Who is Rhialto?
My name is Daniel and I’m born on July 24th of 1971. I live in the beautiful city of Québec City in Canada.
Why the nickname Rhialto?
Many use a nickname on internet. Mine simply comes from a book I’ve read (one of the rare) which is called Rhialto the Marvellous written by Jack Vance.
I never liked mandatory readings at school, but after a perfect score in computer science I was eligible to get a prize. I was given directions to a display cabinet to view all of the goodies and I remember there was several books on display. After a quick look at some book covers and reading the back this one got my attention. Why a book if I don’t like to read? I’ve always been fascinated by the imaginary world of dungeons and dragons along with all of the magic. This book was exactly about magicians, and since it was not mandatory to read then I went ahead with it. The result – I liked it and I recommend it if you like the genre.
This is the french cover of the 1985 edition which I find fascinating, made by Philippe Caza.
2001 cover edition, again by Philippe Caza.
The french resume on the back read like this:
En ce vingt et unième éon, la Terre s’étiole et le Soleil pâlit chaque jour… Dans la verte vallée de l’Almery, cependant, il fait encore bon vivre et des magiciens y ont établi leur commun domaine. Alliés et rivaux à la fois, il y a là Rhialto le Merveilleux, Vermoulian, l’Arpenteur de Rêves, Tchamast l’ascète farouche, bien d’autres… Et soudain c’est l’alerte : dans les eaux, Rhialto a surpris le reflet d’un corps féminin, d’autant plus troublant qu’aucune femme ne se dressait sur la rive. Est-ce Llorio, la dangereuse sorcière qui jadis menaçait les magiciens dans leur identité, leur virilité même? Ils croyaient l’avoir vaincue… Tandis qu’ils hésitent et se querellent, Rhialto fait front de toute sa ruse, de tout son courage!
Jack Vance, who’s real name is John Holbrook Vance, was born in San Francisco August 28th, 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. He passed away on May 26, 2013.
You can learn more about this prolific author by reading the Wikipedia’s article or by visiting this website in memory of him.
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