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A review by kimburglar
Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance
4.0
Vance uses a lot of fantasy tropes with self-awareness and a matter-of-fact narration style that regards ridiculous scenarios so casually that it only further emphasizes how silly traditional fantasy tends to be. In one of my favorite side anecdotes, a duke and his friends attend a solstice festival pageant: "...they agreed that the maidens who represented the Seven Graces were remarkably charming, but could form no consensus as to which was supreme. They discussed the matter well into the evening over wine, and at last, to resolve the matter in a practical way, kidnapped all seven of the maidens and took them across the water to Malvang." I'd read a few Vance short stories before this book, and all read in a similarly snarky voice. There are warring kingdoms, magicians, fairies, and a smattering of monsters, and most of them have enormous egos: as a result, the political and magical disputes that would normally read as epic fantasy feels more like a sitcom of petty grievances.
Characters tend to fall cleanly on the good and bad side, and the good protagonists are blandly angelic with moments of violent justice. There isn't a single protagonist, as Suldrun's Garden consists of five separate narrative threads that come together nicely in the end. Though the heroes suffer from blandness, their journeys take the reader through a large scope of the world; they're also abused almost everywhere they go, setting up several revenge quests that end up being the more engaging parts of the story.
I really could have done without the fantasy trope requiring all ladies enduring sexual harassment/abuse. Every female character is threatened with rape, especially a girl who is frequently described as not yet a woman. There's a somewhat worrisome amount of adults and trolls lusting after and forcing themselves upon prepubescent girls.
Characters tend to fall cleanly on the good and bad side, and the good protagonists are blandly angelic with moments of violent justice. There isn't a single protagonist, as Suldrun's Garden consists of five separate narrative threads that come together nicely in the end. Though the heroes suffer from blandness, their journeys take the reader through a large scope of the world; they're also abused almost everywhere they go, setting up several revenge quests that end up being the more engaging parts of the story.
I really could have done without the fantasy trope requiring all ladies enduring sexual harassment/abuse. Every female character is threatened with rape, especially a girl who is frequently described as not yet a woman. There's a somewhat worrisome amount of adults and trolls lusting after and forcing themselves upon prepubescent girls.