The Dying Earth is one of those legendary volumes that has had a lasting impact on future authors and other creative types, particularly within the sci-fi/fantasy field. This is the edition I bought, and while I have issues with the ridiculous sci-fi city pictured on the cover, the writing within is unimpeachable. They are, however, still in print in the Tales of the Dying Earth omnibus edition, published in 2000 by Orb Books (pictured above). He was a very prolific author: the Vance Integral Edition collects all of his writing into 45 hardback volumes.Īs you would expect given the age of this series, the individual volumes of the Dying Earth books are no longer available.

His work is characterized by carefully constructed prose that is frequently described as “baroque,” though I will touch on that later.

In 1997 he was named the fourteenth Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and in 2001 was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He won the Hugo Award three times (in 1963, 1967, and 2010), the Nebula Award, the Jupiter Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Edgar Award (he wrote many mystery novels under the pseudonym Ellery Queen). He was also one of the most accomplished science fiction/fantasy authors of the 20th century. He was a devoted fan of Dixieland jazz, and played the cornet, ukelele, harmonica, and banjo. Sailing proved to be a lifelong passion and is a motif in much of his work in fact, he jointly built a houseboat with fellow science fiction authors Frank Herbert and Poul Anderson, which they then sailed in the Sacramento Delta. Weak eyesight prevented military service, but he was able to secure a position as a seaman in the Merchant Marine. John Holbrook Vance was born on August 28, 1916. This is “Ulan Dhor,” the fifth of six stories that comprise Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth. Then a stranger strides into their midst in search of treasure…

The kingdom devolves until two warring factions have grown so far apart that they literally cannot see each other. He believes that if he removes the stability of his reign it will force his people to reconcile and grow. Its people have fallen into petty religious squabbles. His kingdom is technologically advanced but culturally stagnant. So intones the king before sinking into a five thousand-year slumber. “You have ignored the ancient wisdom, you have been too indolent to learn, you have sought easy complacence from religion, rather than facing manfully to the world.” “You must save yourselves,” Rogol Domedonfors told them.

The dying earth