Cover art by Ned Dameron

Limited Edition - $35.00
Fine in fine dj; new and unread, direct from the publisher
OUT OF PRINT FROM THE PUBLISHER

ISBN: 0-934438-76-5

Underwood-Miller, San Francisco, CA, 1983; 169 pp.; limited to 700 copies; First Edition

Showboat World (original title: The Magnificent Showboats of the Lower Vissel River, Lune XXIII, Big Planet), written in 1975, is the second, stand-alone novel in a pair of science fiction novels by Jack Vance (the first being Big Planet) that share the same setting: a backward, lawless, metal-poor world called Big Planet. Showboat World follows the farcical adventures of Apollon Zamp, owner of the showboat Miraldra's Enchantment, and his troupe of acrobats, magicians and actors. Zamp is invited by the King of Soyvanesse to travel up the river Vissel to the distant city of Mornune, there to participate in a contest. A rich prize awaits the showboat captain who stages the most spectacular performance and succeeds in entertaining the king.