Three Legged Joe-Jack Vance short story

Three Legged Joe-Jack Vance short story

Three Legged Joe is a 16/21 page short story that was published initially in January, 1953 in Startling Stories. This is a story that is pure fun and I can imagine Vance chuckling as he wrote it.  Two recent graduates of the Highland Technical Institute, John Milke and Oliver Paskell,  plan to go to the planet Odfars to mine heavy metal. When they attempt to hire a highly experienced assistant to accompany them on their prospect trip, nobody will come and they are told by old timers to hire Three Legged Joe who lives on Odfars and will find them soon after their arrival.  “Get Three-legged Joe to wait on you. he’ll make you a good hand.” After arrival at Odfars, however, they find out that Joe is a giant humanoid like creature who lives by eating acid for chemical energy.  In his search for acid Three Legged Joe destroys their camp and equipment, and John and Oliver begin to fear for their own safety. They now realize why nobody would hire on with them and why no mining claims have ever been filed on the planet.  Three Legged Joe is a creature who is terribly intrusive, immensely powerful and virtually indestructible.  If he is not dealt with, however, their mining operation on the planet will need to be abandoned. It is an early, old fashioned sci fi story, all very light hearted and humorous in a style unique to Vance.  I have read the story now four times and it grew on me so I rated it a 4 “Really liked it”

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Augmented Agent (1989)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Gadget Stories (2005) part of VIE

Included in the Jack Vance collection Hard-Luck Diggings: The Early Jack Vance, Volume  1 (2010)

Included in the Vance collection titled Sail 25 and Other Stories (2017, Spatterlight)