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The Jack Vance Lexicon: from Abiloid to Zygage: The Coined Words of Jack Vance
A dictionary of the Coined Words of author Jack Vance.
258 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1983
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53 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
776 books1,582 followersAka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, John Holbrook, Ellery Queen, John van See, Alan Wade.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.
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April 12, 2023This is copy 156 of 175 copies of the deluxe limited edition signed by Jack Vance and Dan Temianka
April 28, 2024
Dan Temianka originally compiled this lexicon in 1992 but updated it in 2016. He added 160 more entries to the update and re-indexed the 1800 items from the first edition. Vance fans owe much to Temianka, those who assisted him and to Spatterlight Press. This book is not for the casual reader but is indispensable to dedicated Vance fans. Other readers might like this as a reference book while they read Vance's writings. I actually enjoyed reading it front to cover and then returned to it for further enjoyment. I rate it a 5 with the qualification that it will appeal mostly to those who love the writings of Jack Vance.
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Vance wrote three more novels after the initial Jack Vance Lexicon was issued in 1992. These were Night Lamp, Ports of Call and Lurulu. Temianka offers thanks to the ten consultants with true plambosh who contributed to this wonderful effort. After mentioning a few other authors who invented fascinating new words Temianka concludes, "But for sheer variety, quality and above all, charm of his neologisms, I submit that none can compare with Jack Vance."
Most of the words Vance invented were nouns, many of these plants, animals, foods, musical instruments and weapons. But other common words related to magical spells, cultural concepts, rituals and religious concepts. Among the colorful adjectives Temianka mentions are saualmaceous and halcosiitic. A few of the verb he mentions are disturgle and skirkling. We all have our favorites, of course.
Temianka explains why he included some words and not others. Vance was so prolific and was such a wordsmith that even 232 pages cannot include all the words Vance invented. I am unaware of any writer from any era who even comes remotely close to having coined so many new words. And many times he uses a real word that seems coined but is simply rarely used. Even more often Vance invents a word that we expect to find in the dictionary but it is not. Temianka explains how Vance used Latin or other root origins and improvised from there. He also had an amazing ability to create words that make sense and sound as though they should exist.
Temianka breaks Vance's coined words down into seven etymological categories which he explains. Some are totally fabricated. Others draw from some identifiable root word. Some, which are not included in the lexicon, are variant usages or are obsolete words. We all know that Vance had an amazing ability to come up with unusual names for characters, but these names also are not included in the lexicon. It would be enjoyable to read a list of all Vance characters with their odd names and roles; I imagine at least one fan has already developed such a list. The listing in this lexicon is alphabetical and abbreviations of sources are explained prior to the listing. In the actual listing the source is cited and the chapter also indicated. A sentence or two from the text is included for syntax. Avid Vance readers will recognize most of the words listed but might need a prompt to remember the meaning or source.
So if you deeply love the works of Jack Vance you will want a copy of this lexicon and will enjoy reading it and using it as a reference. If you are a casual Vance reader this might appeal to you as a reference work while reading Vance. If you love semantics, lexicography or linguistics in general, this might have some appeal. It is simply not a book to be read from front to cover by the casual reader. I derived immense enjoyment from reading and re-reading this book and highly recommend it to Vance enthusiasts.
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
Vance wrote three more novels after the initial Jack Vance Lexicon was issued in 1992. These were Night Lamp, Ports of Call and Lurulu. Temianka offers thanks to the ten consultants with true plambosh who contributed to this wonderful effort. After mentioning a few other authors who invented fascinating new words Temianka concludes, "But for sheer variety, quality and above all, charm of his neologisms, I submit that none can compare with Jack Vance."
Most of the words Vance invented were nouns, many of these plants, animals, foods, musical instruments and weapons. But other common words related to magical spells, cultural concepts, rituals and religious concepts. Among the colorful adjectives Temianka mentions are saualmaceous and halcosiitic. A few of the verb he mentions are disturgle and skirkling. We all have our favorites, of course.
Temianka explains why he included some words and not others. Vance was so prolific and was such a wordsmith that even 232 pages cannot include all the words Vance invented. I am unaware of any writer from any era who even comes remotely close to having coined so many new words. And many times he uses a real word that seems coined but is simply rarely used. Even more often Vance invents a word that we expect to find in the dictionary but it is not. Temianka explains how Vance used Latin or other root origins and improvised from there. He also had an amazing ability to create words that make sense and sound as though they should exist.
Temianka breaks Vance's coined words down into seven etymological categories which he explains. Some are totally fabricated. Others draw from some identifiable root word. Some, which are not included in the lexicon, are variant usages or are obsolete words. We all know that Vance had an amazing ability to come up with unusual names for characters, but these names also are not included in the lexicon. It would be enjoyable to read a list of all Vance characters with their odd names and roles; I imagine at least one fan has already developed such a list. The listing in this lexicon is alphabetical and abbreviations of sources are explained prior to the listing. In the actual listing the source is cited and the chapter also indicated. A sentence or two from the text is included for syntax. Avid Vance readers will recognize most of the words listed but might need a prompt to remember the meaning or source.
So if you deeply love the works of Jack Vance you will want a copy of this lexicon and will enjoy reading it and using it as a reference. If you are a casual Vance reader this might appeal to you as a reference work while reading Vance. If you love semantics, lexicography or linguistics in general, this might have some appeal. It is simply not a book to be read from front to cover by the casual reader. I derived immense enjoyment from reading and re-reading this book and highly recommend it to Vance enthusiasts.
August 6, 2021
A magnificent lexicon compiled from the florid verbiage of Jack Vance!
Jack Vance's use of language is spectacular, and this book fills an odd and interesting niche as a compilation of neologisms coined by Vance throughout the corpus of his works. And what a verbal ride it is! Absolutely recommended for any fan of Jack Vance!
Jack Vance's use of language is spectacular, and this book fills an odd and interesting niche as a compilation of neologisms coined by Vance throughout the corpus of his works. And what a verbal ride it is! Absolutely recommended for any fan of Jack Vance!
December 8, 2017
Very Helpful Lexicon of Vance words, I like this and The Handbook of Vance Space by Michael Andre-Driussi
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews