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Demon Princes is a series of five science fiction novels by Jack Vance, which cumulatively relate the story of Kirth Gersen, a man trained by his grandfather to exact revenge on five notorious interstellar crime bosses, collectively known as the Demon Princes, who carried the people of his village off into slavery during his childhood. Each novel deals with his pursuit of one of the five Princes.
The first three books in the series appeared in 1964-67 and were published in both hard cover and mass-market paperback editions under the Berkley Medallion imprint. There was a 12-year gap before the last two appeared in 1979 and 1981 and published as individual volumes in limited editions of 700 copies each by Underwood-Miller in 1981. The collected books were published as a limited edition set, The Demon Princes, in 1997. The Demon Princes books were republished by Spatterlight Press in 2016 as paperback volumes using the author-preferred text from the Vance Integral Edition.
Dave Langford reviewed Star King for White Dwarf #99, and stated that "The revenge plot is banal in the extreme, but the pace is headlong and it's impossible not to admire the backdrop." [1] Arthur Jean Cox reviewed Star King in the August 1964 issue of Riverside Quarterly. [2]
Greg Costikyan reviewed The Face in Ares Magazine #1. Costikyan commented that "All in all, The Face is an intriguing and well-plotted adventure in Vance's usual strange style. It is also considerably more expert and cleanly written than most of Vance's other work; apparently, Vance is still refining his style and sharpening his abilities. The Face is well worth reading, especially if you can get hold of the previous three novels in the 'Demon Princes' series." [3]
John Holbrook Vance was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names.
Unspiek, Baron Bodissey, is a fictional character referred to in many of the novels of speculative-fiction author Jack Vance. Within those novels he has the status of an authority, but he is sometimes referred to with amusement or scepticism. Like the 'mad poet' Navarth, he first appeared in the Demon Princes sequence but also is alluded to in a number of other unrelated stories. Unlike Navarth, the Baron never appears in person in these novels, but his monumental, many-volume work Life is frequently quoted. The lengthiest citations from it appear, with varying degrees of apparent relevance, as epigraphs to various chapters in the Demon Princes novels. Otherwise, the Baron and his work are occasionally referred to in passing or quoted by characters in the tales. Fictional reviews of Life also appear in The Killing Machine and The Face, usually dismissing it as snobbish, elitist and pretentious; one reviewer expresses a desire to thrash the Baron within an inch of his life before buying him a drink.
Sundiver is a 1980 science fiction novel by American writer David Brin. It is the first book of his first Uplift trilogy, followed by Startide Rising in 1983 and The Uplift War in 1987.
Jesus on Mars is a 1979 science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, set on Mars and involving an alien civilization. It makes social commentary on a just society and on religious belief.
Planet of Adventure is a series of four science fiction novels by Jack Vance, published between 1968 and 1970. The novels relate the adventures of the scout Adam Reith, the sole survivor of an Earth ship investigating a signal from the distant planet Tschai.
The Magic Labyrinth (1980) is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, the fourth in the series of Riverworld books. The title is derived from lines in Sir Richard Francis Burton's poem The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî:
Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:
Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true.
Expanded Universe, The New Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein is a 1980 collection of stories and essays by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. The trade paperback 1981 edition lists the subtitle under other Heinlein books as More Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein because the contents subsume the 1966 Ace Books collection, The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein. The current volume is dedicated to William Targ.
Star King is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the first in his Demon Princes series. It tells the story of a young man, Kirth Gersen, who sets out to track down and avenge himself upon the first of the Demon Princes, the five arch-criminals who massacred or enslaved nearly all the inhabitants of his colony world when he was a child.
The Face is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the fourth novel in the "Demon Princes" series. It was published in 1979, nearly twelve years after the third.
The Killing Machine (1964) is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the second in his "Demon Princes" series.
The Palace of Love (1967) is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the third in his Demon Princes series. It is about a wealthy man, Kirth Gersen, who is obsessed with seeking vengeance on the remaining Demon Princes who killed his family many years ago. To get access to the elusive and secretive Viole Falushe, one of the Demon Princes, Gersen poses as a journalist and wrangles a rare invitation to Falushe's hedonistic Palace of Love.
The Book of Dreams is a 1981 science fiction book by American author Jack Vance, the fifth and last novel in the Demon Princes series.
The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in many works of the science fiction genre.
Tea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. MacAvoy. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1983, the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1984, and the Locus Award for best first novel in 1984; it also earned MacAvoy the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. It also found a place in David Pringle's Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels (1988). It led to a sequel, Twisting the Rope.
Lilith: A Snake in the Grass is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker. It is the first book in his Four Lords of the Diamond series.
The To the Stars trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Harry Harrison, first published in 1980 (Homeworld) and 1981. The three books were re-published in an omnibus edition in 1981.
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn is an anthology of fantasy stories edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and published in 1980. It is the second in the Thieves' World series, featuring stories by a variety of authors with the common setting of Sanctuary, a city at the far southern corner of the empire where all the less-than-law-abiding citizens of the world tend to congregate.
Octagon is a novel by Fred Saberhagen published in 1981.
A Rose for Armageddon is a novel by Hilbert Schenck published in 1982.
Lyonesse is a novel by Jack Vance published in 1983.