Big Planet [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack Vance (Author), Vincent diFate (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1978

The objective of the mission from Earth: to stop the ruthless Barjarnum of Beaujolais from expanding his empire on the Big Planet...and prevent the world from falling under this tyrant's domination. Then sabotage forces the craft to crash land, and the survivors face an epic 40,000-mile trek across the dangerous landscape. A SF landmark. "One of the finest writers the science fiction field has ever known."--Poul Anderson. "Vividly compelling...Vance at the top of his form."--Damon Knight.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"To land anywhere on Big Planet except Earth Enclave meant tragedy, debacle, cataclysm": it doesn't look good for Claude Glystra's interstellar mission when his sabotaged ship crashes deep in the heart of enemy territory. At least one of the traitors is on the loose, and the forces of the despotic Bajarnum of Beaujolais are out to destroy Claude, his fellow Earthmen and a lovely young native they christen Nancy, as the group embarks upon a deadly 40,000-mile journey to refuge in Jack Vance's weird and highly imaginative Big Planet.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jack Vance was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California in mining engineering, physics and journalism. During the Second World War he served in the Merchant Navy and was torpedoed twice. He started contributing stories to the pulp magazines in the late 1940s and published his first book, The Dying Earth, in 1950. Among his many books are To Live Forever, The DragonMasters, for which he won his first Hugo, The Blue World, Emphyrio, The Anome and the Lyonesse sequence. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Ace Books (May 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441061710
• ISBN-13: 978-0441061716
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BIG PLANET, September 4, 2001

By 

G. R. Welsh (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Planet (Paperback)

This was the first Jack Vance fiction I'd ever read. Nearly twenty years ago, my parents bought me a stack of "notched" sci-fi paperbacks, and this was one of them. It sat around for a while, but eventually one bored Saturday I sifted through the stack and pulled this one out to give it a chance. It was like finding a hidden gem. There's so much adventure, character and creativity packed into a mere 217 pages. Modern writers of fat 1000-page books and never-ending series could learn a lot from Jack Vance. His writing is brisk, clever and most of all colorful and lively. A LOT HAPPENS every few pages! Also, Vance's fiction holds up well over time because he does not rely so much on hard science and the theory of his day, but focuses instead on characters, invented cultures, humor, and the engaging interaction of many personalities. Check this book out, it's an enlightening contrast to just about everything else out there.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, aimed at a younger audience, November 24, 1998

By 

Karl Compton (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Planet (Paperback)

This was the first Jack Vance novel I read, thirty or so years ago, and I've been a fan ever since. Vance is one of the great masters, and perhaps had the best use of the language of any SF writer before (at least) Zelazny. I'll always have a fond place in my heart for this one. It probably has more truly intriguing cultures tossed off in a couple of hundred pages than most authors manage in a lifetime, and on top of it all, it is a fun read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Jack Vance Classic, September 27, 2000

By 

David_A_Stever "David Allen Stever" (SAINT PAUL, MN, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Planet (Paperback)

This book, written in the 1950's, shows flashes of the brilliance of the later works of Jack Vance. The use of language (readers new to Vance would be advised to keep a LARGE dictionary by you, or else just let the flow of the language envelope you), the exotic settings, and the realization that the most alien and unknownable creatures that mankind will ever meet, will always be us.