Vance jack

John Holbrook Vance , known as Jack Vance , born the August 28th 1916 with San Francisco, is an American author of Science-fiction, particularly in the style Fantasy . Except Vance Jack, it often uses pseudonyms - Peter Held, John Holbrook, John van See, Alan Wade - to sign its work. He will write even under the name of Ellery Queen three novels - “The Madman Theory”, “The Four Johns” and “has Room to Die in”.

Biography

Vance makes its studies at the university of Berkeley in California and it is there that it begins its training of writer. Large amateur of Jazz, it at that time writes articles for the columns of “Daily Californian”. During the Second world war, Vance is integrated, in 1942, in the merchant navy. It makes profitable this period to write its first news, who will be gathered in the collection “a Magic World”. It publishes its first news, “the World-Thinker”, in 1945 in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories.

In 1997, the Science Fiction Writers off America grants to him the honorary distinction of Grand Master . He had been before the holder of many prices: the Edgar in 1960, the Hugo in 1963 and 1967, the Nebula in 1966, the Jupiter in 1975, the Achievement in 1984, the GilgamXs in 1988 and the World Fantasy in 1990. It also receives, in 1961, the price Edgar Allan Poe for its police news, “The Man in the Cage”.

He exerted a considerable influence on the exotic and picaresque science fiction, that of which testify to the books like the Castle of Lord Valentine of Robert Silverberg, the Master of the shades of Roger Zelazny, Mytale of Ayerdhal or the Song of Cosmos of Roland C. Wagner.

An special issue of the review Bifrost was devoted to him in 2003.

Style of the author

Jack Vance is an excellent storyteller who often places his characters in situations from where they must draw by multiple means, one of them being often astute insolence. There is the burlesque one among characters of Vance.

The talent of Vance is expressed by the creation of very credible cultures. It of described manners and sticks particularly to clothing, the colors and… with the culinary and gastronomical traditions. The frequent use of the put in abyme and the footnotes give substance to its imaginary universes.

Futuristic technologies (or magic) are, in the work of Vance, with the service of the account. The author does not seek to propose them or to marry the most recent technological developments of our time. These futuristic projections côtoient very antiquated elements: thus the spaceship and the animal haulage have established among in the same work.

It frequently describes very codified companies, with the rigid formalism, where the values are reversed radically at the time of exceptional celebrations. The environment of the carnival there is found: the port of the mask makes it possible to gum the social differences and to be devoted to all excesses. For as much, the author never loses sight of the fact the individual destinies of the supporting characters pulled about between their personal aspirations and the constraints of the company in which they live.

The Adventure and the Adventurer are also recurrent themes of work vancian. The voyage, that he is undertaken with an aim initiatory, commercial, tourist or professional or undergone because of slavery, of the escape or the search, is pretext with tasty confrontations with the Other. The false-not cultural one, the diplomatic incident, the bargaining and deception often have consequences that Vance seems to take a malicious pleasure to describe. One frequently finds the prototype of the tourist guide which tries as well as possible to exploit the naivety of its customer or of the merchant which requires an exorbitant price for its goods. The contract, that it is social or commercial, is in the center of the work of Vance. Certain characters are held only one moment to betray it or divert it (cf play of the hadaul) or are to with it of a scrupulous honesty (Jehan Addels, the right-hand man of Gersen in the epic of Princes Démons).

In the final analysis, the hero vancian is often a dark and distant male character who is aware not to be in his place in his environment (the cycle of Tschaï, the face of the demon, Emphyrio, the eternal life, chronicles of Durdane, Marune, Wyst). This perception of the world enables him to adopt a distant and ironic glance on its entourage. If he always triumphs over his tests, he leaves there changed and sometimes disillusioned.

Works

Series

dying Earth

1950 a magic world ( The Dying Earth ) - I read N°836
1965 Cugel the astute ( The Overworld ) - I read N°707
1983 Cugel saga ( Cugel saga ) - I read N°1665
1984 Rhialto the marvellous ( Rhialto the Marvelous ) - I read N°1890, 1985

adventurers of giant planet

1957 the giant planet ( Big Planet ) - Galaxy-(a) N°26
1975 wandering entertainers of giant planet ( Showboat World )

Epic of the Prince-Demons

1964 the prince of the stars ( The Star King )
1964 the machine to kill ( The Killing Machine ) - Galaxy-(a) N°12
1967 the palate of the love ( The Palace off Coils )
1979 the face of the demon ( The Face )
1981 the book of the dreams ( The Book off Dreams )

the Cycle of Tschaï

1968 Chasch ( City off the Chasch ) - I read N°721
1969 Wankh ( Serving off the Wankh ) - I read N°722
1969 Dirdir ( The Dirdir ) - I read N°723
1970 Pnume ( The Pnume ) - I read N°724

Chronicles of Durdane

1973 the man without face ( The Anome )
1973 paladins of freedom ( The Faces Free Men )
1974 Asutra! ( The Asutra )

Cycle of Alastor

1973 Marune : Alastor 993 ( Marune, Alastor 993 ) - I read N°1435
1975 Trullion: Alastor 2262 ( Trullion: Alastor 2262 ) - I read N°1476
1978 Wyst: Alastor 1716 ( Wyst: Alastor 1716 ) - I read N°1516

the cycle of Lyonesse

1983 the garden of Suldrun ( Suldrun' S Garden )
1986 the green pearl ( The Green Pearl )
1989 Madouc ( Madouc )

chronicles of Cadwal

1987 the station of Araminta ( Araminta Station )
1987 Araminta 2 ( Araminta station 2 )
1991 Good old ground ( Ecce and Old Earth )
1992 Throy ( Throy )

Novels SF and fantasy

1953 ( Vandals off the Void )
1953 the planet of damnés the ( Planet off the Damned/Slavic off the Klau )
1953 five gold ribbons ( The Space Pirates/The Five Gold Bands )
1956 eternal life ( To Live Forever )
1958 languages of CAM ( The Languages off CAM )
1963 Masters of the dragons ( The Dragon Masters )
1964 the houses of Iszm ( The Houses off Iszm )
1965 Space operated ( Space Opera )
1966 a world of azure ( The Blue World )
1966 the worlds of Magnus Ridolph ( The Many Worlds off Magnus Ridolph ) - Galaxy-(a) N°45
1969 Emphyrio ( Emphyrio ) - Galaxy-(a) N°58
1973 fields of Koryphon ( The Grey Prince ) the Mask Science Fiction N°87, 1979
1976 a turn in Thaery ( Maske: Thaery )
1996 memory of the stars ( Night Lamp )
1998 Stopovers in the stars ( Ports off Cal )
2004 Lurulu ( Lurulu )

Detective novels

1954 Lily Street ( The House one Lily Street')

1955 Malicious girl or Professor coward ( The View from Chickweed' S Window )

1956 ( Take my Face or The Flesh Mask )

1957 ( Bird Isle or Isle off Danger )

1958 ( Strange People, Queer Concepts )

1959 ( The Man in the Cage )

1964 ( Furnace Men Called John )

1964 a dish which eats cold ( The Fox Valley Murders )

1965 a part to die ( has Room to Die in )

1966 ( The Madman Theory )

1966 Charmants neighbors ( The Pleasant Grove Murders )

1966 ( The Dark Ocean )

1967 The Deadly Isles

1973 Méchant boy ( Bad Ronald )

News

1945 the thinker of worlds ( The World-Thinker ) - Retro Hugo 1996
1946 Phalid ( Phalid' S Fate )
1946 the planet of dust ( Planet off Black Dust )
1947 the castle of your dreams ( I' L Build Your Dream Castle )
1949 Of doubtful sardines ( The Sub-Standard Sardines )
1950 Castle in Hispanie ( New Bodies for Old )
1950 the Potters of Firsk ( The Potters off Firsk )
1950 ( Dead Ahead or Ultimate Quest )
1951 the temple of Han ( The Temple off Han )
1951 Wire of the Tree ( Its off the Tree )
1951 the ten books ( The Ten Books )
1951 the lords of Maxus ( Crusade to Maxus )
1951 an abandoned conquest or Which loses gains ( Winner Roofing stone All )
1951 Main of the Galaxy ( Brain off the Galaxy )
1951 the monumental blunder of Dover Spargill ( Dover Spargill' S Ghastly Floater )
1951 Masquerade on Dicantrope ( Masquerade one Dicantropus )
1951 a gold girl ( Golden delicious Girl )
1951 the robot désinhibé ( The Planet Machine or Phlagian Siphon or The Uninhibited Robot )
1952 the noise ( Noise )
1952 the station Abercrombie ( Abercrombie Station )
1952 Cholwell and its hens ( Cholwell' S Chicken )
1952 Telek ( Telek )
1952 ( Sabotage one Sulfur Planet )
1952 ( Seven Exits from Bocz )
1953 Displaced persons ( DP! )
1953 Mytr ( The Mitr )
1953 Gathering ( Shape-Up )
1953 the War of ecologies ( Ecological Onslaught )
1953 Four hundred blackbirds ( Furnace Hundred Blackbirds )
1953 Sjambak ( Sjambak )
1953 Joe Three-Legs ( Three-Legged Joe )
1954 When the five moons rise ( When the Five Moons Rise )
1954 The magic princess ( The Enchanted Princess )
1954 ( The Absent-Minded Professor ) - text not SF
1955 the gift of the glibness ( The Gift off Gab )
1955 Miss Universe ( Meet Miss Universe )
1956 Not of fall ( Where Hesperus Falls )
1956 ( The Phantom Milkman )
1957 the return of the men ( The Men Return )
1957 Host ( The House Lords )
1957 ( has Practical Man' S Guide )
1958 the retirement of Ullward ( Ullward' S Retreat )
1958 miracle-workers ( The Miracle Workers )
1958 Parapsyché ( Parapsyche )
1959 devil of the hill of the hello ( The Devil one Salvation Bluff )
1959 works of Dodkin ( Dodkin' S Job )
1961 the moon butterfly ( The Moon Moth )
1961 the syndrome of the man increased ( The Augmented Agent )
1962 doors of elsewhere the ( Sail 25 )
1963 green Magic ( Green Magic )
1965 the higher world ( The Overworld )
1965 mountains of magnatz ( The Mountains off Magnatz )
1965 Pharesme the wizard ( The Sorcerer Pharesm )
1965 the arch of Alfred ( Alfred' S Ark )
1965 the pilgrims ( The Pilgrims )
1966 manor house of Iucounu ( The Manse off Iucounu )
1966 the last castle ( The Last Castle ) - Price Hugo 1967, Price Nebula 1966
1966 the secrecy ( Secret The )
1966 ( The Brains off Earth or Nopalgarth )
1967 the man of Zodiac ( The Man from Zodiac )
1967 narrow Earth ( The Narrow Land )
1968 the planet of Sulwen ( Sulwen' S Planet )
1973 the large rattan ( Rumfuddle )
1974 Alice and the city ( Assault one has City )
1975 the tourist agency of the Burrow ( The Dogtown Tourist Agency )
1977 the Turn of Freizke ( Freizke' S Turn )
1985 ( Cat Island )
1989 ( From Life, Volume 1, by Unspiek, Baron Bodissey )

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