Set in a distant future when our sun is about to expire, the six marvellous adventures in this, Vance’s first ever book, originally published in 1950, take us to a world filled with strange lands and ancient wonders, where the moon has long-since left the sky and science has been all but replaced by magic, where hopes and dreams for a golden tomorrow have given way to a decadent grandeur, outrageous schemes and the most desperate and reckless acts of derring-do imaginable.

In this fascinating world, home to pelgranes, erbs and Deodands, Gauns, gids and Twk-men, we meet Turjan of Miir in his unswerving quest to create artificial life, watch the cruel Mazirian the Magician as he pursues his latest dark obsession, observe the beautiful T’sais as she learns to find beauty in Earth’s final days. We enjoy the antics of the foolish, unforgettable Liane the Wayfarer (and the even more unforgettable Chun the Unavoidable!) in that bandit-troubadour’s quest for a fabulous tapestry, follow Ulan Dhor as he seeks the lost spells of a great magician in far-off Ampridatvir, join Guyal of Sfere in his search for ancient knowledge in the Museum of Man.

But, most important of all, we meet the world itself, this vivid, wondrous setting at the end of time, at once doomed and magical, elusive and yet always fascinating.