The Gaean Reach is a fictional region in space that is a setting for some

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

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. ...

. 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 ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...

''). 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 Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

. Some, like the world of

Wyst WIBL (107.7 FM), known as "The Bull", is a commercial radio station in Central Illinois with a country music radio format. WIBL is licensed to Fairbury, Illinois, and serves the Bloomington-Normal radio market. It is owned by Pilot Media, w ...

in the

Alastor Cluster The Alastor Cluster is the fictional setting of three of American writer Jack Vance's novels: '' Trullion: Alastor 2262'' (1973), '' Marune: Alastor 933'' (1975), and '' Wyst: Alastor 1716'' (1978), each named after a world in the cluster. Vance pl ...

, are undeniably strange in their culture and customs. The period of the Gaean Reach spans several centuries, if not millennia, at an indeterminate but very distant time in the future. Specific dates are given in the early books of the Demon Princes series, but not in the others. The human civilization in the Demon Princes is the

Oikumene The ecumene ( US spelling) or oecumene ( UK spelling; grc-gre, οἰκουμένη, oikouménē, inhabited) is an ancient Greek term for the known, the inhabited, or the habitable world. In Greek antiquity, it referred to the portions of the worl ...

, which can be seen as a precursor to or variant of the Gaean Reach. The Reach is mentioned in the three Alastor books, the

Cadwal Chronicles The Cadwal Chronicles are a trilogy of science fiction novels by American writer Jack Vance set in his ''Gaean Reach'' fictional universe. The three novels are called '' Araminta Station'' (1987), '' Ecce and Old Earth'' (1991) and '' Throy'' (19 ...

, '' Ports of Call'' and ''

Lurulu ''Lurulu'' is a science fiction adventure novel by Jack Vance. Published in 2004, it was his last novel. It is the follow up to '' Ports of Call'' and continues to follow the character Myron Tany on his picaresque journey through the Gaean Reach ...

''. Singleton works are also included, such as ''

Emphyrio ''Emphyrio'' is a science fiction adventure novel by American writer Jack Vance. It tells the story of a young man who overturns the foundations of his world. Plot summary Ghyl Tarvoke grows up on the planet Halma with his father Amiante. Th ...

'', ''

Night Lamp ''Night Lamp'' is a science fiction adventure novel by 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 nam ...

'', '' Maske: Thaery'' and ''

The Gray Prince ''The Gray Prince'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, first published in two parts in ''Amazing Science Fiction'' magazine (August and October 1974 issues) with the title ''The Domains of Koryphon''. Given that the novel's ...

'', where it is defined as follows: "the Gaean Reach encompasses a perceptible fraction of the galaxy. Trade routes thread space like capillaries in living tissue; thousands of worlds have been colonized, each different from every other, each working its specific change upon those men who live there. Never has the human race been less homogenous."Jack Vance, ''The Gray Prince. A Science Fiction Novel'', Avon, New York, 1975, p. 5

References

External links

* {{Jack Vance Science fiction book series Fictional astronomical locations Fictional regions