Jack Vance

posts about #jackvance more →
Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories
The Scifi Obsession Of Dungeons and Dragons Creator Gary Gygax

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Lolotehe
07/16/09

In reply to Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
Italo Calvino would never write a sci-fi piece about anything bigger than a single cell or a nano-second.
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

@Lolotehe: Really? Have you read Cosmicomics? The Big Bang, Galaxies, Dinosaurs etc. All little short pieces but BIG Concepts. Funny as heck too.
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Lolotehe
07/16/09

@Grey_Area: I have. I was being flip. I'm reading "The Uses of Literature" right now. And "t zero" was still brilliant.
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Emmanuel Goldstein
07/16/09

In reply to Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
Vance is fine. He's a better writer than Asimov, and certainly both more interesting & playful then Clarke at a sentence level, if not in overall effect. He's a little like a more relaxed Ray Bradbury. Ok, sure, toss the old guy a bone. I'm on-board.
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

@Emmanuel Goldstein: An accurate assessment, Mr. G. Vance was more of playful bibliophile rather than someone with a heavy science background trying to tell a story. His characters and settings were often more vivid and engaging than his techno-obsessed contemporaries.
The plots often dealt with classic human passions. Real Star-crossed lovers and bloody Jacobean revenge...in space! Hard SF adherents will probably dismiss Vance as fuzzy Space Fantasy but I love it.
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SunitiGroton
07/16/09

In reply to Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
I think that almost all of Jack Vance is very readable (though perhaps not as exquisite as the Vance Integral folks think), with several *outstanding* books/series:
Lyonesse/Green Pearl/Madouc
Araminta Station/Throy/Ecce and Old Earth
Eyes of the Overworld/Cugel's Saga
Lamp

Dragon Masters and The Dying Earth are good, but the above are better.

Cugel is such a scallywag.

Steve
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

@SunitiGroton: You mean Night Lamp right? That was very good and relatively quite recent (1998).
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

In reply to Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
I highly recommend Jack Vance and Cordwainer Smith, two under appreciated Masters of Science Fiction. The way they used language really makes the reader feel immersed in wholly alien cultures listening to people with millennia of history separating us and them.
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not_Bridget
07/16/09

@Grey_Area: Whenever I read about some old warhorse TV show being rebooted, or some tired movie series getting one more sequel, I wonder: What about all that great SF that's still only in print format?

Yeah, some of the retreads have worked out. But there are worlds & universes that haven't made it to the screen yet. What about adapting some of those stories?

This old fart grew up on Heinlein/Asimov/Clarke but subscribed to Galaxy while still in high school. So I met Jack Vance & Cordwainer Smith, who expanded my little mind. Not to mention Avram Davidson & R A Lafferty.

Meanwhile, Syfy is talking about a "new" space opera series. Hey--how about Cowboys in Space?
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

@not_Bridget: Cowboys in Space? That's so crazy it just might work!
I think there's a fear that some of the old Grand Master stuff won't translate well for us kids. Is the Lensman stuff too dated? Yeah probably, but it's a helluva good jumping off point. I'd like to see some Hal Clement on a small or large screen, I think audiences will be ready for some brain-expanding stuff after Cameron's Avatar.
Mission of Gravity would be a hard sell with only one Human in the main cast, maybe as some sort of webisode series. I contend the SF Crime novel Iceworld has excellent potential for adaptation.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
07/16/09

@Grey_Area: Indeed -- Iceworld would require no fancy special effects, CGI, or way-out sets at all.
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Grey_Area
07/16/09

@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: The tentacled six limbed aliens and their ships would benefit from some CGI coolness, and some of the action is on Mercury and Mars as well. I believe the strength of the story is presenting Earth from the aliens' POV as an incredibly weird and hostile environment. As deadly a the surface of Venus would be to us.

We could use the anti-tobacco message to lure Carl Reiner into producing it. hee hee.
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Mathmos
07/16/09

@not_Bridget: I'm imagining a "Tales of the Instrumentality" tv series
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thesis
07/16/09

In reply to Science Fiction's Unsung Old Master Getting A New Appreciation?
I've been picking up classics of sci-fi lately that I've missed in my readings in the past. Maybe it's time I pick up a few of Vance's.

Any recommendations?
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Plague
07/16/09

@thesis:
Hmmm. Probably The Dying Earth. But I tend to like JV's fantasy stuff more than the SF.
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Edited by Plague at 07/16/09 12:23 PM Plague was starred Plague was unstarred

Grey_Area
07/16/09

@thesis: His Dying Earth series is probably his most well known work. Four novels set on Earth so far in the future everything looks like Sword & Sorcery but still very different from the usual stuff you'd find in Conan or middle Earth rip-offs. Gene Wolfe cites Vance as a major inspiration for his series the Book of the New Sun.

I prefer Vance's planetary romances for their brilliant world building and swashbuckling derring-do. The flowery language and dated speculative technology can get a bit silly to the "sophisticated" reader, but I still love series like The Demon Princes, the Alastor trilogy, and my fave, Tschai: Planet of Adventure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_Adventure
Good hunting and Enjoy!
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knyne
07/16/09

@thesis: I particularly loved Vance for those big, bold adventures he concocted; thusly, The Dragon Masters, Big Planet, Tschai Saga (4 books), The Last Castle, Five Gold Bands, and The Languages of Pao.
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Mathmos
07/16/09

@thesis: As well as (or perhaps I should say despite) deserving literary cred for his unique style and ideas, Vance also wrote some fun, colorful adventure stories. The Dying Earth sories were very influential and it makes sense to include a collection of them them in your program of reading classics. My personal favorites from his works are the Demon Princes books and the Lyonesse trilogy, which is fantasy rather than scifi.
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thesis
07/16/09

@Plague: @Grey_Area: @knyne: @Mathmos: Thanks all. I appreciate the recommendations. I'm currently in the process of writing a thesis on sf, and I needed to add someone like Vance onto my reading list. His books are definitely going to be in my next Amazon order.
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ticktockman
06/27/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
I like the reviews here, too. If I want to know what Tor is putting out then I can look at the Tor website, or at the sci-fi section at the borders down the street. There's no good independent bookstore in town here for sci-fi, so all I see on the big book chain shelves are novels by Bujold--who I like, don't get me wrong--and Mcaffery and stack upon stack of awful licensed books. I'm more interested in reading about books I might not find on my own and in new editions of works by older writers that I might not see sitting on the shelf of a book store (Jack Vance, here I come).
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ticktockman
06/27/09

@ticktockman: It seems my newborn son disagrees. He vomited all over me just as I finished writing that last post.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/27/09

@ticktockman: Your kid won't be a hipster then. WTF are you feeding him?
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secretmission
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
David Hartwell's Year's Best SF 14 is even better than Dozois' anthologies...
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Franknbeans
06/27/09

@secretmission: Nope, wrong. All the best stories of the year are repeated in both anthologies, but Hartwell's unique picks are uniformly sub-par. Plus Dozois has more bang for your buck, more stories equals more enjoyment
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/27/09

@Franknbeans: Exactly. Dozois picks better quality and a wider variety. Always has.
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AileenPaterculus
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
I actually enjoy the way you guys do reviews because book specific sites and forums have always held tons of references for the less "arty" stuff. This site turns me on to stuff I wouldn't normally find that would fall through the cracks, and maybe I am just in tune with your style of hipster sci-fi lit, but your choices seem spot on to me.
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Grey_Area
06/26/09

@AileenPaterculus: "Hipster"? Ouch! well, as long as we are turning you on to stuff you like, cool.
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AlessandroGiraffe
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
The Strain sounds an awful lot like Scott Westerfeld's Peeps, with vampirism portrayed as a parisitic disease that threatens civilization.
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Grey_Area
06/26/09

@AlessandroGiraffe: The vampirisim as disease thing is hardly new and has been done better.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
The Dozois Year's Best anthologies are always, always a delight. Sooo worth picking up and reading. All excellent, across all genres; stuff you already like and a good way to discover authors/genres you wouldn't have given a thought to.

If you can only afford one of these books, get that one.
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EbeneezerSquid
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
You know, I've been lurking here on i09 for quite some time, and these book posts have always seemed odd to me.

It seems that the authors I tend to read never end up here.

No John Ringo, Harry Turteldove, Anne (or Todd) McCaffery, Louis McMaster Bujold.

Thinking about it, most of the Writers that I've started reading over the past few years I got started on by the Baen Free Library (free e-books, usually the first in a series).

Have any Baen Books been mentioned on these "New Books" posts?
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Charlie Jane Anders
06/26/09

@EbeneezerSquid: We make a point of being as inclusive as possible, especially in our monthly roundup of new books. At the same time, it's probably fair to say that none of those authors has put out a book recently that any of us contributing to the site has felt like reading or reviewing, for whatever reason. We only have a limited amount of time to devote to new books, and we pick the ones we're personally most excited about to write about. I love older Anne McCaffrey, especially The Ship Who Sang, but haven't read anything she and Todd have written in the past decade or so. As for Bujold, we've mentioned her work a lot.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/26/09

@Charlie Jane Anders: io9 does tend to go a little arty-er and more "literary". ESquid has a good point.

Maybe you just need more reviewers with wider taste/preferences? Reviewing books that are Ripping Yarns, but not going to be up for awards?

(Perhaps someone who was already adult and going to cons in the 80's and has been a fan since Star Trek was brand new?)
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Klebert L. Hall
06/27/09

@Charlie Jane Anders:

I could swear you reviewed something from Baen last fall, but I can't remember what.

-Kle.
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brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there(
06/27/09

@Klebert L. Hall: The Baen Free Library definitely got a shout out during the last year as did some of the books on its e-shelves. I do recall the one with the Fast Elves on the cover.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/27/09

@brentbent: I think that was a post making fun of their cover art.

Which is indefensible -- I kinda feel sorry for the authors sometimes.
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crashedpc - Haifisch
06/26/09

In reply to Steampunk Brothel Spies And Million-Year Quests, In June Books
Jeez, I got my copy of House of Suns like two months ago, and it barely took a week to arrive. Mmmmm....

Can't wait for The Women of Nell Gwynne's to arrive, though.
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Ghede
05/16/09

In reply to 10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories
Gully Foyle is my name

and terra is my nation

Space will be my resting place

the stars my destination

or at least I think that is how it goes. Man, that's one of my favorites.
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beercheck
05/15/09

In reply to 10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories
Man, do I like this post.
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Srynerson
05/15/09

In reply to 10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories
I haven't read most of the stories on the list, so I won't try to argue over whether my suggestions are more deserving of being up there. I'll just point to a few that I think are particularly good:

First Contract by Greg Costikyan (perhaps the only novel ever written in which the hero wins by using the comparative advantage theory of free trade against aliens).

"The Ungoverned" by Vernor Vinge (very anarcho-capitalist post-apocalyptic story)

"And Then There Were None," by Eric Frank Russell (military force discovers the problem of trying to dominate people without the concept of a central government).

The short stories, although originally published elsewhere, are included in the libertarian SF collection "Give Me Liberty" edited by by Martin Greenberg.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
05/15/09

@Srynerson: Yeah, I was surprised at the Russell mention without "And Then There Were None". It's pure and simple libertarianism and it's funny.
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