Dr. Simon Reads Appendix N Part Twenty Five: Jack Vance
This is an ongoing sporadic series, in which I explore classic fantasy and science fiction works. Appendix N is the bibliography of Gary Gygax's original Dungeon Masters Guide, and lists a range of classic SF and fantasy authors that influenced his interest in the fantastical. See the first part of this series for more information. J ack Vance Vance was born in San Francisco in 1916 and grew up reading authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs. The family suffered during the Great Depression when it coincided with the death of his grandfather (Vance’s father having absconded to Mexico long before). He studied engineering and journalism at U C Berkeley, and was lucky in that he resigned a job at the shipyards in Pea rl Harbour about a month before the attack. He didn’t start writing in earnest until the 1940s, and in later life lost his sight, relying on transcription software to continue writing. He’s got a huge bibliography, and the Appendices only offer...