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Son of the Tree and The Houses of Iszm Paperback – Oct. 1 2017
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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, worshipped 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.
Son of the Tree and The Houses of Iszm is Volume 8 of the Spatterlight Press Signature Series.Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collectionis based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition. Select volumes enjoyup-to-date maps, and many are graced with freshly-written forewords contributedby a distinguished group of authors. Each book bears a facsimile of theauthor's signature and a previously-unpublished photograph, chosen from family archives for the period the book was written. These uniquefeatures will be appreciated by all, from seasoned Vance collector to new reader sampling the spectrum of this author's influential work forthe first time. – John Vance II
- ISBN-101619471310
- ISBN-13978-1619471313
- Edition1st
- Publication dateOct. 1 2017
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions15.24 x 1.24 x 22.86 cm
- Print length196 pages
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Product details
- Publisher : Spatterlight Press; 1st edition (Oct. 1 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 196 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1619471310
- ISBN-13 : 978-1619471313
- Item weight : 295 g
- Dimensions : 15.24 x 1.24 x 22.86 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,181,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33,670 in Computers & Internet (Books)
- #71,885 in Science Fiction (Books)
- #184,440 in Textbooks
- Customer Reviews:
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In particular I like his Science Fantasy genre - however these two stories are more Science Fiction.
I found them both to be relatively lightweight and drawn out. Even the dialogue was limp - ususally a treat from Vance who specialises in deceitful, pedantic fraud in everyday contractual agreements eg an avarcious innkeeper providing a cheap meal but overcharging for the relish and protesting his good faith when he presents the bill. Vance was a genious, I think, but even he had his bad days as with these books. Instead I would recommend his Dying Earth or his Lyonnesse books.







