Jack Vance, visionary author of The Dying Earth saga and beyond
The lonely dreamer who became a sorcerer
by Keith Purtell
©1996, 2023 by Robert Sneddon
New to Vance? Start here: Top 10 most popular titles
Jack Vance’s most popular and influential works often center around his distinct ‘Gaean Reach’ universe, with key highlights including
• the foundational Dying Earth series (especially The Dying Earth and The Eyes of the Overworld);
• the revenge-driven Demon Princes saga (Star King, The Killing Machine, The Face);
• the colorful Planet of Adventure series (City of the Chasch, Servants of the Wankh [Wannek], The Dirdir, The Pnume);
• the Celtic-inspired fantasy Lyonesse Trilogy; and
• stand-alone gems like Emphyrio and The Moon Moth,
showcasing his unique style and world-building.
His illusions of alien cultures rely on a use of language patterns derived from baroque idioms. Vance also possesses a talent for inventing convincing character and place-names, and a finely-honed wit.
Despite Vance’s imaginative wandering, there is continuity in many of his themes. One example: His recurring social climbers, religious nuts, and narcissists constitute a long-running and withering satire of human pomposity.
Jack Vance full works (via Wikipedia)
| Dying Earth |
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| Demon Princes |
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| Planet of Adventure |
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| Durdane |
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| Alastor |
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| Lyonesse |
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| Cadwal Chronicles |
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| Ports of Call |
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| Other works |
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| Short fiction |
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| Autobiography |
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| See also |
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The 'mysterious author' legend
About the girl next door
Many aspiring writers asked, how did Jack Vance do it? How did he write so eloquently? Many were tantalized that perhaps he had some exotic method.
Vance's books and stories have been highly regarded for graceful and colorful prose. His work received a large number of awards and earned countless devoted fans.
At rare public appearances, Vance played it pretty coy, which only fed the speculation.
Then, at age 93, he released his autobiography "This is Me, Jack Vance!" Vance revealed that he and his wife, Norma, were writing partners. Norma typed up and edited his longhand drafts. Their travels around the world and mutual affection fed his creativity.
The imagined secret writing formula evaporated. How did the lonely dreamer become a sorcerer? In the warmth of his marriage to Norma, where he was not lonely.
Thirty-five years earlier, I had been amazed to discover Jack Vance’s writing at a local library. That first exposure in 1973 was a dazzling experience. On entry into the vault of his imagination, I found a whole series of other-worldly societies, all populated by iridescent and peculiar beings.
I felt mesmerized by his stories, as I stepped into a verisimilitude that provided sensual relief from everyday life in Oklahoma.
Lumped into the science fiction category by book stores and libraries, Vance’s books bore little resemblance to the technology-obsessed material on the same shelf.
His 2013 obituary in The Guardian confirmed the Jack and Norma creative partnership:
"Vance claimed that Norma worked on his stories and books as hard as he did..."
➤ And yet again in this 2020 interview with Jack and Norma's son, John H. Vance II:
John Grayshaw:
"Was your dad's writing a significant part of your family life? What I mean is, was it talked about, part of dinner table conversation, and so on, or was it regarded as just dad's job?"
John H. Vance, II:
"Writing took place practically every day, wherever we were. Both parents were involved, the work permeated our lives. The names of other authors were familiar, publishers and agents, fans who went on to become writers and so on; many I never met but familiarity made them all feel part of the family. Talk of correspondence, deals, editing, checks in the mailbox or poste restante, the sound of my mother's typewriter were always in the air. In old photographs I like to search for Dad's clipboard, fountain pens, or inks, which may be found in a surprising number of images."
—Science Fiction Book Club; Interview with John Vance II (April 2020)
➤ Recently I came across an essay by David B. Williams, from which I have quoted:
To cap his Worldcon Guest of Honor selection in 1992, Vance’s professional colleagues in the Science Fiction Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1997. He had long expected to be named. “I think it was something I'd been waiting for for many years,” he told an interviewer on the Sci-Fi Channel, “and when it came I was properly, uh, not thankful, or grateful or anything, but I kind of took it for granted. I went to Kansas City, and I was polite; I got up and made a little speech, said thank you, accepted the award, came home and put it somewhere, I don't know where it is.” (Vance couldn't see it, but in 2004 his Grand Master trophy was on display in the central dining/living room of the Oakland hills house beside a World Fantasy Award.)
The fact that Vance long expected to be named a Grand Master indicates that he recognizes his high status in the field; yet typically, he distances himself from the honor, disclaiming gratitude or special satisfaction in the achievement. Paul Rhoads has pondered on this trait: “I am intrigued by Jack's ambiguous relationship to his success/non-success. I think he knows who he is (an exceptionally great artist) but that his life experience and character are such that his natural exuberance and combativeness have become hidden so that he practices a modesty and detachment not fully representative of his deeper character.”
One important element of that life experience was the years Vance spent writing for the cheap, gaudy SF pulp magazines for as little as half a cent per word, followed by many more years as a novelist whose work appeared almost exclusively in paperback editions without serious critical attention.
Nonetheless, son John testifies that his father does derive satisfaction from the creative process: “Growing up, when I was fooling around, running around the house while Dad was writing, occasionally out of nowhere he'd chuckle to himself. It was very clear that he was enjoying what he was doing—that the writer was having a good time.”
Essay at Mike Berro's "Vance Museum".
Vance’s prose is absolutely recognizable within the first few paragraphs. He's an American original with an unmistakable voice.
Vance obviously worked hard to assemble his ornamented structures. But, there is also a sense of delight; mischief in the characters and dialogue. Sometimes, violence looms behind a pretense of politeness, as if civilization is an articulated veil on a brutish face.
But we now know he was not in solitude, like the gunfighters in Clint Eastwood movies. Vance’s autobiography had introduced the simple truth: Team Vance.
Vance actually enjoyed three careers as a writer, since he also wrote successful fantasy (Lyonesse) under the same name and has earned critical acclaim for mysteries (The Fox Valley Murders) penned under the name John Holbrook.
... a writer of science fiction and high epic fantasy whose work was oddly at variance with the journeyman genre in which it first appeared. His proses—detailed, exotic, resonant of feelings, sounds and fragrances—soared well above the requirements of the genre; he described alien landscapes with bizarre and inventive energy in language that was ambitious, wordy, sometimes lurid, always bold."—The Guardian
Vance’s contemporaries — like Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. LeGuin and Gene Wolfe — often garner more praise from critics. The reasons for this have a lot to do with personality types. Vance has a craftsman personality. That puts him a bit at variance with authors whose success in mainstream fiction is mostly due to their ambition to be artists, and definitely at odds with most critics, who seem to be intellectuals.
The story of Jack Vance is the story of the author as individualist. Vance’s willful divergence from accepted tenets also constitutes a refusal to cooperate with the standardization of American “science fiction;” a sameness that remains apparent.
Is it escapism? On a certain level, yes. The typical Vance hero suffers but always triumphs over hardship, is gifted with confidence, intelligence, useful skills and luck. In real life, many people pour out their energy, only to be disappointed. Vance’s writing is therefore escapism on the level that such satisfying adventures are often wish fulfillment.
Having said that, if art educates and uplifts, and entertainment distracts and amuses, Team Vance navigated a tightrope between the two.
The VIE
➤ No description of Vance’s literary status and the allegiance it has inspired in readers would be complete without recognizing the Vance Integral Edition. In 1999, more than 300 volunteers from across the globe began work on the VIE. For six years, they cooperated via the Internet to create a definitive and complete edition of Vance’s work in 44 volumes.
The books were published in a “Readers” style with leather spine, and full-leather “Deluxe” version. The price for a Readers subscription started at $1,250, then rose to $1,500. Deluxe subscription was $3,000. Several dozen sets were donated to libraries. It was an amazing accomplishment with one flaw: Most Vance aficionados simply couldn’t afford the cost, and the press run was sadly inadequate at approximately 600 sets.
Other special work
Underwood Miller in 1981(?) published editions of The Demon Princes series. Illustrations by Randy Broecker and not used by the publisher were acquired by Arrick Un Rama of Arizona.
Un Rama said in a Facebook post: "The first piece next to each book was published as the title page in each book. The additional art was produced at the same time but the publisher decided not to put them in the books. Except for The Face: all of the illustrations seen here were in the book."
➤ UPDATE: Spatterlight Press has announced the Signature Series; "...an integral Jack Vance edition in 62 deluxe paperbacks. Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collection is based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition." Details at the official Jack Vance website.
UPDATE: July of 2026, I received a paperback Spatterlight Press edition of Jack's autobiography "This Is Me, Jack Vance!" Quality printing and many photos from the lives of Jack and Norma. I once thought of his books as from a mysterious man in a cave on top of a remote mountain. Now, I think of them as a kind expression of Team Vance.
According to "This Is Me...", Jack signed up in 1943 with the Merchant Marine. The star chart story is my favorite of his seaman experiences:
My next three ships were all tankers. On each occasion I signed on as quartermaster, which meant no more, or very little, deckwork. I always hoped to find a ship fitted out with an iron mike—which means that a gyroscope steers the ship and that the quartermaster has little to do but chat with the mate on duty—but I was never this lucky, and so had to stand at that wheel four hours at a time.
Aboard another tanker, the Verendrye, I obtained some luminous tape and, for no particular reason, created a star chart on the overhead of our forecastle, with the major constellations, the first and second magnitude stars picked out accurately. The captain, learning of this enterprise, came down to the forecastle, lay down on his back, looked up and marveled at this unprecedented creation. At the end of the voyage, he gave me a glossy photograph of the ship signed with his name and best regards. I still have this photograph and am naturally very proud of it.”
Of Jack’s stories...
My personal favorite was Emphyrio, one of the first Vancian tales I read. When I met Jack and Norma in 1997 in Kansas City, and pronounced it with a long “y” Em- 'fy -ree-o, he gently corrected me, explaining that the second syllable rhymed with "fear." It was Em- 'fear -ee-o.
To this day, I have vivid images in my mind from the book. Such as: Ghyl (the main character) as a boy in the space-yard, admiring the beautiful rockets. Or Ghyl working alongside his father in the wood shop, and the love he felt.
More information (new windows):
- The New York Times on Vance (PDF)
- Jack Vance books at Amazon.com
- Vance’s “Emphyrio” discussed or read it as a PDF
- An Apple podcase featuring John H. Vance and Koen Vyverman, both with Spatterlight Press: Sanctum Secorum and also on YouTube.
(photo by David M. Alexander)
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