my next fantasy title to purchase has to be a jack vance title

Hehe. Sorry if I have afflicted you terribly. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but if you have a good chain of used bookstores in your area, like "Half Price Books", they will often have some Jack Vance. This short story is available for free via the Gutenberg Project.

Also - if you prefer the Amazon or similar experience, I would recommend the following:

The Dragon Masters - relatively short, and interesting tale of interstellar conflict on a far off planet.

Tales of the Dying Earth - omnibus that contains (among other things) the stories of Cugel the Clever whom Elaina reminds me of, except that Cugel is much, much more of a scallywag.

Araminta Station - the first of a trilogy involving a "conservatory planet" and the struggles to save or despoil it, depending upon your perspective. Available in e-book as The Cadwal Chronicles

Llyonesse - another first of a trilogy, this time dark fantasy.

The Demon Princes - A tale of revenge, played out among many planets, species, and other things.

Alastor - Adventures on far off planets.

etc. etc. etc. I really think that for an introduction, The Dragon Masters might be best.

And just in case - the mandatory warning - beware of mid 20th century wrongthink. There is plenty to be had, no doubt. Although, as a mid 20th century creature, it's not like I'd notice, right?

Anyway, all that said, thanks for participation, and I hope you enjoyed the show. (You mentioned you did, I'm just saying it because)

And I hope you find something(s) enjoyable to read. :)