A massive (over 230,000 words) gathering of fiction by the master of science-fantasy.

Jack Vance has long been one of the most influential, admired and imitated writers in science fiction and fantasy literature, the award-winning author of such widely acclaimed works as The Dying Earth, the Lyonesse trilogy, the adventures of Cugel the Clever, the Demon Princes series, and many other masterful tales set among the stars, in exotic fantasy realms or on our own Earth. For much of his career, Vance has also been one of the field's most private writers, an author who preferred to let his work speak for him. Now, at last, to coincide with the release of the tribute anthology Songs of the Dying Earth, Jack gives us this intimate and fascinating glimpse into his rich and eventful life, and a valuable insight into how he went about practicing his craft. For fans of the Grand Master's work, these memoirs are something to be treasured.

Edwer Thissell is having trouble adjusting to life on the planet Sirene. The Sirenese all wear masks to indicate their social status. They also communicate by playing instruments that are carefully selected for any social situation. (To make matters worse, errors of musical etiquette often prove fatal.) Shortly after Thissell arrives on Sirene, he finds himself embroiled in an unsolved murder made all the more mysterious by the fact that since everyone must always wear a mask, you can never be sure who you are dealing with.

The story of a young man's quest to discover the secret of his own origin, hidden by his adoptive parents and lost with their untimely death, "Night Lamp" features exotic settings, interesting characters, and classic Vance storytelling charm.

A world revolved around castles and turrets, filled with the strong personalities of an elite and ancient culture, their irascible Birds and gauze-girl Phanes, now threatened by rebellious alien servants and crumbling ideology.

A romantic tale follows a space swashbuckler and conman as he travels from world to world, plying his trade, drinking in wild bars, and flirting with women.

Big Planet is Jack Vance's first major sf novel, and in the words of the Encyclopedia of SF, "provided an sf model for the planetary romance which has been of significant use for forty years". The huge world of the title is home to a range of colourfully detailed and imaginative human societies, which Vance explores with the zest and humour which are hallmarks of his work. All Jack Vance titles in the SFGateway use the author's preferred texts, as restored for the Vance Integral Edition (VIE), an extensive project masterminded by an international online community of Vance's admirers. In general, we also use the VIE titles, and have adopted the arrangement of short story collections to eliminate overlaps. Big Planet was cut almost in half for its first publication, but sadly the excised pages are lost.