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The works of Jack Vance


 * Michael Phillip Coffee (Vereaux):**



John Holbrook Vance or better known as Jack Vance, (born August 28, 1916 in San Francisco, California) is a Science Fiction writer of his time. He is also known as an American Fantasy writer. He has published many books over his lifetime, some not so well known as others, however. He has also published under many names, most under Jack Vance and some under his real name while others were sometimes used just a few times. A few were just used once in publishing. He is regarded as an important writer by mainstream standards and Poul Anderson once called him the greatest living American writer “in” science fiction. Vance’s grandfather moved to San Francisco a decade before the Gold Rush and married a woman there. Records though are likely to have been burned in a fire during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Vance dropped out of high school early to work in a type of band before going to the University California. In the late 1940s, he tried to become a professional writer. After graduating in 1942, he joined the Navy as a seaman during World War II although not once was he torpedoed. This however may have been invented by an editor to increase Vance’s attention. During his time out at sea, he wrote in his spare time a bit of his writings. Some of his books are actually influenced by his experiences within the Navy where you have some battles, some actually sword fighting while others were where the characters of his books were on a ship of some kind at sea. In 1964, he meet a woman named Norma Ingold and married her. They lived with their son in Oakland. They took many voyages around the world to places like Italy and others. The influences to his work from his life come from different sources such as his experiences as a seaman in the Navy. Boats can be found within some books he had written. More commonly seen within almost all of his books is the presence of music, dancing, food and drinks. The presence of politics can also be found within his writings that deal with the story in some way. The politics of some are plain, others are very complex. Vance has won awards over his lifetime of writing for some of his greatest books. Among these awards were Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, the Jupiter Award, two World Fantasy Awards and an Edgar award. Vance has also been made the Guest of Honor at the WorldCon in Orlando, Florida and he was named a SFWA (Science Fiction Writer of America) Grand Master. Three series of his that are some of his best works were //The Dying Earth//, //The Demon Princes// and //The Dragon Masters//.

http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Jack_Vance http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/JackVance.php http://www.scifi.com/sfw/books/sfw14555.html
 * Bibliography**