BookList - Roland Green
The most recent additions to Vance's monumental body of work have mostly been fantasies, so this collection of 12 sf pieces is a very welcome change of pace. It is doubly welcome in that most of the stories date from the 1950s and 1960s, when Vance was at the height of his powers. Themes such as ecological crises and the impact of space flight on human spirits are as current as those in any "New Wave" story, and Vance usually handles them better than those who claim to have discovered such themes do in their work. Although the price of this volume may put it out of reach of mass-market-paperback-based sf collections, for those with a strong audience for Vance, it is definitely desirable.

Genre: Science Fiction