This is my second day in Athens, and I woke up to find an email telling me that Jack Vance, the author I most admire, has died after a good, long life. The thought that keeps going through my mind is that I could have taken the time to get down to Oakland and meet him, to tell him how much his work has meant to me.

To those of you who have goals you want to fulfill someday, don’t let that day wait too long. Some doors close, never to reopen.

To those of you who have never read Vance, I envy you the discovery of one of the great, singular voices in literature. Note that I’m not saying “in science fiction or fantasy” — but the whole great megillah of the human experience laid down in letters over the centuries by the best minds the species has produced.

He was that good. And by his work he will be remembered, long after the rest of us are wandering among the shades.