The Face (Vance novel)

Lore & Background

The plot follows Kirth Gersen as he pursues the criminal Lens Larque, one of the five Demon Princes, across worlds including Aloysius, the harsh desert world Dar Sai, and the temperate Methel. Gersen gains control of a seemingly worthless Dar Sai company called Kotzash Mutual and rescues Jerdian Chanseth, a young aristocratic Methlen woman, sparking a brief romance. He later travels to Methel to investigate Kotzash, but is rejected as a suitor by Jerdian's father, bank owner Adario Chanseth, who uses local law to nullify Gersen's purchase of a neighboring mansion. It emerges that Larque had also tried to buy the same estate and was thwarted by Chanseth, who told him he had no wish to see his 'great Darsh face hanging over my garden wall.' Gersen learns that Kotzash Mutual has placed explosives across Shanitra, the small moon of Dar Sai, which has no useful ore deposits. Gersen tracks Larque to Methel and fatally poisons him. Larque begs Gersen to press a button, but Gersen refuses until after Larque's death. He then presses it, causing the explosives to shape Shanitra into the semblance of Larque's face. Gersen phones Chanseth and says, 'There's a great Darsh face hanging over the garden wall.'

Reader's Guide

The Face received a review by Greg Costikyan in Ares Magazine #1, who called it 'an intriguing and well-plotted adventure in Vance's usual strange style' and noted it was 'considerably more expert and cleanly written than most of Vance's other work.' The novel is part of the Demon Princes series and continues the theme of Kirth Gersen's pursuit of the five criminal masterminds. Its plot hinges on a clever revenge scheme involving a moon reshaped into a face, reflecting Vance's characteristic blend of exotic worlds and ironic justice. The book was reviewed in several science fiction magazines in 1980 and 1981, including Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact.

Did You Know?

• The Face was published nearly twelve years after the third novel in the Demon Princes series.
• The moon Shanitra is reshaped into the face of Lens Larque using explosives placed by Kotzash Mutual.
• Adario Chanseth tells Larque he does not want his 'great Darsh face hanging over my garden wall.'
• Greg Costikyan reviewed The Face in Ares Magazine #1.