The Book of Dreams (Vance novel)
Final novel in Jack Vance's Demon Princes series.
The Book of Dreams, a 1980 science fiction novel by American author Jack Vance, is the fifth and final installment in the Demon Princes series. Its plot centers on Kirth Gersen’s pursuit of his last target, the criminal Howard Alan Treesong, who has already attained the title Lord of the Overmen and came close to becoming Chief of the Interworld Police Coordinating Commission.
Gersen, who runs a business empire that includes *Cosmopolis* magazine and often poses as journalist Henry Lucas, wonders what greater scheme Treesong could be planning. Searching old *Cosmopolis* files, he finds a photograph of a formal dinner labeled “H A Treesong is here,” with no further details. He launches a livelier sister magazine, *Extant*, and prints the picture in its free first issue, offering large cash rewards for identifying anyone in it.
A young woman named Alice Wroke applies for temporary work processing contest entries. Gersen confirms she is spying for Treesong. Eventually, all figures in the photo are named except one man using multiple aliases. Gersen tells Alice the contest aimed to identify Treesong, and that the magazine wants an interview. The photograph depicts a dinner of the Interworld Police Coordinating Commission, not the Institute. Gersen saves a hermit from assassination, shooting Treesong in the leg. The hermit, now the Triune, cancels Treesong’s false rank, thwarting another power grab. Treesong’s father enters the contest, identifying him as Howard Hardoah, and mentions a school reunion to which Howard has been invited. Treesong himself calls *Extant* but misses the prize deadline. “Lucas” offers to publish his memoirs, but Treesong claims an urgent rendezvous on a distant planet. Gersen suspects he will attend the reunion.
Gersen interviews the elder Hardoah and meets Howard’s brother Ledesmus, who hid Howard’s prized “Book of Dreams”—an exercise book of childhood fantasies.
- Publication year
- 1980
Lore & Background
The plot centers on Kirth Gersen's efforts to identify and stop Howard Alan Treesong, a criminal who has already attained immense power. Gersen uses a photograph from Cosmopolis magazine files to launch a contest through a new magazine, Extant, offering cash prizes for identifying people in the image. The photograph turns out to depict a dinner of the Interworld Police Coordinating Commission, not the Institute.
Reader's Guide
The novel concludes the Demon Princes series, resolving Gersen's long quest against five great criminals. Treesong's schemes to become the Institute's leader, the Triune, and later the first Emperor of the Gaean Worlds are foiled. The book's title refers to an exercise book containing Treesong's childhood fantasies, which Gersen uses to lure him into a trap. Treesong ultimately drowns himself in a fountain after being immobilized. The novel leaves Gersen uncertain of his future after completing his mission.
Did You Know?
- The novel's title refers to an exercise book in which Howard Alan Treesong wrote his childhood fantasies.
- Kirth Gersen masquerades as journalist 'Henry Lucas' throughout the story.
- Treesong's father identifies him as Howard Hardoah in a contest entry.
- Treesong is killed by Gersen, not by drowning himself in a fountain.
Culmination of the Demon Princes Cycle
The Book of Dreams, published in 1981, stands as the fifth and final novel in Jack Vance's Demon Princes series. The arc began in 1964 with two simultaneous entries—The Star King and The Killing Machine—before continuing with The Palace of Love in 1967 and The Face in 1979. This means the series unfolded over a span of seventeen years, with The Book of Dreams serving as its closing volume. The pacing of the series was uneven, with two books arriving in the same year at the start, followed by longer gaps of three and twelve years between subsequent entries. By 1981, Vance had been publishing fiction for over three decades, having begun his career with The Dying Earth in 1950. The Demon Princes cycle, classified as science fiction in his bibliography, represents one of several sustained multi-novel projects in his output, alongside the Tschai, Alastor, Durdane, and Cadwal Chronicles series.
Science Fiction Among Many Genres
In Jack Vance's complete bibliography, The Book of Dreams is categorized under science fiction, one of several distinct series in that genre. The Demon Princes cycle, of which it is the final installment, sits alongside the Tschai quartet (1968–1970), the Alastor trilogy (1973–1978), the Durdane trilogy (1973–1974), and the Cadwal Chronicles (1987–1992). Beyond series work, Vance produced numerous standalone science fiction novels spanning from The Five Gold Bands in 1953 to Lurulu in 2004. Yet science fiction was only one facet of his output. Vance also wrote fantasy (the Dying Earth and Lyonesse cycles), mystery and thriller novels under his own name and as Ellery Queen, and a body of novellas and short stories. His autobiography, This Is Me, Jack Vance!, won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Related Book, underscoring the breadth of a career that defied easy genre categorization.
The Seventeen-Year Creative Arc
The Demon Princes series, which The Book of Dreams concludes, was not written in a single burst but stretched across seventeen years of Vance's career. The first two novels, The Star King and The Killing Machine, both appeared in 1964, establishing the series' foundation. The Palace of Love followed in 1967, and The Face arrived in 1979, before The Book of Dreams closed the cycle in 1981. This long gestation period means the series was interleaved with much of Vance's other work. During those seventeen years, he published the Tschai novels, the Alastor books, the Durdane trilogy, the Dying Earth follow-ups, the Lyonesse series, and numerous standalone novels. The Book of Dreams thus arrived not as an isolated project but as the latest thread in a dense, multi-threaded creative life. Its 1981 publication date places it just before the Cadwal Chronicles began in 1987, marking a transition point in Vance's science fiction output.
Vance the Prolific: Context for a Single Volume
The Book of Dreams is a single entry in what is described as a complete list of works by an American science fiction and fantasy author. That list is extensive, spanning from 1950 to 2004 and encompassing fantasy cycles, multiple science fiction series, standalone novels, novellas published in magazines like Thrilling Wonder Stories and Startling Stories, mystery and thriller novels (some under the pen names Peter Held, Alan Wade, and Ellery Queen), collected editions, and an autobiography. The Book of Dreams, as a 1981 science fiction novel, occupies one position in this vast catalog. It shares its series grouping with four other Demon Princes novels and its genre classification with dozens of other science fiction titles. For readers encountering it as a standalone volume, the broader context reveals an author whose career was defined by sheer volume and genre-hopping ambition, making any single book a small window into a much larger literary universe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Book of Dreams by Jack Vance?
It is a 1980 science fiction novel that closes out Vance's Demon Princes series. The story follows detective Kirth Gersen as he tracks down his final and most dangerous target, the criminal mastermind Howard Alan Treesong.
Who is the main antagonist in The Book of Dreams?
Howard Alan Treesong serves as the villain, a figure who has already claimed the rank of Lord of the Overmen and nearly seized the top position on the Interworld Police Coordinating Commission. Gersen must stop him before whatever larger scheme Treesong is orchestrating comes to fruition.
How does The Book of Dreams end?
Gersen ultimately confronts and defeats Treesong, bringing his long-running campaign against the Demon Princes to a close. This final victory resolves the central conflict that has driven the entire five-book series.
Why is The Book of Dreams important to the Demon Princes series?
As the fifth and final installment, it delivers the concluding confrontation between Gersen and the last remaining Demon Prince. It wraps up the overarching narrative arc that began with the first novel and gives the series its definitive ending.
What role does Cosmopolis magazine play in the plot?
The magazine is part of Gersen's sprawling business empire and becomes a crucial source of clues when he digs through its old archives to piece together Treesong's intentions. Gersen also frequently operates under the alias Henry Lucas, a journalist, to move about the Interworld incognito.
More in Novels by Jack Vance 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced