Bücher von Jack Vance

A race of beings who disguise themselves as humans and delight in power and destruction, the Demon Princes have themselves become the hunted, their peri lying in the hands of Kirth Gersen, a man bent on avenging the murder of his family and the destruction of his home planet.

Collects three of the author's novels about the Demon Princes, a destructive race of beings who disguise themselves as humans, and Kerth Gersen, who is out to avenge himself for the destruction of his world.

Here, collected in one volume, is his Alastor trilogy: three classic SF adventure novels that are Jack Vance at his best.Trullion: Alastor 2262 / Marune: Alastor 933 / Wyst: Alastor 1716The Alastor Cluster: A sprawling system of thirty thousand live stars and three thousand inhabited planets, the cluster is ruled by the mysterious Connatic. He sees all and knows all, but with five trillion people contained within such far-flung boundaries, sooner or later something is bound to give.Trullion: Alastor 2262: An idyllic world where food is bountiful, the oceans are clear, and no one is ever wanting, World 2262 of the Alastor Cluster is in for a rude awakening. The Trill, a once-peaceful race populating the waters of Trullion, are now gambling their lives away on the planet-wide game hussade. What reward could be worth such risks?Marune: Alastor 933: Though the Connatic knows all, there is one man of whom he knows nothing, one man who knows nothing of himself. Pardero is determined to find out who he is and what cruel enemy forced him to forget his own life. But when he finally returns home to Marune, World 933 of the Alastor Cluster, the mystery only deepens.Wyst: Alastor 1716: On Wyst, World 1716 of the Alastor Cluster, millions of people live together in harmony, work only a few hours each week, and share the fruits of their labor equally. Wyst seems a utopia. But the Connatic, knowing better than to take utopia at face value, one day decides to investigate-a decision that may cost him his life.

Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited--not only by warring alien cultures, but human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off planet to warn the Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.Against a backdrop of baroque cities and haunted wastelands, sumptuous palaces and riotous inns, Reith will encounter deadly wastrels and murderous aliens, dastardly villains and conniving scoundrels.And always the random beauty in need of rescue...

Here in one unforgettable volume are three of Jack Vance's best novellas-rich adventures of humanity in crisis, showcasing Vance's stylistic flair, creative ingenuity, wit, and storytelling skill: the Hugo-winning "The Dragon Masters," Hugo and Nebula-winning "The Last Castle", and that gem of science re-born, "The Miracle Workers".Resilient Joaz Banbeck of Aerlith sends his remarkable dragons against the non-human Basics. Xanten of Castle Hagedorn deals with the alien Meks, in their war of retribution on our own beleaguered, far-future Earth; the pragmatic Sam Salazar outdoes his betters, to save the last remnants of the human race on Pangborn.

Fifteen-year-old Dick Murdoch leaves Venus to meet his father Paul on the Moon. On the voyage there, the captain stops to examine the wreckage of a sister spaceship. No one knows what attacked the ship-some say it's the Basilisk. Dick's adventures aboard spaceship and on the Moon start to pay off as he finds more and more clues.

In these early novellas SF Grand Master Jack Vance tells tales of fanaticism, interplanetary politics, intrigue and subterfuge, while displaying his trademark gifts for inventiveness, rich detail and colorful description.Son of the Tree - Joe, a young Earthman, finds himself stranded on Kyril, a planet of five billion peasants, two million Druids-and a great Tree. The Tree, worshiped by the Druids, towers twelve miles from root to ultimate bud, shouldering the clouds, wearing lightning like a tinsel wreath. Joe is swept up in a swirl of change, at the center of which is a potted plant - the Son of the Tree!The Houses of Iszm - masters of botany for 200,000 years, the Iszic have developed strains of living houses, semi-intelligent organic units which need no crude additions such as furniture, plumbing or décor, and can be grown for the price of seed - the solution to the housing needs of a galaxy! The Iszic are protective of their lucrative monopoly, and when botanist Aile Farr of Earth arrives for a visit, he is under immediate suspicion of attempting to steal a female house. So begins a cat-and-mouse game between the graceful, unfailingly courteous Iszic, and a determined man of Earth.

THE BLUE WORLD, a beautiful world, a world of water, with floating islands made by the thick, spreading tops of gigantic ocean growths, big enough to support neat houses and sea 'gardens' alive with fish of all kinds, rich with edible water plants, and even communication towers so that the People of the Floats were not cut off from one another but could send messages and enjoy festivals and meetings together.Except for one thing. The massive abundance of the ocean spawned far more than food and sustenance for the puny humans living on its surface. The Floats were in constant danger from the ravaging attacks of great sea creatures against which there was no defense - except mealy-mouthed propitiation.THE BLUE WORLD needed a rebel, one who would give his life if necessary.