Questions tagged [jack-vance]
For questions about the US author John Holbrook Vance, better known as Jack Vance (1916-2013), or about any of his literary works, mostly in science fiction and fantasy.
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Inspiration behind Jack Vance's fantasy names?
One of my favourite parts of Jack Vance's Lyonesse series, which I first read many years ago, is the way the names seem perfectly chosen to reflect the nature of what they're naming. How could ...
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Function of ‘The Avatar’s Apprentice’ in Jack Vance’s “Demon Princes” series
Demon Princes (1964–1981) by Jack Vance is a series of five science fiction novels, linked by a revenge plot. Most chapters are headed by fictional quotations, in the manner of Asimov’s Foundation ...
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How can there be an Icnield Way in Hybras?
Jack Vance's Lyonesse trilogy includes some detailed worldbuilding of the island of Hybras (a.k.a. Atlantis), located off the Bay of Biscay and, at least at the time the story starts, divided into ten ...
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What is the device Shimrod found with multiple balls moving together, and what does it signify?
Towards the end of Madouc, book 3 of Jack Vance's Lyonesse series, Shimrod is studying a strange device with multiple (seven?) balls or discs moving around like planets. They move apparently ...
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What of the knight of the Empty Helmet, and how does he comport himself at Castle Rhack?
The epilogue of Suldrun's Garden, the first book of Jack Vance's Lyonesse series, is a sort of literary equivalent of a "next time" teaser in a TV series. More than summarising the events so far and ...
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