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Buyer will receive the 2 books shown in the pictures.
Good to Very Good condition. Bright, colorful front covers. Clean, no writing or staining. July issue is very good condition. August is good+ (light wear to spine tips).
“The Brave Free Men” is part 2 of the Durdane trilogy. Jack Vance wrote the trilogy from 1971 to 1973. They tell about Gastel Etzwane’s adventures on the world Durdane. The trilogy shows his journey from a common boy to the leader called The Anome. Finally, he saves his world from the alien Asutra in the third book.
The three books are:
1. The Anome
2. The Brave Free Men
3. The Asutra
Plot summary
The Anome, also called the Faceless Man, rules Shant on Durdane. He controls people using explosive torcs around adults’ necks. The Anome is part of a dynasty. When one Anome gets old, he picks his successor. This harsh system exists due to Shant’s extremely individualistic people divided into different groups.
Shant had many parts with their own rules and ways. But they shared one language. Before the Faceless Man, there was always fighting in Shant. The Faceless Man kept Shant together. He talked to leaders without showing himself. Those who lost their heads broke local laws.
The main person is Gastel Etzwane, son of a musician and prostitute. The first two books tell about him growing up, finding his father, trying to be a musician, and his mother and sister being killed by alien invaders called Roguskhoi. He wants revenge on them. He finds out who the Anome is but he won’t fight the aliens. So Etzwane becomes the Anome himself and leads the fight against the invaders, winning by luck. After the war’s chaos, Etzwane stops being Anome and ends the torc system.
In the last book, Etzwane learns the Roguskhoi were made by aliens called Asutra as a weapon against Durdane’s people. The Roguskhoi are all male. To reproduce, they must have sex with human women, who become sterile. The resulting “imps” aren’t related to the mother genetically, she’s just a host.
The trilogy takes place in Vance’s Gaean Reach world. It features colorful, strange cultures and heroic adventures like his works.
Publication history
The Durdane trilogy first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine over six issues from 1971 to 1973:
“The Faceless Man” part 1, February 1971 issue
“The Faceless Man” part 2, March 1971 issue
“The Brave Free Men” part 1, July 1972 issue
“The Brave Free Men” part 2, August 1972 issue
“The Asutra” part 1, May 1973 issue
“The Asutra” part 2, June 1973 issue
