Jack Vance is one of the greats of science fiction. He has been writing for more than 60 years, and in 1997 was honored as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. He is the author of dozens of science fiction and fantasy novels, including the World Fantasy Award winning Lyonnesse series, and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning The Last Castle. He lives in Oakland, California.

"Vance is the greatest living SF writer. His work continues to exhibit imagination, originality, and style, three things sadly lacking in 95% of the SF being published nowadays." --George R. R. Martin

"You can't possibly pass up any book by Jack Vance . . . He has perfected the trick of creating new worlds so deceptively real that after a while your own home seems imaginary." --Jerry Pournelle

"There is a flavor to [Vance's] work that you can't find elsewhere, an underlying current of good humor and quick-wittedness that makes you reluctant to turn that last page and return to a far less interesting reality." --Science Fiction Chronicle

"Vance has virtually no peer when it comes to creating sophisticated yet decadent worlds." --Starlog

"Vance demonstrates his talent for creating exotic and sometimes bizarre cultures that offer ironic commentary on the excesses and foibles of human society. The author's arch prose and dry humor have won him an avid following." --Library Journal

"The works of Jack Vance have boasted an ardent following for the past four decades, and his newest should be cause for rejoicing among the faithful. The remarkable high consistency of Vance's poetic writing, coupled with his extraordinary visions of exotic planets, is one of the treasures of speculative fiction." --Washington Post Book World