Madouc
Cover art: Mike Van Houten. James Christensen's cover.
World Fantasy Award 1990.
The World Fantasy Award-winning third volume of the Lyonesse trilogy brings attention to the faerie changeling Madouc.
Where princess Suldrun once meekly endured the proprieties of Castle Haidion, Madouc defends herself with mischief. Vexed, King Casmir and Queen Sollace arrange a contest to marry her off. However, Madouc has other ideas, and leaves with the stableboy ”Sir Pom-Pom” on a quest to learn the identity of her father, encountering swindlers, faeries, trolls, ogres, a knight in search of his youth, and a relatively pedestrian item known as the Holy Grail.
As the sorcerers Shimrod and Murgen investigate dire portents in the world of magic, Casmir schemes to murder prince Dhrun of Troicinet and bring all the lands under his iron rule; however, his ambitions will be complicated by one small but important oversight – he's failed to allow for Madouc!
Jack Vance
John Holbrook "Jack" Vance (1916–2013) was an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published as by Jack Vance, he also wrote 11 mystery novels using his full name John Holbrook Vance, three under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, and once each using the pseudonyms Alan Wade, Peter Held, John van See, and Jay Kavanse.
Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984 and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 14th Grand Master in 1997 and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers.
Lyonesse
Lyonesse consists of three primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
