Jack Vance

[Philip Overby]

Does anyone know much about him? I recently bought an anthology called "Songs of the Dying Earth" which is sort of a tribute to his work. All of the fiction seems very interesting, as the contributors seem to be borrowing from Vance's style, which seems very verbose and poetic yet extremely captivating. The characters and setting are very vivid.

However, I haven't had the pleasure of reading any of Vance's actual work mostly because I'm a slave to Kindle now since I refuse to buy any more paper books (I already have thousands so I don't want any more). Does anyone know much about him or read any of his work? George Martin has mentioned him many times in the past and seems to be a major inspiration to him.

 

[Telcontar]

I haven't read him (yet) unfortunately. I do know that his magic system was the basis for the D&D magic system: memorizing spells that are erased from your mind once you cast them. I know that he was very influential in other ways, and I certainly intend to eventually read his work.

 

[Steerpike]

Vance's Dying Earth books are interesting. Stylistically, they won't seem much like anything you read in modern fantasy. There are pros and cons to Vance's approach and story-telling, but on the whole I did think they were interesting works.

Vance's magic system was, as Telcontar notes, the inspiration for D&D magic. The magicians memorize spells, kind of forcing the energy of the spell onto their brains, and once it is cast it is lost. The spells also have interested names, as I recall, which often include the name of the mage who invented the spell (which is similar to early D&D editions).

 

[Philip Overby]

The reason I brought him up is that he seems to be criminally unread being that he has been so influential. Being that his style stands out amongst most modern fantasy would be an indicator that he'd be a good author to read and study. I'd say from what I've read of this anthology, the writers are trying to do Vance's style justice.

I may be off-base, but Steve Erikson's style must be pretty similar to Vance's. The verbose writing, the wild and fantastic creatures, the bizarre magic. I'm personally interested in this style of fantasy and would like to see more of it.

 

[Steerpike]

Phil:

Go here and click "Look Inside." You'll see quite a few pages, including evidence of "Vancian magic" a couple of pages into the first story.

Amazon.com: Tales of the Dying Earth (9780312874568): Jack Vance: Books