Vance, John Holbrook     (USA, 1916-2013*)

(Pseudonyms: Alan Wade; Peter Held; Ellery Queen; John Van See)
Awards:
Nebula Award (1966)
World Fantasy Award [1990)
Hugo Award (1963, 1967)
Awards with No Bibliographic Records:
Nebula Award (1996)
World Fantasy Award (1984) for Life Achievement

One of the most prolific careers in Science-Fiction/Fantasy history began when John Holbrook "Jack" Vance was born in San Francisco on August 28, 1916. He has over 60 books to his name, including the famed Tschai and Dying Earth series'. He began writing during his service in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II and has continued through many genres and characters, while still retaining the creativity and imagination that makes him one of the best. Despite his genius, he remains largely unheralded in the U.S. Most of his books are out of print and some only remain in Dutch and French translations. The reasons for this are two. Firstly, his work does not strictly or properly classify as science-fiction, insofar as science-fiction enthusiasts are concerned. The humanity of his stories permeates deeper and more thoroughly than any fantastical element. His work simply transcends genre in its craft and execution. The second reason is his unique lack of pretentiousness. He writes neither for critical acclaim nor for the attention of the mainstream. His loyalties lie solely with his readers and their satisfaction. (His lack of self-promotion shows most evidently when one looks for biographical information.) This turn of affairs in unfortunate, for how do we come to the point when an author of such merit can be largely disregarded for his refusal to conform to an already over-milked genre? It is not often that a man of such genius also has such virtue and modesty, truly a great man of our time, though he might not say so.


Series
    Durdane
        1 The Anome
        2 The Brave, Free Men (1973)
        3 The Asutra (1974)

    Gaean Reach
        Cadwell Chronicles
            1 Araminta Station (1987)
            2 Ecce and Old Earth (1991)
            3 Throy (1992)
        Gaean Reach
            1 The Gray Prince (1974)
            2 Maske: Thaery (1976)
        Demon Princes
            1 The Star King (1964)
            2 The Killing Machine (1964)
            3 The Palace of Love (1967)
            4 The Face (1979)
            5 The Book of Dreams (1981)
        Alastor Cluster
            1 Wyst: Alastor 1716 (1978)
            2 Trullion: Alastor 2262 (1973)
            3 Marune: Alastor 933 (1975)

    Big Planet
        1 Big Planet (1952)
        2 Showboat World (1975)

    Planet of Adventure
        1 City of the Chasch (1968)
        2 Servants of the Wankh (1969)
        3 The Dirdir (1969)
        4 The Pnume (1970)

    Dying Earth
        1 The Dying Earth (1950)
        2 The Eyes of the Overworld (1966)
        3 Cugel's Saga (1983)
        4 Rhialto the Marvellous (1984)
        The Laughing Magician (1998)

    Lyonesse
        1 Lyonesse: Suldrun's Garden (1983) Winner: 1984 World Fantasy Award
        2 Lyonesse: The Green Pearl (1985)
        3 Lyonesse: Madouc (1989) Winner: 1990 World Fantasy Award

Novels
    The Five Gold Bands (1953)
    To Live Forever (1956)
    The Languages of Pao (1958)
    Slaves of the Klau (1958)
    The Dragon Masters (1962)
    The Houses of Iszm (1964)
    Son of the Tree (1964)
    The Blue World (1965) Winner: 1966 Nebula Award
    Space Opera (1965)
    The Brains of Earth (1966)
    Emphyrio (1969)
    Bad Ronald (1973)
    The Grey Prince (1973) - Serialized as "The Domains of Koryphon".
    The Dogtown Tourist Agency (1975)
    A Room to Die In (1987) as Ellery Queen
    The Madman Theory (1988) as Ellery Queen
    Night Lamp (1996)
    Ports of Call (1998)
    Lurulu (2000)
    Ports of Call #2 (2000)
    Lurulu (sequel to Ports of Call, announced but not scheduled)
       (forthcoming)

Collections
    The Dying Earth (1950)
    Future Tense (1964)
    Monsters in Orbit (1965)
    The World Between and Other Stories (1965)
    The Eyes of the Overworld (1966)
    The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph (1966)
    Eight Fantasms and Magics (1969)
    The Worlds of Jack Vance (1973)
    Best of Jack Vance (1976)
    The Best of Jack Vance (1976)
    The Moon Moth (1976)
    Fantasms and Magics (1978)
    Green Magic (1979)
    Galactic Effectuator (1980)
    Nopalgarth (1980)
    Dust of Far Suns (1981)
    Lost Moons (1982)
    The Narrow Land (1982)
    Cugel's Saga (1983)
    Rhialto the Marvellous (1984)
    Magicon Original Bookmark Anthology, #7 (1989)
    When the Five Moons Rise (1992)

Omnibus
    The Compleat Dying Earth (1999)

Non-Fiction
    The Fox Valley Murders (1968) as John Holbrook Vance

Short Fiction
    Biological Onslaught (unknown)
    The World-Thinker (1945)
    Phalid's Fate (1946)
    Planet of the Black Dust (1946)
    Dream Castle (1947)
    I'll Build Your Dream Castle (1947)
    Hard-Luck Diggings (1948)
    Sanatoris Short-Cut (1948)
    The Unspeakable McInch (1948)
    The Howling Bounders (1949)
    The King of Thieves (1949)
    The Sub-Standard Sardines (1949)
    Chateau D'If (1950)
    Cosmic Hotfoot (1950)
    The Five Gold Bands (1950)
    Guyal of Sfere (1950)
    Liane the Wayfarer (1950)
    The Loom of Darkness (1950)
    Mazirian the Magician (1950)
    New Bodies for Old (1950)
    The Potters of Firsk (1950)
    The Spa of the Stars (1950)
    T'sais (1950)
    To B or Not to C or to D (1950)
    Turjan of Miir (1950)
    Ulan Dhor Ends a Dream (1950)
    Brain of the Galaxy (1951)
    The Masquerade on Dicantropus (1951)
    Men of the Ten Books (1951)
    The New Prime (1951)
    Overlords of Maxus (1951)
    The Plagian Siphon (1951)
    Son of the Tree (1951)
    Temple of Han (1951)
    The Ten Books (1951)
    Winner Lose All (1951)
    Abercrombie Station (1952)
    Cholwell's Chickens (1952)
    The Kokod Warriors (1952)
    Noise (1952)
    Sabotage on Sulfur Planet (1952)
    Sabotage on Sulphur Planet (1952)
    Seven Exits from Bocz (1952)
    Telek (1952)
    DP! (1953)
    Four Hundred Blackbirds (1953)
    The Mitr (1953)
    Sjambak (1953)
    Three-Legged Joe (1953)
    The World Between (1953)
    The Devil on Salvation Bluff (1954)
    The Dreamer (1954)
    The Houses of Iszm (1954)
    When the Five Moons Rise (1954)
    The Gift of Gab (1955)
    Meet Miss Universe (1955)
    Where Hesperus Falls (1956)
    The Men Return (1957)
    A Practical Man's Guide (1957)
    Coup de Grace (1958)
    The Miracle-Workers (1958)
    Parapsyche (1958)
    Ullward's Retreat (1958)
    Dodkin's Job (1959)
    The Augmented Agent (1961)
    I-C-a-BeM (1961)
    The Moon Moth (1961)
    The Dragon Masters (1962) Winner: 1963 Hugo Award
    Dust of Far Suns (1962)
    Gateway to Strangeness (1962)
    Sail 25 (1962)
    Green Magic (1963)
    The Kragen (1964)
    Alfred's Ark (1965)
    The Overworld (1965)
    The Brains of Earth (1966)
    The Cave in the Forest (1966)
    Cil (1966)
    The Last Castle (1966) Winner: 1966 Nebula Award; 1967 Hugo Award
    The Manse of Iucounu (1966) Winner: 1966 Nebula Award
    The Mountains of Magnatz (1966)
    Nopalgarth (1966)
    The Pilgrims (1966)
    The Secret (1966)
    The Sorcerer Pharesm (1966)
    The Man from Zodiac (1967)
    The Narrow Land (1967)
    Sulwen's Planet (1968)
    Morreion (1973)
    Rumfuddle (1973)
    Assault on a City (1974)
    The Seventeen Virgins (1974)
    The Bagful of Dreams (1977)
    Freitzke's Turn (1977)
    Aboard the Galante (1983)
    The Caravan (1983)
    The Columns (1983)
    Faucelme (1983)
    Flutic (1983)
    The Four Wizards (1983)
    The Inn of the Blue Lamps (1983)
    Lausicaa (1983)
    The Ocean of Sighs (1983)
    On the Docks (1983)
    Spatterlight (1983)
    From Life, Volume 1, by Unspiek, Baron Bodissey (1989)

Non-Genre
    The Four Johns (1964) as Ellery Queen
    The Deadly Isles (1969) as John Holbrook Vance - Mystery novel
    Bad Ronald (1973)
    Strange Notions & The Dark Ocean (1985)
    Bird Isle (1988)
    Take My Face (1988)

Essays/Articles
    Foreword (Eight Fantasms and Magics) (1969)
    Preface to the Collection (1976)
    Foreword (Fantasms and Magics) (1978)
    Foreword (Lost Moons) (1982)
    Introduction (Blue Tyson) (1992)


* Editors note:

Jack Vance died at his Oakland, California home May 26, 2013 at the age of 96.

Sources: http://www.sfsite.com/isfdb-bin/exact_author.cgi?Jack_Vance; http://www.vanceintegral.com