by Odo Banks on Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:19 pm
Wry humor, excellent style, huge imagination, great observation of what humans are like... I suppose you'd call a lot of his stuff 'space fantasy' or 'space adventure,' though he has written fairy-story fantasy with a twist. He writes lightly but very intelligently and is not afraid to surprise you (and at times annoy or even anger you!)
Some of my favorites are The Planet of Adventure series (City of the Chasch, The Wankh, The Dirdir, The Pnume. Look for the one volume edition); the Lyonesse Trilogy (pure but quirky fantasy); the Araminta trilogy (though the first, Araminta Station is the best); The Cugel books (with an anti-hero as main character)... the list goes on.
He may be an acquired taste, but if you manage to 'get' Vance, you'll come to love him. A very sharp guy. Brilliant describer. Fantastic yet simple style. And often wry, as stated above. After Tolkien, he is probably my favorite author. (He is actually a writer a lot of the best Sci/Fi and Fantasy Writers look up to in awe!)
Odo