The Flesh Mask

Last updated
First edition (original title)
(publ. Mystery House) TakeMyFace.jpg
First edition (original title)
(publ. Mystery House)

The Flesh Mask is a novel by American author Jack Vance.

Originally published in 1957 under the pseudonym Peter Held as Take My Face, it was republished credited to Jack Vance in 1988 by Underwood-Miller as Take My Face and as The Flesh Mask, the author's preferred title, in the 2002 Vance Integral Edition.

Plot summary

Taunted by four of the school's prettiest girls at a high school party, a star athlete with a severely disfigured face lashes out at one of them in his drunken frustration. Sent to reform school for assault, the boy undergoes extensive facial reconstructive surgery at state expense. Years later, the girls are in college when one of them is murdered, her face mutilated, and the others receive threats. The young man's whereabouts are unknown and it is learned there is no photographic record of his new face.


Related Research Articles

<i>Dying Earth</i> Series of fantasy novels by Jack Vance

Dying Earth is a fantasy series by the American author Jack Vance, comprising four books originally published from 1950 to 1984. Some have been called picaresque. They vary from short story collections to a fix-up, perhaps all the way to novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Vance</span> American mystery and speculative fiction writer

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, including Ellery Queen.

<i>Black Jack</i> (manga) Japanese manga series

Black Jack is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka in the 1970s, dealing with the medical adventures of the title character, doctor Black Jack. Black Jack consists of hundreds of short, self-contained stories that are typically about 20 pages long. Black Jack has also been animated into an OVA, two television series and two films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Voorhees</span> Main character of the Friday the 13th series

Jason Voorhees is a character from the Friday the 13th series. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Savini, Jason was not originally intended to carry the series as the main antagonist. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, comic books, and a crossover film with another iconic horror film character, Freddy Krueger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Williamson</span> American science fiction writer (1908–2006)

John Stewart Williamson, who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term genetic engineering. Early in his career he sometimes used the pseudonyms Will Stewart and Nils O. Sonderlund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. L. Stine</span> American writer and producer (born 1943)

Robert Lawrence Stine, sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney B. Vance</span> American actor (born 1960)

Courtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He started his career on stage before moving to film and television. Vance has received various accolades, including a Tony Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demon Princes</span> A series of five science fiction novels by Jack Vance

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Brookmyre</span> Scottish novelist

Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.

<i>Onibaba</i> (film) 1964 Japanese film

Onibaba, also titled The Hole, is a 1964 Japanese historical drama and horror film written and directed by Kaneto Shindō. The film is set during a civil war in medieval Japan. Nobuko Otowa and Jitsuko Yoshimura play two women who kill infighting soldiers to steal their armor and possessions for survival, while Kei Satō plays the man who ultimately comes between them.

<i>The Face</i> (Vance novel) 1979 novel by Jack Vance

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moon Moth</span> Short story by Jack Vance

"The Moon Moth" is a science fiction novelette by American author Jack Vance, first published in Galaxy Science Fiction.

<i>Emphyrio</i> 1969 novel by Jack Vance

Emphyrio is a science fiction adventure novel by American writer Jack Vance. It tells the story of a young man who overturns the foundations of his world.

Underwood–Miller Inc. was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house in San Francisco, California, founded in 1976. It was founded by Tim Underwood, a San Francisco book and art dealer, and Chuck Miller, a Pennsylvania used book dealer, after the two had met at a convention.

<i>An Image of the Past</i> 1915 film

An Image of the Past is a 1915 American short drama film directed by Tod Browning. It is not known whether the film currently survives, suggesting that it may be a lost film.

Charles "Buzz" Guarnera was an American trumpet and flugelhorn player.

Den of Shadows, is a set of fantasy novels written by American author, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. The novels follow an interconnected group of supernatural creatures, such as vampires, ghosts, and shapeshifters. It is the predecessor of Atwater-Rhodes' five volume series, known as The Kiesha'ra Series.

This is a complete list of works by American science fiction and fantasy author Jack Vance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. Vance</span> American venture capitalist, author and U.S. Senator (born 1984)

James David Vance is an American venture capitalist, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he came to prominence with his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.