The Dirdir

American astronaut Adam Reith, stranded on the alien planet Tschai for at least a year and desperate to return to Earth, has no choice but to find a way to build a new spaceship from scratch. The scout ship in which he and his late colleague, Paul Waunder, crashed on Tschai was long ago confiscated by one of the alien races and stripped for its technology. Reith’s previous two attempts to acquire a ship failed (as chronicled in City of the Chasch and Servants of the Wankh).

After acclimating as much as possible to Tschai’s motley cultures and customs, Reith sets off through treacherous Dirdir territory with friends Traz Onmale and the fugitive Anacho in order to raise enough funds (called sequins) to construct a vessel.

After show more killing a group of Dirdir hunters who tracked them, Reith, Traz, and Anacho take their attackers’ sequins, bury a percentage of them in a secret location, and venture to the shipyards of Shivishe where they strike a deal with an unsavory and obese opportunist named Woudiver. The investor rents them space in his warehouse and assists in acquiring the parts to build their vessel—at the highest prices, of course. Woudiver threatens to turn the trio over to the Dirdir authorities unless they concede to his demands.

Will Reith finally be successful in constructing a vessel to take him home or will he, Traz, and the Dirdir traitor, Anacho, be executed for murder?

The Dirdir is the third book in Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series, which has the feel of John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This time, much of the story sees Adam Reith negotiating and haggling over costs of travel, lodging, and information with various strange and eccentric beings as he makes his way to Shivishe, where his skills of negotiation are put to the test against the repulsive and dangerous Woudiver.

As with the previous two installments in the series, Vance masterfully builds the world as the story unfolds, often through dialogue between Reith and Anacho or another indigenous creature who instructs Reith on the ways and philosophies of the four major races who rule the planet Tschai. show less

The buddy adventure of Earthman Adam Reith, steppes nomad Traz, and Dirdirman Anacho continue as they seek to acquire sequins (wealth) needed for the construction of a spaceship. This can only be achieved in the Carabas, the dangerous hunting grounds of the alien Dirdir. The Dirdir are uniquely Vancian aliens who possess the most advanced technology on the planet yet have a primal need to revert to their ancestral barbarism in the thrill and savage delight of the hunt. Reith and his companions dare to do what no other humans upon Tschai can fathom: To hunt the Dirdir.

It was good and entertaining but there wasn’t much substance. Adam Reith and his companions (Anacho and Traz) engage in some unpredictable acts of derring-do that start almost from the beginning pages. Lots of wild plans that somehow, amazingly, always work and always work the first time.

There are hints of deeper world building in this book, but it comes in tiny bits, which ends up feeling like the illusion of depth without actual depth. Then again, I parachuted in at book #3 in a four book series, so perhaps the depth that seemed lacking is in the first two books.

In 'The Dirdir', Vance shows what an adventure really is; the third (and IMHO, best) of the Tschai (Planet of Adventure) series.

NOTE: If you haven't read the previous books in this series, and don't want me to ruin it for you, stop reading now! Read my review of 'City of the Chasch'; or better yet, read the book!

Reading 'Dirdir' is like watching a 2-hour car chase/desperate escape scene in a movie theatre. The other three parts of this series are interesting enough for atmosphere, but I've read this one at least 20 times in the last 10 years and it pulls me to the edge of my seat every time.

After failing to steal a ship from the mysterious Wankh, Reith, Anacho, and Traz are in desperate straits: the one race on Tschai they've managed to show more avoid has become interested in them. Terminally.

Reith STILL needs a ship of some kind in order to return to Earth; since theft is no longer an option, he and his companions must now find the funds to purchase or build one. The Dirdir, the only race of the three 'occupiers' of Tschai with active trade to their original world, is Reith's last resort. And he won't have to go looking far to find them, either.

The Dirdir are extremely agressive predators; an elaborate caste system keeps their civilization (the most vigorous of many on Tschai) from degenerating in to barbaric chaos. But they must have an outlet for their animal heritage, and the 'Black Zone' is their hunting reserve.

The 'Black Zone' also produces the common currency of all Tschai, 'sequins'; a plant, dependent on an anomolous concentration of uranium in the Zone's soil, grows only here. The Dirdir populate their hunting reserve by allowing the 'degenerate' peoples (i.e. the various human races) to prospect for sequins in the Zone. Reith intends to do the impossible: gain the fortune necessary achieve his improbable goal without becoming part of the Dirdir's diet. show less

Having now read all four Tschai novels, I think this (Book 3) is my favorite. Intriguing alien and human characters, well-plotted, with plenty of action and suspense.

The weakest so far of Vance's Planet of Adventure series. I found myself slogging through it as a completionist. There is actually very little about the Dirdir themselves and more focus on the central characters and one "Dirdirman" who aids (and hinders) their progress. Long passages of haggling.

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