Posted by Linda Heaphy on August 06, 1998 at 17:00:49:
In Reply to: Re: jack vance mailing list posted by jane on July 19, 1998 at 20:34:33:
By the way, Jack Vance once said that his readers were 90% highly educated, intelligent, males. He said this as part of a conversation about his desire to sell more books by appealing to a larger audience. I do know a few highly educated intelligent women who like his
: :
: : --Gene
: Gene--That is so interesting, 90% male! It seems so strange to me as I have always found his work so creative and fun and have eagerly watched for each new story. I actually became hooked on sci-fi in my late teens when I was introduced to Theodore Sturgeon's work. It wasn't long before I came across Vance. Now, 40 years down the road I am still impressed and captivated by his complex societies and the way he tells their tale. I still eagerly watch for new stories.
As a female Jack Vance fan, I thought I would join the lists - I have been a fan ever since I was a little girl and came across a Vance book (Emphyrio) in a relative's book case one rainy afternoon. I didn't actually understand it all, but I loved his work even then, and over the years have collected as many Vance books as possible (about two thirds now).
And yes, I suppose I fit the reader profile - I have a PhD in ecology - although I did not know what I would become when I read my first Vance book!
Until recently, I had no idea that there were other Vance fans out there - nobody I know in Sydney reads him, not even my many science fiction fan friends. I'm only a relative newcomer to 'net world, and the very first search I ever carried out was for the word "Vance". What a world has been opened up to me! I received my first parcel of second-hand Vance books a couple of months ago and a copy of "Ports of Call" from Amazon a month later - I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
Linda