Vancealot: Jack Vance in Review

Absent-Minded Professor, The-Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: “ First Star I See Tonight ” The Absent-Minded Professor is a 16/17 page short story first published in Malcom's Mystery Magazine in March of 1954 under the pseudonym of John Van See . It is also known as "First Star I See Tonight" and "Murder Observed." Vance mentioned in the Introduction to the collection The Dark Side of the Moon that he was rather fond of this story. It was influenced by some information Vance received regarding the competition between scientists in academia.   The story is written in the first person singular and involves the rivalry between two astronomy professors who compete to gain more access time to the observatory telescope. It is more of a mystery story than science fiction.   The main character, Sisley ,   is an assistant professor of astronomy who shares observatory time with elderly, fussy, cantankerous full professor named Dr. Patchen .  ...

Alfred's Ark -Jack Vance short story Alfred's Ark is an 6/8 page short story first published in the magazine New Worlds Science Fiction in May, 1965.   It is a short, simple story that cuts to the quick of human behavior.   Alfred believes there will be a Biblical flood in less than a year so he sells his business for very little profit in order to build an ark. He even runs an ad in the local paper asking for donations and volunteers but receives mostly ridicule in response. Alfred will only take a few domestic animals along because he does not have the resources to include wild ones.   He hopes that some woman will offer to join him but says if necessary he will hire a woman to board the ark with him on the day of the predicted storm. He feels she will eventually grow to like him if they end up being the last two surviving people on Earth. How Alfred is treated by people in his local community and human behavior in general is the underlying theme. In the Introducti...

Cosmic Hotfoot- Jack Vance short story AKA: To B or Not to C or D (author’s preferred title) To B or Not to C or to D is a 20/21 page (7,500 words) short story that was first published in Startling Stories magazine in September, 1950. It is also known as "Cosmic Hotfoot." Ridolph is deeply in debt and trying to hide from bill collectors when he is approached with an offer that will pay off his bills if he investigates why minors keep dying on a private planet called Jexjeka.   Magnus is in debt because of the expenses of managing his own personal zoo, "that howling menagerie of monsters," so accepts the assignment after cleverly negotiating a contract.   Magnus puts himself at great risk to investigate and is unsure if he can trust his employer, a "scowling man" with "carbuncle eyes" who has a reputation for being an "unscrupulous blackguard."   I’ve read this story several times and rated it a 3 “liked it.” Included in the Jack...

Coup de Grace - Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: Worlds of Origin Coup de Grace is a 17/21 page (7,400 words) short story published initially in February, 1958 in the magazine Super Science Fiction.   It is also known by the title “Worlds of Origin.” Magnus Ridolph is relaxing on a private space station called the Hub which is visited by many beings from other planets. Magnus is approached by an anthropologist who recognizes him and tries to hire him because he is fearful someone is trying to kill him.   Magnus, however, is on vacation and declines the job offer.   The next morning the anthropologist is found dead and Magnus is asked by the owner of the space station if he will help investigate because no law enforcement authorities have jurisdiction over a private space station and he wants to see that the murder is brought to justice. Magnus feels he cannot decline the offer so begins to investigate.   Because there are so many alien be...

Dead Ahead - Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: Ultimate Quest Dead Ahead is a 18/19 page short story that was first published in the magazine Super Science Stories in September, 1950 under the title "Ultimate Quest".   In 1986 it was released under the title of "Dead Ahead" in a collection of Vance shorter works titled The Dark Side of the Moon. A space captain, Chiram , and a financier sponsor are planning for two spaceships to travel the length of the universe by going straight ahead in one direction at many times the speed of light.   The assumption is that the universe is circular and not infinite so that by traveling in just one direction they will eventually arrive home again. The trick is to make sure the flight course is absolutely straight because even a slight deviation in piloting will get them hopelessly lost.   Because of advanced technology their ship can travel at the speed of “six or seven thousand light years a second” so ...

Devil on Salvation Bluff , The- Jack Vance short story The Devil on Salvation Bluff, a short story of 21/23 pages (7,200 words), was published initially in 1955 in the   book anthology Star Science Fiction Stories #3.   Two missionaries, a married couple, live outside the main city on a planet called "Glory" where their ancestors from Earth crash landed 500 years ago. They maintain a huge clock (which is very symbolic) and adhere to Earth time (and customs) even though it does not apply to this planet which has a number of suns that seem to rise unpredictably. The two missionaries are responsible for "civilizing" the local natives, who live in the wild, by teaching them about manners, social behavior, adherence to schedules, and the importance of time and clocks.   The locals raise goats, run around half naked, live in filthy conditions, refuse to live in the houses that the missionaries built for them, copulate in public and destroy the canals the missionaries m...

Dover Spargill’s Ghastly Floater - Jack Vance short story Dover Spargill 's Ghastly Floater is a 17 page short story that was published initially in Marvel Science Fiction in November, 1951. Twenty one year old Dover Spargill recently inherited about a third of the Earth's moon plus other assets.   His attorney suggests he not make any purchases or sales without consulting first with him.   But Dover is young and impulsive and suddenly buys up the rest of the moon without telling anybody. He had not seen the news announcement that Earth scientists had found a means of transmutating minerals.   Because of this new discovery Spargill’s newly purchased moon, valuable only for its mineral deposits, is suddenly worthless, and Dover has spent his entire fortune acquiring it.   But Dover does not give up.   He might be young and impulsive but others might have underestimated him and his innovative ideas. This is another light, enjoyable, older sci fi story. I’ve rea...

DP!-Jack Vance short story DP! is a 20/22 page short story that sometimes does not have an exclamation point after the title.   It was first released in April, 1953 in the Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader .   Vance wrote this story while vacationing in a village in the Austrian Tyrol and uses this location as the setting for the story. White humanoid troglodytes begin coming up out of the fissures in the earth after a lava flow forces them to the surface. The "Trogs" are initially killed by fearful humans until they are recognized as also being human.   The harmless and helpless Trogs are blind and have no food or shelter. Prolonged exposure to the sun kills them. They are refugees , totally dependent on others.   Eventually millions of Trogs climb up out of the earth and are stranded in a small area in Austria called Trog City. The United Nations becomes involved and some countries offer to take some of the Trogs as immigrants. Some citizens find this thre...

Dream Castle - Jack Vance short story (author’s revision) AKA: “ I’ll Build Your Dream Castle ” (original version) Dream Castle is an 18 page short story that was originally published in a 15 page abbreviated version in September 1947 in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction under the title "I'll Build Your Dream Castle."   According to the International Speculative Fiction Data Base : "In 1982, Vance revised this story to create “Dream Castle,” which is longer and with significantly revised wording.” This revision was done by Vance for the book Lost Moons , a collection of short works by Vance that was published by Underwood-Miller in 1982.   I've read the original magazine version and the 1982 revision and preferred the revised one.   Vance himself did not care for this story and in his introduction to the 1982 collection Lost Moons he wrote that Dream Castle and another story The World-Thinker were both “so embarrassing that I rewrote a few stand-out...

First Star I See Tonight - Jack Vance short story AKA: The Absent-Minded Professor (author’s preferred title) The Absent-Minded Professor is a 16/17 page short story first published in Malcom's Mystery Magazine in March of 1954 under the pseudonym of John Van See . It is also known as "First Star I See Tonight" and "Murder Observed." Vance mentioned in the Introduction to the collection The Dark Side of the Moon that he was rather fond of this story. It was influenced by some information Vance received regarding the competition between scientists in academia.   The story is written in the first person singular and involves the rivalry between two astronomy professors who compete to gain more access time to the observatory telescope. It is more of a mystery story than science fiction.   The main character, Sisley ,   is an assistant professor of astronomy who shares observatory time with elderly, fussy, cantankerous full professor named Dr. Patchen .   ...

Four Hundred Blackbirds - Jack Vance novelette The 22/23 page (7,600 words) novelette Four Hundred Blackbirds was written in 1948 and issued first in Future Science Fiction magazine in July, 1953.   The story begins on an unidentified planet that seems similar to Earth where the country of Moltroy , run by the People’s Rights party, is at war with the country called the World Federation . Edward Schmidt is the director of the “Institute” in Moltroy and supervises Abel Ruan , “an extremely brilliant scientist, ingenious, resourceful” who has been working on linking the brains of two men through their spinal cords. This was a failure but he did succeed in joining the brain of a human to a canary’s brain where they were able to communicated by a telepathic like connection . Abel describes how flocks of blackbirds are able to fly together, “suddenly all veering together as if guided by one brain.” “Imagine telepathy as high frequency radiation, imagine the human brain as a trans...

God and the Temple Robbers - Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: The Temple of Han God and the Temple Robbers is a 15 page short story that was first printed in the magazine Planet Stories in July, 1951. Vance explained how this story was originally part of an epic novel that was rejected for publication. It was one episode that he salvaged from the novel.   It has also had the title "The Temple of Han ." The main character is an Earth man, Briar Kelly, who disguises himself as a Han, an alien species that outnumber humans on Earth, and goes to one of their temples where he steals a religious jewel called the Seven-year Eye that he hopes to sell. While fleeing, however, the sky suddenly changes and a new sun appears in place of the old one.   The Han have somehow moved Earth to a different location, and that is merely the first step in the drastic measures they will take to regain the jewel.   The story is engaging and worth reading. I’ve read it...

Golden Girl - Jack Vance short story Golden Girl was written in 1945 and first issued in Marvel Science Stories in 1951.   It is a 10/14 page short story about a reporter, Bill Baxter , who becomes famous after he rescues a woman from a wrecked spaceship.   The woman, Lurulu , is a remarkably beautiful golden colored human like alien who is sent to a hospital to recover. Baxter tries to protect her from the many reporters, CIA agents and others who want to talk with her or even relocate her. Eventually she is even invited with Baxter to stay at the White House . But fame and world attention cannot offset Lurulu's homesickness, and Baxter becomes increasingly attracted to her.   This is a very simple story that should appeal mostly to Vance fans.   I’ve read it three times and rated it 3, 3 and 4. Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Augmented Agent (1989) Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Dream Castles: Early Jack Vance, vol. 2   ...

Hard Luck Diggings - Jack Vance short story Hard Luck Diggings is a 14/17 page short story that was first published in July, 1948 in the magazine Startling Stories . It features the main character Magnus Ridolph , a private investigator who accepts contracts on other worlds to solve crimes and mysteries. He is hired for a job investigating an off planet mining company where two to three men are being mysteriously strangled every day.   This happens in only at "Diggings B" one of two mining operations.   Three hundred minors are assigned to this digging, but they are being killed faster than they can be replaced. Murders have happened in locked rooms, showers, toilets and other places, always when a man is by himself with no witnesses.   The only creatures on the planet are panthers, four armed apes and rodents, none of which would be able to enter a locked room to kill. The leopards and apes use to kill men at Diggings B until they installed an electric fence to keep ...

House Lords , The- Jack Vance short story The House Lords is a 15/16 page short story that was published initially in Saturn magazine in October, 1957. In later years, when discussing this story, Vance mentioned that he had little recollection of it.   An “Astrographical Societyz’ ship from Earth arrives on another planet where conditions for life are favorable.   They suddenly see a human child and then encounter some English speaking people who call themselves " Freemen ." The Freemen have never heard of Earth and have no explanation of why they speak English.   Suddenly some other humans whom the Freemen call "House Lords" appear from a castle and the Freemen flee.   These House Lords refer to the Freemen as "Wild men" and have advanced weapons and a very superior attitude.   Two of the men from the ship accompany the House Lords to their castle where they try to determine who all of these people are and where they came from. It is a somewhat intere...

Howling Bounders - Jack Vance short story Howling Bounders is an 18/19 page short story that was first published in Startling Stories magazine in March, 1949.   Magnus Ridolph finds a business opportunity and cannot believe his good fortune. He is offered a plantation at a price that seems too good to be true. After moving in, however, he discovers that his crops are being attacked and destroyed by creatures called "Howling Bounders."   Ridolph is too clever and persevering to give up, though, and devises a scheme to deal with the Howling Bounders and the seller who cheated him.   I’ve read this three times   rated it a 3 “Liked it” each time. Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Complete Magnus Ridolph (1990) Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The DAW Edition of “The Many Worlds of  Magnus Ridolph (1980) Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Gadget Stories (2005) part of VIE Included in the Jack Vance collection titl...

I'll Build Your Dream Castle - Jack Vance short story (original version) AKA: Dream Castle (author’s revision) I'll Build Your Dream Castle is a 14/15/18 page short story that was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in September of 1947. According to the International Speculative Fiction Data Base: "In 1982, Vance revised this story to create "Dream Castle," which is longer and with significantly revised wording.” This revision was done by Vance for the book Lost Moons , a collection of short works by Vance that was published by Underwood-Miller in 1982.   I've read the magazine 1947 original and the 1982 revision and preferred the revised one.   Vance himself did not care for this story and in his introduction to the 1982 collection Lost Moons he said that the original Dream Castle and another story The World-Thinker were both “so embarrassing that I rewrote a few stand-out passages, a lick-and-a promise operation rather like ...

King of Thieves - Jack Vance short story The King of Thieves is an 18 page short story that was first published in November, 1949 in the magazine Startling Stories . This one is pure fun and places Magnus Ridolph on a planet where the inhabitants admire thievery and honor the most successful thieves, such as their king. Ridolph bets with another visitor that he can maintain more of his possessions, and the visitor agrees to place the bet with him.   This visitor cheated Ridolph previously so he is bent on revenge. Both of them seem to have no limits on what they will do to win as each tries to outsmart the other. It is an amusing, humorous story.   I’ve read it four times and rate it a 4. Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph (1966) Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Worlds of Jack Vance (1973) Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The DAW Edition of “The Many Worlds of  Magnus Ridolph (1980) Include...

Masquerade on Dicantropus, The-Jack Vance short story The Masquerade on Dicantropus is a 15 page short story that is an early work, originally published in September, 1951 in Startling Stories magazine .   A couple named Jim and Barbara Root live on the planet Dicantropus where Jim is studying the planet's archeology and Barbara is deeply bored and unhappy. Jim agrees to return to Earth in three months when the next supply ship arrives and suggests that they might engage in more swimming and badminton until then. There is an unusual pyramid on the planet that intrigues Jim but he is afraid to explore it because the alien beings called Dicantropus who live on the planet have warned him to stay away from it.   One day one of the resident creatures swims up to them wearing a diamond necklace.   They converse with the Dicantropus but it will only say that it found the necklace but not where. The Roots suspect it came from the pyramid and Barbara wants Jim to explore the py...

Meet Miss Universe-Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: Miss Universe Meet Miss Universe was published first in March, 1955 in the magazine Fantastic Universe . It is also known under the title "Miss Universe." It is a 22/23/25 page short story involving the California Tri-Centennial Exposition .   Harderman Clydell, the Exposition's General Director, asks his assistant, Tony LeGrand, if he can think of events or exhibits to enhance the exposition and Tony suggests a Miss Universe contest.   LeGrand likes the idea so they begin making plans. Because there are only a half dozen planets with humanoid life, they decide to include all species of intelligent alien creatures as long as they come from a socially organized society, an interpreter can be found and the species is not dangerous.   Comparing humans to Pleiades dragon women would be difficult so they decide to score the contestants based on the standards and ideals of their home planet.   ...