Customer Reviews

The Gist Hunter and Other Stories

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This collection of stories, most originally appearing in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction or ending up published there eventually is a welcome change of pace from all the formulaic science fiction and fantasy. I had originally read virtually everyone of these stories in F&SF but it is nice to have them collected.

Though much is made of the appeal this will have to fans of Jack Vance's Dying Earth I will be honest. I did not like the Dying Earth stories. The only comparison I can see is that Hughes is writing in a time period immediately before Vance's end of the earth time period. Despite my dislike of the Dying Earth, I found these stories to be very good.

There are three different types of stories in the book, the stories about Hengis Hapthorn, the stories about Guth Bandar, and some miscellaneous stories.

The stories of Hengis Hapthorn, the self-professed foremost freelance discriminator of Earth show us the society of the world through the eyes of essentially a private investigator. Through these stories we see the world change from being ruled from science and logic to the rule of magic and sympathy which would usher in the age of the Dying Earth. These are all shorter works and of a more whimsical bent.

The stories of Guth Bandar show the "collective unconcious" of the universe. A realm where the archetypes of our dreams and history play in situations over and over. Base characters such as Hero, Fool, Helper, Wise Man, Evil Tyrant etc. and the tasks they perform. This is where we would go when we dream. Guth, a noonaut, can access it at will. These are longer tales of a more serious bent and I think better than the Hapthorn works.

Finally there are the stories with no connection to the era in which the previous stories took place. Here we have two very similar disturbing time travel stories, a Retief like story of interstellar diplomacy/trade which was quite good, and a more atmospheric/emotional piece about a boy and dreams of a bear during a tumultous adolescent move.

Highly recommended for those looking for something different.

This first collection of stories from Matthew Hughes is a wonder.Ive read his 3 novels and enjoyed them immensely.This collection does not disappoint.If you like Jack Vance-especially his Cugel the Clever stories-you'll enjoy these. Well written and very colorful.

and a very nice introduction to Henghis Hapthorne and fascinating cohorts. I don't usually read short stories but enjoyed these immensely. I've just read the two Hapthorne novels and plan to read more of his work. Droll yet quite relevant.

The book was fun to read and hard to put down. I began reading Matthew Hughes with his Spiral Labyrinth and am now an avid fan. I've ordered some of the other books in the series. If you like light reads of sci-fi/mystery, then this is the book to get you started on Hughes.

It is an interesting and imaginative read that could be developed into a series worthy of Conan Doyle.