THE LANGUAGES OF PAO. San Francisco, California, Columbia, Pennsylvania: Underwood/Miller, 1979. Octavo, cloth. New edition. One of 111 numbered copies signed by Vance and jacket artist Joe Pierson. "The Edenic planet of Pao has been occupied virtually without resistance by the invaders from the harsh planet of Breakness. The story of the rise of the formerly passive peoples of Pao to regain their freedom is an example of the biosociological and linguistic theories that environment and language shape the talents and perceptions sentient beings may possess. To become competitive, the people of Pao must learn more violent arts and languages that express degrees of quality and strength" (Anatomy of Wonder [1987] 3-762). "The heir to the Panarchy of Pao is held prisoner on the planet Breakness and forced to learn their guttural language in an attempt to break his passive, orderly habits of thought. Meanwhile, the usurper of his home planet carries out the same experiment on a grand scale, training the Paonese in various artificial languages to suit them for his plans of universal conquest. In the end the conflict is resolved by the development of yet another language, Pastiche, enabling people with different cultural assumptions to communicate. Cleverly conceived: one of Vance's best" (Pringle). Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-1164. Pringle, The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, second edition (1995), p. 205. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 268. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1135-39. Hewett and Mallett, The Work of Jack Vance A8h. Very light foxing to top and fore-edge of pages, else a fine copy in fine dust jacket. (#176236).
Price: $350.00
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