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Sad to hear that the vastly underrated #scifi author Jack Vance has died. He leaves behind an amazing body of work. http://t.co/rwNFtaLzRr


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197 points

Sad to hear that the vastly underrated #scifi author Jack Vance has died. He leaves behind an amazing body of work. http://t.co/rwNFtaLzRr


2 Comments

  1. Even though some of his book covers are vividly engrained in my brain, I never owned a Jack Vance book nor have I ever read one. For whatever reason, I just never picked up any of his stuff. He did live to a ripe old age so he got to satisfy his fans for a long time.

    1. He’s one of those authors who I ignored for a long time. I’d see all sorts of his books when perusing the shelves at my favourite used book stores, but nothing ever caught my eye. I was vaguely aware of his most famous book, The Dying Earth, but everything else was a blur.

      The more critical essays I read about him and the more I encountered his fervent fans, I figured there must be something I’m missing so I decided to read some of his books. I read some fantasy and some straight science fiction and thought they were wonderful.

      He was pretty prolific and he has a multitude of series and one-offs so I think the biggest problem for a first-time reader is figuring out where to start. I guess The Dying Earth is the obvious selection, but you may find other entry points.

      Check out this essay about rereading The Dying Earth: http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0702/ref.shtml. If it resonates with you, then you may be interested in picking up a copy.

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