SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH
STORIES IN HONOUR OF JACK VANCE
Edited by
George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
with an Appreciation by Dean Koontz
ROBERT SILVERBERG, MATTHEW HUGHES, TERRY DOWLING, LIZ WILLIAMS, MIKE RESNICK, WALTER JON WILLIAMS, PAULA VOLSKY, JEFF VANDERMEER, KAGE BAKER, PHYLLIS EISENSTEIN, ELIZABETH MOON, LUCIUS SHEPARD, TAD WILLIAMS, JOHN C. WRIGHT, GLEN COOK, ELIZABETH HAND, BYRON TETRICK, TANITH LEE, DAN SIMMONS, HOWARD WALDROP, GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, NEIL GAIMAN
HarperCollinsPublishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 2009
Copyright © George R R Martin and Gardner Dozois 2009
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Source ISBN: 9780007277483
Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780007290666 Version: 2014-11-28
to Jack Vance, the maestro, with thanks for all the great tales, and for letting us play with your toys.
Table of Contents
Thank You, Mr. Vance DEAN KOONTZ
The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale ROBERT SILVERBERG
Grolion of Almery MATTHEW HUGHES
Caulk the Witch-chaser LIZ WILLIAMS
The Traditions of Karzh PAULA VOLSKY
The Final Quest of the Wizard Sarnod JEFF VANDERMEER
The Last Golden Thread PHYLLIS EISENSTEIN
An Incident in Uskvosk ELIZABETH MOON
Sylgarmo’s Proclamation LUCIUS SHEPARD
The Lamentably Comical Tragedy (or The Laughably Tragic Comedy) of Lixal Laqavee TAD WILLIAMS
Guyal the Curator JOHN C. WRIGHT
The Return of the Five Witch ELIZABETH HAND
The Collegeum of Mauge BYRON TETRICK
Evillo the Uncunning TANITH LEE
The Guiding Nose of Ulfänt Banderōz DAN SIMMONS
A Night at the Tarn House GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
An Invocation of Incuriosity NEIL GAIMAN
THANK YOU, MR. VANCE By Dean Koontz
IN 1966, at 21, fresh from college, I was a fool and possibly deranged, although not seriously dangerous. I was a well-read fool, especially in science fiction. For twelve years, I pored through at least a book a week in that genre. I felt that I belonged in one of the other worlds or far futures of those tales more than I did in the world and time in which I’d been born, less because I had a wide romantic streak than because I had low self-esteem and longed to