Lurulu (Ports of Call) (Paperback)

by Jack Vance (Author) "As a boy Myron Tany had immersed himself in the lore of space exploration..." (more)
Key Phrases: hundred sols, galley table, Lady Maloof, Captain Maloof, Dame Hester (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The sequel to SFWA Grand Master Vance's Ports of Call (1998) continues the adventures of Myron Tany in a headlong rush of droll vignettes in the spirit, if not with the depth, of Gulliver's Travels. Abandoned by his great-aunt for dawdling while piloting her space-yacht toward the distant world of Naharius, Myron now handles cargo aboard the interstellar freighter Glicca for Capt. Adair Maloof and his slightly shady crew and its passengers. The freighter wanders wherever its cargo may take it, guided by the frequently incorrect Handbook of the Planets. Along the way Myron learns about "lurulu," "a special word from the language of myth," which may best be translated as the achievement of your heart's desire. Myron has ample time to consider his own lurulu as he helps Captain Maloof find the man who seduced his foolish mother and killed his father, and assists with the sly wheeling and dealing necessitated by each planet's obscure customs to turn a proper profit. A subplot about the ups and downs of a traveling troupe of actors adds amusement but little else to the plot. Myron's travels feel largely aimless, but Vance's humorous takes on culture and morality are likely to keep readers entertained to the end of this short, old-fashioned SF novel.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Now in his seventh decade of writing sf, Vance shows no sign of stinting either his impeccable style or storytelling mastery. This sequel to Ports of Call (1998) continues the escapades of Myron Tany, rebellious heir of a wealthy family, who eschews the comforts of home to hobnob throughout space in a galactic freighter with a crew of fellow misfits. During an apparently routine cargo run, the gang disembarks on the planet Fluter, where ship's captain Malfoor enlists Tany in a perilous mission to track down con artist Tremaine, who killed Malfoor's father and kidnapped his mother for her pension. Fluter locals, however, have their own beef with Tremaine, and the sagacious Malfoor must adapt his political savvy to navigating the cultural and geographical idiosyncrasies of a planet that, apart from boasting the most beautiful landscapes in the galaxy, also harbors its most puritanical citizens. As in all of his work, Vance makes his story a vehicle for inventing distinctive alien cultures and unforgettably vivid characterizations. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312872798
• ISBN-13: 978-0312872793
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #403,225 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long-awaited conclusion for the "Ports of Call", November 24, 2004

By	Alex & Maria Feht (Pagosa Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lurulu (The Sequel to Ports of Call) (Hardcover)

Intentionally or not, "Ports of Call" and "Lurulu" are Vance's "Candide" in form as well as in spirit, and the very discernible morale of his story is surprisingly Voltairian: neither idealistic self-abnegation nor accidental wealth bring peace and fulfillment to human mind. A man is best off doing something pertaining to his inborn nature, cultivating his chosen garden and spending his free time taking a dram or two of "ardent liquor" while conversing with his good old friends.

"Lurulu" is a wise and somewhat tired ending to the less tired "Ports of Call." It brings the scant plot threads of "Ports" to their disparate conclusions -- sort of. One of the main ideas of both "Ports" and "Lurulu," however, is not the plot in itself, it is a farewell kaleidoscope of Jack's favorite planet-vistas, which become noticeably bleaker and sketchier to the end. The other major idea of these two half-books is a search for the nature of human happiness, fulfillment and destiny, which is shown to be quite futile. The best thing in life is, Vance concludes, a relative isolation of a small group of the detached observers of life, preferably well-heeled, in the constant state of mental, emotional, and physical escape. Dismal thoughts it evokes, indeed. Life is not unlike an onion of delusions: the more you peel them, the more you cry, and in the end there's nothing.

Many Vance's readers would feel that these last two books are anticlimactic, overly schematic, too founderous, even unconvincing time to time, and -- let us not mince the words -- lacking in novelty, in engrossing situations and in well-shaped, likable characters. All true. Even Vance's fortissimo, his descriptions of alien landscapes and weird customs, are devoid of their former vividness and conviction.

Reconsider, however. Maybe "Lurulu" is not such an anticlimax after all. Jack Vance always had a penchant for the cold, somewhat frustrating touch of reality in the last paragraphs of his books. Perhaps, "Lurulu" serves well as one large, cold, somewhat frustrating conclusion to all of his life's work.

Jack makes several strong statements: not surprisingly, against the ugliness and immorality of religion, against the ugliness and immorality of modernist ("avant-garde") art. To the end he remains a humanist, a preacher of doubt and moderation, of reasonable kindness without mandatory compassion, of self-restraint without self-punishment, of minimizing the inevitable sufferings we all cause each other in order to survive. Taking into account Jack's age, his blindness, and the substandard milieu he must lean upon and endure, Jack Vance remains a miracle giant of mind and spirit, an enviable example of graceful, endlessly forgiving genius who illuminated the dusk of the Western civilization with his (last?) Voltairian smile of reason.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bittersweet End to Vance's Long Writing Career?, December 28, 2004

By	Patrick J. Sullivan (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lurulu (The Sequel to Ports of Call) (Hardcover)

As noted by others, Lurulu is the last part of one novel begun in Ports of Call. Reading Lurulu on its own without having read Ports of Call will be unsatisfying.

Lurulu picks up loosely where Ports of Call had ended rather abruptly, following the adventures of typical young Vance hero Myron Tany and his shipmates aboard the Glicca (the taciturn captain, Maloof Adair, the impressionable Wingo, and the gaudy Fay Schwatzendale).

Most of the loose plot threads from PoC are resolved in Lurulu, though some are disposed of very abruptly. But Lurulu is not to be read for its plot structure. The characterization is fairly well done, though Myron takes a backseat to Maloof, and Schwatzendale is surprisingly neglected. As is often the case with Vance, the scenery and sociology dominate the narrative. The various planets visited by the Glicca are given somewhat short shrift compared to the usual meticulous Vance treatment. And as he approaches 90, Vance has begun to repeat his earlier works at times. PoC was very reminiscent in spots of Vance's Space Opera.

Also at times, Vance's usual air of sardonic detachment deserts him, and a merely querulous attitude is apparent.

But all in all, Lurulu and PoC comprise a very representative Vance novel. But it is not a book likely to make the unappreciated author any new fans. You almost have to already be familiar with Vance to appreciate Lurulu. I second the recommendation of the Tschai novels as a good introduction to Vance.

Lurulu's ending, however, is almost perfect if unsurprising. The ex-sailor Vance is one of the last romanticizers of the spaceways, and all of his readers should be affected by the way in which Myron's story is resolved.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Coda to Great SF Literary Career?, August 15, 2005

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lurulu (The Sequel to Ports of Call) (Hardcover)

I've read Jack Vance's work off and on for years now, but it's only until I stumbled upon "Lurulu" - most likely his last novel - that I realize now that he may be one of science fiction's finest literary stylists. "Lurulu", the sequel to "Ports of Call", is more of an engaging fictional wanderjahr across the galaxy, than your typical space opera replete with starships blasting away at each other and mysterious alien cultures. Once more First Officer Myron Tany and Captain Adair Maloof are the main protagonists and crew of the merchant ship Glicca, as she travels from planet to planet in the Gaean Reach. Tany has some unexpected good fortune thrusted upon him towards the end of this novel, and without disclosing how "Lurulu" ends, will say that it does end at a rather surprising, but satisfying note. If this may be Jack Vance's last novel, then I think it is is merely a fine coda to a great career writing elegant tales of science fiction and fantasy.