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Found as a child with no memory of his past, adopted by a scholarly couple who raised him as their own, Jaro never quiet fit into the rigidly defined Society of Thanet.
When his foster parents are killed in a mysterious bombing, Jaro Fath sets out to discover the truth of his origins--a quest that will take him across light-years and into the depths of the past.
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By Soonercraig (Oklahoma City OK USA)
For Jack Vance fans - and anyone who has never ventured into the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy - Night Lamp rates near the top of his efforts. A journey with Vance has always been a pleasure - this trip is especially so.
By Delver DeTome (Flagstaff AZ USA)
Night Lamp may well be Vance's peak work in this theme--he's certainly used it often enough.
By Blue Tyson
Jaro is a boy that remembers nothing but his name, nothing at all about
his past, who his parents are, or any of that stuff. His foster parents
adopt him after finding him being attacked.
They are a pair of musicians, but Jaro does know what the doesn't want to be a musician, but to get into space.
A few bad jokes here, with all the clubs on the planet - a girl he notices is a clam muffin, for example.
No Sour Grapes Bunch that I remember.
By Schtinky (California)
During an excursion to record native music on the planet of Camberwell, Hilyer and Althea Fath find a band of hooligans beating a small boy in the street. They intervene and save the boy, taking him to the hospital. The boy won't come out of his coma without tremendous stress, so the doctors erase his memory. The only thing the boy was able to tell them is that his name is Jaro.
The Faths adopt Jaro and take him to their homeworld of Thanet to raise him. Thanet has a complex social structure, of which Hilyer and Althea refuse to participate in, making them "nimps". If a person doesn't belong to a club, and continuously strive to reach a higher level club, they are ridiculed and unaccepted in Thanet's society.
Jaro grows up, a "nimp" like his adopted parents. In his class is Skirlet Hutsenreiter, a "Clam Muffin", one of the most elite clubs. Skirlet has more problems than she lets the outside world know of, therefore she and Jaro strike a shaky friendship. Jaro grows up wanting to be a spaceman, to find out the truth behind his strange past. Hilyer and Althea want him to have an academic career at The Institute.
Because 'Night Lamp' is a story of Jaro's maturing, I won't give away any other details of the story. There are intricately imbedded subplots and schemes that add to the character of the tale. Vance has a way of lulling you into the complacency of Jaro's life and then shocking you with a sudden turn of event. His was of painting new worlds, species, and societies with intricate detail and interesting situations will keep you reading long into the night.
However, about three quarters of the way through this book, the story falls apart. It becomes more than a bit cheesy, uses repetitive dialogue, and IMHO makes a dumb turn that the story would have been better without. Also annoying was mention of a particular package that piqued curiosity and was never revealed.
All in all, you will definitely like 'Night Lamp' if you are a Jack Vance fan. If not, start with 'The Demon Princes' and save 'Night Lamp' for later. Enjoy!
By (Brookline, MA USA)
This is Vance at his absolute best. Wry humor, imagination, action, great characters, in short, everything a good book needs is right here and done so masterfully! Any Vance is special, this particular Vance is extraordinary. An absolute must-read...
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