Engineer Al's Sci-Fi Library: Jack Vance
Engineer Al shares his love of Sci-Fi literature.
Listen:
Of all the myriads of authors who have created worlds of science fiction or fantasy in the last century or so, none have been more undeservedly ignored than Jack Vance. For over fifty years Vance brought us some of the most fantastic stories ever to grace the pages of fiction, and more importantly created fully realized worlds that easily allow the reader to be transported in time and space. He has a voice that is all his own, and uses his extensive and unique vocabulary with the power and precision of a pretty girl’s smile.
So why isn’t Vance’s name easily synonymous with the great writers of Science fiction? I think there are two reasons. First, he seems to have been a bit of a recluse. While many other writers in the early days of the pulp revolution banded together and supported each other, Vance kept very much to himself. He was not seen at conventions, or at book signings, or pretty much anywhere. When Isaac Asimov compiled a collection of other authors works in THE HUGO WINNERS, he introduces each selection with a story about the author, all of whom he seems to know. Except Jack Vance. Asimov writes:
“You don’t know these queer people and I do-so I’ll tell you about them. At least, I’ll tell you about all of them except those few, those very few, whom I‘ve never met and with whom I’ve never corresponded. The chances of one of those just happening to come up is laughably small, so let’s all laugh because here comes that chance. I have never met Jack Vance.”
There is a fantastic radio interview with Jack Vance that was produced in the later years of his life, and the whole thing is posted on YouTube. When Vance is asked about his reclusive tendencies his reply is along the lines of “I wanted my works to stand on their own merit.” Commendable, but perhaps not the best business practice.
Certainly another practice that held Vance back from the public eye was his tendency to write his ongoing series at a rate that made HIM happy, and not a publisher or the public. His DYING EARTH series, for example, has books published in 1950, 1966, 1983 and 1984. That may be a little long of a wait between books for your typical reader. But it is all there for us now, so let’s talk about where to start.
Although a large proportion of his works are Science Fiction, there are just a few that fall more neatly into the category of “fantasy”, and these are his best works. The DYING EARTH series is the first example. While there is maybe a tinge of Science Fiction here as the setting is the last days of the planet Earth, the stories themselves are pure fantasy filled with magic and wizards and swords and sorcery. As I stated before, these stories were created over a period of more than three decades, and that is part of what makes them so wonderful, because as the years go on Vance actually becomes a better writer. Now the initial book of the series is certainly outstanding in its own respect. With the simple title of THE DYING EARTH it presents us with a series of linked stories that introduce us to a new world and a fantastic collection of characters. The stories are great on their own and each one could easily stand alone, but the subtle and beautiful thread that links them together is wonderful to behold. By the time Vance presents us with the final books in the 1980’s he is at the peak of his writing prowess, and the entire series is made more powerful by what he has to present. Read these books.
Vance’s second and perhaps ONLY other work of fantasy is his LYONESSE Trilogy (starting with SULDRUN’S GARDEN). Published entirely in the 1980’s this lavish and lengthy series is in many ways Vance at his best. While perhaps not as easily digestible as his Dying Earth work, the LYONESSE books are remarkable in scope and just incredibly beautiful due to Vance’s use of language and his creation of intriguing characters and fantastic landscapes. Featuring politics on the scale of Tolkien and unique takes on magic, fairies and other standard elements of the fantasy genre, the LYONESSE books are an unheralded treasure hidden away on the dusty back shelves of your local used book store. Seek them out.
Perhaps one of the best (and least intimidating) ways to start with Vance is with his early works in the forms of short stories and novellas. Some of Vance’s most memorable and noteworthy works fall into this category. The best examples would be THE DRAGON MASTERS (an immersive mix of fantasy and sci-fi) THE LAST CASTLE (robots betray the last vestiges of humanity on Earth) and THE MOON MOTH (which is simply a story that ONLY Jack Vance could write). All three of these stories are published in THE JACK VANCE TREASURY, which is highly recommended.
And then there are the Science Fiction novels. Volumes and volumes of Science fiction novels. Vance wrote for many years, and was quite prolific. All of it is enjoyable, and much of it is extraordinary. Vance’s most noteworthy ability is in his capacity as a world builder. Each story contains a unique world and people with a unique culture, and a propensity for detail that brings Vance’s ideas to life.
I find that most of Vance’s Science Fiction tends to fall into one of two categories. The first is “Mystery in Space”. Many of Vance’s stories feature a mystery of some sort that must be solved and which pushes the protagonist forward. Vance is an accomplished mystery writer, and even wrote a handful of novels under the pseudonym of “Ellery Queen”. Vance’s most enjoyable “mystery” novels include THE DEMON PRINCES series, SHOWBOAT WORLD, and ARAMINTA STATION.
The second category is what I call the “young man is dissatisfied with the way things are and goes on an adventure that changes the status quo” stories. This second type is I feel my favorite. Despite some of the similarities in story line, the uniqueness of the worlds and characters within each story is what makes them wonderful. My favorites in this category include THE BLUE WORLD, THE GREY PRINCE, EMPHYRIO, and the wonderful DURDANE series which starts with the book THE ANOME.
So venture forth brave warriors of fantasy and speculative fiction. Summer is the time for fantastic adventure, and it will be over far too quickly. Take advantage of the season and share some time with the wonderful Mr. Vance.
I have a lot of catching up to do, having never read...any of these. I may have seen one or two on the library shelves growing up, but as with so many of the great sf writers a lot of stuff is just buried unless you know to look for it.
@Gary- YES YOU DO!
I guess I should give the movie a shot. . .
I've never read any of his sci-fi work. I should remedy that.
Fans of the Dying Earth should also read Tales of the Dying Earth, a modern collection of stories set in the Dying Earth that were written by other writers. Nearly every single one of them manages to nail the concept, delivering a decent approximation of Vance's writing style and stories that generally fit right in with the setting. One of the best stories was written by George R.R. Martin, who also edited this large book. Each story is preceded by the writer describing how Vance influenced their writing, or at least how they first encountered the Dying Earth stories.
Do you have the full list? I would love to see Gygax's recommendations. There's at least one tale in The Dying Earth that is pretty much a D&D adventure, specially in mood (The one in which one guy can't suffer no ill as long as he stays on the path).Shellhead wrote: I've read the majority of the books that Gary Gygax recommended in the first edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide, including The Dying Earth and The Eyes of the Overworld.
I read The Dying Earth a while ago, it was incredibly dry at first and it made my head hurt. But after a while it gets better and you stary enjoying it more and more. I think Vance writes fantasy as one would write science ficition which is odd, but gives the tales a lot of character (I mean, strictly speaking the series IS science-fiction, isn't it?). I think his prose gets much, much better as he ages, I want to check out later books of his for this reason.
Anderson, Poul: THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
Bellairs, John: THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh
Brown, Frederic
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: "Pellucidar" series; Mars series; Venus series
Carter, Lin: "World's End" series
de Camp, L. Sprague: LEST DARKNESS FALL; THE FALLIBLE FIEND; et al
de Camp & Pratt: "Harold Shea" series; THE CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August
Dunsany, Lord
Farmer, P. J.: "The World of the Tiers" series; et al
Fox, Gardner: "Kothar" series; "Kyrik" series; et al
Howard, R. E.: "Conan" series
Lanier, Sterling: HIERO'S JOURNEY
Leiber, Fritz: "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" series; et al
Lovecraft, H. P.
Merritt, A.: CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al
Moorcock, Michael: STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre
Offutt, Andrew J.: editor of SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III
Pratt, Fletcher: BLUE STAR; et al
Saberhagen, Fred: CHANGELING EARTH; et al
St. Clair, Margaret: THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
Tolkien, J. R. R.: THE HOBBIT; "Ring trilogy"
Vance, Jack: THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al
Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, Manley Wade
Williamson, Jack
Zelazny, Roger: JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" series; et al
Some of these books didn't make a lasting impression on me. Some of these writers had a major influence on fantasy and need no further endorsement. But I do want to call attention to The Face in the Frost, by John Bellairs. It was a wonderfully quirky story about wizards, either amusing or spooky at various points.
Great Appalachian horror-fantasy type stuff. Really nails the feel; Silver John plays a silver-stringed guitar and songs are an important part of the stories.
The Books of the New Sun don't read at all like Vance to me. They're very clever, multi-layered and evoke an extraordinary sense of place. But they also have a tendency toward being plodding. And the series is over long. At times, it just felt like Wolfe was getting a little too fond of his own cleverness.
MattDP wrote: You can say again about Wolfe being fond of ambiguity. I threw Solider of the Mist across the room in a rage when I got to the end.
The Books of the New Sun don't read at all like Vance to me. They're very clever, multi-layered and evoke an extraordinary sense of place. But they also have a tendency toward being plodding. And the series is over long. At times, it just felt like Wolfe was getting a little too fond of his own cleverness.
If you ever give Wolfe another try, pick something that he has written in the 21st century. His stories are more focused, with better pacing, and the endings steer clear of ambiguity, aside from the unreliable narrators. I do like the unreliable narration, because it gives a story at least one extra layer of depth. Here is the story, and then here is the narrator's understanding of the events in the story. For example, an unreliable narrator might congratulate himself mentally on handling a conversation with his wife well, but a reader might read the dialogue and shake his head, thinking "you shouldn't have said that."
paizo.com/products/btpy85jz?Who-Fears-th...Complete-Silver-John
I think my favorites of Wolfe are some of his older, shorter ones: The Fifth Head of Cerberus because of its weird, loosely but not-so-loosely interrelated novellas told from different vantages that still held together as a prismatic whole, and Peace because it initially reads like a surrealist gothic rambling that someone like Djuna Barnes might have written but contains a twist that, once perceived, mutates the book into something more evil and intentional.
I still think some of his work is hit-or-miss depending upon how much he decides to (or is a able to) formulate characters that can remain as points of identification despite narrative unreliability. I never got through the Long Sun series because Patera Silk was just too damned boring and I walked away from the Wizard Knight still thinking that Sir Able of the High Hart was mostly a little shit.
Anyway, enough rambling about Wolfe. Time to read some more Vance.