Posted on 05/29/2013 1:52:20 PM PDT by Borges
The legendary SF writer has died.
Nooooooo!!!!!
(sigh)
Well, the adventures of Cugel the Clever, et al had to come to and end someday.
RIP Mr. Vance
Big fan! RIP Jack.
A long-time favorite of mine. I think I’ve got all his books on my shelves, mostly in first edition paperbacks, but also a few hard covers.
The best ever, my absolute all-time favourite along with Gene Wolfe. Nobody wrote like Jack Vance, just nobody. The only ones I have yet to read are some of the short stories and the mystery novels. I was just re-reading Rhialto the Marvelous.
May the Concept be Nuncapatory for him in a better place.
Freegards
Any recommendations as to which book of his to start with?
Tales of the Dying Earth.
You ask a difficult question as his works are quite varied. If you are looking for SF, my personal favorites would be The Demon Princes and the Cadwal series (starting with Araminta Station). On the other hand, for fantasy, The Dragon Masters, and Llyonesse would be good starters.
Also, the omnibus of The Dying Earth is a good read.
One thing to remember when reading Jack Vance is that a dictionary will often be necessary, as well as an understanding of satire. He often enjoyed creating elaborate societies and alien cultures, and then poking them with a stick, or perhaps more accurately, an anti-hero.
Best of luck.
The curse of the forlorn encystment.
RIP Jack
Vance’s Planet of Adventure trilogy is a perfect place to start.
Thanks for the post. Vance is one of my top three favorite SF writers. Big fan here.
ping
He also wrote some excellent mysteries. I also think I have all his work on my shelves. Compared to modern authors his writing was efficient. He didn’t need 1500 pages to tell a great story; he made you work differently. You had to think. And sometimes even Bill Buckley would need a dictionary.
I met him once. He didn’t like to talk about his writing; figured it spoke for itself. He would literally ignore any question or comment about his stories. He loved jazz, tho’. He was an accomplished musician.
I’m a huge fan, but have never been able to track down the mysteries yet or Bad Ronald. One of the most unique stylistic voices/writing styles ever.
Here’s a wiki page in case anyone clicking on the thread besides Jack Vance veterans who might want to find out more but wouldn’t bother on their own:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Vance
Here’s a NY Times Magazine article from 2009:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19Vance-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Here’s Jack Vance’s official site:
Freegards
Try “The Brave Free Men.”
I do not remember having read any of his work at all. From the titles, it seems his work is more Science Fantasy than hard Science Fiction. I have read a Terry Pratchett and a collaboration by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley so if anyone has a knock-your-socks-off Jack Vance I am interested.
Oh hells bells. RIP Mr. Vance. We’ll miss you.
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