When you're dealing with a writer like Jack Vance (probably the most recommended author on this blog), even his minor entries read like major feats of awesomeness compared to most books you will read.?Galactic Effectuator is a slender compilation of two novellas about Miro Hetzel, a private detective willing to take on cases that take him to the furthest reaches of his galaxy.
The first story takes us way out to the absolute edge of the Gaean Reach (the region of space containing planets civilized by humanity) to a planet called Maz, a border planet overseen by an uneasy alliance of alien cultures inhabited by a most interesting and unusual race of native warriors called the Gomaz. Maz is a stopping point for rogues, people who want to disappear and tourists who consider themselves 'adventure travelers' longing to catch a glimpse of the bloody, ritualistic and regular Gomaz inter-tribal battles.
Hetzle heads to Maz to uncover the truth behind corporate espionage and meets a surly assassin driven nearly insane by an elaborate prank and an intriguing lady he wouldn't mind taking out on a date.
The second book concerns a much more personal matter when a man, after being drugged and abducted, realizes his manhood has been surgically replaced with someone else's, making it impossible to sire his own children. immediately (and correctly) suspecting his wife's former suitor, the mad surgeon Faurence Dacre, he turns to Hetzle for help.
Hetzle makes for a charming, witty sleuth in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes. He even gathers all the players in a room at the end as he announces his findings. Set in the always brilliant world of Vance's imagination, the fusion of detective and fantasy genres is absolutely delightful.
But what do you think?