He was born John Holbrook Vance. He originally studied Mining Engineering, then Physics, and finally journalism. He served in the Merchant Navy and was unfortunate enough to have been torpedoed twice. His first story was published in 1945.Until The Dying Earth was published in 1950, his stories were traditional pulp Science Fiction. The Dying Earth series is set in a far future Earth where science is no longer a force and magic was the operative force.
As well as science fiction, Vance has written crime stories being Ellery Queen for three stories.
Many of his books are characterised by a grand use of language, most obvious in the Lyonesse trilogy.
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