Bøger af Jack Vance

The galaxy is full of wealthy planets and haughty aliens who guard the technology of interstellar travel. Earth must pay a price for use of the space drive, and this rubs Paddy Blackthorn the wrong way- so he sets out to steal the secret. The powerful Shauls capture and dump him on a barren planet- yet here he acquires five golden bands containing the very data he is after. The information is coded- and while Paddy solves the puzzle he must evade a galactic manhunt!

This volume might have been titled "The Early Jack Vance," as it features stories from the first dozen years of Vance's career, when his major outlet was pulp magazines. In these stories, Vance already displays the lively imagination and mastery of the English language that came to characterize his entire career. The World-Thinker, Vance's first published story, features two types who would recur often in Vance's writing: the assured and competent hero, and the feisty, equally-competent heroine. They deal with an entity who, like Vance himself, creates fully-formed worlds at will.

Demon Princes, Russian translation. All five books in one volume "Revenge is not an ignoble motive, when it works to a productive end. Your work will be the destruction of evil men..." These words define Kirth Gersen's destiny. Gersen has but one purpose: to destroy the five Demon Princes, most notorious criminals in the Reach. The Demon Princes is a five-book series of science fiction novels by Jack Vance, which cumulatively relate the story of one Kirth Gersen as he exacts his revenge on five notorious criminals, collectively known as the Demon Princes, who carried his village off into slavery during his childhood. Each novel deals with his pursuit of one of the five Princes.

Myron Tany is an unhappy young economist until his flamboyant great-aunt lets him captain her space yacht on an interstellar hunt for a clinic rumored to restore youth. But when a disagreement with Dame Hester leaves Myron stranded on a distant planet, he signs on as supercargo aboard the tramp freighter Glicca. He travels the exotic worlds of the Gaean Reach, finding adventure or misadventure at every touchdown. Jack Vance, grandmaster of lighthearted space opera, shapes a picaresque tale of adventure, romance, humor, and youth's eternal yearning to see the wonders that lie beyond the horizon.

Night Lamp (in Russian) Found as a child with no memory of his past, adopted by a scholarly couple who raised him as their own, Jaro never quite fit into the rigidly defined Society of Thanet. When his foster parents are killed in a mysterious bombing, Jaro Fath sets out to discover the truth of his origins - a quest that will take him across light-years and into the depths of the past.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Jack Vance mastered his craft over more than sixty years, garnering awards including the Nebula, Edgar, two Hugos, and the 1997 SFWA Grandmaster. The stories in this collection were written through the early-mid period of his career, spanning twenty years from the early 50's on. Vance would dismiss his early work as juvenile, "gadget"-oriented, lacking subtlety and polish. Even so, these stories are hearty and entertaining. Vance's perception, imagination and eventful personal experience are all visible, staking the way for significant things to come.

Was ist ein böser Mensch? Der Mensch ist böse, der Gehorsam für seine privaten Zwecke erzwingt, Schönheit zerstört, Schmerz hervorruft, Leben auslöscht...Fünf Piratenkapitäne haben bestimmte Menschen, die uns teuer waren, vernichtet und andere versklavt. Rache ist kein unehrenhaftes Motiv, wenn sie einem produktiven Zweck dient...Du musst die fünf töten, und es schadet nichts, wenn sie während des Vorgangs Schmerzen erleiden, denn sie haben eine unermessliche Schuld an Schmerzen und Kummer über andere gebracht. Das ist das Erbe, welches Kirth Gersen von seinem Großvater mit auf den Weg bekommt. Auf den Weg, die fünf Dämonenfürsten zu finden und zur Strecke zu bringen. Der erste dieser Dämonenfürsten, dem er auf die Spur kommt, heißt Attel Malagate ... Der Sternenkönigist Buch 1 der Serie um die Dämonenfürsten: eine klassische Space Opera von Jack Vance mit kriminalistischem Einschlag und voller Abenteuer.Ungekürzte Neuübersetzung von Andreas Irle nach der Ausgabe der Vance Integral Edition. Originalausgabe: The Star King - New York: Berkley, 1964Deutsche gekürzte Erstausgabe: Jäger im Weltall - Heyne: München, 1969Titelbild: David Russell

ALL THREE ALASTOR NOVELS IN ONE VOLUME! The Alastor Cluster: A sprawling system of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets, the cluster is ruled by the mysterious Connatic. He sees all and knows all, but with five trillion people contained within such far-flung boundaries, sooner or later something is bound to give. Each story is centered on a particular world of Alastor, each with its own peculiar customs, a staple of Jack Vance's writings: Trullion: Alastor 2262 (first published in 1973), Marune: Alastor 933 (1975), and Wyst: Alastor 1716 (1978).

"Galactic Effectuator" is an omnibus containing two of the famous detective "science fiction" stories written by the grandmaster of the genre, Jack Vance. This is a classic Vance: breathtaking adventures on colorful and dangerous planets, exotic customs of races evolved in unique conditions, and, of course, moving fast on the vivid background of it all, a brave and clever man, moderately quixotic but never forgetting his self-interest. Vance's protagonist, Miro Hetzel, is a top-notch interstellar private investigator who solves two tangled and risky cases. In the first story, "Dogtown Tourist Agency," Hetzel travels to planet Maz: there he has to investigate a mysterious shipping company. Axistil, the hypnotically strange capital of this grotesque planet, serves as a diplomatic rendezvous point for at least four mutually hostile Galactic races, including humans. Meanwhile, a young man, after being subjected to a weird mental torture, is accused of a triple murder; trying to save this confused victim of unknown evil forces from an imminent execution, Hetzel discovers that young man's improbable story is intricately connected with the case that he investigates, not to mention the deadbeat lover of a rich woman, whom Hetzel was tasked to find, and whom he also unexpectedly encounters on the same faraway planet. Inevitably, there is also a lovely innocent girl that may not be so innocent after all... In the second, shorter and somewhat more sarcastic story, "Freitzke's Turn," Miro Hetzel deals with his former classmate from the Academy, an evil genius who almost killed Hetzel many years ago, and then escaped to lead a life above all laws, those of men as well as, seemingly, those of the nature. Working for a wealthy client whose health and happiness will never be restored without Hetzel's help, galactic effectuator gathers pieces of evidence on several planets, minutely going through risky turns and stunning discoveries, and finally tracks the criminal down in the remote tropical paradise of his last refuge - only to lose the sight of him again...

Trullion: Alastor 2262 (Russian translation) Trullion - world 2262 of the Alastor Cluster - is a water-world of fens, mists, and idyllic islands set in clear oceans whose teeming richness provides food for the taking. The Trill are a carefree and easy-living people, but violence enters their lives during raids of the Starmenters, freebooting galactic pirates who live short, perilous lives in pursuit of adventure, rape and pillage. Then there's the planet-wide game of hussade - when the Trill's passion for gambling drives them to risk all - even life itself, on the hazardous water-chessboard gaming fields. Their prize? The beautiful sheirlmaiden...

The Brave Free Men (Book 2 of 3 in Durdane series, Russian translation) The land of Shant on the planet Durdane is ruled by a purposely anonymous dictator called the Anome or Faceless Man. He maintains control by virtue of the torc, a ring of explosive placed around the neck of every adult in Shant. Where the Anomes once ruled stands young Gastel Etzwane, facing a mortal threat to his homeland. Hoards of red Roguskhoi, armed by an unknown enemy, have swarmed out of the southern bogs to slaughter men, despoil women, and spread waves of terror. Through the peace imposed by the tyranny of the Anomes, men of Shant have lost the art of weaponry and war. Now Gastel must revive those skills to forge Shant's citizens into an army: an army of the free.

Ecce and Old Earth (Book 2 of 3, The Cadwal Chronicles, Russian translation) The planet Cadwal has an ecosystem unique in the human-explored galaxy. A thousand years past it was set aside as a natural preserve, protected by law and covenant against colonization and exploitation. But there is a conspiracy to open the planet and its rich resources to commerce. Glawen Clattuc must find who is behind the sabotage, and bring them to justice - but discovers that his own family is involved! Ancient crimes will be discovered, along with the key to the crisis which threatens Cadwal. Cadwal is a planet of extraordinary beauty. To protect it, the "Naturalist Society" has set up a Charter which allows only limited settlement on the planet in order to enforce the laws of the Conservancy. These laws forbid extensive human habitations, mining and other exploitation activities. Only six "Agents" and their staff are allowed to reside permanently on the planet: their main function is to prevent other humans from establishing residence, although tourists are allowed in specially designed lodges, overlooking sites of natural beauty and interest.

The Green Pearl (Book 2 of 3 in Lyonesse series, Russian translation) In this second volume of the Lyonesse trilogy, THE GREEN PEARL, King Aillas of Troicinet defends the peace of the Elder Isles against both the Ska marauders who once enslaved him, and the wicked King Casmir. While organizing the unruly barons in the frontiers of his land, Aillas goes out of his way to capture the lovely Ska noblewoman who once stung him with her disregard. When he gets separated from his men, his dream of forcing the lady's recognition becomes the toil of dragging an obstreperous captive across lands governed by Casmir's henchmen. Meanwhile, the world of magic has gone on the move. The concentrated malice of the witch Desmei has manifested as a green pearl, breeding lust and envy and death; and a sorcerer in Casmir's employ abducts the princess Glyneth, in a bid to draw Aillas and friends on a hopeless rescue mission across a bizarre and deadly alternate world.

The Anome (Book 1 of 3 in Durdane series, Russian translation) The land of Shant on the planet Durdane is ruled by a purposely anonymous dictator called the Anome or Faceless Man. He maintains control by virtue of the torc, a ring of explosive placed around the neck of every adult in Shant. The minstrel Gastel Etzwane lives in Shant - a country of cantons, each independently dictating its own law and customs. The enforcement of law is simple, quick, and inevitable: death by decapitation, from an explosive torc clamped around each citizen's neck by authority of a single man, the Anome. For millennia Anomes have ruled Shant, dealing death as they see fit - and none dares defy them, until Gastel Etzwane risks his head to expose the Anome's identity and to end the tyranny of these faceless men forever.

ALL FOUR PLANET OF ADVENTURE NOVELS IN ONE VOLUME! Stranded on the distant planet of Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures, but human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence. Against a backdrop of baroque cities, sumptuous palaces and riotous inns, Reith will encounter deadly wastrels and murderous aliens, dastardly villains and conniving scoundrels. And always a random beauty in need of rescue...

Araminta Station (Book 1 of 3, The Cadwal Chronicles, Russian translation) At the remote end of Mircea's Wisp, far out on the galaxy's Perseid Arm, is the Purple Rose System, containing the three stars Lorca, Sing and Syrene. Around Syrene swings the spectacular planet Cadwal, which the now defunct Naturalist Society of Earth long ago chartered to forever protect from exploitation. Cadwal is administered from Araminta Station - where young Glawen Clattuc wonders what the future may hold for him in the hierarchic, constrained society of Cadwal. His budding relationship with the lovely Sessily Veder ends with her mysterious disappearance, casting Glawen into a strange adventure, and the unraveling of a potent conspiracy. Cadwal is a planet of extraordinary beauty. To protect it, the "Naturalist Society" has set up a Charter which allows only limited settlement on the planet in order to enforce the laws of the Conservancy. These laws forbid extensive human habitations, mining and other exploitation activities. Only six "Agents" and their staff are allowed to reside permanently on the planet: their main function is to prevent other humans from establishing residence, although tourists are allowed in specially designed lodges, overlooking sites of natural beauty and interest.

Madouc (Book 3 of 3 in Lyonesse series, Russian translation) The World Fantasy Award - winning third volume of the LYONESSE trilogy brings attention to the faerie changeling Madouc. Where princess Suldrun once meekly endured the proprieties of Castle Haidion, Madouc defends herself with rotten fruit. Vexed, King Casmir arranges a contest to marry her off, but Madouc has other ideas, and enlists the stableboy "Sir Pom-pom" on an impromptu quest to find her real father. During their travels, they encounter swindlers, faeries, trolls, ogres, a knight in search of his youth, and a relatively pedestrian item known as the Holy Grail. As the sorcerers Shimrod and Murgen investigate portents of cataclysm in the world of magic, Casmir plans a murder that will bring all the lands under his iron rule; however, his ambitions will be complicated by one small but important oversight - he's failed to allow for Madouc!

With his silver hair, neat goatee and fastidious habits, elderly mathematician Magnus Ridolph doesn't look like the mercenary detective, troubleshooter and rascal that he is. In these ten stories, Magnus Ridolph accepts a variety of baffling assignments, from halting the tribal warfare of the Kokod warriors, to solving the mystery of exploding cans of sardines imported from Chandaria. His wits and unusual methods bring each to a surprising conclusion! Written between 1948 and 1957, the tales in this book establish Magnus Ridolph as a memorably spry and resourceful troubleshooter with nerves of steel-and a knack for getting the goods.

ALL THREE DURDANE NOVELS IN ONE VOLUME! The land of Shant on the planet Durdane is ruled by a purposely anonymous dictator called the Anome or Faceless Man. He maintains control by virtue of the torc, a ring of explosive placed around the neck of every adult in Shant. The minstrel Gastel Etzwane lives in Shant - a country of cantons, each independently dictating its own law and customs. The enforcement of law is simple, quick, and inevitable: death by decapitation, from an explosive torc clamped around each citizen's neck by authority of a single man, the Anome. For millennia Anomes have ruled Shant, dealing death as they see fit - and none dares defy them, until Gastel Etzwane risks his head to expose the Anome's identity and to end the tyranny of these faceless men forever.

The Asutra (Book 3 of 3 in Durdane series, Russian translation) The land of Shant on the planet Durdane is ruled by a purposely anonymous dictator called the Anome or Faceless Man. He maintains control by virtue of the torc, a ring of explosive placed around the neck of every adult in Shan't. Gastel Etzwane and his army of Brave Free Men have driven the savage Roguskhoi from Durdane, only to discover that Durdane is but one tiny front - a testing ground - for an implacable enemy intent on subjugating all the worlds of man. Forced to fight a war that is not their own, Gastel and his people are in no position to resist, but must find a way to escape a slave army, and defeat the Asutra!