In an imagined future, Mizar Five is a new gangland paradise – Boardwalk Empire in space. No policemen, not even one, in a city where you can always start again, avoiding potential arrest on another planet. It’s almost Star Wars – Mizar 5 could be that “hive of villainy” that Ben Kenobi describes on Tatooine. In fact, Steely Dan’s ‘Royal Scam’ album was released a year before the first Star Wars film in 1976. Is this a case of art inspiring art inspiring art? Or did Jack Vance manage to influence two of my favourite American pop culture exports?

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