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Jack Vance

Born

in San Francisco, California, The United States

August 28, 1916

Died

May 26, 2013

Website

http://www.jackvance.com/

Genre

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Thrillers

Influences

P.G. Wodehouse, Jeffery Farnol, Lord Dunsany, James Branch Cabell ...more

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Aka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, Ellery Queen, Alan Wade.

John Holbrook Vance was an American writer widely celebrated for his imaginative contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery literature. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became known for richly detailed worlds, inventive language, and stories that combined adventure with sharp social observation. His work influenced generations of speculative fiction writers and helped expand the literary possibilities of the genre. Vance wrote more than sixty books and numerous short stories, many first appearing in science fiction magazines before later being expanded into novels and collections. His fiction was widely translated and developed an international read Aka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, Ellery Queen, Alan Wade.

John Holbrook Vance was an American writer widely celebrated for his imaginative contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery literature. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became known for richly detailed worlds, inventive language, and stories that combined adventure with sharp social observation. His work influenced generations of speculative fiction writers and helped expand the literary possibilities of the genre. Vance wrote more than sixty books and numerous short stories, many first appearing in science fiction magazines before later being expanded into novels and collections. His fiction was widely translated and developed an international readership.
Vance grew up in California and spent part of his youth on a ranch near the Sacramento River delta, where he developed a love of the outdoors and an appetite for reading. The family experienced financial hardship during the Great Depression, prompting him to take a variety of jobs before completing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. During these years he worked in several trades and cultivated interests in music, travel, and sailing, experiences that later informed many of the settings and themes in his fiction. Before becoming a full-time writer he held numerous occupations, including shipyard worker, merchant seaman, carpenter, and surveyor.
His earliest published story appeared in the mid 1940s in a science fiction magazine, marking the beginning of a long writing career. Throughout the following decades he produced stories across multiple genres, though he became best known for science fiction and fantasy cycles that combined imaginative settings with elaborate cultures and social systems. Among his most famous works are The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle, both of which received Hugo Awards. The Last Castle also earned the Nebula Award, confirming Vance's reputation as one of the most distinctive voices in speculative fiction. His fantasy trilogy Lyonesse later received the World Fantasy Award, while his memoir This Is Me, Jack Vance! earned another Hugo decades later.
In addition to speculative fiction, Vance wrote several mystery novels, some under pseudonyms including Ellery Queen. These works often blended crime elements with psychological or social themes and sometimes anticipated ideas that later appeared in his science fiction. His storytelling frequently emphasized cultural conflict, moral ambiguity, and intricate social customs rather than large-scale warfare, setting him apart from many contemporaries in the genre.
Vance maintained close friendships with other science fiction writers and participated in literary communities that shaped postwar American speculative fiction. He traveled widely with his family and spent extended periods abroad, experiences that influenced the exotic settings and cosmopolitan tone found in many of his books. Music also played a role in his life and writing, reflecting his long-standing enthusiasm for traditional jazz.
Despite gradually losing his eyesight later in life, Vance continued writing with the aid of specialized software and completed both fiction and autobiography in his later years. Over time his reputation grew steadily, and he received numerous honors, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and recognition as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Critics and fellow writers often praised his distinctive style, wit, and imagination, and his stories remain widely read within the science fiction and fantasy community. ...more

Combine Editions
Jack Vance’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 103,463 ratings · 8,833 reviews · 805 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth, #1) 3.88 avg rating — 11,424 ratings — published 1950 — 81 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tales of the Dying Earth 4.12 avg rating — 6,212 ratings — published 1998 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Suldrun's Garden (Lyonesse, #1) 3.93 avg rating — 6,201 ratings — published 1983 — 73 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Eyes of the Overworld (The Dying Earth, #2) 4.12 avg rating — 5,360 ratings — published 1966 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cugel's Saga (The Dying Earth, #3) 4.24 avg rating — 3,392 ratings — published 1983 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Green Pearl (Lyonesse, #2) 4.17 avg rating — 3,166 ratings — published 1985	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Madouc (Lyonesse, #3) 4.18 avg rating — 2,914 ratings — published 1989 — 52 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Emphyrio 3.90 avg rating — 2,764 ratings — published 1969 — 54 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Planet of Adventure (Planet of Adventure, #1-4) 4.26 avg rating — 2,314 ratings — published 1968 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rhialto the Marvellous (The Dying Earth, #4) 3.87 avg rating — 2,461 ratings — published 1984 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jack Vance…

Series by Jack Vance

The Dying Earth (4 books)
by

Jack Vance

4.01 avg rating — 31,395 ratings

Gaean Reach (17 books)
by

Jack Vance

3.98 avg rating — 20,641 ratings

Lyonesse (3 books)
by

Jack Vance

4.08 avg rating — 13,645 ratings

Demon Princes (5 books)
by

Jack Vance

4.06 avg rating — 10,947 ratings

Cugel the Clever (2 books)
by

Jack Vance

4.17 avg rating — 8,752 ratings

More series by Jack Vance…

Quotes by Jack Vance (?)

“Good music always defeats bad luck.”
― Jack Vance

tags: fantasy, music

98 likes

“What are your fees?" inquired Guyal cautiously. "I respond to three questions," stated the augur. "For twenty terces I phrase the answer in clear and actionable language; for ten I use the language of cant, which occasionally admits of ambiguity; for five, I speak a parable which you must interpret as you will; and for one terce, I babble in an unknown tongue.”
― Jack Vance, Tales of the Dying Earth

84 likes

“Notice this rent in my garment; I am at a loss to explain its presence! I am even more puzzled by the existence of the universe.”
― Jack Vance, Tales of the Dying Earth

tags: jack-vance, lodermulch, the-eyes-of-the-overworld

82 likes

See all Jack Vance's quotes »

Polls

Preliminary Poll for SF Series to start March 15, 2021

Xenogenesis trilogy (AKA Lilith’s Brood) by Octavia E. Butler, 3 books starting with Dawn

10 votes, 14.7%

Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Liu Cixin, 3 books starting with The Three-Body Problem

10 votes, 14.7%

Salvation Sequence by Peter F. Hamilton, 3 books starting with Salvation

9 votes, 13.2%

Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter, 5 books starting with The Long Earth

9 votes, 13.2%

Revenger series by Alastair Reynolds, 3 books starting with Revenger

5 votes, 7.4%

MaddAddam series by Margaret Atwood, 3 books starting with Oryx and Crake

5 votes, 7.4%

Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clarke, 4 books starting with 2001: A Space Odyssey

5 votes, 7.4%

The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson, 5 books starting with The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story

4 votes, 5.9%

Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt, 8 books starting with A Talent for War

3 votes, 4.4%

Uplift Saga by David Brin, 6 books starting with Sundiver

3 votes, 4.4%

Zones of Thoughts series by Vernor Vinge, 3 books starting with A Fire Upon the Deep

2 votes, 2.9%

Starfarers quartet by Vonda N. McIntyre, 4 books starting with Starfarers

1 vote, 1.5%

Spiral Arm series by Michael Flynn, 4 books starting with The January Dancer

1 vote, 1.5%

Planet of Adventure series by Jack Vance, 4 books starting with City of the Chasch

1 vote, 1.5%

Impossible Times trilogy by Mark Lawrence, 3 books starting with One Word Kill

0 votes, 0.0%

68 total votes

7 comments

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Jack Vance’s Followers (1,644)

Jack Vance

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Jack Vance’s books