Sjambak

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vance, Jack, 1916-2013

Contributor:

Finlay, Virgil, 1914-1971

Series:

Produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction July 1953.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Sjambak" by Jack Vance is a science fiction novel written during the early 1950s. The story follows Wilbur Murphy, a photographer for the show "Know Your Universe!", as he investigates the peculiar legend of a man riding a horse to greet incoming spaceships on the planet Cirgamesç. The book delves into themes of adventure, mystery, and cultural exploration in an extraterrestrial setting. The narrative centers on Murphy's journey to understand the myth of the "Horseman of Space" while navigating the political undercurrents of Cirgamesç, a planet with a rich history and a population that faces its own social tensions. As Murphy interacts with locals, including a prince and a captive sjambak-a term for bandit-he begins to uncover the complexities of life on this world, including the realities of a potentially dangerous rebellion led by the ambitious Ali-Tomás. The story escalates as Murphy finds himself on the threshold of an unexpected adventure, revealing the truths behind myths while questioning the nature of perception and reality in a vividly crafted alien landscape. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Notes:

Reading ease score: 79.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.

Release date is 2009-09-16