Wilbur Murphy sought romance, excitement, and an impossible Horseman of Space. With polite smiles, the planet frustrated him at every turn - until he found them all the hard way! A classic science fiction story originally published in the "If Worlds of Science Fiction" in July, 1953. Includes a detailed "About the Author" and a selected bibliography.

The city of Clarges in the future is a near-utopia, surrounded by barbarism throughout the rest of the world. Abundant resources and the absence of political conflict lead to a pleasant life that should be stress-free. However, nearly everyone is obsessed with a perpetual scramble for life, as measured by slope.Medical technology has led to a great lengthening of the human lifespan, but, in order to prevent the Malthusian horrors of over-population, it is awarded only to those citizens who have made notable contributions. Five categories have been created for those playing the life-extension game, the first four each offering an additional twenty years of life. The ultimate prize is the top category, called Amaranth, which offers (to the fortunate few) true immortality. People who achieve this distinction are accorded the honorific "The" in front of their name. The Grayven Warlock was one of those accomplished few, but he has become a fugitive after a feud with another Amaranth resulted in the latter's death. Masquerading as his own "relict" (clone) using the name Gavin Waylock, he lives in obscurity, looking for the accomplishment that will reinstate him among the immortals. However, Waylock's dramatic stratagems result in changes to society far beyond anything he had intended.

A short story collection by one of SF's greatest authors, Jack Vance.Contains:- Dust of Far Suns (1962)Dodkin's Job (1959)Ullward's Retreat (1958)The Gift of Gab (1955)  

Paperback, 334 pages Published 1983 Spatterlight Press Cover art by Li-An (borrowed) Cugel's Saga (previously titled Cugel - the Skybreak Spatterlight) Cugel the Clever is still seeking revenge on the magician Iucounu, whom he blames for his exile and all his troubles. But revenge is hard to come by, and the adventures on the way are so very diverting. Cynical and crudely charming Cugel again ventures back to Almery, after his spell misfires against nemesis Iucounu the Laughing Magician. He connives out of wage-slavery, in debt to the company refectory, as he dredges for a disassembled demiurge's scales in a slime pit. He and a co-worker sabotage each other scrubbing disease off huge worms that power ship Galante.

Epub“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…

In a far-off future, criminals have the freedom to pursue their most violent passions among the civilized worlds of the Oikumene, assured that justice cannot follow when they escape into the lawless Beyond - a vast playground where the most elusive and monomaniacal murderers, thieves, and slavers can conquer a world of their own, play out complex fantasies of bloodlust, pursue revenge and immortality over generations, give themselves to a psychotic world of self-absorption, and devalue their neighbors' property values.Five of the most quixotic and efficient killers in the Gaean Reach gathered to execute a joint venture, slave-taking on the colony world of Mount Pleasant. One survivor of that raid dedicates his life to mold his grandson, Kirth Gerson, into a seeker of justice and executioner of these five. Gathered in this unified offering is the tale of Gersen's revenge.Gersen's tale begins with The Star King on the backwater of Smade's World, and covers five manhunts that span known space. Gersen, himself a part-time operative for the stellar Interpol, the IPCC, becomes a counterfeiter, kidnapper, and more as his destiny dictates.Jack Vance marked his entrance to the field of large scale science fiction with this series. Settings range from Sailmaker Beach on oceanic Alphanor of the Rigel Concourse, to the deserts of Dar Sai, the poisoners' steppes of Sarkovy, and an incredible variety of other worlds of the Beyond. We are introduced to Mankind's loose confederation of settled space, the Gaean Reach, which figures prominently in many of Vance's later tales.The Demon Princes offers vividly imagined and meticulously fleshed characters who inhabit a universe of fantastic environments and deadly perils. Kirth Gersen's antagonists are exemplars of excessive self-esteem and artistic flair for the sadistic and ironic. There isn't a slow moment as Gersen works to keep his skin intact while pursuing some of the most interesting and flamboyant criminals in SF.

"Magnus Ridolph didn't look like an interstellar troubleshooter, at first. He was not tall and muscular, ... and his voice and manner seemed far too mild for an adventurer. Yet there was a chill hardness in his mild eyes that warned of the deceptiveness of his appearance..."This is a complete collection of all stories featuring Magnus Ridolph, troubleshooter for hire. Invariably those with whom he associates try to either cheat him or take advantage of him, but Magnus Ridolph always comes up with the answer to their problem and, usually with an unexpected twist, manages to collect his full fee from the cheater.Cover art by C. Michael TaylorContentsHard Luck DiggingsSanatoris Short-cutThe Sub-Standard SardinesThe Unspeakable McInchThe King of ThievesTo B or Not to C or to DThe Howling BoundersThe Spa of the StarsThe Kokod WarriorsCoup de Grâcefrom an Amazon ReviewerJack Vance wrote a total of 10 light-hearted sci fi tales featuring Magnus Ridolph, a dignified gentleman rascal with an interplanetary reputation as a detective and trouble-shooter. Eight of those tales appear here:[1] "The Kokod Warriors" (1951): A lady do-gooder hires Ridolph to put an end to bloodsports on the planet Kokod, where entrepreneurs profit from the warlike instincts of the diminutive natives.[2] "The Unspeakable McInch" (1949): A diverse colony of alien races is terrorized by a faceless crimelord.[3] "The Howling Bounders" (1949): Mysterious leaping fiends are devouring valuable crops on Ridolph's newly-purchased resilian farm. Featuring Chook the cook.[4] "The King of Thieves" (1949): Ridolph visits a jungle planet whose natives glorify thievery as the highest form of achievement. Can he hold on to his possessions?[5] "The Spa of the Stars" (1950): An idyllic planetary resort may have to be shut down when the local fauna turns deadly.[6] "Coup de Grace" (1957)(a/k/a "Worlds of Origin"): When a murder occurs on "The Hub", an enclosed space station, Ridolph seeks to rule out suspects by researching their native cultures.The following appear in the DAW editions (such as the edition reviewed here), but not the earlier ACE editions of same title (such as the "double-book" packaged with THE BRAINS OF EARTH):[7] "The Sub-Standard Sardines" (1948): Ridolph goes undercover as a laborer to investigate sabotage on an off-Terran sardine factory. .[8] "To B or not to C or D" (1948)(a/k/a "Cosmic Hotfoot"): A magnate forcibly recruits Ridolph to investigate disappearances on the southern half of a planet he owns.None of these stories rank among Vance's best work, but I enjoyed them all nonetheless, even the last two, which are particularly silly.The 2 stories that are missing (even in the DAW edition) can be found in THE COMPLETE MAGNUS RIDOLPH, where they are presented last. They are actually the first written, and perhaps the weakest. They are:[9] "Hard Luck Diggings" (1948): Ridolph investigates mining colony terrorized by a mad strangler.[10] "Sanatoris Short-Cut" (1948): Ridolph matches wits with a space pirate and gambling tycoon, by trying to find a flaw in his alibi.

aka Planet of AdventureIn the novels, Tschai is a planet orbiting the star Carina 4269, 212 light-years from Earth. It is populated by three alien, mutually hostile species; the displaced, native Pnume; and various human races, some of whom live as slaves or clients of the aliens. Each of the four novels relates Reith's adventures with one of the species, and is named after that species. In order, the books are:City of the ChaschServants of the WankhThe DirdirThe PnumeThe insect-like Pnume are the original inhabitants of Tschai. Their history goes back ten million years and they view the invaders as welcome additions to the pageantry on their world stage. They were forced underground by the coming of the more powerful species. Related to them are the Phung, solitary sentient predators with bizarre habits. The somewhat reptilian Chasch arrived a hundred thousand years prior to the tale's start, and are divided into three warring factions, the decadent Old Chasch, the Blue Chasch, and the barbarian Green Chasch. The birdlike predatory Dirdir and the amphibious Wankh (or Wankh) are comparatively recent arrivals and had warred with each other in the past, but subsided into an uneasy peace due to their relative military parity.The human client races, the Pnumekin, Chaschmen, Dirdirmen and Wankhmen resemble their alien patrons to some degree, due to selective breeding, surgery and the desire of the humans to emulate their respective masters. The Pnumekin are kept docile by drugs; the Gzhindra are ostracised and exiled Pnumekin who act as agents for the Pnume. The religious fiction that their dead are reborn as Chasch keeps the Chaschmen obedient. The Dirdirmen view themselves as degenerate Dirdir and strive to minimize their differences. The Wankhmen, on the other hand, act as the sole interpreters of the Wankh and as a result, are able to manipulate the alien race to their own advantage. Vance's depiction of the human race after tens of thousands of years on Tschai aims to show how foreign humanity can become in alien surroundings.

Paperback, 190 pages Published 1966 Spatterlight Press Cover art by Li-An (borrowed) The Eyes of the Overworld (previously titled Cugel the Clever) Cugel the Clever is a novel-length adventure of Cugel the trickster, the thief, the very questionable hero in this decadent, dying world. Caught by the magician whose house he was robbing, Cugel is set the task of retrieving certain rare objects as penance. Iucounu the Laughing Magician dispatches unwilling Cugel on a difficult quest, to deliver a violet glass cusp worn in the overworld by warring demons of the eighteenth aeon. Cugel's trials and adventures are diverse as he makes his way from Shanglestone Strand back to Almery, and his revenge upon Iucounu.

Though still quite young, Jean Parlier had already had an active interplanetary life. Wanted on her native world, she had escaped to Earth on wits and courage. A very pretty girl, she had a very unusual type of personal vitality which captivated men. But her aim was not a man, but first getting her hands on a million dollars. There was a way open to do that. Go to Earl Abercrombie's private satellite and get him to marry her. On any other worldlet, it would have been simple. But on Abercrombie Station, the free-weight home for ultra-fat people, where Jean was considered a scarecrow freak, and Earl Abercrombie was mad only about space monsters, it was anything but simple!

Stories of the Future with  an introduction by Jack Vance. An old woodcutter woman, hunting mushrooms up the north fork of the Kreuzberg, raised her eyes and saw the strangers. They came step by step through the ferns, arms extended, milk-blue eyes blank as clam shells. When they chanced into patches of sunlight, they cried out in hurt voices and clutched at their naked scalps, which were white as ivory, and netted with pale blue veins.The old woman stood like a stump, the breath scraping in her throat. She stumbled back, almost falling at each step, her legs moving back to support her at the last critical instant. The strange people came to a wavering halt, peering through sunlight and dark-green shadow. The woman took an hysterical breath and put her gnarled old legs to flight.A hundred yards downhill she broke out on a trail; here she found her voice. She ran, uttering cracked screams and hoarse cries, lurching from side to side. She ran till she came to a wayside shrine, where she flung herself into a heap to gasp out prayer and frantic supplication.

A tales in the Dying Earth Series

The inhabitants of that planet in Argo Navis were not only human, they were English-speaking, Earth-type humans! But instead of making it easier to get along with them, their culture teas the most incomprehensible in the universe—until the explorers returned home!