Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Jack Vance's Alastor--dud or diamond?

This is topic Jack Vance's Alastor--dud or diamond? in forum Discussing Published Hooks & Books at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

(Sorry for the cheesy title).

Okay, I picked up this book because GRR Martin names Vance as one of the best story tellers ever.

I'm having a horrible time getting into it. The entire book seems like a big info dump. He uses footnotes, for crying out loud!
Talk about breaking immersion.

What do others think?

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Vance's footnote practice always bothered me. But I wouldn't start with the Alastor series. Try The Dying Earth instead.

I remember one of the Alastor books had a game in it. Each side had a girl dressed in a skimpy outfit held together by a golden ring over the navel, and the object of the game was for someone on the opposing side to grab that ring. The paperback I got of this had a great cover painting illustrating this costume.

Imagine my surprise and delight when, at the Oscars a few years ago, Jennifer Lopez wore this exact same dress...