Contents are: "Sail 25," "Ullward's Retreat," "The Last Castle," "Abercrombie Station," "The Moon Moth," and "Rumfuddle." "The Last Castle": The Mek was a manlike creature, native to a planet of Etamin. His tough rusty-bronze hide glistened metallically, the spines thrusting back from scalp and neck shone like gold. His sense organs were gathered in clusters at the site of a man's ears, his visage was corrugated muscle, not dissimilar to the look of an uncovered human brain. This was the Mek solitary, a creature intrisically as effective as man, but, working in the mass, by the teeming thousands, he seemed less admirable, less competent: a hybrid of subman and cockroach.. "The Moon Moth": The household had been built to the most exacting standards of Sirenese craftsmanship. The bow bulged like a swan's breast, the stem rising high, then crooking forward to support an iron lantern. The doors were carved from slabs of a mottled black-green wood; the windows were many-sectioned, paned with squares of mica stained rose, blue, pale green and violet. The bow was given to service facilities and quarters for the slaves; amidships were a pair of sleeping cabins, a dining saloon and a parlor saloon, opening upon an observation deck at the stern.

A nice Jack Vance Short Story

ebook, 186 pages Published 1950 Spatterlight Press Cover art by Li-An (borrowed) Originally published as "The Dying Earth" (but also titled as "Mazirian the Magician"). Jack Vance is one of the most remarkable talents to ever grace the world of science fiction. His unique, stylish voice has been beloved by generations of readers and inspired various fantasy writers. One of his enduring classics are various stories collected together under the label "The Dying Earth"—a fascinating, baroque tale set on a far-future Earth, under a giant red sun that is soon to go out forever. The book contains six works of loosely-connected fantasy short fiction including "Turjan of Miir", "Mazirian the Magician", "T'sais", "Liane the Wayfarer", "Ulan Dhor", and "Guyal of Sfere". A must-read for any fan of fantasy. Set in a bizarre, darkly beautiful far future near the very end of Earth’s lifespan at a point when the sun is almost exhausted and magic has reasserted itself as a dominant force. Wwizards duel with spells of dreadful potency under a waning, almost burnt-out red sun. Twk-men ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: the evil are charming, the good are dangerous. Seekers of wisdom and beauty include lovely lost women, eccentric wizards and man-eating melancholy deodands. The various civilizations of Earth have collapsed for the most part into decadence. The Earth is mostly barren and cold, and has become infested with various predatory monsters (possibly created by a magician in a former age). The Moon has disappeared and the Sun is in danger of burning out at any time. A certain fatalism characterizes many of the inhabitants as a consequence.

Cat Island, 1946. The Genesee Slough Murders, 1966. The STARK, 1954. Wild Thyme and Violets, 1976. Clang, 1984. The Magnificent Red-Hot Jazzing Seven, 1976. The Kragen, 1963. Guyal of Sfere, 1969. The Telephone was Ringing in the Dark, 1962. Dream Castle, 1946.

Fantasy Masterworks Volume 4Jack Vance is one of the most remarkable talents to ever grace the world of science fiction. His unique, stylish voice has been beloved by generations of readers. One of his enduring classics is his 1964 novel, The Dying Earth, and its sequels--a fascinating, baroque tale set on a far-future Earth, under a giant red sun that is soon to go out forever.This omnibus volume comprised all four books in the series, The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga and Rialto the Magnificent. It is a must-read for every sf fan.About the AuthorJack Vance is one of the greats of science fiction. He has been writing for more than 60 years, and in 1997 was honored as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. He is the author of dozens of science fiction and fantasy novels, including the World Fantasy Award winning Lyonnesse series, and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning The Last Castle. He lives in Oakland, California.

Product DescriptionFar in the future, the craftsmen of the distant planet Halma create goods which are the wonder of the galaxy. But they know little of this. Their society is harshly regimented, its religion austere and unforgiving, and primitive -- to maintain standards, even the most basic use of automation is punishable by death. When Amiante, a wood-carver, is executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. To do so, he must first interpret the story of Emphyrio, an ancient hero of Halman legend. About the AuthorSALES POINTS * #19 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written * 'All Vance's novels have exotic locales and cultures, resourceful heroes and vigorous action, but in Emphyrio they are raised to the pitch of perfection, making the novel a tremendous pleasure to read, and giving it also a mysterious beauty' - Kim Stanley Robinson * 'Jack Vance is our greatest living SF writer, and Emphyrio is one of his very best books, a magical tour de force of mystery, marvel, invention, incident, world-building and wordplay. But be warned: reading Vance is addictive' - George R.R. Martin

Hard-Luck Diggings brings together fourteen such pieces from the first twelve years of Grand Master Jack Vance’s genre-defining career, from back when he first worked to pay the mortgage, buy the groceries, travel the world, eventually building his own private “dream castle” and starting a family.

Jack Vance is one of the most remarkable talents to ever grace the world of science fiction. His unique, stylish voice has been beloved by generations of readers. One of his enduring classics is his Mazirian the Magician (previously titled The Dying Earth), and its sequels—a fascinating, baroque tale set on a far-future Earth, under a giant red sun that is soon to go out forever.In Cugel: the Skybreak Spatterlight , Cugel the Clever is still seeking revenge on the magician Iucounu, whom he blames for his exile and all his troubles. But revenge is hard to come by, and the adventures on the way are so very diverting....At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.