The Durdane Trilogy (Jack Vance, 1970)

The land of Shant on the planet Durdane is ruled by a dictator called "The Faceless Man", or "The Anome". He is called this because his identity is literally unknown. He maintains control by virtue of the torc, a ring of explosive clamped around the neck of every adult man or woman of Shant. The invasion of Shant by barbarians will lead the protagonist of the book, Gastel Etwzane, to discover who the Anome is...

Rating: 8/10

The three books of the trilogy are:

- The Anome
- The Brave Free Men
- The Asutra