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Baron Bodissey
Unspiek, Baron Bodissey, is a fictional character referred to in many of the novels of speculative-fiction author Jack Vance. Within those novels he has the status of an authority, but he is sometimes referred to with amusement or scepticism. Like the 'mad poet' Navarth, he first appeared in the Demon Princes sequence but also is alluded to in a number of other unrelated stories. Unlike Navarth, the Baron never appears in person in these novels, but his monumental, many-volume work ''Life'' is frequently quoted. The lengthiest citations from it appear, with varying degrees of apparent relevance, as epigraphs to various chapters in the ''Demon Princes'' novels. (Vance characteristically makes use of substantial passages from imaginary writings, interviews or judicial transcripts as chapter-heading material, especially in that series.) Otherwise, the Baron and his work are occasionally referred to in passing or quoted by characters in the tales. Fictional (and always negative) review ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 15th SFWA Grand Master, Grand Master in 1997, and the EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers. His most notable awards included Hugo Awards in 1963 for ''The Dragon Masters'', in 1967 for ''The Last Castle (novella), The Last Castle'', and in 2010 for his memoir ''This Is Me, Jack Vance!''; the Nebula Award in 1966, also for ''The Last Castle''; the Jupiter Award (science fiction award), Jupiter Award in 1975 and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navarth
''The Palace of Love'' (1967) is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the third in his '' Demon Princes'' series. It is about a wealthy man, Kirth Gersen, who is obsessed with seeking vengeance on the remaining Demon Princes who killed his family many years ago. To get access to the elusive and secretive Viole Falushe, one of the Demon Princes, Gersen poses as a journalist and wrangles a rare invitation to Falushe's hedonistic Palace of Love. Plot summary Kirth Gersen's short-lived relationship with Alusz Iphigenia Eperje-Tokay, a woman he had rescued in the previous novel of the series is nearing an end, as she cannot understand why Gersen, made extremely wealthy by his epic defrauding of Interchange, still feels the need to personally exterminate the remaining Demon Princes who killed his family. Gersen notices a newspaper article announcing the forthcoming execution of a prominent Sarkoy venefice (poison maker), Kakarsis Asm, for selling poisons to the De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demon Princes
Demon Princes is a series of five science fiction novels by Jack Vance, which cumulatively relate the story of an adventurer, Kirth Gersen, as he exacts his revenge on five notorious criminals, collectively known as the Demon Princes, who carried the people of his village off into slavery during his childhood. Each novel deals with his pursuit of one of the five Princes, which extends from Earth to other planets using spaceships. Novels * '' Star King'' (1964). Gersen's first target for his revenge is Attel Malagate, a renegade from a species called the Star Kings. The Star Kings can consciously evolve themselves and are driven to imitate and surpass the most successful species they encounter. With their contact with humanity, they begin making themselves into imitations of human beings. Gersen traps him with an undeveloped and fantastically beautiful planet whose location is known only to Gersen. Malagate covets the planet in order to become the father of a new race that can out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Killing Machine
''The Killing Machine'' (1964) is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the second in his " Demon Princes" series. Plot summary Kirth Gersen sets his sights on Kokor Hekkus, one of the Demon Princes. To hone his skills, Gersen spends time as a "weasel", a police spy in the lawless Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed b .... He is sent to disrupt a meeting between a criminal named Billy Windle and a Mr Hoskins. Gersen learns that Billy Windle is Kokor Hekkus. Hekkus is trying to sell the secret of immortality for instructions on how to create perfect counterfeit money, but Gersen ends up with the latter process. He then learns that Hekkus is perpetrating a series of kidnappings of extremely wealthy people and discovers why. When a beautiful, you ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Face (Vance Novel)
''The Face'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the fourth novel in the "Demon Princes" series. It was published in 1979, nearly twelve years after the third. Plot summary Kirth Gersen pursues the notorious criminal Lens Larque, one of the five so-called Demon Princes, across several worlds, most notably Aloysius, the harsh desert world Dar Sai (inhabited by the Darsh, of whom Larque is one) and the more temperate and genteel Methel, which has grown rich doing business on Dar Sai. Gersen determines that Larque is connected somehow with a seemingly worthless Dar Sai company called Kotzash Mutual. Gersen, by dint of skill and cleverness, gains control of the company. He also rescues Jerdian Chanseth, a young aristocratic Methlen woman, and a brief romance blossoms between them. Gersen then travels to Methel to investigate Kotzash. Gersen attempts to renew his relationship with Jerdian, going so far as to buy the mansion next to her family's, but is rejected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaean Reach
The Gaean Reach is a fictional region in space that is a setting for some science fiction by Jack Vance. All of his series and standalone works that are set in a universe evidently including the Gaean Reach, perhaps set inside it or outside it, have been catalogued as the Gaean Reach series or super-series. The Gaean Reach includes all worlds colonized by humans, among which trade and travel flow freely for the most part. Its name apparently means "the range (''reach'') of he people fromEarth ( ''Gaea'')"; it could also be derived from Old English 'rice' (pronounced reech-e), meaning 'realm' (cf. German ''Reich''). Some of these worlds are advanced and cosmopolitan, such as Alphanor; others, like Thamber, are inhabited by shipwrecked and forgotten people, who have reverted to feudalism. Some, like the world of Wyst in the Alastor Cluster, are undeniably strange in their culture and customs. The period of the Gaean Reach spans several centuries, if not millennia, at an indetermi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayford Peirce
Hayford Peirce (January 7, 1942 – November 19, 2020) was an American writer of science fiction, mysteries, and a spy thriller. He wrote numerous short stories for the science-fiction magazines ''Analog'', '' Galaxy'', and '' Omni'', as well as mystery shorts for ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' and ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine''. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' states that "he established a name for lightly written tales whose backgrounds were unusually well conceived." Biography Peirce was born in 1942 in Bangor, Maine. His father, also named Hayford, a recognized authority on Byzantine art, wrote several books on the subject in French. Peirce began writing in 1974, with the sale of "Unlimited Warfare", a science fiction short story to ''Analog'' magazine.John Clute"Peirce, Hayford" ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight. London: Gollancz, last updated 31 August 2018. Accessed 22 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Thirteenth Majestral
''Dinosaur Park'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Hayford Peirce, first published by Tor in 1989 under the title ''The Thirteenth Majestral'' and republished as ''Dinosaur Park'' in 1994. The nondescript cover of the original book had no relation to the story. The 1992 Italian edition had a cover by Oscar Chichoni featuring dinosaurs, which were indeed in the story, and in June 1994 Tor reissued the book under its new title, using the same cover as the Italian edition. ''Jurassic Park'', a 1990 novel by Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ..., had recently been a bestseller and Tor may have hoped to capitalize on the similarity of the names and theme. The original book, ''The Thirteenth Majestral'', was published before ''Jurassic Park''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it. The word is a French cognate of the Italian noun , which is a pâté or pie-filling mixed from diverse ingredients. Metaphorically, and describe works that are either composed by several authors, or that incorporate stylistic elements of other artists' work. Pastiche is an example of eclecticism in art. Allusion is not pastiche. A literary allusion may refer to another work, but it does not reiterate it. Moreover, allusion requires the audience to share in the author's cultural knowledge. Both allusion and pastiche are mechanisms of intertextuality. By art Literature In literary usage, the term denotes a literary technique employing a generally light-hearted tongue-in-cheek imitation of another's style; although jocular, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas '' homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits. Convergent evolution is similar to parallel evo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fictional Writers
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Characters
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
