I really love Jack Vance’s world building. His Gaean Reach setting gives an endless variety of cultures, customs and beliefs. And the Dying Earth novels formed the basis for magic system of DnD.
But the real treasure is in how he can let these worlds come alive with his descriptions. Often he would spend a whole paragraph describing something that will never be part of the story but manages to perfectly set the tone of the local atmosphere.
I grew with these books (thanks to my dad’s impressive personal SF library) and they’ve always managed to spark my imagination like no other book.
I really love Jack Vance’s world building. His Gaean Reach setting gives an endless variety of cultures, customs and beliefs. And the Dying Earth novels formed the basis for magic system of DnD.
But the real treasure is in how he can let these worlds come alive with his descriptions. Often he would spend a whole paragraph describing something that will never be part of the story but manages to perfectly set the tone of the local atmosphere.
I grew with these books (thanks to my dad’s impressive personal SF library) and they’ve always managed to spark my imagination like no other book.