The Book of Dreams
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 first edition cover of the The Book of Dreams |
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| Author | Jack Vance |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ken W. Kelly |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Demon Princes |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
| Released | 1981 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 235 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0879975873 |
| Preceded by | The Face |
The Book of Dreams is the fifth and last novel (1981) of Jack Vance's "Demon Princes" science fiction series, in which Kirth Gersen pursues Howard Alan Treesong.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The book opens with an extract from The Book of Dreams, which contains the imaginative writings of Howard Alan Treesong during his unhappy childhood. Among other things, it details the adventures of Seven Paladins, who are key to the fantasy world he devises.
[edit] Treesong's likeness
Gersen's pursuit of Treesong begins after a conversation with an Interworld Police Coordinating Company (IPCC) contact, who remarks that the arch criminal has been quiet as of late. Some years earlier, he had made himself "Lord of the Overmen" (or "King of Thieves" in less grandiose language) and as recently as three years ago, he had almost engineered his appointment to head the IPCC itself. Gersen and his friend grudgingly admire Treesong's ambition to control the criminal underworld and the Oikumene's sole interstellar police agency at the same time. Gersen concludes that Treesong must be due for another grand gesture any time soon, but admits to himself he possesses insufficient imagination to visualize what it could be.
His extensive business empire, managed by Jehan Addels, includes Cosmopolis magazine, for which he often masquerades as the journalist "Henry Lucas". Gersen spends some time examining the Cosmopolis files for any material relating to Treesong. He is on the point of giving up when he discovers a photograph, apparently of a formal dinner, bearing the words "H A Treesong is here". No other likeness of Treesong is known to exist - and the woman who had sold it to the magazine had apparently been killed for it - but there is no way to tell which of the people in the picture is Treesong, so Gersen devises a plan to unmask him. He launches Extant, a livelier sister magazine to Cosmopolis. He then publishes the picture in the free inaugural issue as part of a contest, offering large cash prizes to anyone who can first identify any or all of the ten people in the photograph.
An attractive red haired young woman, Alice Wroke, seeks temporary employment to help process the contest entries. Gersen, expecting an attempt at infiltration by Treesong, covertly uses a lie detector on her and confirms his suspicions. Eventually, each of the subjects is identifed, except for one who seems to have a variety of identities. When a contestant submits the correct identification for all ten, Gersen confronts Alice and places most of his cards on the table: that the photograph was intended to identify Treesong, and that the magazine would be interested in interviewing him. However, he conceals his personal interest.
Information derived from the contest leads Gersen to suspect the photograph is of the highest-ranking members of the powerful Institute (the "Dexad", comprised of Fellows of rank 100 to 111), and that Treesong's plan is to assassinate them. Having acquired (through criminal means) the rank of 99, he would become its leader, the Triune (rank 111, hence the name), by default. Gersen learns that Treesong had blackmailed Alice into doing his bidding by threatening her father, a member of the Dexad. Unbeknownst to her, by this time, Treesong had already murdered her father.
Gersen locates the last surviving member of the Dexad just ahead of Treesong, saves him, and manages a single, unsuccessful shot at Treesong, wounding him only superficially. The new Triune immediately cancels Treesong's spurious rank and brings to an end another plan that would have seen the Demon Prince in a position of immense power.
[edit] Treesong's book
Extant receives a late entry to the contest, from someone who identifies Treesong as "Howard Hardoah" and claims to be his father. Gersen travels to the planet Mouderveldt in order to interview the elder Hardoah. He learns about Treesong's boyhood and his suspected murder of his childhood friend Nimphotis Cleadhoe. He also meets Howard's older brother, who hid Howard's prized "Book of Dreams", an exercise book in which he wrote his childhood fantasies. The brother recovers the book and sells it to Gersen.
Gersen suspects that Treesong intends to attend a reunion of his old classmates. Interviewing Treesong's one-time music teacher, Gersen inveigles himself into the orchestra by subsidising its performance at the reunion party, though an afternoon's lesson leaves him a thoroughly inept musician. His guess is correct. Treesong arrives, accompanied by a band of menacing underlings, and perpetrates imaginative (though non-fatal) humiliations on those who had tormented him. Treesong's admittedly good musical ear is offended by Gersen's poor playing, so he has him thrown out. Out of sight, Gersen dispatches the men assigned to take him away and uses their weapons. This is enough to disrupt Treesong's revenge, but Gersen can do no more than inflict another wound before he has to flee for his life.
He still has the Book, and finds there a description of Treesong's "Seven Paladins". On broaching the subject with Alice, who is now his confederate, he learns that Treesong considers the Seven to be the embodiments of various aspects of his own personality. Gersen concludes that the Book would probably lure Treesong out of hiding. He finds willing allies in Nimphotis Cleadhoe's parents, Otho and Tuty, who have no doubt that Howard killed their only child. Gersen uses Cosmopolis to publish a sensationalized report of Treesong's exploits at the reunion, and a letter purportedly from Tuty, in which she talks fondly of Howard as their son's friend, and casually mentions an exercise book she still has in her possession. As hoped, this draws Treesong's attention.
The Cleadhoes live on a game preserve, to which Treesong is lured. Tuty and Otho doublecross Gersen, capturing Treesong and leaving Gersen (and Alice) behind. Gersen manages to borrow a vehicle in order to follow, but arrives late.
He is shown into an indoor zoo, where he finds Treesong seated facing Nimpy Cleadhoe's "marmelised" body, the corpse's tissues transformed into a stony substance. Otho Cleadhoe has marmelised Treesong below the waist. Gersen reveals his motivation for seeking the last Demon Prince's downfall. The arch villain wearily acknowledges himself to have been neatly trapped, mourns the narrow failure of his attempt to make himself the first Emperor of the Gaean Worlds, and asks to be left alone. Gersen declines to take any further revenge on him and leaves with Alice and the Cleadhoes.
[edit] Treesong's fall
From behind the door, Gersen overhears a conversation, as between Immir/Treesong and his paladins, in which the lesser paladins bid farewell to their leader and gradually convince him that the situation is truly hopeless. Before they "depart", the paladins perform one last service for Immir. A crash and a splash are heard; Gersen hurries back inside, to find Treesong face down and drowned in a pond, before the overturned chair, though he should have been unable to rise from it and it had been solidly secured.
Gersen, his revenge complete, finds himself at a loss. He confesses to Alice that he does not know what he will do now that he has been deserted by his enemies.
[edit] The Seven Paladins
These, the main protagonists of Treesong's Book of Dreams, are distinct in colour and personality, as follows:
- Immir, of no colour, is the most complete and rounded personality of the seven. He is the leader and heart and soul of the Seven.
- Jeha Rais the Black is the war general and strategist.
- Loris Hohenger the Red is the warrior, also a "lover" at least in a virile and macho sense; supposedly "ladies deny him at great risk to their dignity" but "look after him longingly" once he is done.
- Mewness the Green is the clever problem-solver, the one who finds a way of escape when all routes are blocked.
- Rhune Fader the Blue is gentle and merciful, though "alas" seldom heeded in battle council.
- Spangleway the Yellow is the merry jester and trickster, but an inventive and formidable enemy.
- Eia Panice the White is cold, ruthless and dreadful; his smile is seldom seen, and to be feared.
While in his employ (on pain of her father's death, though Treesong betrayed her) Alice observes Treesong expressing several of these personalities. Usually he is Immir, and she is profoundly glad that Hohenger never decided to have his way with her.
In times of great stress, Treesong is wont to manifest several or all of these personalities in rapid succession, holding converse with each other; as when Gersen shoots him, or both before and after his final interview with his nemeses. Treesong's comments on his Companion henchmen when at the school reunion suggest that he costumes them appropriately and has them act according to the character of one or another Paladin; for instance, when they are uniformed in white, they are known as "death dolls" and are plainly echoes of Eia Panice.
On reading the Book of Dreams, Gersen reflects that in the average boy such dreams would be unbearably grandiose, but by the measure of Treesong's actual achievements in life, they understated him.
[edit] Charnay
Charnay is a fruit that is delectable to eat, but deadly if incorrectly prepared (a parallel to Fugu) and that is accordingly high-priced and exclusive. The photograph bearing Treesong's likeness depicted a charnay banquet held to celebrate the elevation of a new fellow to the Dexad; all the diners save Treesong died shortly afterwards, indicating that either Treesong suborned all of the chefs who prepared the banquet or else managed to poison the diners independently, hoping that the charnay would be blamed. (Three members of the Dexad were not present; one was already dead, Treesong murdered another separately, but was barely thwarted in his attempt on the last.)
[edit] References
- Jaffery, Sheldon (1987). Future and Fantastic Worlds: A Bibliographic Retrospective of DAW Books (1972-1987). Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc., 144. ISBN 1-55742-002-5.
