Perhaps the last remnants of the human race eke out a meager existence on the unforgiving world of Aerlith, on which much of the terrain is little more than a craggy, mountainous wasteland. The two major and opposing settlements on Aerlith are concentrated in two valleys, each containing the only fertile soil on the planet. These forces are led by the cunning and logical Joaz Banbeck and capricious, volatile Ervis Carcolo, respectively. Carcolo, ruler of Happy Valley, is intent on destroying Banbeck and laying claim to his territory, known as Banbeck Vale.
Banbeck, however, is hardly concerned about the bumbling Carcolo. Rather, he fears that an aggressive reptilian race known as the Grephs will soon return to attack them and offers a truce to Carcolo. Although Carcolo agrees to unite with Banbeck against their common enemy, he soon decides to invade Banbeck Vale, but is effectively thwarted.
In years past, the Grephs occasionally invaded Aerlith in a large ship, abducting a number of humans and laying waste to the villages in order to keep mankind in its place and prevent them from advancing. An ancestor of Banbeck’s managed to capture several Grephs and began experimenting on them, breeding them into various species of fighting dragons known as “Juggers,” “Termagants,” “Murderers,” and more.
Among the inhabitants of both valleys lives an enigmatic and reclusive cult known simply as the “Sacerdotes.” Their members live and travel completely nude and live in the caverns and passages between the valleys. The passive Sacerdotes remain aloof from the affairs of mankind, awaiting the day when all barbaric, warmongering humans are annihilated so that they might rise and spread their message throughout the galaxy.
Banbeck learns that the Sacerdotes are constructing something in their caverns that will not only help them achieve their goal but might also be useful in defeating the Grephs—who arrive shortly after Carcolo mounts a second and more vicious offensive against Banbeck Vale!
Jack Vance excels at building his worlds methodically as the story progresses, revealing new details with every chapter. The Dragon Masters presents a milieu rich in culture, history, and action with characters that are developed adequately enough to convey a rousing story of treachery, survival, and triumph.
What began as a human refugee camp on the Earth-like world of Pangborn 1,600 years ago has long since evolved into a global colony. Most of the planet is ruled by Lord Faide. His only remaining opponent is Lord Ballant. On the eve of war, Faide and his troops march to invade Ballant’s kingdom. However, their way is obstructed by a forest, recently planted by the First Folk, Pangborn’s indigenous people.
In this fourth and final installment of Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series, astronaut Adam Reith is nearly finished construction on a spaceship that will allow him to escape the dangerous world of Tschai and return to Earth. It has been at least a year since Reith crash landed on the planet when his scout ship was shot down while attempting to land.
In a time when cryo-technology allows the recently deceased to maintain brain activity for years in cold storage, successful businessman Glen Runciter consults with his late wife, Ella, who has been dead for over two decades. Glen and Ella manage a company that employs a team of anti-telepaths with a unique ability to seek out and neutralize telepaths who pose a danger to society.
American astronaut Adam Reith, stranded on the alien planet Tschai for at least a year and desperate to return to Earth, has no choice but to find a way to build a new spaceship from scratch. The scout ship in which he and his late colleague, Paul Waunder, crashed on Tschai was long ago confiscated by one of the alien races and stripped for its technology. Reith’s previous two attempts to acquire a ship failed (as chronicled in City of the Chasch and Servants of the Wankh).