What do you think?
Rate this book
The Miracle Workers
Humankind has dominated the world Pangborn for sixteen-hundred years. Jinxmen use powerful telepathy as a weapon—but when the indigenous First Folk fight to win Pangborn back, their weapons may be superior.
77 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1958
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Jack Vance
779 books1,590 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 25, 2019
How cool was Jack Vance?
Reach through all the Bud Light, and Lite, and grab the last craft beer in the bottom of the cooler. He’s that cool.
First published in 1958, The Miracle Workers can now be found on ebooks and in The Jack Vance Treasury.
Vance describes a world colonized hundreds of years prior by humans on spaceships. A millennia later, only a small percentage of the artifacts are still functioning and the humans populating the world have slipped down into a medieval feudalism and – this is Jack Vance after all – the humans are now telepathic and some of them – Jinxmen – cast spells and hoodoos on each other.
And! And! (This is Jack Vance after all)
The indigenous race of the moss covered planet – The First Folk – who are kind of like farting blobs of foam, have a long standing grudge against the human colonists and are out to kill them all.
Conflict ensues.
Perhaps the most Philip K. Dickian of Vance’s already weird and eclectic bibliography, The Miracle Workers is a gem and if you’re a JV aficionado, you’ll want to read.
Reach through all the Bud Light, and Lite, and grab the last craft beer in the bottom of the cooler. He’s that cool.
First published in 1958, The Miracle Workers can now be found on ebooks and in The Jack Vance Treasury.
Vance describes a world colonized hundreds of years prior by humans on spaceships. A millennia later, only a small percentage of the artifacts are still functioning and the humans populating the world have slipped down into a medieval feudalism and – this is Jack Vance after all – the humans are now telepathic and some of them – Jinxmen – cast spells and hoodoos on each other.
And! And! (This is Jack Vance after all)
The indigenous race of the moss covered planet – The First Folk – who are kind of like farting blobs of foam, have a long standing grudge against the human colonists and are out to kill them all.
Conflict ensues.
Perhaps the most Philip K. Dickian of Vance’s already weird and eclectic bibliography, The Miracle Workers is a gem and if you’re a JV aficionado, you’ll want to read.
May 28, 2018
TEN SHORT SF NOVELS
NO. 1 : THE MIRACLE WORKERS
It seems a shame that science fiction, the genre of the unleashed imagination, should obsessively use race war as the basis for so many of its stories. You don’t have to look far for confirmation - the roll call of famous sf novels is a roll call of novels about race war – Ender’s Game, The Forever War, Starship Troopers, The War of the Worlds, The Day of the Triffids, and so forth. When humans venture beyond the solar system, it seems they inevitably discover The Other and inevitably have to kill or be killed. Otherwise there’s a Galactic Federation which is either Good but evil Others wish to overturn it, or Bad in which case daring rebels wish to undermine it.
Yes, probably all this stuff is really about Nazis or Communists, but give me a break. I'm tired.
This short 1958 novel is all about yet another race war. On some planet donkey’s years into the future some quasi-medieval type society of humans who have more or less forgotten their origins are fighting each other madly like Knights of Old with armour and castles and the whole bit, and once that big war is settled then they get into a race war with the aboriginal inhabitants of the planet, i.e. the aliens.
Much fun can be derived from characters saying stuff like
You must go to Wildwood; you must learn how to hoodoo the First Folk.
(I myself would play "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard at full volume – if that don’t hoodoo ‘em, nothing will. But they don’t think of that.)
And I could not help but smile at this:
“Waste no vinegar,” shouted Lord Faide, “Forward quickly now; bring forward the vinegar!”
(This was during the heat of battle, not at the evening banquet. Turned out that vinegar melted the foam exuded by vents under the First Folk’s arms. Who knew?)
Although this little novel was never boring, I hope the next nine in my short series will not be banging on about war all the time. Come on guys, there are more than three chords!
NO. 1 : THE MIRACLE WORKERS
It seems a shame that science fiction, the genre of the unleashed imagination, should obsessively use race war as the basis for so many of its stories. You don’t have to look far for confirmation - the roll call of famous sf novels is a roll call of novels about race war – Ender’s Game, The Forever War, Starship Troopers, The War of the Worlds, The Day of the Triffids, and so forth. When humans venture beyond the solar system, it seems they inevitably discover The Other and inevitably have to kill or be killed. Otherwise there’s a Galactic Federation which is either Good but evil Others wish to overturn it, or Bad in which case daring rebels wish to undermine it.
Yes, probably all this stuff is really about Nazis or Communists, but give me a break. I'm tired.
This short 1958 novel is all about yet another race war. On some planet donkey’s years into the future some quasi-medieval type society of humans who have more or less forgotten their origins are fighting each other madly like Knights of Old with armour and castles and the whole bit, and once that big war is settled then they get into a race war with the aboriginal inhabitants of the planet, i.e. the aliens.
Much fun can be derived from characters saying stuff like
You must go to Wildwood; you must learn how to hoodoo the First Folk.
(I myself would play "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard at full volume – if that don’t hoodoo ‘em, nothing will. But they don’t think of that.)
And I could not help but smile at this:
“Waste no vinegar,” shouted Lord Faide, “Forward quickly now; bring forward the vinegar!”
(This was during the heat of battle, not at the evening banquet. Turned out that vinegar melted the foam exuded by vents under the First Folk’s arms. Who knew?)
Although this little novel was never boring, I hope the next nine in my short series will not be banging on about war all the time. Come on guys, there are more than three chords!
April 24, 2021
3.5 stars. A solid Vance story based around one of his favorite recurring themes, i.e. human colonists coming into conflict with a local alien population (the "First Folk") who are dismissed as primitive, yet mask a surprising level of sophistication. Most interestingly Vance plays here off a dichotomy between what are referred to as "miracles" (in reality, science, as practiced long ago by the colony founders and now all but forgotten) and the magic like practice of the "jinxmen" who employ telepathy and a voodoo like practice instead. Of course, the aliens have a trick or two up their sleeve, taking a page from those original "miracle workers" and employing some scientific principles of their own to retaliate against the human interlopers.
"Remark the difference, Lord Faide, between man and metal. A man’s normal state is something near madness; he is at all times balanced on a knife-edge between hysteria and apathy. His senses tell him far less of the world than he thinks they do. It is a simple trick to deceive a man, to possess him with a demon, to drive him out of his mind, to kill him. But metal is insensible; metal reacts only as its shape and condition dictates, or by the working of miracles."
"Remark the difference, Lord Faide, between man and metal. A man’s normal state is something near madness; he is at all times balanced on a knife-edge between hysteria and apathy. His senses tell him far less of the world than he thinks they do. It is a simple trick to deceive a man, to possess him with a demon, to drive him out of his mind, to kill him. But metal is insensible; metal reacts only as its shape and condition dictates, or by the working of miracles."
July 10, 2015
Loved this to bits; 'the Miracle Workers' is beautifully written with an interesting theme. The First Folk were intruiguing alien race, and the laws of magic were refreshing. I enjoyed the blurred lines between fantasy and science fiction.
May 28, 2024
"The Miracle Workers" is a 74 page novella published in 1958 by Amazing Science Fiction. The original inhabitants of the planet Pangborn are strange creatures called First Folk who have been marginalized by humans who arrived many years ago from another planet but who have lost almost all of their science and technology. One of the descendants of these humans, Lord Faide, has waged war to unite the various areas of the planet where other humans reside. Their solders are mostly foot soldiers who carry crossbows and darts and some mounted, armored knights. The only more technically advance items of warfare are several untried cannon like devices and one small, single person shuttle that Lord Faide can minimally operate. They also employ psychic warfare skills called "hoodoo" that the "Jinxmen" use to influence the opposition soldiers by causing them to have visions. Hoodoo can also be used to insert a demon like mentality into one's own soldiers to turn them into amazingly fierce fighters. Unfortunately for Lord Faide and his soldiers, hoodoo does not work on the First Folk who have decided that they have had enough of human interference. Although there is a lot of killing in the story, I found it rather fascinating and interesting and rated it a 3.5
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...
September 1, 2016
Vance liked to write pieces about castaways or colonies cut off from the rest of Humanity (‘The Blue World’ is one of my favourites) usually to make some satirical comparison with the absurdities of human society on contemporary Earth.
In ‘The Miracle Workers’ one of Vance’s favourite archetypes, the young maverick, is featured.
Humans, having been seemingly abandoned on a world with an already extant intelligent race have developed a feudal culture and, it appears, some psionic powers.
A young apprentice of one of the Feudal Lord’s ‘sorcerors’, for want of a better word, wishes to experiment with scientific method in an attempt to defeat the gestalt forest-based aliens who are determined to rid their world of human vermin.
As this was originally serialised in ‘Astounding’ it would have been edited by John W Campbell, which more or less ensured that humans would have to emerge victorious. However, Vance still manages to paint his humans ‘warts an’ all’ with all our fallibilities, conceits and stupidity.
In ‘The Miracle Workers’ one of Vance’s favourite archetypes, the young maverick, is featured.
Humans, having been seemingly abandoned on a world with an already extant intelligent race have developed a feudal culture and, it appears, some psionic powers.
A young apprentice of one of the Feudal Lord’s ‘sorcerors’, for want of a better word, wishes to experiment with scientific method in an attempt to defeat the gestalt forest-based aliens who are determined to rid their world of human vermin.
As this was originally serialised in ‘Astounding’ it would have been edited by John W Campbell, which more or less ensured that humans would have to emerge victorious. However, Vance still manages to paint his humans ‘warts an’ all’ with all our fallibilities, conceits and stupidity.
August 18, 2025
3.5 stars. First published in 1958 before Vance had completely developed, this story starts strong. Huss Hein is actually a well-developed character and the dialogue is Cugel-worthy. But the story flags, Hein moves to the background, and the other characters are not as interesting. I read it back to back with the later Last Castle, which has a very similar plot and events but shows Vance's development as a writer. That book also fades at the end and lacks a character as interesting as Huss Hein.
October 2, 2015
An unremarkable novella from the back end of Vance's early period. The theme, free-thinker challenges rigidly orthodox cultural structure and saves the day, is typically Vance, but the characters and the world in which they live are barely there. Consequently, the reader has neither opportunity nor inclination to develop sympathy or even interest in them. Of value to Vance fanatics only.
September 20, 2015
Read in The Jack Vance Treasury
August 6, 2020
What began as a human refugee camp on the Earth-like world of Pangborn 1,600 years ago has long since evolved into a global colony. Most of the planet is ruled by Lord Faide. His only remaining opponent is Lord Ballant. On the eve of war, Faide and his troops march to invade Ballant’s kingdom. However, their way is obstructed by a forest, recently planted by the First Folk, Pangborn’s indigenous people.
The First Folk were all but slaughtered by the original human settlers and they continue to harbor a grudge against mankind. Their forest is replete with traps, but Faide and his telepathic mystics known as “Jinxmen” negotiate with the First Folk for safe passage, explaining that they have no qualms with anyone but Lord Ballant.
The First Folk guide them through safely and Faide invades Ballant-keep using a combination of weaponry and the voodoo practiced by his Jinxmen. After soundly defeating Ballant, Faide turns his attention to the First Folk who, he soon learns, are plotting against him in an attempt to take back Pangborn from the humans.
Faide and his Jinxmen soon learn that the First Folk are all but invulnerable to telepathy and voodoo. Their minds do not function as do those of men. They are also far more resourceful than anticipated.
The Miracle Workers is a brief but engaging exploration into imperialism and colonialism with an interesting twist. While Faide and his contemporaries are, in some ways, more advanced than their ancestors, they have lost the scientific and engineering prowess of the early colonists, until an apprentice Jinxman—viewed as an incompetent fool by his elders—begins experimenting with various solutions to aid Faide in his war against the First Folk.
The only disappointing aspect of the story is a lack of exposure to the First Folks’ plight. In the beginning of the story, they are merely an obstacle between Faide and Ballant. Later, they become Faide’s enemy, but are themselves never fully developed as characters. As such, it is difficult to sympathize with them. There are no individuals, only the horde. They have few lines and are mostly referred to in the third person by Faide and his men. Yes, the First Folks’ motives for destroying the humans are clear enough, but they are depicted as little more than two-dimensional creatures with bizarre physical abilities and exceptional cunning.
The First Folk were all but slaughtered by the original human settlers and they continue to harbor a grudge against mankind. Their forest is replete with traps, but Faide and his telepathic mystics known as “Jinxmen” negotiate with the First Folk for safe passage, explaining that they have no qualms with anyone but Lord Ballant.
The First Folk guide them through safely and Faide invades Ballant-keep using a combination of weaponry and the voodoo practiced by his Jinxmen. After soundly defeating Ballant, Faide turns his attention to the First Folk who, he soon learns, are plotting against him in an attempt to take back Pangborn from the humans.
Faide and his Jinxmen soon learn that the First Folk are all but invulnerable to telepathy and voodoo. Their minds do not function as do those of men. They are also far more resourceful than anticipated.
The Miracle Workers is a brief but engaging exploration into imperialism and colonialism with an interesting twist. While Faide and his contemporaries are, in some ways, more advanced than their ancestors, they have lost the scientific and engineering prowess of the early colonists, until an apprentice Jinxman—viewed as an incompetent fool by his elders—begins experimenting with various solutions to aid Faide in his war against the First Folk.
The only disappointing aspect of the story is a lack of exposure to the First Folks’ plight. In the beginning of the story, they are merely an obstacle between Faide and Ballant. Later, they become Faide’s enemy, but are themselves never fully developed as characters. As such, it is difficult to sympathize with them. There are no individuals, only the horde. They have few lines and are mostly referred to in the third person by Faide and his men. Yes, the First Folks’ motives for destroying the humans are clear enough, but they are depicted as little more than two-dimensional creatures with bizarre physical abilities and exceptional cunning.
March 26, 2018
Další Vance. Evidentně jsem se pustil do mise přečíst ho komplet. Což, při jeho výkonnosti, bude docela fuška. Ale pořád mě baví... a těžko dokážu definovat čím. Příběhy jsou poměrně jednoduché a jejich síla tkví spíš v podivných detailech, mixu vzletnosti a ironické cyničnosti, zajímavých a často dost amorálních hrdinech. A samozřejmě, konverzacích, ve kterých se někdo snaží vytáhnout z někoho prachy, informace, nebo ho prostě ukecat k něčemu, co se mu nelíbí. Nelítostnost Vanceho světa je v kontrastu s téměř woodehousovsky pohodovými dialogy. Když vládce přesvědčuje učedníka z jednoho mágů, aby zaujal jeho místo ve voze v předním voji a posloužil jako případný terč... a vysvětluje mu, jak se má chovat, aby působil jako jeho věrná kopie, je mu namítnuto, že pokud se má opravdu chovat jako panovníkova věrná kopie, měl by jet až vzadu, za všemi armádami a místo sebe nechat jet ve voze někoho jiného.
V knize, kterou jsem četl, byly tři příběhy. (Věci z Spatterlight Pressu na goodreads nemůžu najít.) U nás vydaný Poslední hrad, Hugem ocenění The Dragon Masters a The Miracle Workers. I když jsou všechny tři příběhy o válkách, tak ta třetí, kde je důraz na zvláštní magii a pár staromilců, kteří se snaží oživit tu nelogickou a zaostalo vědu, mi přišla jako nejlepší. Možná proto, že je tam asi nejvíc to, co mě na Vancovi baví. Postavy, podivnosti a dialogy.
V knize, kterou jsem četl, byly tři příběhy. (Věci z Spatterlight Pressu na goodreads nemůžu najít.) U nás vydaný Poslední hrad, Hugem ocenění The Dragon Masters a The Miracle Workers. I když jsou všechny tři příběhy o válkách, tak ta třetí, kde je důraz na zvláštní magii a pár staromilců, kteří se snaží oživit tu nelogickou a zaostalo vědu, mi přišla jako nejlepší. Možná proto, že je tam asi nejvíc to, co mě na Vancovi baví. Postavy, podivnosti a dialogy.
April 6, 2024
“The future is for men of cleverness, of imagination untroubled by discipline”
The model for later Vance masterpieces The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle – where medieval lords war with a hive-mind alien race. Here Vance’s sympathies with the aliens is more pronounced, perhaps because they showcase an ingenuity that the humans have forgotten. Some ironic comedy is made of describing the scientific process of trial and error as miracle-working, as opposed to the fantastic psychic capabilities this society has cultivated and has come to rely on. As with the later tales, conflict drives innovation, and here the ending is more hopeful, with the two sides learning from each other and agreeing a stalemate. The Last Castle ends similarly, but I prefer the darker, more apocalyptic The Dragon Masters, where the aliens have the upper hand and the drama of human survival reaches its peak.
The model for later Vance masterpieces The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle – where medieval lords war with a hive-mind alien race. Here Vance’s sympathies with the aliens is more pronounced, perhaps because they showcase an ingenuity that the humans have forgotten. Some ironic comedy is made of describing the scientific process of trial and error as miracle-working, as opposed to the fantastic psychic capabilities this society has cultivated and has come to rely on. As with the later tales, conflict drives innovation, and here the ending is more hopeful, with the two sides learning from each other and agreeing a stalemate. The Last Castle ends similarly, but I prefer the darker, more apocalyptic The Dragon Masters, where the aliens have the upper hand and the drama of human survival reaches its peak.
November 17, 2021
Could be a little confusing at times, but overall an immersive and complex world.
January 9, 2022
Nice plot as usual)
May 14, 2023
The Miracle Workers reads like a prototype for the much better known and loved The Dragon Masters. Despite this there are a few fun ideas that make this worth its brief length.
July 5, 2025
Some fun (bonkers!) ideas in here, but the writing was a bit too stilted for me to really enjoy.
April 15, 2016
Check out my review on episode 003 of the Short Science Fiction Review podcast.
January 26, 2019
Very weird. also short! Which I like
August 31, 2022
A classic and well worth reading and/or listening to; I did both.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews