| Author: | Jack Vance |
| Copyright: | 1960 |
| Date Reviewed: | 8/27/01 |
| Rating: | 5.5 |
Synopsis: As the expedition beings, our four travelers from the previous book, Reith, Traz, Anacho and Ylin-Ylan, take on a Air Raft going East. Their destination is Cath to return Ylin-Ylan to her home and to find support for building a spaceboat so Reith can find his own home. Not having traveled very far, they are pursued by a band of Green Chasch and land on a butte for repairs and to evade their pursuers. They watch as a single Phung attacks the Green Chasch, dying in the process. In the morning, they realize that the raft will not make it much further and they will have to take local transportation. From experience they all know this will take much longer and be much more dangerous.
Reith and Ylin-Ylan are no longer lovers. She has become moody, seemingly reluctant to return home. In one village they meet Dordolio, a cavalier from Cath. Dordolio is one of many who are looking all over the world for Ylin-Ylan so they can return her home and collect the reward. Dordolio seems to be something of a minor thief, charging everything to Reith's account.
With Dordolio now part of the team, they set sail for Cath on a small ship. There is much philosophical talk about religion and depression. Reith learns that two cities of Cath were destroyed 212 years ago about the same time an emergency signal was sent to Earth. No one knows who sent the torpedoes but they are probably the same beings who destroyed Reith's ship. The Dirdir are suspected but there is no proof. Not far from home, Ylin-Ylan experiences Awaile; the need to kill all around her and then commit suicide. Reith's hope for support from her father for building a spaceboat dies with Ylin-Ylan.
Back on land, the four travelers stop at a Wankh city and learn how the black men and purple men hate each other as well as anyone doing business with both. Reith dresses the part and comes before Lord Cizante to tell of his daughter's death and hope for the best outcome possible. However, he does not know the court protocol and receives a cool reception. Reith meet Helsse, the Lord's aid, in a bar. The aid says that the Lord would prefer to give a reasonable boon (reward) to Reith rather than Dordolio; Dordolio being from a rival house. For having ruined his chances for a reward, Dordolio threatens to have Reith assassinated.
Helsse takes Reith to a Lokhar community to have someone translate a Wankh document they took from a assailant. The Lokhar work as laborers for the Wankh and a few have learned their tonal language. They meet Zarfo Detwiler who reports that the document is a letter about an important person and a stranger who recently arrived. Zarfo saves Reith from an assassin who was hired by Helsse for reasons yet unknown.
Reith receives 50,000 sequens, a king's ransom, from the Lord Cizante to leave Cath. This should be enough money for Reith's plan to steal a spaceboat. About to leave on their own, they narrowly escape two Cath assassins and take Helsse, who can not go back. The Assassins Security Guild would blame him for Reith's escape and demand restitution. They boat towards Kabassas but on the way Helsse is captured by a Pnume. Reluctantly, the others push on. Then, at a dockside inn, Reith finds Helsse in his room. The Yao seems possessed and simply walks away. After another chance meeting, Zarfo tries to cure Helsse with hypnosis. The attempt fails and Helsse dies but not before admitting to being Wankhman spy.
Needing new transportation, they hire a boat to take them to Zara but the Captain is greedy. They find six ruffians on board. The ruffians and the captain are tossed overboard. They eventually reach Smargash where they recruit four Lokhar technicians to steal and crew boat from a spaceport in Ao Tidis. They are able to steal a passenger boat but must also take with them a Wankh who was on board. However, they loose control of the boat because of its unfamiliar controls and it crashes into a lake. They are captured by Wankhmen but are saved from summary execution by the Wankh who they had previously captured. He turns out to be an Original Master, very important in the Wankh structure.
Reith reasons that it was the Wankhmen who destroyed the two cities and his boat. They discourage the cult. All this is done to maintain the status quo, even the war with the Dirdir. Through Helsse, Reith tells this to the Wankh and they expel all the Wankhmen .
As this story ends, Reith learns that there is another spaceport where they can buy a spaceboat. If only he had more money.
Review: "Servants of the Wankh" is the second book in the Tschai series and another travelogue. I found it particularly disappointing because there is even less of a plot here than the original. All the adventure seems random as the travelers encounter one obstacle after another. The story did not become interesting until Reith gathers his forces for the raid on the space port and that happens just 30 pages from the end. From the title, the book is supposed to be about the Wankhmen but they don't enter the picture until the last few pages. The secret, once revealed, is no major surprise and doesn't set up the story for anything but more travels.