Posted by Tim Stretton on June 09, 1997 at 09:21:10:
In Reply to: Introductory JHV books posted by Brian McCue on June 09, 1997 at 07:14:07:
: This past weekend I attended my 25th high school reunion. Refraiing from wreaking terrible acts of vengence, richly deserved though they would have been, on any of my classmates,
: I spent some time talking to a quiet fellow I had never really gotten to know. He is now working as a screenwriter, having credits in several first-line movies and TV shows of the thriller variety. We discussed SF, which he reads a little, but he has never read any Vance.
: I want to send him a Vance book, but I'm wondering where to start. Years ago, somebody loaned me Lyonesse and I couldn't "get into it"; later, after I had read other Vance books, I retried Lyonnesse and really liked it (of course). So where should I start my classmate?
: Brian McCue
It depends if your man is more likely to go for SF or fantasy. The first Vance novel I ever read was 'The Face' and I was hooked from that point. 'To Live Forever' and 'Emphyrio' would also be pretty good SF starters.
If you think fantasy is a more promising avenue, you cannot improve on 'The Dying Earth.'
Alternatively, any of the short story collections reproducing 'The Moon Moth' will give a flavour of Vance's very best writing without needing to set aside the time to read a novel.