Suldrun’s Garden

Lyonesse: Book 1

By: Jack Vance

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of 10 contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonnesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.

©1983 Jack Vance (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“(Vance) gives you glimpses of entire worlds with just perfectly turned language. If he’d been born south of the border, he’d be up for a Nobel Prize.” (Dan Simmons)

“Vance has the narrative force, the willingness to look very coldly at violence and cruelty, to not shy away…. He has an amazing ear and writes a beautiful sentence.” (Michael Chabon)

Best book Ive ever read

It starts off a little slow but give it a chance. It turns inti the most engaging story and series Ive ever read. A few adult situations but this is basically an adult fairy-tale. If you miss this you will miss out on one of the best novels and series' to be written in the fantasy genre.

excellent

loved it, was a breeze too listen to Kevin t Collins does a great job.

A masterpiece by a master

Vance was a master storyteller, and this is one of the best stories he told. It is filled with fairies, magicians, knights, villains, kings, war, love, hate, birth, death, anguish and triumph. Mix The Count of Monte Cristo with Grimm's Fairy Tales and you have some of the flavor of the book.

Vance's language is lackadaisically descriptive, and he takes his time to build situations and events, but once the stage is set the play that follows will have you on the edge of your seat.

This is a great introduction to Vance.

Great Story

Not sure what the complaints about the narrator are all about. I found him to be a fine talent and enjoyed the performance a great deal. I loved the writing and the form in which the story was told. Vance is a master.

Highly underrated beautiful tale

Jack Vance is without a doubt one of the greatest storytellers. Highly recommend this to any fans of fantasy

SCI-FI/FANTASY WRITER LIKE NO OTHER

I am 65 years old.When I was about 13 I discovered science Fiction outside of comic books.It was a novelette in GALAXY Science Fiction magazine by Jack Vance entitled THE DRAGON MASTERS which had just won the Hugo and [I think] Nebula awards.
I was hooked on both Jack Vance and Science Fiction.To this day Jack Vance is one of my favorites.WORDSMITH comes to mind.Not only does he create worlds,characters,civilizations and concepts as good as any of the genre,he's different.No Sci-Fi/Fantasy author writes quite like Vance.Lyonesse is of course fantasy.It's kind of like reading a Grimm's Faerie tale/Lord of the Rings with a touch of Edgar Allen Poe and a dash of H.P.Lovecraft.This is his most ambitious work and it does not disappoint .However don't rule out reading his other books.I suggest you start with THE DRAGON MASTERS.

Well Detailed ,but boring

I found this book to be full of detail.
Quite boring, hard to keep your interest up to continue. Gets better toward the end. Not sure if it is worth reading the next book.

Another Vance masterpiece!

Great work from the great Jack Vance! Reminds me a lot of the Dying Earth, but this time in legendary Arthurian Britain.
Here you will find Vancian typical characters (i.e. rascals with civility of lords) and the colorful imagery and depictions which are the late Master’s trademarks.
Another common trait with other Vancian novels is the pace, that varies greatly and arbitrarily throughout the book, from the sluggish beginning to bounces and leaps later on.
Just waiting for next month to hear the follow up, “Green Pearl”!

Awesome. Vance has amazing comand of the English.

What a story! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Started a tad slow but man did it pick up.

Starts slow,,,gets really fun later on

Jack Vance is a great author, and helped create the fantasy genre with his Dying Earth series. This was written in his later period, and it is rich with both noble and mendacious characters and meandering, cynical digressions which can either drive you crazy or laugh with delight. With my 5 star rating you can safely count me in the later group.

Suldren's Garden is the first of the Lyonesse trilogy, & it takes a little while to get going. Stay with it, and by the end of the book, you can' wait for the next one.