Subterranean Press just published this Fifth Volume in the “Early Jack Vance” series. The Repparee was originally published at “The Five Gold Bands” in Startling Stories in November 1950. An expanded version was published by Toby Press in 1953 as The Space Pirate: A Science Fiction Novel. It was reprinted as half of ACE Double F-185 (with The Dragon Masters (1963) on the other side). “Crusade to Maxus” was published as “Overlords of Maxus” in Thrilling Wonder Stories in February 1951. Gold and Iron was published as “Planet of the Damned” in Space Stories in Spring 1952. Houses of Iszm first appeared in Startling Stories in Spring 1954 and an expanded version was published as half of ACE Double F-265 (with Son of the Tree in 1964). Space Opera was published by Pyramid Books in February 1965. I loved all these stories when I first read them back in the Sixties. I loved them when I reread them this week!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
◦ Introduction
◦ The Rapparee
◦ Crusade to Maxus
◦ Gold and Iron
◦ The Houses of Iszm
◦ Space Opera
Really looks like these editions are worth getting – thanks George.
Sergio, I have all five volumes in Subterranean’s EARLY JACK VANCE series. Wonderful books and great stories!
I read most of those in the 70s, Jack Vance is also one of my favourites! But his Star King Series really is the greatest!
A funny story on this:
In Germany there were two publishers of SF paperbacks in the 60s/70s:
Goldmann and later came Heyne – Goldmann had all the classics by Asimov, Silverberg etc – Heyne added the more racy titles like Vance, Dick etc
There also were real pulps – larger format and just 64 pages, that started in the 50s, published by Moewig who also published the successfull (at least in Germany) series Pery Rhodan. Can you imagine a book like the Space Merchants (Pohl and Kornbluth were also among my favourite authors) reduced to 64 pages – in German? All the editors were SF fans of course and I met several of them at German conventions.
Now to the story of the Star Kings:
I bought those in German and lent them to a student friend – only to never get them back. More than 10 years later a collegue called me and told me that someone had given him some SF books to read (on a campsite somewhere in Austria) and he found my name in them – and that name is unique in Germany afaik!
Seems that my “friend” had sold those books …
I met him again later – he had become a successful business man, asked for a pardon and compensated me – of course I had bought those books in the ACE-editions in the meantime at the famous Fantasy Centre in London.
Btw does anyone here know Fantasy Centre? I just read on ansible that Ted Ball died a few weeks ago – I fondly remember him and his shop – oh, those were the days …
Wolf, great stories! We all miss the Old Days. I learned early on not to lend books. I give books away (mostly duplicates).
Reread all the Star Kings last year. My favorites of Vances work are the Tales of the Dying Earth and the Night Lamp.
Steve, I’m a big fan of the DYING EARTH stories. NIGHT LAMP is wonderful, too! My favorite volume of the STAR KINGS series is THE FACE.
It’s great that so many of these older books are being reprinted for a new generation and even better when you enjoy them again the second time around.
I had (may still, somewhere) that ACE Double with The Dragon Masters on one side and The Five Gold Bands on the other. Probably my favorite Vance book. It’s too bad the libraries aren’t buying these Sub Press volumes. Too expensive, I guess.
Rick, the price is a sticking point for some Libraries when they consider these Subterranean books. Subterranean Press also sells out of these limited edition books, too.