The novel “Maske: Thaery” by Jack Vance was published for the first time in 1976. It’s part of a series of stories informally known as the Gaean Reach though it’s an autonomous novel.

Jubal Droad grew up in the Thaery continent on the planet Maske. When he reaches adulthood, he embarks on a rite of passage traditional among his people wandering the land. During one of the jobs taken in the course of his travels, the path he’s repairing with some workers collapses because of an arrogant nobleman who uses it despite his warnings, causing him serious injuries.

When he recovers, Jubal Droad go meet Nai the Hever, a very powerful man, with a letter from his uncle Vaidro. Thanks to that, he get a job that seems humble but he actually joins the local secret services. At the court, he meets Ramus Ymph and recognizes him as the nobleman who caused his accident and the clash between the two men is inevitable.

“Maske: Thaery” is set mostly on the planet Maske, colonized centuries before and rather isolated from the other planets because its inhabitants want it that way. The protagonist of the novel Jubal Droad is the second son of his clan’s leader and at the death of his father his elder brother succeeds him. Reached adulthood, he takes on the traditional rite of passage and in his travels he must also face dangers and prejudices regarding his people as the inhabitants of Glentin are considered coarse.

Especially in the first part of the novel, Jubal Droad’s manners are quite rough and this doesn’t help him make friends. His situation is made even more complicated when, at the court of Nai the Hever, he runs into Ymph Ramus, who in the past had caused an accident in which Jubal was injured. The clash between the two of them is one of the main elements of “Maske: Thaery”.

The theme of revenge is recurring in Jack Vance’s stories, in “Maske: Thaery” it’s important but is part of a more complex plot. Jubal Droad’s story is also a coming-of-age story of a boy who leaves his home and travels far away, even on an other planet. Handling himself through various types of danger, he slowly learns about the conventions of the society in which he’s trying to create a life for himself and to manage situations with cunning rather than with aggression.

Jubal Droad’s adventures allow the reader to learn about the society on the Thaery continent with the various conflicts and intrigue carried out by the various characters who force Jubal to try to discover their agenda. “Maske: Thaery” is a novel in some ways adventurous but the story is in part a kind of spy story that brings Jubal even to the planet Eiselbar.

Jack Vance has always been a master at describing exotic worlds with societies that follow strange customs. In “Maske: Thaery” he especially goes deep with the descriptions of the ways of life of the peoples of the continent of Thaery, in the early chapters with several footnotes.

Jubal Droad is the best developed character but other important characters are also well defined. In several cases, motivations and secrets of a character are revealed slowly among various twists. There is a good balance between ction of a more adventurous type and of the type developed in the intrigue. The pace isn’t particularly fast but Jack Vance knew how to keep readers stuck to his stories.

“Maske: Thaery” is in some ways a distillate of Jack Vance’s literature. His evocative style and the many themes contained in the novel seem to really concentrate in a novel that’s not even particularly long many narrative elements he used many times in the course of his long career.

There are some great classics of Jack Vance I like more than “Maske: Thaery”. This one is in my opinion a very good novel and because of its features is a must-have for both the people who appreciate this great author and the ones who wants to discover him.