The Dragon Masters & The Last Castle Jack Vance

We are pleased to announce our limited edition of The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle by Jack Vance. This edition brings together two of Vance’s most celebrated novellas, both recipients of the Hugo Award and regarded as seminal works in the science fiction genre. With an introduction by John Vance and an afterword by Michael Moorcock, this edition celebrates Vance’s singular imagination and enduring literary legacy.

In The Dragon Masters, when humans on a distant world, living under primitive conditions, breed lizard-like alien creatures into fierce warriors, the unexpected arrival of a vessel from the aliens’ home planet brings not only their kindred, but something far more unsettling.  In The Last Castle, a privileged aristocracy lives in towering, high-tech fortresses sustained by alien servitors, until an unexpected rebellion threatens to bring their world crashing down.

The Dragon Masters first appeared in the August 1962 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine and was published in book form by Ace Books in 1963 as half of Ace Double F-185. The novella earned Jack Vance his first Hugo Award. The Last Castle made its debut in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in 1966 and was published as half of Ace Double H-21 in 1967. It won the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. These honors contributed to Jack Vance’s recognition by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, who named the author a Grand Master in 1997, the highest honor bestowed by the SFWA.

Both The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle showcase Jack Vance’s enduring mastery of imaginative world-building and inventive storytelling that define the very best of science fiction.

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About The Edition

Our edition of The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle by Jack Vance is presented in three states. The edition measures 6” x 9” and features ten color illustrations by award-winning illustrators Julie Bell and Ted Nasmith, a new introduction by John Vance and a new afterword by Michael Moorcock. The text is set in Amerigo and Swift with the Numbered and Lettered states printed letterpress on Neenah Cotton and mouldmade Arches Text papers by Scott Vile on a Heidelberg cylinder press in Buxton, Maine. Design and typography by award-winning designer Misha Beletsky.

This edition of The Dragon Masters and The Last Castle by Jack Vance pays homage to the classic Ace Double format in which these two novellas were first paired in the 1960s. Reviving the distinctive tête-bêche structure, this volume presents each story as a self-contained book with its own front cover. Readers begin with The Dragon Masters, then rotate the book 180 degrees to find The Last Castle beginning from the opposite end. This format preserves the mirrored, back-to-back presentation of the original Ace Doubles, where two works shared a spine but retained their own front matter and orientation. The shared design language—typography, title pages, and layout—unifies the volume while honoring the structural duality that defined this iconic paperback tradition.

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A Note on the Typography

The typefaces chosen for this volume share a common approach: a fresh new take on the old paradigm, an idea that feels particularly fitting for the imaginative fantasy worlds of Jack Vance. Swift and Amerigo, both designed by Dutch type designer Gerard Unger, illustrate this principle with unusual clarity. They share the same underlying DNA yet possess distinct personalities—not unlike siblings. Unger, a master of the well-crafted letter, drew deeply on traditional typographic structure while giving his designs an unmistakably modern voice. Using two closely related but subtly different typefaces to set the texts of two novels by the same author—presented as the opposing halves of a tête-bêche—creates a fitting symmetry: parallel stories expressed through kindred letterforms.

The display face Origami, designed by British type designer Carl Crossgrove, ties the two halves together. Its sound structure, calligraphic forms, and innovative flair produce an effect that is modern yet rooted in tradition.

Decorative elements from the Tangly family by Czech-American designer Zuzana Licko extend the same idea. Though not based on specific historical designs, they draw on the longstanding typographic practice of linking ornaments to form patterns, borders, headpieces, and tailpieces, completing the book’s visual language with a contemporary interpretation of a traditional craft.

The Artist edition is limited to 500 copies with a dust jacket illustrated by Julie Bell and Ted Nasmith. It is a full cloth binding with a foil blocked front cover. Endsheets are printed with a custom pattern design and the edition is housed in a coated paper covered slipcase. It is printed by offset lithography on 100gsm Munken, and is signed by Julie Bell and Ted Nasmith.

The Artist edition is complete and should ship in April, 2026.

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The Numbered edition of 250 copies is bound by hand in full goatskin, featuring a leather cover label and foil blocking. A custom line-art illustration—commissioned specifically for this edition from the artists who illustrated the volume—is stamped on the covers. Each copy is housed in a cloth-covered clamshell enclosure with velour lined trays.

The edition is printed letterpress on Neenah Cotton paper, with the title and chapter pages printed in two colors requiring two separate passes through the press, and is signed by John Vance, Michael Moorcock, Julie Bell, and Ted Nasmith.

The Lettered edition is limited to 26 copies and is presented in a dos-à-dos binding, a structure with deep historical roots. Dating back to the sixteenth century, dos-à-dos bindings (“back-to-back” in French) were traditionally used for devotional texts, allowing two works to be united in a single volume while each retained its own spine and title. This structure is uniquely suited to Vance’s paired novellas. Here, the traditional form is revisited by Ben Elbel, who has created a streamlined one-piece S-shaped cover complete with magnetic flaps covered in buffalo leather on each side.

By binding them dos-à-dos, the books mirror one another—distinct narratives that remain inseparably joined. To read one, the volume is held upright; to discover the other, the book is simply rotated. The book is housed in a handmade slipcase covered in custom made decorative papers, also used to cover the edition. The top edge is finished with a matted copper edge, giving the volume a warm metallic accent. The illustrations in the Lettered state are printed giclée and are tipped on.

The edition is printed letterpress on 120 gsm mouldmade Arches paper, with the title and chapter pages printed in two colors requiring two separate passes through the press, and is signed by John Vance, Michael Moorcock, Julie Bell, and Ted Nasmith.

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The Dragon Masters Map

The first appearance of The Dragon Masters in the August 1962 issue of Galaxy magazine included a map that­ offered readers a rare glimpse into the geography of Jack Vance’s world. This newly commissioned version by artistic cartographer Misty Beee, created especially for this edition, builds on that early vision with greater detail and refinement.

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Matching Numbers & Letters

A Matching Pre-Order email is sent to owners of our previous publication, Native Son at 9:00 A.M. PT on the day of announcement. If you did not receive the email, contact us here. If your order is not received before the deadline, your designated number or letter will be assigned to the new owner.

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Illustrations by Julie Bell and Ted Nasmith