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Just finished Jack Vance's THE STAR KING, and can't stop thinking about the plot twist that Vance coulda/shoulda/woulda have taken except it was 1963 and Vance wanted a damsel in distress? I was *sure* Pallis Atwrode was Malagate in deep-cover disguise as a helpless secretary.Permalink On twitter.com
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As we all know, departmental secretaries are the people who keep university departments running. An alien master manipulator seeking to get its own agenda achieved could get a *lot* done, with little reason to fear fallout, in a position like that.Permalink On twitter.com
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I mean, Vance even sets up this whole, "Star Kings are sexless! They are brilliantly clever, disguise themselves! They care about nothing but being the best in any gambit!" You'd think Star Kings would exploit Gaean Reach sexism by assuming female identities when undercover...Permalink On twitter.com
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It'd be hilarious and kind of a brilliant comeuppance for Gersen to realize he'd been explaining theories of Star King biology and history to... a Star King. The very Star King he was trying to hunt. Alas, nope. Maybe when this becomes a Netflix series a decade or two hence?Permalink On twitter.com
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As a side note, the fact Vance was into jazz music makes the name of the (minor) character Tristano stick out—because it's so recognizable, unlike everyone else in the book, yes, but I also wonder if it's a reference to Lennie Tristano.On twitter.com
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Not slamming the novel, which was fine (though it feels like an early-career novel from that era), but... man, reading it across a gulf of almost sixty years, you have to wonder whether the idea occurred to Vance, or not. I suspect it did, at least subconsciously, but... ???Permalink On twitter.com