning,' but I have a few nits to pick.

Although it is hardcover, this massive tome is actually bound like a paperback book. That is, the pages are directly glued, not sewn, into the backing. Consequently, it does not fall open in the hand as easily as a sewn binding. I have not seen this type of construction before in a hardcover. It does seem very well made.

The binding is a black leather-like material, with a pebbled texture. I mention this because the title and other cover text, in gold, are printed on the surface, not embossed, so that the text is also pebbled. I find the effect a little cheap, and hard to read in indirect light. There appear to be at least a couple of different versions of the cover, with different art.

The map in the original version was crudely drawn, but clear. This new edition uses an artistically redrawn map for the endpapers, an excellent idea. Sadly, there are several errors immediately apparent in the new map. I can't fault the artist for not knowing the books, but how was this not noticed by the editors? (Specifically, 'Dahaut' is misspelled as 'Haut,' and 'Bulmer Skeme' appears as 'Bulmer Skerne.' Also, the forest of Tantrevalles should extend both north and south of the crossroads at Twitten Corners.)

Much has been made of the use here of the Vance Integral Edition text, and the consequent elimination of errors. Sadly, a number of typos have somehow slipped through. I also noticed minor errors in the genealogy and in the listing of Vance's published works.

Despite these quibbles, this is an exceptional quality book and a superb value. Please don't let my pickiness discourage you. If you enjoy magical fantasy, this is some of the finest ever written.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic high fantasy in Vance's unique voice, January 9, 2011

By 

John Middleton (Brisbane, QLD, AUST) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Lyonesse (Hardcover)

As others have said, this is the 3-books of the Lyonesse trilogy - Suldrun's Garden, The Green Pearl, and Madouc - in a single 1000+ page volume, sturdily bound and using the Vance Integral Edition text. If you are a Jack Vance fan, the old Lyonesse paperbacks may be getting a little worn, and this is a worthy replacement. If you have not read Vance before, this is a reasonably accessable starting point, for all its length.

Lyonesse is Vance writing at the peak of his powers in the 1980's (the time he also wrote Cugel's Saga and Rhialto the Marvellous). This is epic high fantasy, with warring kingdoms, fairies, trolls, quests, wizards and magic swords, but all told with Vance's wry perspective on humanity. People don't speak like Vance writes - but they should! The dialogue is wonderful to read, and the characters are distinct and well-written.

Lyonesse is set in the "Elder Isles" just off Cornwall, with kingdoms warring against each other and the invading Ska. The story is set around the rise of Aillas - although this is not immediately apparent. No one is necessarily who they seem: at first it looks like King Casmir will be the focus of the story, and it takes a while for this impression to change.

Madouc, the final volume, is largely focused on young Princess Madouc's quest for her own identity, almost to the exclusion of a large number of plot threads hanging from The Green Pearl. Just when you think Vance can't possibly wind this up well, he does: the story never gets away from him, despite being told in unparalled levels of depth.

Lastly, there is a short analysis of Lyonesse as a literary work, and the six short appendices from the trilogy. There is also a near-complete list of other works by Vance, so if this is your first exposure to Vance, if you like it there is plenty of direction as to what to look for next.