John Holbrook Vance was born in 1916. He has written a large number of novels, novellas and short stories, mainly in the science fiction and fantasy fields, but also some crime and general fiction works. His pseudonyms include Jack Vance, Alan Wade, Peter Held, John Holbrook and John van See. His books have been translated into a number of different languages, and some, such as Bad Ronald, have been made into movies. Jack Vance lives in Oakland, California, with his wife Norma.