Emphyrio (S.F. Masterworks)

New
Paperback
1999
$10.65

Far in the future, the craftsmen of the distant planet Halma create goods which are the wonder of the galaxy. But they know little of this. Their society is harshly regimented, its religion austere and unforgiving, and primitive - to maintain standards, even the most basic use of automation is punishable by death.
When Amiante, a wood-carver, is executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. To do so, he must first interpret the story of Emphyrio, an ancient hero of Halman legend.

Synopsis

Far in the future, the craftsmen of the distant planet Halma create goods which are the wonder of the galaxy. But they know little of this. Their society is harshly regimented, its religion austere and unforgiving, and primitive - to maintain standards, even the most basic use of automation is punishable by death.

When Amiante, a wood-carver, is executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. To do so, he must first interpret the story of Emphyrio, an ancient hero of Halman legend.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Gateway
Published: 14 Oct 1999
ISBN 10: 185798885X
ISBN 13: 9781857988857
Book Overview: * #19 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written * 'All Vance's novels have exotic locales and cultures, resourceful heroes and vigorous action, but in Emphyrio they are raised to the pitch of perfection, making the novel a tremendous pleasure to read, and giving it also a mysterious beauty' - Kim Stanley Robinson * 'Jack Vance is our greatest living SF writer, and Emphyrio is one of his very best books, a magical tour de force of mystery, marvel, invention, incident, world-building and wordplay. But be warned: reading Vance is addictive' - George R.R. Martin

Author Bio

Jack Vance (1916-2013) John Holbrook Vance was born in 1916 and studied mining, engineering and journalism at the University of California. 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 mid 1940s and published his first book, The Dying Earth, in 1950. Among his many books are The Dragon Masters, for which he won his first Hugo Award, Big Planet, The Anome, and the Lyonesse sequence. He has won the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards, amongst others, and in 1997 was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America.