by Jack Vance

isbn: 0671655647
subject: SF, Fiction and Literature, Short Stories
finished: 12/17/1997

This is a collection of related short stories that are set, as you might expect, near the end of the life of the earth. The atmosphere is great: the sun is large and red, people are thoughtless and decadent, and plants gurgle softly after being fed. This was apparently one of the inspirations for Wolfe's Book of the New Sun -- the similarities are obvious, but I think Wolfe did a much better job. For example, near the beginning of the book Turjan says "Quiet, vixen! ... lest I lose patience and stun you!" I don't think Severian would have put it quite like that.