The Deadly Isles — Jack Vance

Graduate researcher Luke Royce lives quietly on Tahiti, until he's run off a cliff and left for dead.

Circumstances are confusing, and evidence sparse -- but a plot becomes clear during an eventful voyage to the Marquesas.

Luke must reach his wealthy cousin Brady before more of his family are killed.

He will confront a murderer -- and accomplices -- after a fateful feast on the beach at Hiva Oa.

SF Grandmaster Jack Vance spun most of his yarns in realms of far-off time and space, with a style to make unusual settings and events feel familiar and immediate. Bringing his talent to the mystery genre, his novels are sublimely atmospheric, written with firsthand knowledge of period and locale.

The Deadly Isles delivers a fast-moving plot, swept with the ambience of picturesque French Polynesia in the 1960s.

The Deadly Isles is Volume 24 of the Spatterlight Press Signature Series.Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collectionis based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition. Select volumes enjoyup-to-date maps, and many are graced with freshly-written forewords contributedby a distinguished group of authors. Each book bears a facsimile of theauthor's signature and a previously-unpublished photograph, chosen from family archives for the period the book was written. These uniquefeatures will be appreciated by all, from seasoned Vance collector to new reader sampling the spectrum of this author's influential work forthe first time. â€" John Vance II