Alastor Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Alastor |
1973 |
N/A |
| Trullion |
1973 |
Buy |
| Marune |
1975 |
Buy |
| Wyst |
1978 |
Buy |
| Phaedra |
2019 |
Buy |
Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Star Science Fiction Stories 3 |
1955 |
Buy |
| Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1963 |
1963 |
Buy |
| Great Short Novels of Science Fiction |
1970 |
Buy |
| Alpha 3 |
1972 |
Buy |
| More Stories from the Hugo Winners, Vol. 2 |
1973 |
Buy |
| The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction / Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century |
1980 |
Buy |
| The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Three: Nebula Winners 1965-1969 |
1981 |
Buy |
| Great Fantasy |
1983 |
Buy |
| Great Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction |
1985 |
Buy |
| The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats |
1988 |
Buy |
| The Science Fiction Century |
1997 |
Buy |
| A Magic-Lover’s Treasury of the Fantastic |
1998 |
Buy |
| Nebula Awards 32: SFWA’s Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year |
1998 |
Buy |
| The Furthest Horizon |
2000 |
Buy |
| The World Turned Upside Down |
2005 |
Buy |
| Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance |
2009 |
Buy |
| Science Fiction Gems, Vol. One |
2011 |
Buy |
Big Planet Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Big Planet |
1952 |
Buy |
| Showboat World |
1975 |
Buy |
Cadwal Chronicles Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Araminta Station |
1987 |
Buy |
| Ecce and Old Earth |
1991 |
Buy |
| Throy |
1992 |
Buy |
| The Cadwal Chronicles |
2012 |
Buy |
Demon Princes Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Demon Princes |
1964 |
N/A |
| The Star King |
1964 |
Buy |
| De Moordmachine |
1964 |
N/A |
| The Killing Machine |
1964 |
Buy |
| The Palace of Love |
1967 |
Buy |
| The Face |
1979 |
Buy |
| The Book of Dreams |
1981 |
Buy |
| Barbarians of the Beyond |
2021 |
Buy |
| Teehalt’s Planet |
2024 |
Buy |
Durdane Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Durdane |
1971 |
N/A |
| The Anome / The Faceless Man |
1971 |
Buy |
| The Brave Free Men |
1973 |
Buy |
| The Asutra |
1973 |
Buy |
Gaean Reach Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Gray Prince |
1974 |
Buy |
| Maske |
1976 |
Buy |
Lyonesse Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Salt in the Wound |
2023 |
N/A |
| Lyonesse |
1983 |
N/A |
| Suldrun’s Garden / Lyonesse |
1983 |
Buy |
| The Green Pearl |
1985 |
Buy |
| Darksolstice |
2010 |
N/A |
| Madouc |
1989 |
Buy |
Magnus Ridolph Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph |
1966 |
Buy |
| Magnus Ridolph |
1985 |
Buy |
| The Complete Magnus Ridolph |
1985 |
Buy |
Miro Hetzel Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Dogtown Tourist Agency |
1975 |
Buy |
| Galactic Effectuator |
1980 |
N/A |
| Freitzke’s Turn |
1977 |
Buy |
| Miro Hetzel |
1980 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Jack Vance Lexicon |
1983 |
Buy |
| This Is Me, Jack Vance! |
2009 |
Buy |
Nopalgarth Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Son of the Tree |
1951 |
Buy |
| The Houses of Iszm |
1954 |
Buy |
| The Brains of Earth |
1966 |
Buy |
Ports of Call Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Ports of Call |
1997 |
Buy |
| Lurulu |
2004 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Alfred’s Ark |
1965 |
N/A |
| The Kragen |
2007 |
Buy |
| Sjambak |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Rapparee |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Miracle Workers |
2012 |
Buy |
| Dodkin’s Job |
2015 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Future Tense / Dust of Far Suns |
1964 |
Buy |
| Eight Fantasms and Magics |
1969 |
Buy |
| The Worlds of Jack Vance |
1973 |
Buy |
| The Moon Moth |
1976 |
Buy |
| The Best of Jack Vance |
1976 |
Buy |
| Fantasms and Magics |
1978 |
Buy |
| Green Magic |
1979 |
Buy |
| Nopalgarth |
1980 |
Buy |
| Lost Moons |
1982 |
Buy |
| The Narrow Land |
1982 |
Buy |
| The Demon Princes |
1985 |
Buy |
| Light from a Lone Star |
1985 |
Buy |
| The Augmented Agent |
1986 |
Buy |
| The Dark Side of the Moon |
1986 |
Buy |
| Bird Isle and Take My Face |
1988 |
Buy |
| Chateau d’If and Other Stories |
1990 |
Buy |
| When the Five Moons Rise |
1992 |
Buy |
| The Jack Vance Treasury |
2007 |
Buy |
| The Jack Vance Reader |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Men Return and Others |
2009 |
Buy |
| Wild Thyme, Green Magic |
2009 |
Buy |
| The World-Thinker and Other Stories |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Dragon Masters and Other Stories |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Golden Girl and Other Stories |
2012 |
Buy |
| Sail 25 and Other Stories |
2012 |
Buy |
| Wild Thyme and Violets and Other Unpublished Stories |
2012 |
Buy |
| Desperate Days |
2012 |
Buy |
| Big Planet / The Blue World / The Dragon Masters and Other Stories |
2013 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Five Gold Bands / The Space Pirate |
1950 |
Buy |
| Vandals of the Void |
1953 |
Buy |
| To Live Forever |
1956 |
Buy |
| The Languages of Pao |
1957 |
Buy |
| Slaves of the Klau / Gold and Iron |
1958 |
Buy |
| Man in a Cage |
1961 |
Buy |
| The Dragon Masters |
1962 |
Buy |
| Monsters in orbit |
1965 |
Buy |
| Space Opera |
1965 |
Buy |
| The Blue World |
1966 |
Buy |
| The Last Castle |
1966 |
Buy |
| Emphyrio |
1969 |
Buy |
| Bad Ronald |
1973 |
Buy |
| Galactic Effectuator |
1980 |
Buy |
| Night Lamp |
1996 |
Buy |
| The Magnificent Showboats |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Wannek |
2011 |
Buy |
| Clarges |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Domains of Koryphon |
2011 |
Buy |
| Bird Isle |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Dark Ocean |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Flesh Mask |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Fox Valley Murders |
2012 |
Buy |
| The House on Lily Street |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Pleasant Grove Murders |
2012 |
Buy |
| Strange People, Queer Notions |
2012 |
Buy |
| The View from Chickweed’s Window |
2012 |
Buy |
| Deadly Isles |
2012 |
Buy |
The Dying Earth Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Dying Earth |
1950 |
N/A |
| The Dying Earth / Mazirian the Magician |
1950 |
Buy |
| Cugel l’astucieux |
1966 |
N/A |
| Cugel’s Saga / Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight |
1966 |
Buy |
| The Eyes of the Overworld / Cugel the Clever |
1966 |
Buy |
| Cugel’s Saga |
1983 |
N/A |
| A Quest for Simbilis |
1974 |
Buy |
| Rhialto il Meraviglioso |
1984 |
N/A |
| Morreion |
1978 |
Buy |
| The Seventeen Virgins |
1979 |
Buy |
| The Bagful of Dreams |
1979 |
Buy |
| Rhialto the Marvellous |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Laughing Magician |
2006 |
Buy |
| Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance |
2009 |
Buy |
The Early Jack Vance Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Hard Luck Diggings |
2010 |
Buy |
| Hard-Luck Diggings: The Early Jack Vance |
2010 |
N/A |
| Dream Castles |
2012 |
Buy |
| Magic Highways |
2013 |
Buy |
| Minding the Stars |
2013 |
Buy |
Tschai, Planet of Adventure Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| City of the Chasch |
1968 |
Buy |
| Tschai |
2012 |
Buy |
| Los Wankh |
1969 |
N/A |
| The Dirdir |
1969 |
Buy |
| Los Dirdir |
1969 |
N/A |
| Servants of the Wankh |
1969 |
Buy |
| The Pnume |
1970 |
Buy |
| The Chasch |
2011 |
Buy |
Jack Vance (1916-2013) was one of the most distinctive voices in science fiction and fantasy. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he published over 150 works, winning Hugo and Nebula Awards and earning a SFWA Grand Master designation. His Dying Earth stories, first published in 1950, are considered foundational texts of the fantasy genre and directly influenced the magic system in Dungeons & Dragons.
Vance’s science fiction is equally celebrated. The Demon Princes pentalogy follows a man’s quest for revenge against five master criminals. The Tschai / Planet of Adventure series is a classic planetary romance. The Lyonesse trilogy blends Arthurian legend with Vance’s fantasy sensibilities. His standalone novels and short fiction further demonstrate his range, from mystery novels to space opera, all written in the precise, mannered prose that bears his unmistakable stamp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Jack Vance written?
Jack Vance has written 152 books across nineteen series.
What was Jack Vance's first book?
Jack Vance’s first book is The Dying Earth, published in 1950.
What makes Jack Vance's writing style distinctive?
Vance is known for ornate, precise prose with a dry wit and a focus on manners, customs, and social structures. His alien societies are described with the detail of an anthropologist, and his dialogue often has a formal, slightly ironic quality. His style has influenced writers from Gene Wolfe to George R.R. Martin.