Foreverness

Jack Vance

Jack Vance passed away at home on the evening of Sunday May 26, 2013, ending a long, rich and productive life. Recognized most widely as an author, family and friends also knew a generous, large-hearted, rugged, genial, hard-working, optimistic and unpretentious individual whose curiosity, sense of wonder and sheer love of life were an inspiration in themselves. Author, friend, father and grandfather – there will never be another like Jack Vance.



~ ☆ Raise a Toast to Jack Vance ☆ ~



"At the last moments of the universe, with eternal darkness converging from all sides, surely someone will arise and cry out: ‘Hold back the end for a final moment, while I pay tribute to the gallant brewmasters who have provided us a pathway of golden glory down the fading corridors of time!’ And then, is it not possible that a bright gap will appear in the dark, through which the brewmasters are allowed to proceed, to build a finer universe?"

- Lurulu -



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Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:04
Unforgettable. One of the prime writers who introduced me to worlds without number and beyond wonder. You will be sorely missed.
Mike Benson

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:04
Unforgettable. One of the prime writers who introduced me to worlds without number and beyond wonder. You will be sorely missed.
Mike Benson
Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:02
I loved Jack's space operas as a kid.
Very formative literature for me.
He was a master of his craft.
Rest in peace, Maestro!
Eric Funston

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:02
I loved Jack's space operas as a kid.
Very formative literature for me.
He was a master of his craft.
Rest in peace, Maestro!
Eric Funston
Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:02
Sad news to hear, Jack has long been my favorite writer and what a legacy he has left behind him. Warm thoughts to his friends and family.
Mike McLatchey

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:02
Sad news to hear, Jack has long been my favorite writer and what a legacy he has left behind him. Warm thoughts to his friends and family.
Mike McLatchey
Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
"cups of fluff and iridescent fluff, puddles of colour and wafts of light-shot gauze"

The most elegant, sinuous, beautiful prose in genre fiction, possibly all fiction. The writer who has given me the most enduring personal pleasure over the last 25 years. A nonpareil.

I will raise a glass, of the finest single malt that I can afford, to the best times shared between a writer and a reader.
Richard Butler

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
"cups of fluff and iridescent fluff, puddles of colour and wafts of light-shot gauze"

The most elegant, sinuous, beautiful prose in genre fiction, possibly all fiction. The writer who has given me the most enduring personal pleasure over the last ... click to read more
Richard Butler
Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
Bye old pal. Space and fantasy won't be as fun as they used to be with you.
The wonderful places of the dying earth can now slowly and peacefully die under a dying sun, while, we, little Cugels of no significance are still bickering under your magnificent shadow.
Doc-Fox

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
Bye old pal. Space and fantasy won't be as fun as they used to be with you.
The wonderful places of the dying earth can now slowly and peacefully die under a dying sun, while, we, little Cugels of no significance are still bickering under your ... click to read more
Doc-Fox
Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
Les romans de Jack Vance m'ont longtemps émerveillé : rêves de voyages exotiques et lointains, aventures épiques bien menées.
J'ai eu soif de ses univers à une époque où ma vie était un peu trop terne, et j'en ai profité, de ses talents de conteur ! Jack Vance avait l'art de créer des univers hauts en couleur. Lorsqu'un personnage comme lui s'en va, c'est une partie de mon âme que D.ieu me reprend et je me sens comme orphelin...
Jean Clment Demaret

Wednesday 29 May 2013 17:00
Les romans de Jack Vance m'ont longtemps émerveillé : rêves de voyages exotiques et lointains, aventures épiques bien menées.
J'ai eu soif de ses univers à une époque où ma vie était un peu trop terne, et j'en ai profité, de ses talents ... click to read more
Jean Clment Demaret
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
Thanks for all the beautiful words and worlds, Mr Vance.
Here's to your zestful wit, wistfulness, intricacy, colour, cleverness and incredible imagination.
To your unique way of gently highlighting the ridiculous in human behaviour, and also the pathos in it. And to all the ideas which are as fresh now as they were when they were first written.
You have given me big joy. X
Emily Jones

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
Thanks for all the beautiful words and worlds, Mr Vance.
Here's to your zestful wit, wistfulness, intricacy, colour, cleverness and incredible imagination.
To your unique way of gently highlighting the ridiculous in human behaviour, and also the ... click to read more
Emily Jones
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
At my first publishing job, Jack was the fourth author I signed; a couple of years later, he was an unforgettable and wonderful guest of honor at the 1976 Scandinavian SF Convention in Stockholm, which I co-chaired. After that, we stayed in touch for years; I've slept in his son's water bed, sailed with him in San Francisco Bay, and, coming from a small country where a trip of fifty miles is considered travelling, will never forget the time he packed me and the friends I was touring the States with into his car in San Francisco to buy us a truly great lunch. He drove us over 120 miles to Big Sur, where we had hamburgers. It really was great. As was his friendliness, late-night banjo playing, his humor, his stories and his writing. To me he was, and remains, one of the very few indispensable science fiction authors, and one of the even fewer I believe will continue to be read and cherished.
John-Henri Holmberg

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
At my first publishing job, Jack was the fourth author I signed; a couple of years later, he was an unforgettable and wonderful guest of honor at the 1976 Scandinavian SF Convention in Stockholm, which I co-chaired. After that, we stayed in touch ... click to read more
John-Henri Holmberg
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
Vale Jack, Paramount Grand Master of Science fiction/fantasy. You've been part of my life since I discovered Star King in 1967 at the local library. My world of imagination exploded and my love of the literary turn of phrase and rich storytelling was magnified. There's a little bar on Alphanor I'm sure you'll frequent. Eventually I'll meet you there for some jazz, drinks and stories.
Paul Holland

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:58
Vale Jack, Paramount Grand Master of Science fiction/fantasy. You've been part of my life since I discovered Star King in 1967 at the local library. My world of imagination exploded and my love of the literary turn of phrase and rich storytelling ... click to read more
Paul Holland
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:57
Good bye and thank you for the wonderful histories you weaved for us.
Fabio Milito Pagliara

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:57
Good bye and thank you for the wonderful histories you weaved for us.
Fabio Milito Pagliara
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:56
So long and thank you for everything. We can't even begin to say how much we will miss you! Rest in piece!
Upcoming4.me

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:56
So long and thank you for everything. We can't even begin to say how much we will miss you! Rest in piece!
Upcoming4.me
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:55
Thank you for many hours reading, filled with amazement and wonder that will never be forgotten
Marlo

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:55
Thank you for many hours reading, filled with amazement and wonder that will never be forgotten
Marlo
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:54
I was leaving Hawai'i after a semester abroad, and I only had money for one book at the airport, before embarking on a 36 hour trip back home. Began reading about Turjan of Miir, but instead of plowing through the book and moving on, I stopped repeatedly throughout to process the magic I hadn't experienced anything like before.
Jonas Holth

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:54
I was leaving Hawai'i after a semester abroad, and I only had money for one book at the airport, before embarking on a 36 hour trip back home. Began reading about Turjan of Miir, but instead of plowing through the book and moving on, I stopped ... click to read more
Jonas Holth
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:54
There will never be another Jack Vance. His books have brought me more delight than anyone with the exception of Mark Twain.
Fred

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:54
There will never be another Jack Vance. His books have brought me more delight than anyone with the exception of Mark Twain.
Fred
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:51
Such an influential writer - not sure if current RPGs could exist without him
Anonymous

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:51
Such an influential writer - not sure if current RPGs could exist without him
Anonymous
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:51
Farewell, master of the twilight hours.
Fred Behrendt

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:51
Farewell, master of the twilight hours.
Fred Behrendt
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:50
some few words from France where Mr Vance is very appreciated. i'm sorry to learn his death. happily, he had the time to write some good books, for me the
Tschaï cycle, reading in college, with Asimov, Herbert, Barjavel and many more of course...
we still read you. best regards. death is only a dream, you'll be reading for a long time.
Gulzar Joby

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:50
some few words from France where Mr Vance is very appreciated. i'm sorry to learn his death. happily, he had the time to write some good books, for me the
Tschaï cycle, reading in college, with Asimov, Herbert, Barjavel and many more of ... click to read more
Gulzar Joby
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
One of our great writers in SF and Fantasy. For me, "The Dragon Riders" gripped me by the throat as a young man and it NEVER let me go.
Steven Gould

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
One of our great writers in SF and Fantasy. For me, "The Dragon Riders" gripped me by the throat as a young man and it NEVER let me go.
Steven Gould
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
Thank you for introducing me to your wonderful worlds filled with amazing and unique characters. Though some of your worlds were really bizarre and sometimes scary, as a boy I secretly wished I lived in one of them just so I could meet its strange inhabitants and taste its delicious food.
Your stories are a joy and an inspiration and I will revisit them often.
Richard Vermaas

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
Thank you for introducing me to your wonderful worlds filled with amazing and unique characters. Though some of your worlds were really bizarre and sometimes scary, as a boy I secretly wished I lived in one of them just so I could meet its strange ... click to read more
Richard Vermaas
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
I loved the Dying Earth novels since my first one in the sixties with Cugel I was hooked from then onwards what a brilliant writer and master of words. RIP

Anonymous

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:48
I loved the Dying Earth novels since my first one in the sixties with Cugel I was hooked from then onwards what a brilliant writer and master of words. RIP

Anonymous
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
A thrice toast to Mr. Vance! For bringing a little light and cunning humour to these Sandestin-forsaken realms.
Jos Luiz F Cardoso

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
A thrice toast to Mr. Vance! For bringing a little light and cunning humour to these Sandestin-forsaken realms.
Jos Luiz F Cardoso
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
Every word you wrote was golden, and every book a keeper, and there was music and wine and color in every page. You've left us a rich legacy, and we'll keep it polished and shining for the ages.
Steve Hooley

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
Every word you wrote was golden, and every book a keeper, and there was music and wine and color in every page. You've left us a rich legacy, and we'll keep it polished and shining for the ages.
Steve Hooley
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
I've been enjoying his delightful stories for many years now, and my appreciation of them has grown. There are still some I've never read. I'll treasure them more when I do. Then reread.
Martijn Faassen

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:46
I've been enjoying his delightful stories for many years now, and my appreciation of them has grown. There are still some I've never read. I'll treasure them more when I do. Then reread.
Martijn Faassen
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:45
It is on sad days like today where I am thankful people like Kirth Gersen are out there somewhere, keeping us safe from the Demon Princes...
PR

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:45
It is on sad days like today where I am thankful people like Kirth Gersen are out there somewhere, keeping us safe from the Demon Princes...
PR
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:45
Thanks for the ride, Master. It has been a rollercoaster, but a great one.
John law

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:45
Thanks for the ride, Master. It has been a rollercoaster, but a great one.
John law
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:42
I will never forget the visits I had with Jack and his family. He was a gracious host, curious about his guests, conversant on just about any topic that came up, and humble about his amazing work. He was truly a legend, and he will inspire readers and authors long into the future. Thanks for living such a long and productive life, Jack!
Bob Kruger

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:42
I will never forget the visits I had with Jack and his family. He was a gracious host, curious about his guests, conversant on just about any topic that came up, and humble about his amazing work. He was truly a legend, and he will inspire readers ... click to read more
Bob Kruger
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:40
Farewell
and thanks for your stories.
Doralys

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:40
Farewell
and thanks for your stories.
Doralys
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
I dont remember what wast the first book from Vance that i read, but i have read multiple time many of them. Thanks for sharing your wonderful worlds.
Rocco Pier Luigi

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
I dont remember what wast the first book from Vance that i read, but i have read multiple time many of them. Thanks for sharing your wonderful worlds.
Rocco Pier Luigi
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
The work of Jack Vance has meant a great deal to me. It helped to form me as a writer. I have always had books by Jack Vance in my permanent library and will continue to own them.

His work will live on. Of that, I have no doubt.
James Robert Smith

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
The work of Jack Vance has meant a great deal to me. It helped to form me as a writer. I have always had books by Jack Vance in my permanent library and will continue to own them.

His work will live on. Of that, I have no doubt.
James Robert Smith
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
Gracias, Maestro, por haber enriquecido mi vida.
J.C. (Spain).

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:38
Gracias, Maestro, por haber enriquecido mi vida.
J.C. (Spain).
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:37
Farewell great master of Science fiction, fantasy, English Literature. Hope to meet you "upstairs" one of these days. Condolences to his family and friends. Will be highly missed! RIP
Daniel Vasconcelos Gomes

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:37
Farewell great master of Science fiction, fantasy, English Literature. Hope to meet you "upstairs" one of these days. Condolences to his family and friends. Will be highly missed! RIP
Daniel Vasconcelos Gomes
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:37
Well done, sir! Your stories quickly found their way into my dreams. I only wish I had started reading your work earlier. Thank you for making my life richer.
Brent

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:37
Well done, sir! Your stories quickly found their way into my dreams. I only wish I had started reading your work earlier. Thank you for making my life richer.
Brent
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:35
Thanks for all the wonderful stories!
wes shelley

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:35
Thanks for all the wonderful stories!
wes shelley
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:33
Some 40 years ago I read Tschai. Since then all of your books I have been reading and I'm still reading, it never stops. I read and read again. Great works of art. It will last. Thank you.
Daan Beukers

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:33
Some 40 years ago I read Tschai. Since then all of your books I have been reading and I'm still reading, it never stops. I read and read again. Great works of art. It will last. Thank you.
Daan Beukers
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:33
Thanks for all your books. I own and read them all.
Klaus Block

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:33
Thanks for all your books. I own and read them all.
Klaus Block
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:32
Your words were among the first I read when I began choosing books for myself and the imagery and characters are fresh to my mind so many years later. Thank you for providing me with so many hours of reading bliss, and for opening my mind to new worlds and new ideas. RIP.
Jeff

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:32
Your words were among the first I read when I began choosing books for myself and the imagery and characters are fresh to my mind so many years later. Thank you for providing me with so many hours of reading bliss, and for opening my mind to new ... click to read more
Jeff
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:32
The best of the best.

Mr. Vance, they say you're gone, but that's not true. Your voice is still with me -- and always will be. And I'm still reading you!
Bruce Lanier Wright

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:32
The best of the best.

Mr. Vance, they say you're gone, but that's not true. Your voice is still with me -- and always will be. And I'm still reading you!
Bruce Lanier Wright
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:30
Araminta Station is one of my very favorite books. Not one of my favorite in this genre. One of my very favorites of all time.

I miss you Mr. Vance.
Jali Cook

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:30
Araminta Station is one of my very favorite books. Not one of my favorite in this genre. One of my very favorites of all time.

I miss you Mr. Vance.
Jali Cook
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:30
You were one of the most influential Science Fiction and Fantasy writers of the 20th Century.
You legacy will be your influence upon people, both directly and indirectly, through you own works and the many works that yours had inspired.
R.J. Thompson

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:30
You were one of the most influential Science Fiction and Fantasy writers of the 20th Century.
You legacy will be your influence upon people, both directly and indirectly, through you own works and the many works that yours had inspired.
R.J. Thompson
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:28
Jack, you turned twenty-six finite letters of the alphabet into infinite worlds of wonder, beauty, and awe. Ninety-seven years at the helm of an amazing life... you deserve to rest now.

When I read you words, I was always reminded of the potential of everything around us.

You inspired so much... and left it to a Dying Earth.

Thank you.
Mark Savage

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:28
Jack, you turned twenty-six finite letters of the alphabet into infinite worlds of wonder, beauty, and awe. Ninety-seven years at the helm of an amazing life... you deserve to rest now.

When I read you words, I was always reminded of the ... click to read more
Mark Savage
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:28
My thoughts go out to the Vance family. I wish them all the strength to carry on.
Jack Vance, real grandmaster of SF/Fantasy, you gave me so much reading pleasure. I will always be grateful for that... R.I.P.
Remy Wetzels

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:28
My thoughts go out to the Vance family. I wish them all the strength to carry on.
Jack Vance, real grandmaster of SF/Fantasy, you gave me so much reading pleasure. I will always be grateful for that... R.I.P.
Remy Wetzels
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:27
My favourite writer ever. My favourite dream-maker. Reading your books always made me wish to travel and know other people, cultures, landscapes. So sorry you passed away.
Cristina

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:27
My favourite writer ever. My favourite dream-maker. Reading your books always made me wish to travel and know other people, cultures, landscapes. So sorry you passed away.
Cristina
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:20
Thanks for all the fantastic worlds you have created. I have been reading your books for the last 25 years and still I am as thrilled as the first time when reading them again. You will be missed.
Bas Kokke

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:20
Thanks for all the fantastic worlds you have created. I have been reading your books for the last 25 years and still I am as thrilled as the first time when reading them again. You will be missed.
Bas Kokke
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:19
Jack, thank you very much for the time I spent on Tschaï!
PA Darkvernon

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:19
Jack, thank you very much for the time I spent on Tschaï!
PA Darkvernon
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:17
Thank you, Mr. Vance. I hope that you have a well earned rest before you go on your next journey.
Anonymous

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:17
Thank you, Mr. Vance. I hope that you have a well earned rest before you go on your next journey.
Anonymous
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:17
Thank you Jack for some wonderful stories and helping inspire an entire genre of games, D&D and other such RPGs. I will raise a glass to you this weekend, as well as dive, once again, into one of your great works.

Scott S
Scott S

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:17
Thank you Jack for some wonderful stories and helping inspire an entire genre of games, D&D and other such RPGs. I will raise a glass to you this weekend, as well as dive, once again, into one of your great works.

Scott S
Scott S
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:15
Worsmithing into infinity.
Kairam Ahmed Hamdan

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:15
Worsmithing into infinity.
Kairam Ahmed Hamdan
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:15
Thanks for such enjoyable works! We couldn't ask for more.
Ariel

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:15
Thanks for such enjoyable works! We couldn't ask for more.
Ariel
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Thank you, Jack, for the privilege of knowing you, of talking with you, of laughing with you, of working with you. I'll raise a glass of the good stuff to you when the stars come out tonight.
Beth Meacham

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Thank you, Jack, for the privilege of knowing you, of talking with you, of laughing with you, of working with you. I'll raise a glass of the good stuff to you when the stars come out tonight.
Beth Meacham
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Although I know he had a rich and long life, I cannot help but be selfishly upset at the passing of Jack Vance.
For decades now, I have treasured his writings as I have those of few other authors.
Although as a boy I had read stories of his in various anthologies, I really didn't "discover" how great he was until I was in college in the mid-1980s.
The next few years were wondrous as I rushed to acquire his great body of work.


Like many others, I found that his Dying Earth stories captivated me the most.
But there was so often such a pleasure in simply reading a Jack Vance *sentence*.
How many other writers are there of whom that can be said?
It was, of course, a particular joy when two Jack Vance characters confronted each other over the matter of something like an unpaid bill or the cost of a soup.
Then the reader would be witness to an unparalleled duel of dialogue.

Jack Vance will be missed greatly by me and by all.
Any other response is noncupatory.

Mark Pitcavage

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Although I know he had a rich and long life, I cannot help but be selfishly upset at the passing of Jack Vance.
For decades now, I have treasured his writings as I have those of few other authors.
Although as a boy I had read stories of his in ... click to read more
Mark Pitcavage
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Unforgettable author of the best fantasy novels I ever read. You will be missed,Jack Vance.
Bruno Bacelli

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:13
Unforgettable author of the best fantasy novels I ever read. You will be missed,Jack Vance.
Bruno Bacelli
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:10
A toast, a big thanks and some tears. I never knew Jack Vance but loved many of his novels as a reader, and translated one of his very fine short stories
(Sjambak). I could appreciate from the inside the subtlety and depth behind the "light" humor in this piece, and the French version turned out to be a great pleasure more than a job. So i raise my virtual toast to this: the pleasure of communicating over years and continents and now, may be even death, thanks to Mr. Vance's very fine pen.
Nathalie Mge

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:10
A toast, a big thanks and some tears. I never knew Jack Vance but loved many of his novels as a reader, and translated one of his very fine short stories
(Sjambak). I could appreciate from the inside the subtlety and depth behind the "light" humor ... click to read more
Nathalie Mge
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:10
Thank you for Cugels wise words and bold attitude: "At any instant the sun may lurch into oblivion. At this time, were I to owe Twango ten thousand terces for a long series of excellent meals, my last thoughts would be happy ones!”
Konrad

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:10
Thank you for Cugels wise words and bold attitude: "At any instant the sun may lurch into oblivion. At this time, were I to owe Twango ten thousand terces for a long series of excellent meals, my last thoughts would be happy ones!”
Konrad
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:09
Jack Vance may not have been the author that got me into heavily reading fantasy novels, but he was certainly the writer that cemented my love for the genre.
Thank you for all your works, Mr. Vance.

And now I think I need to reread them all.
Anonymous

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:09
Jack Vance may not have been the author that got me into heavily reading fantasy novels, but he was certainly the writer that cemented my love for the genre.
Thank you for all your works, Mr. Vance.

And now I think I need to reread them all.
Anonymous
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:07
I can hardly find the words to express my deep appreciation for Jack Vance and the stories he created. He was, and is, a source of inspiration and wonder for me — his worlds and characters brought my life and imagination whole new dimensions. I learned the English language as a child with the help of his books and his books will forever be a monument to creative writing — a golden standard to which to strive.
I feel truly clumsy and tongue-tied, attempting a written tribute to this master of prose.
I cannot but express humbly my admiration, respect and gratitude to this man, who stands among very few others as idols in my life. I can only feel exceptionally lucky to have been introduced to his books at an early age.
He will be sorely missed.
Neptnus Hirt

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:07
I can hardly find the words to express my deep appreciation for Jack Vance and the stories he created. He was, and is, a source of inspiration and wonder for me — his worlds and characters brought my life and imagination whole new dimensions. I ... click to read more
Neptnus Hirt
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
Years ago, when I was still in junior hih school, I had fallen in love with science fiction, starting pretty much with the Big Three and working my way through all the other authors of their era, and then those that came after.

I'm afraid that Mr. Vance's work was not among them to start with. Why, I am not sure. But the name of Isaac Asimov drew me to some of the anthologies he edited, and among them was _Wizards_. And there, besides a number of utterly memorable stories by the likes of Le Guin and Howard and Niven, was "Mazirian the Magician." It was like nothing I'd ever read before, weird and beguiling and eerie, and even "Semley's Necklace" did not hold quite so vivid a place in my memory.

Why I didn't pursue more from Vance then, I do not know -- perhaps I did check, and found that my local library just didn't carry any of his work. But I've since addressed that -- thanks, in part, to George R.R. Martin, who many years ago made a passing reference to him in correspondence and jogged my memory about that amazing story I had read even more years in the past --
and I have greatly profited from it.

From the Dying Earth beneath its fading red sun to the Gaean Reach, through Lyonesse and across the Big Planet and Tshcai and many worlds and lands besides, I have seen wonders in the mind's eye, I have laughed with the pleasures of his wit, I have tasted what it's like to feel wanderlust deep in the soul, and I have felt the brooding melancholy that he was so artfully capable of conveying.

Thank you for all the joy you've given with you art and your imagination.
Elio M. Garca, Jr.

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
Years ago, when I was still in junior hih school, I had fallen in love with science fiction, starting pretty much with the Big Three and working my way through all the other authors of their era, and then those that came after.

I'm afraid that ... click to read more
Elio M. Garca, Jr.
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
jack vance was the literary equivalent of a father to me, and his writings brought me safely through many hard periods in my life.
his passing is a sad commentary on the lack of immortality granted to our living angels on this wretched plane of existence.
long live jhv!
D.F.

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
jack vance was the literary equivalent of a father to me, and his writings brought me safely through many hard periods in my life.
his passing is a sad commentary on the lack of immortality granted to our living angels on this wretched plane of ... click to read more
D.F.
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
I discovered your work shortly after I moved to the Netherlands from the USA. The than-new American Book Center in Amsterdam stocked your works as they were published. I devouered many of them and still own these old paperbacks. They are delightful, verbally captivating, treasures: the Allastor series, The Last Castle, The Dragon Masters and The Dying Earth stand out in my memory. Rest In Peace, Sir.
George Berger

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:05
I discovered your work shortly after I moved to the Netherlands from the USA. The than-new American Book Center in Amsterdam stocked your works as they were published. I devouered many of them and still own these old paperbacks. They are delightful, ... click to read more
George Berger
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:04
Thank you Mr. Vance for all the pleasure and escape you gave us ! Reading you was always the most fantastic trip anyone could possibly dream of and your books will stay forever with us till Cugel reads them...
Jean-Luc Rivera

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:04
Thank you Mr. Vance for all the pleasure and escape you gave us ! Reading you was always the most fantastic trip anyone could possibly dream of and your books will stay forever with us till Cugel reads them...
Jean-Luc Rivera
Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:04
I really love your Dying Earth cycle of stories and novels. Great style, great story-telling. You'll not be forgotten! Sad greetings from Delft, the Netherlands.
Johan Herrenberg

Wednesday 29 May 2013 16:04
I really love your Dying Earth cycle of stories and novels. Great style, great story-telling. You'll not be forgotten! Sad greetings from Delft, the Netherlands.
Johan Herrenberg