Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth
Posted: 16 Oct 2017, 07:58
Since I'm the acting chair for the unofficial OpenMW Book Club, I wanted to share the book I am enthralled with right now, Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance.
The structure of the book is a little confusing but it's basically a collection of short stories that proceed into a series of novels as far as I can tell. I'm halfway through the second novel.
These stories are famous because they are where "Vancian" spellcasting comes from- which is the type of spellcasting used in Dungeons and Dragons. If you ever wondered why the D&D spellcasting rules are so bizarre, it's because the mechanics are taken from these stories.
The stories themselves are amazing, it's a "science fiction" book because it's set in the far future, but it's all about magicians and swords. They at the same time have a very serious adult feel, and a sort of childish Grimm's fairy tale feel. And the writing is beautiful to read!
Anyway! Figured I would share and recommend them, since my Black Company thread got some traction.
The structure of the book is a little confusing but it's basically a collection of short stories that proceed into a series of novels as far as I can tell. I'm halfway through the second novel.
These stories are famous because they are where "Vancian" spellcasting comes from- which is the type of spellcasting used in Dungeons and Dragons. If you ever wondered why the D&D spellcasting rules are so bizarre, it's because the mechanics are taken from these stories.
The stories themselves are amazing, it's a "science fiction" book because it's set in the far future, but it's all about magicians and swords. They at the same time have a very serious adult feel, and a sort of childish Grimm's fairy tale feel. And the writing is beautiful to read!
Anyway! Figured I would share and recommend them, since my Black Company thread got some traction.