Customer Reviews

Emphyrio

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a well-written story by Jack Vance. In the city of Ambroy, Ghyl Tarvoke grows up in a feudal-like society where mass production is forbidden and craftsmen are exploited. Early in the book Ghyl is seven when he sees a puppet show. This proves to be a pivotal event in his formative years.

Over the years Ghyl starts to question the morality of the ruling elite, who literally tower over the masses. His actions are influenced by the mythological hero Emphyrio...

The culture of Ghyl's world is unwittingly oppressed by corruption. But is someone oppressing the oppressors? As Ghyl reaches maturity he sets out to fight this and make the truth known.

This is the first novel I've read by Jack Vance, and I have to say it's intriguing. Vance makes his characters sound very believable. (I've never come across a character more obnoxious than Nion Bohart.) In the back of my mind I suspected that this book might have been one of the works that influenced the look of "Star Wars" - especially with that combination of space-ships and old-fashioned dress. A paragraph in chapter 5 actually refers to a conflict called the Star Wars. Also to an emperor. If it wasn't "Emphyrio" that was the influence I'm pretty sure it was "The Dying Earth". That and "Dune".

In any case, "Emphyrio" is well worth a read. It makes you think that anyone can fight injustice if they're determined enough.

One of my favorite books of all times, and one of my five favorite fantasies. A woodworker is gradually forced to transend himself in order to overcome the contradictions of his society. An epic that actually involves only one minor act of violence by the hero. This book may haunt you. Vance puts more color in print than most painters can daub on acres of canvas

Jack Vance is one of the most underrated scifi writers. His works demonstrate a mastery of language, a remarkable realism found in very few other scifi compositions, and a rich imagination in both the technology and society he fabricates for the equally rich characters of his stories.

_Emphyrio_ is one of his finest works, and, in general, one of the finest scifi works anyone has written. In it, Vance demonstrates a vision for a marvelous, yet haunting, future for humanity. But instead of writing this vision in a clumsy, grandiose and falsely sweeping manner, as would be reminiscent of lesser scifi works, Vance focuses on the particulars. For example, in his choice of the protagonists, Ghyl Tarvoke and Amiante, Vance carves out a finely detailed father-son relationship. Through their eyes, the reader is then led to an understanding of complexities of the socioeconomic structures of the city of Ambroy, and even the planet of Halma. The entire story is tightly knit together by the mythology of Emphyrio, which serves as a backbone to the progress of the entire story. It is sufficiently vague as to be believable, but sufficiently inspiring as to guide the protagonists forward in their search for truth.

And even though the particulars may seem foreign, and though the societies may seem alien, the underlying conflicts are entirely human- from social rehab to exploititative economics. Vance leaves the reader with the feeling that perhaps each man, in his own way, can find the strength to bring about vast social improvements.

Of all Vance's extraordinary output this one is my personal favorite. The tragedy of a people, a world, caught up in the most fantastic piece of deception imaginable. Once read, who could forget Ghyl Tarvoke's encounter with a duplicated wooden screen in a shop on a planet far from home? And yet it is out of print. A sad commentary on the state of the SF market today.

This book haunts me. That is, from time to time I realize I'm thinking about it, and how many books can you say that about? I won't presume to go over the plot, but there are truly beautiful passages in this short novel. Since reading it I have always taken a second look at carved wooden screens searching for perfection that will never be found.

Good luck finding a copy though. Used bookstores are your best bet.

The city of Ambroy, on the planet Halma, is a place best described as "medieval Stalinist" with secret police, remote lords in their Eyries, powerful nepotistic guilds, and a welfare and taxation system which seems fine when you think about it, except for the fact that the game is rigged and no one is in fact paid anything like what they worth. On this world, incredible craftsmen produce priceless works of art, unknowing all the while. It's a depressing and bleak place, but that's not the worst of it, as it turns out.

You can argue that Jack Vance doesn't write "science-fiction" but rather social satire that just happens to have aliens and spaceships in it. The story here is really in the telling, and a plot summary is largely a waste of time, and probably misleading as well. Ghyl Tarvoke is our hero: we see his relationship with his father (but there is no maternal relationship at all) and how that shaped him into becoming a thief, pirate, scholar and revolutionary (remember that any plot descriptions are misleading, even if literally true).

Vance here is writing a story about human nature, people and their follies and foibles, as well as about power structures and unquestioning obediance to "how things have always been". There is action and contemplation in equal measure; one can read this on a few levels and enjoy it on all of them. This is a really accessable starting point for Vance - short and yet complex, with a style unmistakely unique that leads you deeper and deeper into the tale.

Ghyl Tarvoke is the son of a wood carver on Halma, where a neo-feudal system is in place. His father, a semmingly quiet, and unobtrusive man, teaches Ghyl about wood carving. Ghyl, however, is far more interested in the legend of Emphyrio, who was an ancient figure of rebellion on Halma. Ghyl's inquisitive and adventurous spirit lead him to ask questions and seek answers about Halma, and a solid adventure story ensues. Discoveries are made, and the revelations are paced perfectly and are unexpected. Ghyl's father is a quiet hero, and his actions create an excellent character, rather than his words. The book is well written , with a strong economy of words. It is just the right length. Like Ghyl's father, the story is deep beneath the unassuming surface.

That's basicaly what I saw here. I know it sounds lofty, but from humble beginnings one young man attempts to redeem his whole world. This book was re-published lately under the SF masterworks series and I'm glad that series was begun. Please look out for them all. It is the first series I've ever truly agreed with wholeheatedly.

This book is a haunting coming-of-age tale set in an ancient decaying city on a backwater planet. Highly recommended.