Posted by Terry Doyle on October 14, 1997 at 11:43:27:
In Reply to: Wow, whole herds of Vance fans posted by MikeE on September 30, 1997 at 23:39:48:
: On a sudden impluse I searched the web for Jack Vance and what to my wondering eyes appeared? I have searched out Vance for almost 30 years now. I have tried to share him with carefully chosen friends, but as amazing as it seems to me, not everyone is transported as I am. I have recently found a fellow fan in a chat line for Cockatoo owners. Beyond believe, it is a female. I notice, this site seems to be exclusively male. I'll pass the location on to her. I have briefly reviewed the subjects here and will read them more carefully as time permits. I'd like to ask this question. What was your first Vance book? What caused you to keep him in your list of authors to search out?
: The first book I remember reading that was Vance's was the Pnume. I read it and was captured by the atmosphere. It was unlike anything I had ever read before. The sense of being in the tunnels, the ride on the barge in total darkness, the sense of menace, the effort to outsmart the eels, the sweet awakening of Zap. What a story! I put it aside and awhile later found the Dirdir. I hadn't even realized it was a series. The Dirdir also struck me hard. The search for treasure amid terrible danger, the bravery of entering the glass box for a friend. Wow. After a while, I was sorting my books to swap at a book store. When I got to the two Vance books, I couldn't bring myself to swap them in. After that, I began searching for Vance. I am about ready to start a 3 week vacation, but I expect to be a regular here.
The first Vance I remember reading was (Galaxy?) _The Dragon Masters_ and the answer to what book to start a new Vance reader I answered recently by introducing a guy from Japan was 1) _The Dying Earth_, followed by the collection, 2) _The Best of Jack Vance_ with my all time favorite story, _The Last Castle_, followed by 3) _The Blue World_. So far and I'd followe up with _Cugel's Saga_ or the entire Demon Princes. Or anything except _The Grey Prince_ or the washed out Ellery Queen mysteries. IMHOP.