- The Cadwal Chronicles 3 : Throy
The Cadwal Chronicles 3 : Throy The Conservancy of Cadwal has a new Charter- thanks to the courage of Glawen Clattuc and his beloved Wayness Tamm. But this has not brought peace to the people of Cadwal - instead, it has polarized them. Led by exiles, anti-Conservancy forces continue work to open Cadwal to commercial exploitation, while a new extremist faction seeks to restore Cadwal to entirely natural condition. In the middle are the governors of the planet, and their police force. Newly-promoted Commander Glawen Clattuc is charged with apprehending the conspirators wherever they might flee, but he also has a personal agenda. After twenty years, he will solve the mystery of his mother's death. - summary from the official Jack Vance website Original etching by Paul Rhoads; digital colouring and typesetting by Howard Kistler. - The Cadwal Chronicles 2 : Ecce and Old Earth
The Cadwal Chronicles 2 : Ecce and Old Earth The planet Cadwal has an ecosystem unique in the human-explored galaxy. A thousand years past it was set aside as a natural preserve, protected by law and covenant against colonization and exploitation. But there is a conspiracy to open the planet and its rich resources to commerce. Glawen Clattuc must find who is behind the sabotage, and bring them to justice - but discovers that his own family is involved! Ancient crimes will be discovered, along with the key to the crisis which threatens Cadwal. - summary from the official Jack Vance website Original etching by Paul Rhoads; digital colouring and typesetting by Howard Kistler. - The Cadwal Chronicles 1 : Araminta Station
The Cadwal Chronicles 1 : Araminta Station At the remote end of Mircea's Wisp, far out on the galaxy's Perseid Arm, is the Purple Rose System - containing the three stars Lorca, Sing and Syrene. Around Syrene swings the spectacular planet Cadwal, which the now defunct Naturalist Society of Earth long ago chartered to forever protect from exploitation. Cadwal is administered from Araminta Station- where young Glawen Clattuc wonders what the future may hold for him in the hierarchic, constrained society of Cadwal. His budding relationship with the lovely Sessily Veder ends with her mysterious disappearance - casting Glawen into a strange adventure, and the unraveling of a potent conspiracy. - summary from the official Jack Vance website Original etching by Paul Rhoads; digital colouring and typesetting by Howard Kistler. - Bird Isle
Bird Isle Coves has more land on Bird Island than he can use. So he sells, using proceeds to renovate his hotel. He's happy with his buyers until he finds that none are exactly what they said they were. And one - or more - is bent on trouble. - summary from the official Jack Vance website - The Pleasant Grove Murders
The Pleasant Grove Murders In this second mystery novel of the Sheriff Joe Bain series, the appealing and energetic Sheriff of San Rodrigo County, California, is once again beset by extraordinary complications and diversions in the midst of trying to solve three brutal hammer murders. His career is threatened with a political smear, his ego damaged losing a fight with a suspect, and his bachelorhood threatened by several wonderfully bizarre encounters with a lovely young woman named Luna. - summary from the official Jack Vance website - The Joe Bain Mysteries
The Joe Bain Mysteries Bucolic San Rodrigo County, nestled in California's Coast Range, is home to communities of truck farms, fruit orchards, and sleepy gas stations. The passing of old sheriff Cucchinello has left county law enforcement in the hands of officer Joe Bain, single father of a teenage daughter. The responsibilities of the acting sheriff are suddenly complicated — in a dangerous way — when residents of Fox Valley and Pleasant Grove begin to die under violent and unlikely circumstances. Acting Sheriff Bain is caught between the political necessities of an upcoming election, and the urgent need to solve grisly crimes committed against ordinary folk of Rodrigo County. Published together in the Joe Bain omnibus are The Fox Valley Murders and The Pleasant Grove Murders, hard-to-find examples of Jack Vance's masterful detective fiction from the '60s. Vance brings rural California from a half-century ago to vivid life, and introduces a variety of intricate characters with all the detail readers expect from his fantasy and science fiction works. These two books, with an accompanying outline for a third entry in the Joe Bain series, The Genesee Slough Murders, demonstrate Vance's ability to transport his readers into a seamlessly-crafted locale, teeming with believable characters who grab your interest from the first page. - summary from the official Jack Vance website - The Genesee Slough Murders
The Genesee Slough Murders Cover for the unfinished third Joe Bain novel. The plot outline is included in the Joe Bain omnibus edition, and this cover was created in order to include it in the omnibus cover image. - The Fox Valley Murders
The Fox Valley Murders Ausley Wyett's release from prison after sixteen years in prison is an event of many consequences for the residents of San Rodrigo County, California. Five men whose testimonies led to Wyett's conviction receive threatening letters, and one by one become victims of fatal accidents. But there is no evidence of murder. For Acting Sheriff Joe Bain, proving Wyett's guilt - or innocence - is more than a matter of justice; while campaigning to be elected Sheriff, he must stubbornly protect Wyett from townspeople who insist upon immediate arrest - or a lynching. - summary from the official Jack Vance website - Bad Ronald
Bad Ronald Misfit teenager Ronald Wilby accidentally kills a neighborhood girl, and his hyper-protective mother hides him between the walls of their house. Years pass, and Ronald's mind slips into delusional fantasy. When his mother dies a new family with three teenage daughters moves in. Things go badly when Ronald decides the youngest belongs in his imaginary world. - summary from the official Jack Vance website