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Dying Earth Series
''Dying Earth'' is a fantasy series by the American author Jack Vance, comprising four books originally published from 1950 to 1984. Some have been called picaresque. They vary from short story collections to a fix-up (novel created from older short stories), perhaps all the way to novel. Retrieved 2012-05-09. The first book in the series, ''The Dying Earth'', was ranked number 16 of 33 "All Time Best Fantasy Novels" by ''Locus'' in 1987, based on a poll of subscribers, although it was marketed as a collection and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) calls it a "loosely connected series of stories". Setting The stories of the ''Dying Earth'' series are set in the distant future, at a point when the sun is almost exhausted and magic has asserted itself as a dominant force. The Moon has disappeared and the Sun is in danger of burning out at any time, often flickering as if about to go out, before shining again. The various civilizations of Earth have collapsed fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dying Earth
''The Dying Earth'' is a collection of fantasy short fiction by American writer Jack Vance, published by Hillman in 1950. Vance returned to the setting in 1965 and thereafter, making it the first book in the ''Dying Earth'' series. It is retitled ''Mazirian the Magician'' in its Vance Integral Edition (2005), after the second of six collected stories. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database calls it a "slightly connected series of stories" but it was ranked number 16 of 33 "All Time Best Fantasy Novels" by ''Locus'' in 1987, based on a poll of subscribers. Similarly, it was one of five finalists for the Best Novel "Retro Hugo" in 2001 when the World Science Fiction Society provided 50th anniversary recognition for a publication year without Hugo Awards. Contents All six stories were original to the collection. Retrieved 2012-05-09. * "Turjan of Miir". The wizard Turjan seeks to create living beings, but his experiments fail. For advice he turns to the wizard Pandelume, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Branch Cabell
James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when they were most popular. For Cabell, veracity was "the one unpardonable sin, not merely against art, but against human welfare." Although escapist, Cabell's works are ironic and satirical. Mencken disputed Cabell's claim to romanticism and characterized him as "really the most acidulous of all the anti-romantics. His gaudy heroes ... chase dragons precisely as stockbrockers play golf." Cabell saw art as an escape from life, but found that, once the artist creates his ideal world, it is made up of the same elements that make the real one. Interest in Cabell declined in the 1930s, a decline that has been attributed in part to his failure to move out of his fantasy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Quest For Simbilis
''A Quest for Simbilis'' is a novel by Michael Shea published in 1974. Plot summary ''A Quest for Simbilis'' is a novel in which the plot is a sequel to Jack Vance's ''The Eyes of the Overworld'' (a.k.a. ''Cugel the Clever''). Reception Dave Langford reviewed ''A Quest for Simbilis'' for ''White Dwarf'' #74, and stated that "Vance can be relied on for unwavering polish, but tends to recycle old plot elements; Shea, though more rough-hewn, adds innovations plus a touch of true, murky hellfire from an imagination fuelled by Hieronymus Bosch." Reviews *Review by Dave Bischoff (1974) in Thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ..., #5 1974 References 1974 American novels 1974 fantasy novels DAW Books books {{1970s-fantasy-novel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Shea (author)
Michael Shea (July 3, 1946 – February 16, 2014) was an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author. His novel ''Nifft the Lean'' won the World Fantasy Award, as did his novella ''Growlimb''. Life and work Shea was born to Irish parents in Los Angeles in 1946. There he frequented Venice Beach and the Baldwin Hills for their wildlife. He attended UCLA and Berkeley and hitch-hiked twice across the US and Canada. At a hotel in Juneau, Alaska, Shea chanced on a battered book from the lobby shelves, ''The Eyes of the Overworld'' by Jack Vance (1966). Four years later, after a brief first marriage and one year hitch-hiking through France and Spain, he wrote a novel in homage to Vance, who graciously declined to share the advance offered by DAW Books. It was Shea's first publication, ''A Quest for Simbilis'' (1974), and an authorized sequel to Vance's two Dying Earth books then extant. ISFDB notes that it "became non-canonic" in 1983 when Vance "continued ... ''The Eyes'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flashing Swords! 1
''Flashing Swords! #1'' is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by the American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in hardcover by Nelson Doubleday in April 1973 as a selection in its Science Fiction Book Club, and in paperback by Dell Books in July the same year. The first British edition was issued by Mayflower in 1974. Summary The book collects four heroic fantasy novelettes by members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), an informal literary group of fantasy authors active from the 1960s to the 1980s, of which Carter was also a member and guiding force, together with a general introduction and introductions to the individual stories by the editor. Contents *"Introduction: Of Swordsmen and Sorcerers" by Lin Carter *"The Sadness of the Executioner" (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) by Fritz Leiber *"Morreion" (Dying Earth) by Jack Vance *"The Merman's Children" by Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of The Dying Earth Characters
This is a list of characters in the ''Dying Earth'' series by Jack Vance. ''The Dying Earth'' Title characters *Guyal of Sfere is a young, wealthy man who is famous among his people for endlessly asking questions, due to a "void" in his mind which compels him to seek knowledge. Eventually, his father grants him magical boons to protect Guyal, so that he can seek the fabled Museum of Man in order to ask questions of the legendary, all-knowing Curator. *Liane the Wayfarer, a "bandit-troubadour", is a vain, venal, overconfident, sadistic, and thoroughly amoral adventurer. He travels about seeking wealth, wine, women, and song. In order to win the affections of a beautiful witch, he sets out to steal a tapestry from a mysterious entity called Chun the Unavoidable. *Mazirian, a greedy and heartless wizard, who will stop at nothing to obtain as much magical knowledge or power as possible. Although Mazirian, like Turjan, is capable of creating artificial life, his creations lack huma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbarians And Black Magicians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less civilized or orderly (such as a tribal society) but may also be part of a certain "primitive" cultural group (such as nomads) or social class (such as bandits) both within and outside one's own nation. Alternatively, they may instead be admired and romanticised as noble savages. In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, and insensitive person. The term originates from the el, βάρβαρος (''barbaros'' pl. βάρβαροι ''barbaroi''). In Ancient Greece, the Greeks used the term not only towards those who did not speak Greek and follow classical Greek customs, but also towards Greek populations on the fringe of the Greek world with peculiar dialects. In Ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F&SF
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas had approached Spivak in the mid-1940s about creating a fantasy companion to Spivak's existing mystery title, ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine''. The first issue was titled ''The Magazine of Fantasy'', but the decision was quickly made to include science fiction as well as fantasy, and the title was changed correspondingly with the second issue. ''F&SF'' was quite different in presentation from the existing science fiction magazines of the day, most of which were in pulp magazine, pulp format: it had no interior illustrations, no letter column, and text in a single column format, which in the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley (writer), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts. Definition The Italian term is a feminine of ''novello'', which means ''new'', similarly to the English word ''news''. Merriam-Webster defines a novella as "a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel". No official definition exists regarding the number of pages or words necessary for a story to be considered a novella, a short story or a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association defines a novella's word count to be between 17,500 and 40,000 words. History The novella as a literary genre began developing in the Italian literature of the early Renaissance, principally Giovanni Boccaccio, author of ''The Decameron'' (1353). ''The Decameron'' featured 100 tales (named nov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Kells
The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Ireland, Scotland or England, and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from each of these areas. It is believed to have been created 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is regarded as a masterwork of Western calligraphy and the pinnacle of Insular illumination. The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, County Meath, which was its home for centuries. The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass those of other Insular Gospel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liane The Wayfarer
Liane the Wayfarer is a science fantasy short story by American writer Jack Vance, the fourth in his ''The Dying Earth ''The Dying Earth'' is a collection of fantasy short fiction by American writer Jack Vance, published by Hillman in 1950. Vance returned to the setting in 1965 and thereafter, making it the first book in the ''Dying Earth'' series. It is retitled ...'' series. It first appeared in the December 1950 issue of the magazine '' Worlds Beyond''. It is sometimes published under the alternate title "The Loom of Darkness". Plot summary A vain, overconfident, utterly amoral adventurer who calls himself Liane the Wayfarer is traveling through the forest, contemplating a magic ring he has just found. The ring allows him to hide himself by stretching it into a hoop and lowering it over himself, transporting him into a mysterious world of complete darkness. Liane encounters a creature called a Twk-Man, tiny blue men who ride dragonflies and exchange gossip for tiny quantiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mazirian The Magician
"Mazirian the Magician" is a sword and sorcery short story by American writer Jack Vance. It was first published in 1950 as part of ''The Dying Earth ''The Dying Earth'' is a collection of fantasy short fiction by American writer Jack Vance, published by Hillman in 1950. Vance returned to the setting in 1965 and thereafter, making it the first book in the ''Dying Earth'' series. It is retitled ...'', a collection of loosely linked tales. It has been reissued in numerous anthologies since 1965, including '' The Spell of Seven'', edited by L. Sprague de Camp. (ISFDB). Retrieved 2012-06-12. Plot summary Mazirian the Magician paces through his enchanted garden, wrestling with the problem of how to invest the humanoid creatures he has created in vats with intelligence. The secret is held by the sorcerer Turjan, who has kept the secret to himself despite his imprisonment, reduction in size, and torment by a small, vicious dragon. Mazirian is interrupted by a distantly spied beau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
