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Phaedra: Alastor 824 Paperback – March 6, 2019

by Tais Teng (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 48 ratings
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Wake the living Galleons at your peril...

The Elder Race once ruled the entire Alastor cluster. Fierce predators, they tore suns from the sky, leaving the worlds of their enemies to freeze in the dark. Now only the Galleons are left: living ships that sail the world river which girds Phaedra: Alastor 824. After the death of his father, Gunnar arrives on that ancient world, trying to find a new home. Having two girlfriends sounds like a good start, but Lavoine is the deeply tricky daughter of the last Voodoo queen, and Semele a fierce huntress who has sworn never to kiss a boy until she Walks with the Galleons. And now Lavoine is trying to wake up the Galleons and bring back the Elders...

On the Paladins of Vance label, Spatterlight publishes original works by authors who have given their own imagination free rein in the many wonderful worlds of the Grandmaster of fantasy & sci-fi. Tais Teng is a Dutch fantasy and science fiction writer, illustrator and sculptor. Tais has written over a hundred novels for both adults and children. He has won the Paul Harland Award, the Dutch Hugo, four times. With Phaedra: Alastor 824, Tais has written a personal homage to Vance, his guiding star.

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  1. Print length
    234 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 6, 2019
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.59 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1619473666
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1619473669
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spatterlight Press (March 6, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 234 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1619473666
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1619473669
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.59 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 48 ratings

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
48 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Barry Reber
5.0 out of 5 stars A Vancian adventure
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
Greatly enjoyed this novel. I bought it under the impression that it was written by Vance, and was a little disappointed when I realized it wasn't. However, I was delighted by Teng's story. It's full of humor and clever ideas, just as over would expect from Vance.
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robert daniels
4.0 out of 5 stars Hints at being Vance
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020
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Don't go into this thinking you're about to return to the world of Jack Vance. Tais has done a masterful job of world building but the novel lacks the touch of the master. A good book over all but it you want someone who can channel Vance try Matthew Hughes.
5 people found this helpful
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Patrick Moore LMT BA
3.0 out of 5 stars Too many references and cliches
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021
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One reason we read Vance is to get away from this world. Most Vance novels have zero references to Earth culture. The big idea is that Earth has been forgotten, and even those who suggest there was once an earth are doubted by the consensus. This novel has earth references on every page, callbacks, alluusions and cliches. That is fine for this author and their fans if they enjoy that. But to be included in this Vance Series, I hope future authors create new cultures like Vance did, rather than rehashing our current culture. In this regard author Matthew Hughes (also in this series)comes much closer to Vance's style.

There were some great ideas in this novel, worth the purchase price. Like another reviewer I felt the novel started well but became rushed. Many parts in the second half made no sense. I believe this author would make a great Vance novel, in partnership with a second author or editor to prune nonessential material and to flesh out great ideas undeveloped and reconnect contradictions.. With better editing I would read another book in this series by this author. The Galleons were a wonderful idea, the canyon planet was a great planet I would like to visit again if the name were different... Deep canyons holding the only atmosphere... What pressures would that put on inhabitants to squeeze particular sociological traits?
5 people found this helpful
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H. L. Marcus
5.0 out of 5 stars a fine tribute to Jack Vance
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021
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A worthy successor to Jack Vance. While no one can equal his love of elaborate and elegant wordplay this comes close...
One person found this helpful
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P. Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019
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Is it Jack? No, but still has Vance-like qualities and fulfills a decades-long wish to return to Alastor Cluster. Very enjoyable.
3 people found this helpful
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Zavaz787
4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Addition to the Alastor Cluster
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2022
Like anyone visiting this page, I'm a Vance-phile. As much as we all appreciate Jack's uniqueness and greatness as a writer, Jack's books were never big sellers, what appeals so much to us is not widely shared in the broader fiction market, and the universe of Vance-philes is not particularly large.

Consequently, when an author attempts to write in a Vancian style or within any of his settings, we have a choice to judge that author's work either in comparison to Jack at his best (over a 50+ year career) or as an apprentice or journeyman attempting to master an admittedly very unique skill that appeals to a relatively small audience.

Phaedra : Alastor 824 is not a great book, but, frankly, neither were any of the Alastor books "great". They are short, stand-alone books. They lack the exoticism of the Dying Earth and the Elder Isles and the scope of the Demon Prince novels, Tschai, Ecce & Old Earth, and Durdane.

The Alastor books are characterized by someone visiting for the 1st time (or returning after an absence or amnesia) to one of the Alastor worlds, who must then learn about and navigate its quirky, insular, idiosyncratic culture, is victimized by petty people engaged in petty activities, and who overcomes the obstacles he encounters. An assist from the Connatic is thrown in for good measure and to provide some continuity from story to story, similar to Rod Serling in the Twilight Zone (although Rod never directly intervened in an episode).

By this standard, Phaedra meets all of those requirements. If anything, I could argue that the author has exceeded Jack in at least one regard. While Jack's Alastor books touch on the concept of an elder race that left ruins across the Cluster but is otherwise only mentioned in passing, in Phaedra, elder race technology is at the core of the story and the concept of the Slow Galleons is compelling and frankly outclasses any prior plots in the series, in my opinion.

Another praiseworthy addition to the Alastor canon is a retcon in Phaedra. The Alastor books were written in the early to mid 70's and were typical of their time in terms of technology. Now, 50 years later, with advances in computers, smart phones, communications, etc., the absence of these and even more advanced tech in the distant future is a challenge for any new book set in the Alastor universe.

The author addresses this by briefly introducing the concept of one or more AI insurrections having occurred and been put down in the Gaean Reach's past and, as a result, many types of technology are now prohibited or culturally forbidden, setting the stage for technology continuity with the '70's Alastor books.

I agree with the other comments that praise the author, but think the book could be even better with tighter editing. To be honest, the first several chapters really need an editing tune-up and I came close to giving up, but the author seemed to find his voice, write more confidently and tightly by 15-20% into the book, and I'm glad I continued the journey.

Jack is Jack and we get to appreciate his best books after 50 years of writing. But he wrote many books in the 50's and 60's, in particular, while he was honing his craft that weren't great (I recently re-read Son of the Tree, after many years; that was a slog!).

Mathew Hughes has been writing in homage to Jack for over a decade. He's excelled at it and has developed his own inimical style. We're all grateful for his picking up the mantle.

Tais Teng is Dutch, an established writer, but new to the Vance genre, to the best of my understanding, and Phaedra reflects his newness to the genre. He hasn't been working in this genre as Mathew Hughes has. But Phaedra also shows a lot of potential and got a lot right. I'd welcome a second novel from him in the Vanceverse, but with stronger editing and the benefit of his having learned from this first attempt.

For any anyone who wants to see more Vancean content, I encourage you to patronize and encourage those who produce it, especially given that we are a relatively small, exclusive cohort of people of unusual and peculiarly refined literary tastes. :-)
2 people found this helpful
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OpenMinded
4.0 out of 5 stars So much fun to return to this Universe
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2020
Phaedra: Alastor 824. If you like Jack Vance, this is just a truly fun read. Especially the first 2/3 of the book were just perfect. The ending was very satisfying but a little rushed. Perhaps, I was just not ready to leave. I hope this author and other "Paladins" will decide to revisit....
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Basil Brookes
1.0 out of 5 stars Poor extension of Jack Vance`s work.
Reviewed in Canada on November 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Just occasionally mentioning Jack Vance characters and universe, does not make it in any way like Jack Vance book. For me it was disappointing. Now I would not buy anything written by Taos Tent, either.
2 people found this helpful
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Enrico Assorati
3.0 out of 5 stars Vancean, perhaps
Reviewed in Italy on April 28, 2022
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In this novel only the Alastor Cluster recalls Jack Vance. It is a rather confuse space opera, readable, not more.
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Gabriel Stein
4.0 out of 5 stars A very good read - but not Vance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
A cracking good read set in Jack Vance’s Alastor Cluster. It’s a good story, with some interesting twists and turns. And yet, it is not Jack Vance, and the author makes no pretence that it is. It lacks that certain undefinable something which made Jack Vance’s writing such a joy to read. Perhaps his sense of humour? Still, I recommend it to any Vance fans.
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G Roberts
1.0 out of 5 stars Poor effort
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2022
Verified Purchase
Not worthy in any way. An incoherent space opera with clumsy insertions of a few names from Jack Vance's work. By the way, the plural of 'carp' is 'carp'.
One person found this helpful
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