Posted by Rodger Whitlock on June 14, 1999 at 14:12:51:
In Reply to: Millennium SF Masterworks series posted by Tim Stretton on June 14, 1999 at 03:15:52:
Tim Stretton wrote:
> Looking around a local bookshop this weekend I see that
> Millennium have issued a series known as "SF Masterworks"
> which is relaunching out-of-print classics like Bester's
> "The Demolished Man" and Wolfe's "Fifth Head of Cerberus."
> This triggered a couple of lines of thought...
> 1. Does anyone know the full list? Millennium don't seem to
> have a website to track down the information.
> 2. What would your SF Masterworks list comprise? I'd like to
> see a Vance work on the list (a stand-alone piece like To Live
> Forever, maybe) but his reputation rests more on his overall
> output than any single work.
> What do you think?
I think (a) that Bester's "The Demolished Man" and "The Stars My
Destination" both deserve to be on such a list. I've still got the
original 1950s paperbacks and read them (carefully) once in a long
while.
It's hard to single out any of Jack Vance's work for such a list,
though, for the very reason you give. Perhaps "The Dying Earth"
should be listed, simply because it was the _first_ *book* to open
our eyes and minds to the Vancean world-view. The sequels might be
better, but TDE was what started things. I'd also suggest "The
Languages of Pao," "Big Planet," and "Emphyrio" as contenders.
Each of these Vance books offers a unique vision, and I think each
is the earliest of its type in Vance's oeuvre.