#19. EMPHYRIO By Jack Vance

Published : 1969
Pages : 208
Overall Mark : 6/10

Far in the future, the craftsmen of the planet Halma create goods which, unknown to them, are the wonder of the galaxy. Their society is harshly regimented - any use of machinery is punishable by death - and its religion is unforgiving. When Amiante Tarvoke os executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. But first he must interpret the ancient story of the legendary hero Emphyrio.

JACK VANCE (1916-)
A long-time resident of California, Vance served in the Merchant Navy during World War II and published his first story in 1945. His first major work was The Dying Earth (1950), a fantasy sequence set in the distant future. He has won Hugo Awards for The Dragon Masters (a short novel) and The Last Castle (a novella, which also won a Nebula).

VERDICT
This is a nice idea, but the execution is a little sketchy. The first half of the book seems quite confused, but thankfully everything seems to come together at the end with some much needed explanation. Once you can see passed the confusing start, and the habit of leaping about in the anrrative, this is an enjoyable novel which could easily be used as Communist propoganda.