Suldrun’s Garden

Lyonesse: Book 1

By: Jack Vance

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of 10 contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonnesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.

©1983 Jack Vance (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“(Vance) gives you glimpses of entire worlds with just perfectly turned language. If he’d been born south of the border, he’d be up for a Nobel Prize.” (Dan Simmons)

“Vance has the narrative force, the willingness to look very coldly at violence and cruelty, to not shy away…. He has an amazing ear and writes a beautiful sentence.” (Michael Chabon)

Best book Ive ever read

It starts off a little slow but give it a chance. It turns inti the most engaging story and series Ive ever read. A few adult situations but this is basically an adult fairy-tale. If you miss this you will miss out on one of the best novels and series' to be written in the fantasy genre.

excellent

loved it, was a breeze too listen to Kevin t Collins does a great job.

SCI-FI/FANTASY WRITER LIKE NO OTHER

I am 65 years old.When I was about 13 I discovered science Fiction outside of comic books.It was a novelette in GALAXY Science Fiction magazine by Jack Vance entitled THE DRAGON MASTERS which had just won the Hugo and [I think] Nebula awards.
I was hooked on both Jack Vance and Science Fiction.To this day Jack Vance is one of my favorites.WORDSMITH comes to mind.Not only does he create worlds,characters,civilizations and concepts as good as any of the genre,he's different.No Sci-Fi/Fantasy author writes quite like Vance.Lyonesse is of course fantasy.It's kind of like reading a Grimm's Faerie tale/Lord of the Rings with a touch of Edgar Allen Poe and a dash of H.P.Lovecraft.This is his most ambitious work and it does not disappoint .However don't rule out reading his other books.I suggest you start with THE DRAGON MASTERS.

Well Detailed ,but boring

I found this book to be full of detail.
Quite boring, hard to keep your interest up to continue. Gets better toward the end. Not sure if it is worth reading the next book.

Another Vance masterpiece!

Great work from the great Jack Vance! Reminds me a lot of the Dying Earth, but this time in legendary Arthurian Britain.
Here you will find Vancian typical characters (i.e. rascals with civility of lords) and the colorful imagery and depictions which are the late Master’s trademarks.
Another common trait with other Vancian novels is the pace, that varies greatly and arbitrarily throughout the book, from the sluggish beginning to bounces and leaps later on.
Just waiting for next month to hear the follow up, “Green Pearl”!

Liked the latter part better

At first I didn't like it, so many words, so little action. But I warmed up to the bits of folklore and myth recast; gave it a familiar feel, even if not historically grounded. I do appreciate that Collins' reading is so clear that one can speed it up to a 7 hour listen. It has elements that make it iffy for younger readers, including complex plot elements that are very connected to adult life. On the other hand, minimal inner mental debate about reality does make the story easier to follow. That said, the next two books are not beckoning me very strongly.

So good!

One of my favorite books from my favorite author of all time. beautifully and expertly narrated by Mr. Collins. Thank you for an amazing performance!

Simply Excellant Epic Fantasy!

What an excellant book this is! I've thought of buying this book for over three years and now that I have I wish I would have bought it earlier.The Publisher's Summary doesn't do the book justice. Also, the mixed reviews didn't really help me make up my mind if I should purchase it, or not. I also thought it was going to be a romance novel. Wikipedia helped me make up my mind and I bought it. There is SO MUCH INFORMATION in the beginning of the book that it's overwhelming, but once you get through that it's a fast paced ride through a magical land with characters that you care about. I love Epic Fantasy and this fits the bill! I'm going to download the next book right now. Thank you Jack Vance! Oh, and the narration is Excellant too!

Awesome. Vance has amazing comand of the English.

What a story! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Started a tad slow but man did it pick up.

A masterpiece by a master

Vance was a master storyteller, and this is one of the best stories he told. It is filled with fairies, magicians, knights, villains, kings, war, love, hate, birth, death, anguish and triumph. Mix The Count of Monte Cristo with Grimm's Fairy Tales and you have some of the flavor of the book.

Vance's language is lackadaisically descriptive, and he takes his time to build situations and events, but once the stage is set the play that follows will have you on the edge of your seat.

This is a great introduction to Vance.