Jack Vance books?

[Daedalus]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any of the Jack Vance fantasy novels...I've been curious to read about 'Vancian' magic for quite a while now =)

 

[drnuncheon]

Well, for the 'Vancian magic' that D&D is based on, you want Tales from the Dying Earth. It's four novels that have been collected and reprinted under one cover, and is pretty widely available online and in bookstores.

Excellent reads.

J

 

[Dinkeldog]

Moved to the fantasy books forum because this is about, uh, fantasy books...

 

[Vargo]

I've read both Rhialto the Magnificent and Cugel's Saga, as Tales of the Dying Earth wasn't availible at my library.

I can tell you right now that neither of those two delve deeply into the subject of how Vancian magic works, other than a quick jab at naming in the prior work. Sadly, I also found that both of them were not exactly amazing pieces of literature - while the worldscapes and attitudes seemed quite interesting and different, the writing came across as sub-par and boring. Just IMO, and I'm willing to entertain other opinions, but just giving you fair warning.

 

[Richards]

The four-volume set mentioned above contains the following titles:

The Dying Earth
The Eyes of the Overworld
Cugel the Clever
Rhialto the Marvellous

I've got them in a 4-volume set with a different title (The Compleat Dying Earth) that I got through the Science Fiction Book Club a couple years back. Anyway, you can read those four in any order, really; despite the fact that Cugel the Clever is a direct sequel to Eyes of the Overworld, I don't think you'll have any trouble if you read them the other way around. (Some of the individual books are hard to find nowadays, so there's no guarantee you'll be able to read them in order unless you find one of the 4-in-1 volumes.) The Dying Earth is a collection of short stories, and the characters in Rhialto the Marvellous are different from those found in the other books.

Enjoy! Reading Jack Vance is an experience like no other.

Johnathan

 

[Claude Raines]

It doesn't have "Vancian" magic, but the book Lyonesse by the same author is really good.

 

[Daedalus]

wow

Thanks for all of the help, I appreciate it!

 

[Farganger]

Sadly, I also found that both of them were not exactly amazing pieces of literature - while the worldscapes and attitudes seemed quite interesting and different, the writing came across as sub-par and boring. Just IMO, and I'm willing to entertain other opinions, but just giving you fair warning.

Seeing Vance's writing described as "sub-par" made me strangely sad.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Vance's writing style in The Dying Earth and The Eyes of the Overworld is nothing short of brilliant. 99.9% of all the writers out there could only hope to have the talent Vance has in crafting with the English language.

It should be noted that only The Dying Earth and Eyes of the Overworld were published before D&D was created, and would be the ones most directly responsible for Vancian magic in D&D. The Dying Earth, the oldest, is generally considered to be the finest of all Vance's books in that setting.

 

[S'mon]

I agree that of the 4 Dying Earth novels, the first two are definitely the best, especially the short stories of 'Tales. Rhialto is a bit of a let-down in comparison, I guess. Still good though.