Review Page: Tales Of The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
| Title: |
Tales Of The Dying Earth |
| Author: |
Jack Vance |
| Format: |
Collection |
| Genre: |
Fantasy |
| Publisher: |
Millenium |
| Date of Publication: |
2000 |
| ISBN: |
1-85798-994-5 |
No. of Reviews: 1
Av. Rating: 9/10
Buy this book from the Amazon website.
11.10.2000 - Agema - 9/10
List of Reviews | Bio
This is a collection of four of Vance's works:
The Dying Earth (1950)
The Eyes Of The Overworld (1966)
Cugel's Saga (1983)
Rhialto The Marvellous (1984)
The first and last of these books are collections of short stories; the
middle two are stories in their own right, although the episodic feel
renders them effectively a series of short stories also. All are set in a
time when Earth is ancient and decrepit, the sun has grown huge and red and will soon die leaving the planet to eternal dark.
The Dying Earth sets the scene for his world. It follows a disparate series
of individuals and their escapades in this time; the characters are
naturally rarely fully realised, although the stories are both intriguing
and inventive.
The Eyes Of The Overworld are the adventures of one 'Cugel The Clever'.
Cugel is a supreme rogue, who loves to plot and bluff his way out
difficulties. He is both ruthless and conceited, yet also somehow (and
despite his epithet) really quite naive: in fact his ability to evade a
tricky situation is almost equalled by his ability to get into it in the
first place. Cugel's Saga is in terms of plot and structure almost
identical, although in this second book Cugel spends considerably more time
getting the worse of events. He is a rather more despondent character here, and struggles far more.
Finally Rhialto The Marvellous concerns tales of a group of magicians in
this time, remnants of an old order who associate loosely for mutual
benefit. They are small-minded and inconsistent underachievers in comparison to their predecessors. Rhialto has the means to be the best, but ultimately he is vain, aloof, and too interested in seducing attractive women.
I have to say that Vance is one of my favourite authors. The most immediate thing a reader will come across in Vance is his writing; far from the plain style used by most his is grand and baroque, and perfectly mirrors the ornate - to the point of presposterous - cultures and peoples of his world.
Vance's great advantage over most fantasists is this sheer vivacity of his
imagination and writing; underwritten with dry, ironic wit and humour. His
characters are occasionally only one or two dimensional, but his worlds are
so fabulous, they are treat not to be missed.