The Palace of Love (The Demon Princes, Book 3) (Daw UE1442) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack Vance (Author), Gino d'Achille - cover (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 1979

In the midpoint novel of the "Demon Princes" series, Kirth Gersen sets his sights upon the mysterious Viole Falushe. Vance describes this murderous creature as a "sybarite." "Sadistic pervert" would probably be a more apropos phrase. After several false leads, Gersen backtracks the villain to his point of origin - Earth, of all places! Then the trail moves outward again, to the starworlds and a place back of beyond where there is actually a physical Palace of Love

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: DAW; 1st edition (February 6, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879974427
• ISBN-13: 978-0879974428
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,826,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read, July 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Palace of Love (The Demon Princes, Book 3) (Daw UE1442) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Many fine things your father had planned for you: learning and useful work; a life of satisfaction and peace. All this is gone now, do you understand? But the learning you shall have - the use of your hands and mind. And useful work: the elimination of evil men. What work is more useful than this? Finally, I cannot give you peace, but I promise you ample satisfaction, for I shall teach you to crave the blood of these men more than the flesh of a woman."

These are the words uttered by Kirth Gersen's (sometimes called Keith Gersen) grandfather after a raid on their homeworld by 5 super-criminals (known as the 5 Demon Princes) leaves everyone but these two either dead or enslaved. True to his word, the old man forges his grandson into an unstoppable instrument of vengeance. In fact, Gersen often seems more a force a nature than a human being, more machine than man in his single-minded quest for revenge. His fighting prowess and physical abilities are without peer; likewise, his mind is sharp and focused.

This is the third book in Vance's "Demon Princes" Series. I found it enjoyable, but not as much as the first two books. In this book, Gersen - after his epic swindling of Interchange to the tune of 10 billion SVU (Standard Value Units) - is undoubtedly the richest person in the Gaean Reach (the area of space inahabited by human beings). Of course, no one is aware of who it was who cheated Interchange, but Gersen now has virtually limitless resources with which to pursue the 3 remaining Demon Princes.

As in the first two books, the third Demon Prince also masks his true identity by pretending to be someone else. Half the fun of this series is seeing Gersen doggedly attempting to unearth the secret identity of the super-criminals, and that is the case here. The other half is watching him catch the bad guy.

As usual, Vance's Gaean Reach is populated with a wide variety of memorable characters who etch themselves into one's memory on blocks of granite. Gersen himself, is, of course, magnetic - created in the classical hero motif but far from static or boring.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, December 19, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Palace of Love (The Demon Princes, Book 3) (Daw UE1442) (Mass Market Paperback)

Third revenge.

Girlfriends are part-time, killing your crimelord enemies is a full time occupation. So Gersen now turns his newly acquired wealth from the previous book to the task of getting to Falushe, the next on his list.

Yet again he has to find the planet the guy hangs out on, find out which person he is - which is kind of interesting, overlord megalomaniac types that like to hide who they are. Be a bit easier if they paraded around like Ming the Merciless, but a much shorter series.