Jack Vance article in NYT

[JoanDrake]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19Vance-t.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

I hope I'm not doing anything wrong by giving this it's own thread. I stumbled upon it and just found it so absolutely right in all respects. Perhaps some of us could contribute our own feelings and one thing I see missing. Authors whom we've read that resemble him and how they do so.

 

[hitmouse]

I don't think anyone really resembles Vance except perhaps Wodehouse. I have been collecting his works since I first discovered him, and am grateful that he is so prolific.

 

[Connavar]

I don't think anyone really resembles Vance except perhaps Wodehouse. I have been collecting his works since I first discovered him, and am grateful that he is so prolific.

How much Vance have you read ? His influences are many,prose style,type of stories,wit. PG Woodhouse is one of those authors. He writes many of types of stories Vance.

He is an original voice and an artist period. I couldnt agree more with Chabon, that article more. Since he is in my avatar and my alltime fav author im truly delighted he is so prolific. Always new Vance to buy!

 

[Grunkins]

Great article. Vance is inspiring on many levels. Like Connavar was saying, there's always more Vance to buy, which makes him like a permanently undiscovered country.

He comes at even standard interactions between characters from a different angle than any writer I've read, and never inundates you in a neat idea like most writers will. For example his creation, the Phung from Planet of Adventure are the coolest, most-exploitable (from a writer's perspective) fictional species I've ever read, but Vance limits their appearances to three short vignettes, where they suddenly appear, take wild action, then disappear from the story for good. Any other writer with as strong a bead on such an interesting creature couldn't help themselves from contriving a horde of them, or forcing characters into a Phung gathering to witness, or being taken captive by one, but Vance just shows them, fully realized, and then moves on.

Fantastic writer. This article has inspired my next read to be another Vance (I have lots in my TBR just waiting for me).

 

[dask]

Seems to me I've seen this article before but added it to my favorites to make sure I don't lose sight of it again. A friend of mine recommended THE STAR KING in my early days of sf. So many authors to sample, worlds to explore. Who knows how long it would have taken me to discover Jack Vance on my stumbling own? I may have needed help having him pointed out to me but I figured out how good he was on my own. When describing him "great" isn't just the first word that comes to mind, it's the beginning of an upward curve that goes off the chart.

 

[hitmouse]

How much Vance have you read ? His influences are many,prose style,type of stories,wit. PG Woodhouse is one of those authors. He writes many of types of stories Vance.

Difficult to quantify how much of his stuff I have read, since the bibliographies are sometimes disputed, but I have several shelves of Vance, and of the SF novels and novellas I reckon I have read all except perhaps 3 or 4 (Monsters in Space, Vandals of the Void, The Moon Moth are missing at present), and I have read dozens of his short stories both in collections and original magazines. So, a fair sample even if not totally comprehensive.

I agree that Vance is a unique voice, and an utter delight to read. Part of the original question was whether any other writers resemble him. Apart from the Vance pastiches, there is no-one quite the same. The echo of Wodehouse (for me) is in the effortless precision and lightness of language and in the droll quality of the dialogue.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Jack Vance is one of the all-time greats. A huge influence on my own work, even today, 35 years after I discovered him. The Lyonesse trilogy and the Star Kings sequence are exceptional, but there are so many other great works...

 

[thatollie]

He's responsible for making me a fan of SFF.