Durdane (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Jack Vance
- First Published: 1971
- Type of Work: Novels
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—planetary romance
- Time of Work: At least nine thousand years in the future
- Setting: Durdane and Kahei
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Revolutions, Future, Other worlds, Totalitarianism
- Locales: Fictional planets
The Plot
Shant, the most civilized continent on the planet Durdane, is divided into sixty-two cantons, each with its own laws and customs. Enforcing these rules is the Anome, the Faceless Man, the anonymous arbiter of retributive justice. Every inhabitant of Shant must wear a torc around the neck, in which is an explosive charge that can be detonated by the Anome whenever he wishes, usually, but not always, as punishment for a crime. These torcs are the only remnants of any kind of advanced technology, which has fallen into general disuse because of Durdane’s metal-poor...
[The entire page is 1441 words long]
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