Ace Double (F-265) first printing 1964 paperback. Both covers by Jack Gaughan. Condition is near-Fine: tight and square with flat spine, mild uniform age tanning (slightly darker on insides of covers); slight overall wear as a hint of age-darkening to the white background of "Iszm" side and a short finger-crease or 2 on the "Tree" side (see scans.) No stamps, marks or writing - a clean copy that is probably unread.

An Ace Double with both sides by Jack Vance: The Houses of Iszm, bound with Son of the Tree. This is the kind of Vance that I like best: colorful space opera with the kinds of quirky characters and rich language that he does so well. This is the first book appearance for either (both had magazine versions in the early Fifties.) The first edition was 1964; it was reprinted in 1971 - both times as an Ace Double.

The Houses of Iszm (cover and frontispiece by Jack Gaughan, 112 pages) - first appeared in Startling Stories Spring 1954. The Iszic lived in homes that were alive, grown from seeds. Only they possessed the secret of cultivating the Houses, and they worked hard to keep the monopoly. Aile Farr gets involved in the latest plot to steal a female seed.

Son of the Tree (cover and frontispiece by Jack Gaughan, 111 pages) - originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories June 1951. Joe Smith, from legendary Earth, ends up on Kyril, the planet of the Druids. The Druids worship and tend the Tree: five miles wide, twelve miles from root to the ultimate bud. The Druids are struggling for dominance with the Mangs of Mangtse. Joe gets caught up in the intrigues.