Customer Reviews

The Dying Earth (Lancer SF, 74-547)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a true fan of good fantasy and science fiction for some 20 years now, I've always searched for books which really fulfull the promise of those genres. In a time when both genres seem to have collapsed into a state where one rarely finds work which isn't some sort of commercial advertisement for childrens toys and tv shows, Jack Vance stands out like a beacon of pure genius. The dying earth is a series of vignettes in the fantasy realm of the same name invented by Vance. Humorous and brilliantly witty, yet darker and in many ways more believable (on a human level) than his space operas, the dying earth presents characters and situations using Vance's unique and eclectic mastery of the english language which sweep the reader away into another world from which it is hard to escape. This, ultimately is what good fantasy should do, and so often fails to accomplish. Readers should also seek out "The eyes of the overworld", "Cugels saga", and "Rhialto the marvelous", which occur in the same 'world'...

A exquisite exotic, as terrible in beauty, and sweet in dreamworlds as any penned since Poe, very much it's shadow. Vance weaves a world as bejeweled in color and fantastique as readers could imagine, in a earth perched at the end of time, while the sun sputters its last gasp. Magic rules, and poor Cugel, its hero wanders from the lilac-flavoured poisons of Mazirian's garden to the autumn-cut glass palaces of the Dying Earth. He is betrayed, bewitched, and perplexed by his environs, all to our joy, and such is his adventures that we hope for more, but it takes a genius such as Vance to realize it. Some say NIGHT LAMP is his last, but his readers, his children, will reimagine the lost lands of this book long after he is gone, perhaps to the end of this incredible, dream-haunted journey.

this is a book of science fiction and fantasy combined.in book one of this four book sieres we,re introduced to a variety of people.turjan,creator of life.t,sais,who see's everything with evil intent.on her planet she meets her sister who sees everything with the goodness of her soul.here her sister travles to a planet called earth where the sky is blue to find love.here t,sais meets a hooded man who saves her from distruction his name is etarr(I liked him)his is a story of love for the wrong woman! there are manny other characters in this book to many for me to give a proper feel for each one. mazirian,liane,ulan dhor... JACK VANCE IS A MASTER STORRYTELLER...

I am a great fan of Jack Vance, but this is not one of my favourite works. I find the characters opaque and unlikeable. Vance's verbal pyrotechnics remain spectacular, of course. But I far prefer later Vance such as the 'Lyonnesse' series, the 'Cadwall Chronicles' ('Araminta Station' et seq.), and the 'Alastor' novels. These contain heroes who are likeable as well as dauntless, and romantic interests who are loveable as well as beautiful. For people who like 'The Dying Earth', I suggest 'Cugel's Saga', 'Eyes of the Overworld', 'Rhialto the Marvellous', and 'Showboat World'. People who find the characters of 'The Dying Earth' repellent, or the language over-elaborate, should try 'Araminta Station' (SF) or 'Lyonnesse I: Suldrun's Garden' (Fantasy) before they give up on Vance.

I have been rediscovering some of the older classics of the Fantasy genre, and my latest find is The Dying Earth by Jack Holbrook Vance. This is the first book in his Dying Earth series of (four) books, and like the other is a collection of short stories.

The six short stories in this book are:
Turjan of Miir, which tells the story of Turjan the wizard, who dreams of perfecting the art of growing fully-developed humans in a chemical vat. Seeking out Pandelume, the greatest living wizard, Turjan goes to him, and learns the secrets that he craves. But, the woman he creates has a mind of her own.

In Mazirian the Magician, we meet Mazirian, a wizard who is trying to learn all of the magical spells still known to man, and has captured Turjan, with the design of forcing him to reveal the secret of successfully growing humans in chemical vats. But, a strange woman has been haunting the forest around his castle, and Mazirian will stop at nothing to capture her...no matter the cost.

T'sais is the story of the fractured woman created by the wizard Pandelume. Leaving Embelyon, she journeys to Earth to learn of love and beauty and joy, if it can be found on Earth.

Liane the Wayfarer is the most handsome and desirable of men (in his own estimation), and what more logical course should he take but the win the hand of Lith the Golden, the most beautiful of women? But, when Lith makes her love conditional on Liane fulfilling a quest, he little realizes what he is in for. It is not without reason that his opponent is called Chun the Unavoidable!

Ulan Dhor is the story of the nephew of Prince Kandive the Golden, who uncle has set him a most dangerous quest. He must travel to the lost city of Ampridatvir and learn the secrets of its long-lost wizard-king, Rogol Domedonfors. But, little does he know that Rogol may have plans of his own.

And finally, Guyal of Sfere tells the story of a young man who has an overwhelming desire to learn the secrets that most other men do not worry about. Sent to the fabled Museum of Man, to learn from its famed curator, Guyal encounters many dangers, but the greatest dangers seem to await him within the doors of the Museum itself!

I must say that I really enjoyed these stories. The author spins six fascinating stories, each with fascinating monsters and people. I love stories of strange and powerful wizards, and this book is chockfull of them! So, if you like good fantasy literature, then read The Dying Earth, you won't be disappointed.

This book consists of 6 loosely connected stories in a future Earth, so intertwined with magic, that spells are as common as smartphones on this Earth, everyone carries one or two. This may be a bit too much in the beginning, but it passes quickly.

So, here are some things that impressed me in dying Earth.

Very impressive spells. Original, inventive, sometimes funny, and always used with perfect timing to push the story forward.

Very impressing gore, for a 1950's novel. Deaths of humans (or deodands) are Mr. Romero's dream, and a certain necklace of one's own toes that one has to sew around his own neck sounds like a very creative punishment for any crine.

Very impressive landscapes, buildings and flora. Usually, when a writer starts describing the landscape, there's déjà vu and monotony, but not in dying Earth where Jack Vance makes you almost reach out and touch the entropy.

One thing that did not impressed me too much in dying Earth: there is a quite simplistic motive throughout the book. If you are good, you will survive (and get the girl). If you are bad, you will die. If you are somewhere in between, you don't belong here.

Having said that, 4 stars. Of the 6 stories, Turjan of Miir, Mazirian the Magician, T' sais, Liane the Wayfarer, Ulan Dhor and Guyal of Sfere 2, 5 and 6 are a cut above the rest.

The Dying Earth is the first of Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth and contains six somewhat overlapping stories all set in the future when the sun is red and dim, much technology has been lost, and most of humanity has died out. Our planet is so unrecognizable that it might as well be another world, and evil has been "distilled" so that it's concentrated in Earth's remaining inhabitants.

But it's easy to forget that a failing planet is the setting for the Dying Earth stories, for they are neither depressing nor bleak, and they're not really about the doom of the Earth. These stories are whimsical and weird and they focus more on the strange people who remain and the strange things they do. Magicians, wizards, witches, beautiful maidens, damsels in distress, seekers of knowledge, and vain princes strive to outwit each other for their own advantage.

What appeals to me most is that The Tales of the Dying Earth are about how things could possibly be in an alternate reality. All speculative fiction does that, of course, but Jack Vance just happens to hit on the particular things that I find most fascinating to speculate about: neuroscience, psychology, sensation, and perception. These are subjects I study and teach every day, so I think about them a lot. One thing I love to consider, which happens to be a common theme in Vance's work, is how we might experience life differently if our sensory systems were altered just a bit. I find myself occasionally asking my students questions like "what would it be like if we had retinal receptors that could visualize electromagnetic waves outside of the visible spectrum?" (So bizarre to consider, and yet so possible!) They look at me like I'm nuts, but I'm certain that Jack Vance would love to talk about that possibility. And even though The Dying Earth was first published in 1950, it doesn't feel dated at all -- it can still charm a neuroscientist 60 years later. This is because his setting feels medieval; technology has been forgotten. Thus, it doesn't matter that there were no cell phones or Internet when Vance wrote The Dying Earth.

I also love the constant juxtaposition of the ludicrous and the sublimely intelligent. Like Monty Python, Willy Wonka, and Alice in Wonderland. [Aside: This makes me wonder how Johnny Depp would do at portraying a Jack Vance character...] Some of the scenes that involve eyeballs and brains and pickled homunculi make me think of SpongeBob Squarepants -- the most obnoxious show on television, yet somehow brilliant. (Jack Vance probably wouldn't appreciate that I've compared his literature to SpongeBob Squarepants. Or maybe he would!)

Lastly, I love Jack Vance's "high language" (that's what he called it), which is consistent and never feels forced. This style contributes greatly to the humor that pervades his work -- understatement, irony, illogic, and non sequiturs are used to make fun of human behavior, and I find this outrageously funny. As just one example, in one story, Guyal has been tricked into breaking a silly and arbitrary sacred law in the land he's traveling through:

"The entire episode is mockery!" raged Guyal. "Are you savages, then, thus to mistreat a lone wayfarer?"

"By no means," replied the Castellan. "We are a highly civilized people, with customs bequeathed us by the past. Since the past was more glorious than the present, what presumption we would show by questioning these laws!"

Guyal fell quiet. "And what are the usual penalties for my act?"...

"You are indeed fortunate," said the Saponid, "in that, as a witness, I was able to suggest your delinquencies to be more the result of negligence than malice. The last penalties exacted for the crime were stringent; the felon was ordered to perform the following three acts: first, to cut off his toes and sew the severed members into the skin at his neck; second, to revile his forbears for three hours, commencing with a Common Bill of Anathema, including feigned madness and hereditary disease, and at last defiling the hearth of his clan with ordure; and third, walking a mile under the lake with leaded shoes in search of the Lost Book of Kells." And the Castellan regarded Guyal with complacency.

"What deeds must I perform?" inquired Guyal drily.

If you want to find out what three deeds Guyal had to perform, you'll have to get the book!

I listened to Brilliance Audio's production of The Dying Earth and the reader, Arthur Morey, was perfect. He really highlighted the humorous element of Vance's work. It was a terrific production and I'm now enjoying the second Dying Earth audiobook (which is even better than this first one!). By the way, I want to say that I'm extremely pleased with Brilliance Audio for publishing these stories!

Jack Vance is my favorite fantasy author. His work probably won't appeal to the Twilighters, but for those who enjoy Pythonesque surreal humor written in high style, or for fans of Lewis Carroll, Fritz Leiber, and L. Frank Baum, I suggest giving Jack Vance a try. If you listen to audiobooks, definitely try Brilliance Audio's version!

Any attempt to convey even a vague sense of the wonder and beauty of Jack Vance's writing in this book is doomed to failure. It takes its place alongside the works of Lord Dunsany (The King of Elf Land's Daughter), E.R. Eddison (The Worm Ourobouros), and, yes, Tolkien. Read and be enchanted.

At last a fantasy world that is not a pale imitation of The lord of The Rings or Conan. its amazingly good and unique.

I was uncertain on what this was at first.

It's a collection of interrelated short stories from 1950. The Pocket books paperback you're probably looking at is a reprint from March 1977.

The six stories are interrelated and share many of the same characters.

It's fantasy fiction, with wizards and monsters and so forth. It's a short book, though: 146 pages. One thing that's kind of annoying is that there's one of those heavy card stock cigarette ads right in the middle of the book (for Kent and Newport) that can't be removed. They used to do this with mass market paperbacks in the 70s. Thank God that went out of style.

It's a bit confusing at first: Vance gets right into his world and all the names and allusions can be quite disorienting, especially when you realize that no clarification will ever be forthcoming (e.g., you never get any specifics on why the world is "dying").

However, the writing is superb. If you can get into it, it's quite a feast for the imagination and Vance proves himself a capable wordsmith. I am not alone in my high opinion of this book: in 2001 it won a "retro-Hugo," an award designed to recognize superlative SF that was overlooked or unappreciated at the time of publication.

I actually read this through twice. It's not that it contains a lot of deep, subtle lessons. It's that it's such a pleasure to be in the hands of someone who's got such a disciplined style with English.

Note that Vance's conception about how wizards know and use spells was seminal in the Gygax's conception of them when he created Dungeons and Dragons with Dave Arneson.