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.

Since then, Reith has made both allies and enemies through his various escapades across the planet. Two of his closest companions, Traz Onmale and Anacho the Dirdirman—both outcasts from their respective societies—decided long ago to assist Reith in his efforts, as long as he takes them with him when he leaves Tschai.

After Reith obtains materials and warehouse space from the wealthy Aila Woudiver, the cunning crime lord betrays Reith and his companions to the Dirdir, who are seeking them on the charge of murder. However, Reith manages to thwart Woudiver and shackle him in the warehouse while the technicians finish building the ship.

Woudiver is not so easily defeated. He manages to signal members of the Pnume, the oldest native race on Tschai. The Pnume abduct Reith in the middle of the night and transport him to their underground lair to become a permanent addition to their Museum of Foreverness. Reith promptly escapes with the reluctant assistance of a young woman with no name. Rather, she is designated as a member of the Zith group in the Athan area of the Pagaz zone, with a rank of 210. As such, Reith names her ZAP210.

Reith and ZAP210 narrowly escape the Pnume underground and, despite various obstacles and shocking spectacles, attempt to make their way back to the city of Sivishe, where Reith’s spaceship was nearly completed before he was captured. The question is… what will he find when he arrives?

In my humble opinion, The Pnume was the weakest of the books in the series, with a thin plot that consisted mostly of Reith and ZAP210 trekking across Tschai to get back to the warehouse where Reith hopes to find a finished spaceship awaiting him. Vance uses the bulk of the story to continue building this complex and treacherous world of Tschai by introducing the reader to an entirely new spate of races and cultures that were unexplored in the first three books. He does a fair job of presenting a coming of age story for ZAP210 as she unwillingly transforms from a sheltered, frail waif into a courageous voyager in her own right.