Jack Vance

[duckman]

From the SubPress email:

Please note: Mr. Vance has already signed the limited and lettered edition, and we expect, though we cannot yet guarantee, that all contributors will sign these editions. In addition, if his schedule allows, George R. R. Martin will be contributing a story.

[Jussi]

What about Michael Moorcock? I thought there supposed to be a story from him.

[Ran]

I actually mailed before I saw that e-mail. They expanded a bit in their response to me, saying that it'd depend on whether he'd have time to write something in the summer. So it seems if it's not done by then, and all the other slated writers have their story in, that they'll go forward to press.

Perhaps George'll hit on an idea for a quick short story. I do hope so.

[Werthead]

From the blog:

Jack Vance's Dying Earth series is set in the distant, remote future when technology and magic have become entwined. His stories are tales of humour, tragedy and whimsy set at the end of human history, and are among the most distinctive tales in fantasy fiction.

Tales of the Dying Earth collects all four of the principal Dying Earth books: The Dying Earth (1950), The Eyes of the Overworld (1964), Cugel's Saga (1983) and Rhialto the Marvellous (1984). Written over a period of thirty-four years, these books (themselves collections of short stories or episodes) are nevertheless fairly cohesive in style and readability. That said, The Dying Earth is somewhat more serious than the latter three books, and the central two novels are sometimes considered to form a duology, as they relate the misadventures of a scoundrel and thief named Cugel the Clever, whilst the other two books feature different characters and situations.

The Dying Earth itself is a collection of six short stories, but these are connected by an interesting writing device. Each story focuses on a central character who meets the central figure of the subsequent story in his own adventure, so the narrative is passed almost like a baton to the next character. So the book opens with Turjan, a wizard of some power, encountering the artificial construct T'sais. In the next story he is imprisoned by the wizard Mazirian, who is defeated in turn by T'sain, T'sais' brother. Then the narrative switches to T'sais' adventures. And so on. It's an interesting device for a short story collection and the stories are bound closely together because of it. However, The Dying Earth's success is in its atmospheric depiction of a far-future, dying world under a shrunken red sun. The stories themselves are interesting, but not as compelling as the later books.

The Eyes of the Overworld introduces Cugel the Clever, a rogue and scoundrel always on the look-out for a profit. He is manipulated by a dubious rival, Fianosther, into attempting to rob the manse of Iucounu the Laughing Magician, who discovers this attempt and is not impressed. He offers Cugel a choice between being entombed 45 miles below the Earth's surface, or journeying to remote lands to seek a mystical 'eye of the overworld'. Cugel is thus exiled to the far ends of the world to seek the artifact and has to return home, having numerous adventures along the way. It's Cugel's constant misfortune, at times reaching ridiculous and farcical levels, that makes this part of the story both hilarious and breathlessly enjoyable. By this volume Vance's skills as a writer have grown tremendously and his command of the English language is a joy to behold, with its flowery, polite terminology used to disguise feelings of hatred and jealousy like a particularly demented take on medieval court language. At length, Cugel apparently succeeds in his mission and gains the upper hand...until misfortune once again befalls him and he is left on a cliffhanger.

Nineteen years later (a break in a series that would be unthinkable today), Vance resumed the story in Cugel's Saga. Once again banished to the ends of the Earth, Cugel once again sets out for home, but this time travels by a different route. Essentially a second picaresque travelogue, the story is similar in structure to the preceding volume but is possibly even better, with more polished writing and Cugel's ambiguous appeal remaining intact. If anything, this book is even more hilarious than the second, although some may feel the relatively happy ending is not entirely in keeping with Cugel's typical fortunes.

The final book, Rhialto the Marvellous, is also sadly the weakest. It is much more overtly fantastical than the first three, incorporating voyages through space, but the focus on less interesting protagonists than Cugel means it feels like an afterthought. That's not to say the stories here are unenjoyable, merely that they are of a different nature than Cugel's and less distinctive because of it.

Jack Vance is one of SF&F's most distinctive authors, with a formidable grasp of language and a keen wit making him one of the genre's most interesting writers. The Dying Earth stories are rightly regarded as genre classics, inspiring works such as Gene Wolfe's astonishing Book of the New Sun and being cited as a major influence on numerous writers. The Dying Earth and Rhialto the Marvellous have aged somewhat, but the central Cugel stories are as fresh, comical and as fun to read now as they were when they were first published.

Tales of the Dying Earth (*****) is published in the UK by Gollancz as part of their Fantasy Masterworks range and by Orb Books in the USA. A new Dying Earth book, Songs of the Dying Earth, containing short stories by writers such as Tad Williams, Robert Silverberg and Neil Gaiman, edited by Gardner Dozois and George RR Martin, and authorised by Jack Vance, will be published early next year by Subterranean Press and HarperCollins Voyager.

The information I got from SubPress recently is that the new anthology should be published right at the end of December. Sweet.

[Calibandar]

I wonder what the quality of it will be though. Vance may have been a master at this sort of humour and atmosphere, but that is something that primarly comes from the dialogue he imbues his characters with and the the deep sense of irony and wry wit that surrounds everything. It seems to me you have to be a damned good author to do a great pastiche on that.

[Rimmer]

Nice review Wert... I've just discovered your blog, and it's great to have one that covers not only different mediums but different time periods too.

I'm re-reading the Demon Prince books now, IMO Vance's best books. Can't wait for this anthology, just a pity Gene Wolfe couldn't contribute.

[Calibandar]

Some interesting stuff here. Subpress announced today that they will be publishing Jack Vance's autobiography next year.

http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/200...-just-acquired/

There will also be a new collected edition of his shorter work called Wild Thyme, Green Magic.

[Werthead]

He's also done an autobiography? I get the impression he's quite a character and lived quite an interesting life, so that should be interesting as well.

[Calibandar]

Exactly. His last interview that I've seen was years ago and that was a laugh riot to see his opinions on genre fans. He does seem like a very interesting guy.

[Larry.]

Sadly, my take on Tales of the Dying Earth was a bit more negative than others'. I think at least part of the blame lies with the conditions in which I read it, so I wouldn't hasten to call this a proper review, but rather an examination of why I couldn't engage with the stories.

[BookWyrm]

Sadly, my take on Tales of the Dying Earth was a bit more negative than others'. I think at least part of the blame lies with the conditions in which I read it, so I wouldn't hasten to call this a proper review, but rather an examination of why I couldn't engage with the stories.

I think this may be one of the first times I've ever disagreed with you.

I loved the Dying Earth stories (except for the first one, those stories bored me to death). I wouldn't say they are some of my favorite writings, but Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy is.

[Larry.]

Usually, stories with nice prose appeal to me, but in this case, I just wasn't in the mood for reading it, plus there was something a bit too pulp-like about the stories that didn't appeal to me at the time. Perhaps a re-read a few years from now will improve my opinion of it.

[BookWyrm]

Usually, stories with nice prose appeal to me, but in this case, I just wasn't in the mood for reading it, plus there was something a bit too pulp-like about the stories that didn't appeal to me at the time. Perhaps a re-read a few years from now will improve my opinion of it.

Well as usuall if you do a re-read I'll be looking forward to the accompanying review.

[Arataniello]

An article here in the NYT (free registration required) about Jack Vance, timed to coincide with the publication of the Songs of Dying Earth volume, as well as the JV bio due later in the year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine...nted=1&_r=5

Thanks to MinDonner for linking in Facebook.

[Ran]

It's a good read, and I'm glad to see an academic pointing out that Vance is severely underappreciated. I was discussing this with a literature professor a few weeks ago (planning to apply for doctoral studies), and I said that someone who is so influential over a genre of literature ought to be given a deeper and closer study than he's previously been given by all but a handful of hardcore fans and a few French academics.

He's a uniquely American author, I think.

[Werthead]

Reading Songs of the Dying Earth now. Pretty cool stuff. Dean Koontz's introduction was a bit crap and a bit more about him than Vance, but Vance's preface was quite amusing. He seemed to be saying, "Dudes, I just wrote these stories to stop myself getting bored on a boat, what gives?" in a funny self-effacing manner, but seemed touched that all these big gun SFF authors wanted to play in his sandbox.

Silverberg's story about a depressed wine collector was entertaining but a bit predictable. The second story by Matthew Hughes is absolutely brilliant. Starts off very small in scale but then goes totally bonkers in a very Vancian manner right at the end. The last-minute twist is also quite clever.

Both authors succeed in using a Vancian mode of speech without descending into parody or pastiche, Hughes somewhat more successfully. Looking forward to the rest of the book.

[BookWyrm]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Songs is totally scooped up? I mean, if they sell all copies and have to start mass producing them to put on display at Barnes & Noble or something. Maybe they would start printing actual Vance again.

Does anyone think it's a possibility, or am I delusional?

[Ran]

U.K. and U.S. publishers already have the rights to republish the book (though without the illustrations). Subterranean has exclusivity for six months in the case of the U.K., IIRC.

[Werthead]

There's only one illustration per story, and it's more of a chapter-header than anything else. They are very nice though.

Anyway, as I said before The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale by Silverberg was good but not oustanding.

Grolion of Almery by Matthew Hughes was superb with a hilarious ending.

The Copsy Door by Terry Dowling is also excellent, and the most 'Vancian' of the stories so far. As a close friend, sometimes test-reader and occasional collaborator of Vance's, this is perhaps unsurprising. This story could have come straight out of The Dying Earth itself.

Caulk the Witch-Chaser by Liz Williams is okay but unremarkable. Some nice ideas but the least effective story so far.

Inescapable by Mike Resnick is very good, with an excellent twist ending that will have fans of the earlier books grinning, but there's an effective element of horror as well.

Abrizonde by Walter Jon Williams is tremendously good. A siege story with some very cool twists and turns.

The Traditions of Karzh by Paula Vosky is also very good, featuring the return of the pernicious pelgranes. It's quite funny, featuring some classic Vancian exchanges at the start, but with a twisted and dark side to it.

The Final Quest of the Wizard Sarnod by Jeff VanderMeer is the weakest story so far. VanderMeer is hit and miss at matching the Vancian mode of speech and the story is quite weak. The 'twist' is ineptly handled and the characters are uninvolving. What's more annoying is that VanderMeer directly takes on several iconic Dying Earth characters from the original book and mishandles them.

The Green Bird by Kage Baker sees the return of the irrepressible Cugel. A very good story and Cugel is handled well, although the ending is a bit abrupt and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which I'm guessing will go unanswered unless one of the other writers is also doing a Cugel story later on in the book.

The Last Golden Thread by Phyllis Eisenstein is perhaps the most interesting story, as the author doesn't attempt to match Vance's distinctive speech pattern. Instead she injects a much more melancholic air into proceedings and the story is more emotional than some of the others. An interesting experiment in doing a different type of story in the Dying Earth mileu and very well handled.

That's ten down, thirteen to go

[Werthead]

An Incident in Uskvosk by Elizabeth Moon is quite entertaining, about a day at the races, Dying Earth style. Funny and sharp.

Sylgarmo's Proclamation by Lucius Shepard is a good story, solid and intriguing with a nice Cugel cameo as well.

The Lamentably Comical Tragedy (or The Laughably Tragic Comedy) of Lixal Laqavee by Tad Williams is a (possibly unexpected) highlight of the book. Williams' short fiction has always been varied and intriguing and this is a superb story. Fake conjuror Lixal Laqavee decides to learn some real magic by blackmailing a wizard. When this inadvertantly backfires he finds himself in a dire situation and forced to seek the assistance of a ravenous deodand, which proves problematic. Excellent.

Guyal the Curator by John C. Wright is another extremely good story, with Manxolio Quinc, a law-enforcer of Old Romarth, helping a man who has lost his memory with the aid of his magical weapon of spectacular destructive potential. A clever story with a surprisingly twisted and dark ending. Wright makes particularly good use of the Vancian mode of speech.

The Good Magician by Glen Cook is a bit meh in comparison. Rhialto returns! Although he is not the focus of the story, which has a neophyte mage stumbling across a secret which demands the attention of Ildefonse and his tenuously allied cabal of mages. The story meanders all over the place and the ending is unsatisfactory, which I suppose makes it a good fit with the other Rhialto stories (among Vance's weakest, IMO). Not bad, but weak in comparison to some of the prior works.