THE FIVE GOLD BANDS
by Jack Vance
The first hardback edition of Vance's 1950 short novel—a space opera wherein picaresque adventurer Paddy Blackthorne and his Earth cop-sidekick Fay Bursill team up to search for an important secret (how to manufacture a space drive) that, for safekeeping, has been divided into five parts and concealed at different locations. Each of the five gold bands of the title contains a cryptic clue to the whereabouts of a hidden part. Amply displayed here are the young Vance's cardinal virtues, along with the usual flaws: a lively assortment of alien beings, a variety of exotic settings, strong characters, a narrative set forth with rare energy, color, pace, and style—not to mention the formulaic plot, strained motivations, and perfunctory resolution. Entertaining but by no means essential.