| Title | : | Cugels Saga (The Dying Earth, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 2290302147 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9782290302149 |
| Language | : | French |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 347 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1983 |
Cugels Saga (The Dying Earth, #3) Reviews
-
I think I read this the year it came out and never again. I really must dig the series out because it has stuck with me as rather fine. Cugel especially with his brand of cowardice and amoral innovation has remained a favorite.
The world Vance creates is as compelling as the characters in it, and it's great that he is content to lead us through its ruins without the need to spell it out for us in stultifying detail(*). His prose is sharp enough to cut the ambiance of the place from the stuff of the readers' imagination with economy.
(*)Vance does on occasion dive head first into detail, bringing the fanciful to life with minutiae that make it seem text-book real. Somehow he does this without boring me. I have no idea how he does it because I have a very low tolerance for info dumps.
I particularly like how many of the conflicts take place through the medium of agreements, laws, and obligations which are then twisted to advantage. When in another book the characters might come to blows here they are more likely to reach for legal precedent. This has the advantage of allowing Cugel's cleverness (and sometimes lack thereof) to shine.
An absurd, strangely moving, and always fascinating book.
A classic!
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
. -
It has been an awfully long time since I read this book. Thirty years probably :o
However, the fact that I can even attempt a review from memory speaks to how ... memorable ... the book is.
I think I read this the year it came out and never again. I really must dig the series out because it has stuck with me as rather fine. Cugel especially with his brand of cowardice and amoral innovation has remained a favorite.
The world Vance creates is as compelling as the characters in it, and it's great that he is content to lead us through its ruins without the need to spell it out for us in stultifying detail(*). His prose is sharp enough to cut the ambiance of the place from the stuff of the readers' imagination with economy.
(*)Vance does on occasion dive head first into detail, bringing the fanciful to life with minutiae that make it seem text-book real. Somehow he does this without boring me. I have no idea how he does it because I have a very low tolerance for info dumps.
It's a story crammed with novelty. Cugel finds himself embroiled in various strange tasks such as diving in a swamp for the scales of a fallen demi-god, scrubbing the giant worms that tow a ship, and you're never quite sure where things are heading.
I particularly like how many of the conflicts take place through the medium of agreements, laws, and obligations which are then twisted to advantage. When in another book the characters might come to blows here they are more likely to reach for legal precedent. This has the advantage of allowing Cugel's cleverness (and sometimes lack thereof) to shine.
An absurd, strangely moving, and always fascinating book.
A classic!
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
. -
Some books are written to educate and some books are written to charm… I think there’s no need to tell what kind of a book Cugel's Saga is.
Iucounu (known across Almery as 'the Laughing Magician') had worked one of his most mordant jokes upon Cugel. For the second time Cugel had been snatched up, carried north across the Ocean of Sighs, dropped upon that melancholy beach known as Shanglestone Strand.
Rising to his feet, Cugel brushed sand from his cloak and adjusted his hat. He stood not twenty yards from that spot upon which he had been dropped before, also at the behest of Iucounu. He carried no sword and his pouch contained no terces.
The solitude was absolute. No sound could be heard but the sigh of the wind along the dunes. Far to the east a dim headland thrust into the water, as did another, equally remote, to the west. To the south spread the sea, empty except for the reflection of the old red sun.
Cugel's frozen faculties began to thaw, and a whole set of emotions, one after the other, made themselves felt, with fury taking precedence over all.
There are dangerous adventures and there are fantastic adventures… Cugel’s adventures are dangerously fantastic and fantastically dangerous. But if one thinks that Cugel is doomed one is naively wrong.
Who hasn’t ever dreamt to live in some fabulous place and always win? -
"Without urgent goals, life is insipid!"
After a 17 years pause (so quit complaining fans of Game of Thrones about when the next book is coming out) Jack Vance returns to his Dying Earth universe with another book focused on Cugel the 'not-so-clever-as-he-thinks-he-is' . Vance knew he was on to a good thing whith this completely amoral and accident prone scoundrel and decided to throw him back in the soup as Iucounu the Laughing Magician sends Cugel once more to the farthest corner of the map, away from civilized Almery. Deja vu much?
Cugel's life is anything but insipid, as he tries to get back to Almery and exact his revenge on the powerful magician. The pattern set up in The Eyes of the Underworld is repeated here as Cugel alternatively lies, cheats, steals and tricks everybody he meets along the way, only to get lied, cheated, robbed, beaten and tricked in his turn:
Cugel's visit to Cuirnif was marred by several disagreeable incidents, and he left town with more haste than dignity.
The joy and fascination of the journey resides in the inexhaustible power of Jack Vance to imagine outlandish settings, grotesque fauna and flora and weird social institutions. You never know what Cugel will come across next and how he will manage to get in trouble again and again. The book is almost twice as long as the previous one, but I didn't notice it as the urge to turn the page and read the next adventure made the long journey pass in a flash.
In the first episode, Cugel gains employment in the house of a treasure hunter. The tresure lies at the bottom of a mud pit where divers seek the scattered scales of a demon dragon fallen from the Overworld. Most of the fun comes from the desperate efforts of Cugel to avoid getting his hands muddied while stealing as many of the scales as he can. Of course, his plans are too clever by half and he ends up with nothing (except the most powerful scale of all, that will be used as a sort of McGuffin for the rest of the novel to link Cugel's picaresque adventures into the main plot.)
Next stop is at the Inn of the Blue Lamps, where Cugel enters into an outrageous betting game with another crook for a place on the next ship to leave the shore. On the losing side again, Cugel must accept the position of worminger on the ship. In case you're wondering, a worminger must take care of the pair of giant sea worms that are pulling the ship along its route, a backbreaking, tedious and very, very wet job.
The worm driven ship makes an escale in Lausicaa, a most peculiar island that reinded me of the way Jonathan Swift used comedy and sarcasm to address social issues:
Those of you who have visited this place before, I doubt if there are many, will understand why I must issue warnings. In a nut-shell, you will find certain customs which guide the folk of this island to be at variance with our own. They may impress you as strange, grotesque, laughable, disgraceful, picturesque or commendable, depending upon your point of view. Whatever the case, we must take note of these customs and abide by them, since the folk of Lausicaa will definitely not alter their ways in favor of ours.
No, the mystery of Lausicaa is neither Lilliputanians or Brobdingnagians but the lustful nature of its womenfolk, so strong that men are force to hide their faces behind burkas lest they drive the fair sex wild with temptation. As Cugel and the rest of the male visitors don the face veils, the scene is set for a Molliere style pantomime of mistaken identity, lovers thrysts and bastonades. Bring out the popcorn folks, and enjoy the way Cugel's get rich quick plans unravel.
Quick on his feet as ever, Cugel manages not only to run away from trouble, but to sail away on a stolen ship with only a portly matron and her three nubile daughters on board. Sailing the Ocean of Sights as your own captain with a personal harem ready to satisfy your every whim should give Cugel an early taste of Paradise, but we all know who we're dealing here with : Cugel's lands once again in the soup / mud on another strange shore with only the tattered clothes on his back to show for all his efforts.
No matter, across the next hill there's another village with strange customs : the women do all the work, while the men sunbathe all day at the top of tall marble pillars. The higher the pillar, the more prestige for the woman whose husband loafs there. So the most lucrative business in the village is that of the stonecutter who builds up the pillars from the ruins of previous cities. The mason just happens to be old and behind schedule in his stone deliveries, so Cugel applies for the post of apprentice. Of course, Cugel doesn't like to exert himself, and he soon devises a plan to work less for more pay, and of course the plan backfires and our hero is again on the run, but this time he manages to come away with a useful magical potion, one that can make heavy objects levitate.
After an interlude with a magician who wants to steal Cugel's powerful dragon scale and a flying bed ride across the sky (Alladin reference?) , Cugel continues his journey by caravan across a desert region. As this is the Dying Earth universe, the crossing is as unusual as the worm driven ship. Cugel uses his antigravity spell to set out in a floating ship where he hopes he will not only turn out a profit from first class passengers, but enjoy the respect and the perks of the captain position. Alas, he is once again too clever for his own good and has to work harder than all the erst of the caravan, while trying to discover which of his passengers is a serial killer before he becomes the next victim.
The man can catch no break at all, but slowly and surely he gets closer to the destination on his rollercoater ride that at one time makes him night guard to a consignment of seventeen virgins to a festival (what could possibly go wrong with this picture) and the next forces to play cards with a demon in exchange for his own life. A chance to win the big prize at a magical fair with his display of a wormwhole to another dimension turns nasty when Cugel messes with the stuff dreams are made off.
I thought the end of the journey and the final confrontation with Iucounnu came too abruptly, but that is probably because I wanted to go on in Cugel's company, becaue I felt there was so much more of the world to explore. I know there is one more book to read in the series, but I did a sneak preview and I think Cugel is not in it. I will miss this guy, he has become as much an icon of sword & sorcery as Fafhrd, Grey Mouser, Elric, Kane or Conan. In a bittersweet farewell, Cugel urges us to live our lives to the full, living in the present and enjoying every second of our journey regardless of how lucky the cards we have been dealt are, because the Sun might go off at any time and afterwards there will be only cold, darkness and emptiness.
I was going to rate the book four stars, as I felt it lacks the majesty and the grand scope of the opening volume, and it is too similar to the second book, but as I retraced the steps of the journey and as I chuckled at every misstep and every misadventure of the irrepressible swashbuckling rogue I realized Cugel Saga turned out to be just as memorable as the previous Dying World experiences. -
Jack Vance is one hell of a storyteller. I may have gotten off on a slightly wrong foot with the first Tales of the Dying Earth, but once I fell into the groove in the second novel, it and the third are a pure delight.
Why?
Because it's nonstop trickery, confidence games, theft, and conscience-less knavery. :)
We follow Cugel the Clever who falls into every situation on both feet, lying the most grandiose lies and cheating his way through every fantasy location only to get found out and run out of every town. He never stops running.
He amassed and lost massive wealth in equal measure to each chapter. Quite delightful. Wicked. And cruel. :)
What Vance lacks in worldbuilding and reasons for a dying sun is more than made up for in chicanery and amusement. :) -
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT
Fantasy Literature.
Cugel “the clever” is one of the scummiest, nastiest, lowliest rogues in all of fantasy literature. He’s got no morals and no respect for women, he’s often a coward, he’s not good looking, nor is he particularly good with a sword. In the words of one of Cugel’s acquaintances, “who could imagine such protean depravity?” The answer, apparently, is Jack Vance. And that's why Cugel is one of my favorite “heroes” — because he belongs to Jack Vance.
Cugel’s Saga, book 3 of The Dying Earth and the direct sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld, begins ironically — with Cugel again fallen afoul of Iucounu, the Laughing Magician, who has now banished Cugel across the dying earth to exactly the same place he had sent Cugel before and from which Cugel had just returned to seek his revenge. Thus, Cugel begins another long journey back to Almery to get even with Iucounu, and of course it’s another series of hilarious misadventures. These usually involve Cugel entering a village, pretending to be a gentleman and getting involved in some profitable scheme, and eventually having to flee or being run out of town.
During each of these episodes, Jack Vance uses his characteristic humor to highlight absurd human behavior. For example, in chapter 3, after penniless Cugel has just narrowly escaped a man whose ship, wife, and daughters he kidnapped, he happens upon a town in which the men spend their days sunning themselves atop columns of stone while their wives work to pay Nisbet the quarryman to add additional stones to their husbands’ towers, thus elevating them, both literally and figuratively, above the other townsmen. Cugel, noticing how eager the women are to please Nisbet, sees this as an opportunity not only for monetary gain, but also perhaps to score benefits that Nisbet may not have imagined… Yes, Cugel is a scoundrel, but it’s hard to think too badly of him when most of the people he encounters are equally corrupt. Cugel himself explains it this way:
I am not one to crouch passively with my hindquarters raised awaiting either the kick or the caress of Destiny! I am Cugel! Fearless and indomitable!
Cugel’s various adventures do not become predictable and they never get stale — each is unique, fresh, and delightfully funny. Besides the sheer entertainment value, Jack Vance’s voice is consistently a pleasure to read. Nobody writes just like Vance and I never tire of it.
I listened to Brilliance Audio’s version of Cugel’s Saga, which was read by Arthur Morey, who has narrated their other Vance titles. He is excellent as usual — one of the finest audiobook readers I’ve ever listened to. He and Jack Vance have entertained me for many an hour as I commute back and forth to work. I’ll bet my colleagues wonder why I’m always chuckling wickedly when I pull into the parking lot. -
Short version:
This is the fourth book in the Dying Earth series (not the third), and it belongs among Vance's late period books. It was written in the early 80s and is significantly longer than his middle period books. Thus it compares with his masterworks Lyonesse, Cadwal and Night Lamp.
Long version:
Cugel's Saga, or Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight which was Vance's preferred title, is sort of a special Vance-book. It has taken me some time to figure out why that is. I have always felt that it was different from the other Dying Earth books, and also quite different from the other Cugel-book: The Eyes of the Overworld (aka Cugel the Clever). It has a different pacing and structure. It feels sort of slow, though not dull. It is hard to pinpoint exactly where in the differences lie. And they may go unnoticed and remain just a feeling.
What finally helped me figure it out was zooming out and looking at the book's place in the totality of Vance's work. Basically Vance's works can be devided into three periods. Early (40s and 50s), Middle (60s and 70s), and Late (80s and 90s and early 00s). Most of Vance's short stories are from the early period. The middle period starts with "The Moon Moth" and The Star King and consists mostly of short novels, around 200 pages long, often in a series. The late period consists of his big trilogies of significantly longer novels, around 500+ pages (with the exeption of Throy, which probably was intended to be longer). Of cource Ports of Call + Lurulu is one novel.
What is interesting, and significant for understanding Cugel's Saga I think, is that the Dying Earth books span over all three periods in Vances ouvre. All the stories the first book, The Dying Earth, was written as early as 1944, and was published in 1950 as Vances first book. All the stories in Cugel the Clever was written in 1963 and published in 1966, making it a middle period book (only two of the stories were published separately in magazines, and both the same year as the book came out). All the three novellas comprising Rhialto the Marvellous was written in the 70s, making them middle period stories. "Morreion" was written around 1970 and was first published in 1973. "Fader's Waft" and "The Murht" was written in the late 70s and first published in the book Rhialto the Marvellous in 1984.
Now, of the stories, or rather chapters, in Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterligth, only two ("The Seventeen Virgins" and "The Bagful of Dreams") was written and published in the 70s. The rest, which is most of the book (330 of 400 pages) was written in 1981, making it the the first work in Vance's late period. It is 400 pages long, double the lenght of his middle period novels. So eventhough Rhialto the Marvellous was published three years after Cugel's Saga, it was written before. Because of the publishing order Cugel's Saga is considered the third book and Rhialto the fourth. The VIE rectifies this by making Rhialto vol. 34 and Cugel vol. 35.
When considering any Vance-book I think it makes a lot of sense taking into account which period it belongs to. For example, it feels a bit off comparing Night Lamp with other non-series novels from other periods, like Emphyrio (middle period) or The Languages of Pao (early period). Regarding Cugel's Saga, this book comes into a new light when grouped with Vance's late period masterworks. Certain elements and the whole character of this novel might have to be revalued in this new light. Aspects I might have seen as weaknesses might acutally be the opposite.
First time read in Brilliance audio
Second time read in Swedish translation
Third time Swedish translation (legimus) -
Jack Vance was a fairly prolific Sci-Fi writer, so you have to wonder why it took him so long (17 years!) to come up with a sequel to Eyes of the Overworld, which features one of the great anti-heroes, Cugel the Clever, in all of Fantasy Lit. After reading Cugel's Saga, I figure Vance knew he had a good character, and any revisiting would have marred his amazingly amoral creation. Any return would have run the risk of just being a case of rewriting the original tale. Now there are plenty of genre writers who do exactly that all the time, but to Vance's credit, he wanted to show some movement for this very special character. The good news is that he did, while still retaining much of the Cugel of old.
Cuglel's Saga opens where the first book left off, with Cugel on a beach, a world away from his home. He had been dropped there by a demon -- the result of a "joke" by Iucounu (the Laughing Magician). In truth, this shouldn't of happened, since Cugel, after a series of misadventures, actually had the upper hand on Iucounu. But Cugel's own greed -- and gloating, did him in. And yet, pissed off, depressed, without sword or money, he nevertheless gets up and brushes the sand from his cloak, and adjusts his (ridiculous) three tiered hat. And there, in the second paragraph of the story, Vance tells you everything you need to know about Cugel. He's a survivor who always gets up after being knocked down.
What follows, structurally, is a story that is very similar to the first novel, with each chapter standing alone as a story within a story. Overall you see Cugel's movement toward his return and hoped for revenge, but you also see Cugel's development as a character. He still does a lot of bad things, but it's almost always to people who have done him wrong. There are also a number of occasions where Cugel shows loyalty to those who have been kind to him. In fact, it's his last friendship(s) with a group of damaged wizards -- and their son (don't ask me to explain), that helps Cugel in his final confrontation with Iucounu. The rogue of the first novel is now the likable rogue of the Saga. What doesn't change is the laugh out loud comedy of each story, which is heightened by the formal language the characters use. I especially liked those portions where Cugel would engage in insult battles with other characters. And those other characters, bizarre, eccentric, are often as much fun as Cugel himself. It's like he's stuck in Oz -- as scripted by Monty Python. Easily one of the best books I've read this year. A perfect beach book. -
Cugel’s Saga (1983) is the third book in the Dying Earth series, coming 17 years after The Eyes of the Overworld (1966) and 33 years after The Dying Earth (1950). It’s also the second book to feature that thieving scoundrel Cugel the Clever, who often finds he is not quite as clever as he thinks, as his schemes generally end in failure at the end of each chapter, leaving him penniless and fleeing his enemies until he encounters the next adventure. This book is a similarly picaresque episodic adventure in the slowly crumbing world of the Dying Earth, as creatures, magicians and humans live their varied lives in the waning days of the fading red sun before it goes dark.
What struck me about this entry is that Cugel has gotten less and less clever, and more often finds himself not in control of the situation. In fact, from the very start he falls into the clutches of a greedy old profiteer who is plumbing the depths of a mud pit for the scales of a fallen demiurge named Skylark from the Overworld, which are then being sold via a middle-man to Iucounu the Laughing Magician, Cugel’s nemesis in The Eyes of the Overworld. Cugel accidentally discovers the most valuable of the scales, the Pectoral Skybreak Spatterlight, which plays a prominent role in the book.
As I mentioned in reviewing Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel is not nearly as clever as he thinks, and this time he ends of doing a series of odd jobs (part-time gigs, if you will) to get by, generally against his will, and while on occasion he manages to enjoy some fine foods and luxury, these moments end abruptly and his ill-gotten gains are soon lost. If this is a morality play, then it is quite repetitive. And though he is sometimes debonair and charming, there is a general lack of savoir faire in his predicaments. I can only guess is deliberate on Vance’s part, but why make your protagonist less charming and cunning, when he was already lacking in moral fiber to begin with? It’s a strange artistic choice, in my opinion.
One aspect of whole series worth noting is all the strange social practices of the societies and towns/villages that Cugel encounters. The recurring theme throughout is how completely bound all these societies are to bizarre, meaningless traditions and practices that they slavishly adhere to. It is obvious to the reader that these practices are patently absurd, but not once does anyone question them except for Cugel, who believes in nothing but his own survival.
It’s not a big leap to think that Jack Vance is poking fun at people’s dogged observance of social conventions, especially when are so exaggerated. For instance, in one village social status is denoted by the height of columns upon which husbands spend the day basking in the limited sunlight, the higher the better, and all the schemes of the wives to get their husbands higher in the world. Kinda like the corporate ladder, methinks.
All in all, it’s an entertaining book, but some of the social comedy gets a bit tired and overextended in parts, and the drive of Cugel to get back to Almery and exact his revenge seems to have cooled greatly, so the story lacks that urgency and momentum. Also, Cugel seems to have lost some of his mojo, which is disappointing. I’m still happy to move onto the final installment, Rhialto the Marvelous, which doesn’t feature Cugel, to round out the series. -
Cugel's Saga is the third volume in Jack Vance's "The Dying Earth" series and the second featuring Cugel as a protagonist. It is the story of his second epic journey from Shanglestone Strand home to Almery, after being tricked by Iucounu the Laughing Magician once again.
At first glance, there seems to be little to like about the book's protagonist, Cugel. He is selfish, opportunistic, nearly devoid of empathy, and motivated by little other than his personal interests. That is until you take into account The Dying Earth's other inhabitants. The Dying Earth is not what you might call hospitable, even in it's best parts. Anyone lacking Cugel's fierce dedication to personal gain and survival would quickly find themselves taken advantage of and dead. To Cugel's credit, he at least attempts to repay the kindness of the few characters in the book who treat him fairly.
Cugel's Saga enjoys improved writing and is an easier read than the previous two volumes. I enjoyed The Dying Earth and The Eyes of the Overworld, but Cugel's Saga was the first in the series that felt like a novel, even though it follows the same format as the second volume.
I have not yet read volume four, Rhialto The Marvellous, but Cugel's Saga is the best of the first three. In addition to non-stop laughs, there is a part of me who enjoys seeing con-men, abusive employers, corrupt bureaucrats, unfair societies, and generally horrible people get a little taste of their own medicine. In that regard, Cugel is a knight in shining armor.
I will mention again that this series is "a little piece of Americana" and was a significant inspiration for early editions of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. This is also a great book to enjoy with a glass of wine. It's very funny, and the characters are always drinking some exotic vintage of wine themselves. There is also some indescribable quality of Vance's writing that makes his books fantastic "bedtime stories". Not the kind for children, but it's been very comforting to crawl under a blanket and read (and listen) to. I've become a big fan of audiobook narrator Arthur Morey.
I highly recommend Cugel's Saga and the entire Dying Earth series to anyone looking for something fiercely original and imaginative and of a different voice than the vast majority of contemporary fantasy fiction.
This review is also posted on my blog, Hidden Gems. -
5.0 stars. The Dying Earth novels by Jack Vance, of which this is the third, are in a class by themselves. They are classics in the true sense of the word and are as good today as they were when they first came out. As I have siad in my previous reviews of the other Dying Earth books, superb world-building, great characters and tons of fun. Highly recommended.
-
A re-read of a book in Vance classic Dying Earth series. It is still an imaginative work by one of the best wordsmiths in english letters.
The story of Cugel is so absurd,witty it can be read for how wonderful it is story-wise and if you like quality prose styles, high level language. He is more than a legend in SF,Fantasy, he is a great artist of literature period. Which makes it near impossible for me to write reviews about his best works. The scoundrel Cugel is a great character and one of my favorites in literature. I dislike him and like him at the same time. -
Cugel tossed over the jewel. "There you have it: all my wealth. Now, please free me from this tentacle."
"I am a cautious man," said Iolo. "I must consider the matter from several perspectives." He set about making camp for the night.
Cugel called out a plaintive appeal: "Do you remember how I rescued you from the pelgrane?"
"Indeed I do! An important philosophical question has thereby been raised. You disturbed a stasis and now a tentacle grips your leg, which is, in a sense, the new stasis. I will reflect carefully upon the matter."
Cugel argued to no avail. Iolo built up a campfire over which he cooked a stew of herbs and grasses, which he ate with half a cold fowl and draughts of wine from a leather bottle.
Leaning back against a tree he gave his attention to Cugel. "No doubt you are on your way to Duke Orbal's Grand Exposition of Marvels?"
"I am a traveler, no more," said Cugel. "What is this 'Grand Exposition?'"
Iolo gave Cugel a pitying glance for his stupidity. "Each year Duke Orbal presides over a competition of wonder-workers. This year the prize is one thousand terces, which I intend to win with my 'Bagful of Dreams'."
"Your 'Bagful of Dreams' I assume to be a jocularity, or something on the order of a romantic metaphor?"
"Nothing of the sort!" declared Iolo in scorn.
"A kaleidoscope projection? A program of impersonation? A hallucinatory gas?"
"None of these. I carry with me a number of pure unadulterated dreams, coalesced and crystallized."
From his satchel Iolo brought a sack of soft brown leather, from which he took an object resembling a pale blue snowflake an inch in diameter. He held it up into the firelight where Cugel could admire its fleeting lusters. "I will ply Duke Orbal with my dreams, and how can I fail to win over all the other contestants?"
"Your chances would seem to be good. How do you gather these dreams?"
"The process is secret; still I can describe the general procedure. I live beside Lake Lelt in the Land of Dai-Passant. On the calm nights the surface of the water thickens to a film which reflects the stars as small globules of shine. By using a suitable cantrap, I am able to lift up impalpable threads composed of pure starlight and water-skein. I weave this thread into nets and then I go forth in search of dreams. I hide under valances and in the leaves of outdoor bowers; I crouch on roofs; I wander through sleeping houses. Always I am ready to net the dreams as they drift past. Each morning I carry these wonderful wisps to my laboratory and there I sort them out and work my processes. In due course I achieve a crystal of a hundred dreams, and with these confections I hope to enthrall Duke Orbal. "
"I would offer congratulations were it not for this tentacle gripping my leg," said Cugel.
"That is a generous emotion," said Iolo. He fed several logs into the fire, chanted a spell of protection against creatures of the night, and composed himself to sleep.
An hour passed. Cugel tried by various means to ease the grip of the tentacle, without success, nor could he draw his sword or bring 'Spatterlight' from his pouch.
At last he sat back and considered new approaches to the solution of his problem.
By dint of stretching and straining he obtained a twig, with which he dragged close a long dead branch, which allowed him to reach another of equal length. Tying the two together with a string from his pouch, he contrived a pole exactly long enough to reach Iolo's recumbent form.
Working with care Cugel drew Iolo's satchel across the ground, finally to within reach of his fingers. First he brought out Iolo's wallet, to find two hundred terces, which he transferred to his own purse; next the opal ear-bangle, which he dropped into the pocket of his shirt; then the bagful of dreams.
The satchel contained nothing more of value, save that portion of cold fowl which Iolo had reserved for his breakfast and the leather bottle of wine, both of which Cugel put aside for his own use. He returned the satchel to where he had found it, then separated the branches and tossed them aside. Lacking a better hiding place for the bagful of dreams, Cugel tied the string to the bag and lowered it into the mysterious hole. He ate the fowl and drank the wine, then made himself as comfortable as possible.
The night wore on. Cugel heard the plaintive call of a night-jar and also the moan of six-legged shamb, at some distance.
In due course the sky glowed purple and the sun appeared. Iolo roused himself, yawned, ran his fingers through his tousled hair, blew up the fire and gave Cugel a civil greeting. "And how passed the night?"
"As well as could be expected. It is useless, after all, to complain against inexorable reality."
"Exactly so. I have given considerable thought to your case. I have arrived at a decision which will please you. This is my plan. I shall proceed into Cuirnif and there drive a hard bargain for the ear-bangle. After satisfying your account, I will return and pay over to you whatever sums may be in excess."
Cugel suggested an alternative scheme. "Let us go into Cuirnif together, then you will be spared the inconvenience of a return trip."
Iolo shook his head. "My plan must prevail." He went to the satchel for his breakfast and so discovered the loss of his property. He uttered a plangent cry and stared at Cugel. "My terces, my dreams! They are gone, all gone! How do you account for this?"
"Very simply. At approximately four minutes after midnight a robber came from the forest and made off with the contents of your satchel."
Iolo tore at his beard with the fingers of both hands. "My precious dreams! Why did you not cry out in alarm?"
Cugel scratched his head. "In all candor I did not dare disturb the stasis."
Although it has the highest average rating on Goodreads, the longest of the four Dying Earth books ended up being my least favorite one in
Tales of the Dying Earth due to Vance's decision to go in a different direction with Cugel's Saga: light-hearted (compared to the other books) oddjobs travelogue.
I feel this direction didn't work nearly as well as many other reviewers say. Vance gets too bogged down with the world-building and detailing the various oddjobs available in his dying Earth. And while Cugel still schemes and cheats only one or two of his actions really reach the audacious heinous levels of his previous mischief in
The Eyes of the Overworld. It wasn't until the last few stories (where Vance mostly abandoned this approach) does Cugel's Saga reach the heights of the other three Dying Earth books (and it is in the worthwhile portion of the book where the above passage came from). At least the struggle of wills and wits between Cugel the Clever and Iucounu the Laughing Magician does have a satisfying, amusing conclusion.
3 1/2 stars -
Second verse, same as the first.
When last we left our hero(?), Cugel the Clever, he had once again been taken from his native Almery and dropped unceremoniously upon Shanglestone Strand due to his dealings with Iucounu, the Laughing Magician. Now we get to follow along once again as he makes his way southward; this time, by an entirely different path along which he will have numerous encounters, all entirely different, but equally menacing and/or ridiculous as those on his previous journey.
And once again we'll see that "the Clever" may not be entirely an appropriate sobriquet ...
As with the previous book, it's not about the destination; it's all about the journey, and about losing yourself in Vance's elegant and sardonic prose. -
I was hesitated to type this review, Cugel Saga: The Skybreak Spatterlight. Because I had mix feeling about The Dying Earth book 3. It's still a exquisite book for a reader who want to read beautifully written books. No doubt, the language Jack Vance was used on Cugel Saga is extraordinary sophisticated delicacy. The vocabularies in this book still tremendously multitudes. Vance utilizes those vocabularies in order to depict imaginative landscapes and phenomenons in The Dying Earth series, somehow causes effects like surreal painting. In The Dying Earth, full of sinister and malign creatures were wandering in the world which sun was dying. However, if readers want to truly immerse themselves in this world, need to adapt to the
Vance's writing style and search for vocabularies frequently. So for me, it's a exhausting reading experience to finishing Cugel Saga in 2 days.
The plot continues from last book, Cugel was sent to The Northern Land across Almety by Iucounu again! Because he was sent to the Northern land to obtain a specific jewel at beginning of the story. Our Cugel was intertwined in multiple events, every time Cugel tried to escape from the predicaments and obtained fortunate money but inevitably he would amiss those money in his escapements. Indeed, Vance design Cugel trapping in those humiliating circumstances, are quite fun to read but it repeats the similar tropes again and again which to me seems tiresome somehow; otherwise, it could be a delightful roller coaster reading journey.
Cugel Saga was not as highly imaginative as I thought like The Eyes of The Overworld. I must said that it was quite a downfall from my expectation of Cugel Saga. Even the previous book isn't a easier read that compare to Cugel Saga, nevertheless would proffer me better experience than Cugel Saga.
In a nutshell, this book is still worth a read, especially for these readers who want to read over flowery writing that paints the marvelous world of the dying earth. -
Cugel's Saga was first issued as a novel in 1983. Two of its sections or stories were published earlier. The Seventeen Virgins was first published as a novelette in October 1974 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This story placed tenth for the 1975 Locus awards as Best Novelette. My copy is 23 pages long. It is reported to be the last story Vance published in a magazine. The Bagful of Dreams was first published as a novelette in May 1977 as part a hardcover anthology titled Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians. It placed tenth in 1978 for the Locus Award for Best Short Fiction. The novel Cugel's Saga itself placed thirteenth for the 1984 Locus Award for the Best Fantasy Novel. This is a great novel. It is one of Vance's finest and most creative fantasy novels and is highly recommended.
Cugel's Saga is currently available in a Kindle edition and apparently a trade paperback edition from Orb Books as part of the collection called Tales of the Dying Earth. (This is the copy I have and highly recommend it.) There is also an e-book available from Spatterlight Press under the title Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight. Cugel's Saga is also sometimes referred to as Dying Earth Series Book 3.
Cugel's Saga continues the storyline about Cugel the Clever that began in the novel The Eyes of the Overworld. The Eyes of the Overworld was primarily a fix-up novel because all of the stories except for two had each been published alone prior to the novel. Cugel's Saga is composed of 13 related stories and all except for two were first published as part of the novel. So Cugel's Saga is only a partial fix-up novel and it reads like a novel rather than like a collection of stories. Since it continues the storyline of The Eyes of the Overworld, that novel should be read first to fully appreciate Cugel's Saga. My edition is 281 pages so it is considerably longer than the 157 page The Eyes of the Overworld. But the adventures in Cugel's Saga, despite its length, are fewer than in its companion novel. In Cugel's Saga they are just more detailed and developed; some readers might find them more mature. Both of these novels are simply amazing and Cugel's Saga is, if anything, even more interesting and better written than The Eyes of the Overworld, but I rated both of them at a 5.
There are six chapters to Cugel's Saga: I. From Shanglestone Strand to Saskervoy has two sections: 1. Flutic and 2. The Inn of Blue Lamps. II. From Saskervoy to the Tustvold Mud-flats has three sections: 1. Aboard the Galante, 2. Lausicaa, and 3. The Ocean of Sighs. III. From Tustvold to Port Perdusz has two sections: 1. The Columns, and 2. Faucelme. IV. From Tustvold to Port Perdusz has two sections: 1. On the Docks and 2. The Caravan. V. From Kaspara Vitatus to Cuirnif has two sections that were previously published as novelettes: 1. The Seventeen Virgins and 2. The Bagful of Dreams. VI. From Cuirnif to Pergolo has two sections: 1. The Four Wizards and 2. Spatterlight. Spatterlight is also the name of the wonderful publishing company that is issuing so many out of print Vance works.
In Cugel's Saga we again join Cugel the Clever, a self serving, con artist, anti-hero, trickster character who calls himself the Clever but often does not live up to his self titled name. Cugel's behavior is almost always self-serving and often dishonest. When he does behave decently, with no apparent ulterior motive, it usually backfires on him. Once he faces an adversary or is threatened, Cugel usually demonstrates some very determined survival skills. Sometimes he simply uses his sword or other force but usually he plots an escape or revenge. Vance often infuses wry or sardonic humor into situations that involve Cugel. Cugel also blunders so many times that it becomes comical. He even casts spells incorrectly and ends up being his own victim.
In the previous novel Cugel had attempted to cast a spell upon others but because of a "misplaced pervulsion" he ended up sending himself across the Ocean of Sighs to the far northern sea where he sat on the beach called Shanglestone Strand looking out across the sea. (Pervulsion appears to be a word invented by Vance.) In the sequel Cugel is no longer gazing across the sea but has stood up and is striding back and forth, shouting and cursing. He has no money or magic devices to assist him so he hopes to find work and eventually return home.
Cugel visits the Inn of Blue Lamps and is directed to Master Twango for employment. Upon visiting Twango he meets Weamish, Gark, Gookin, and others and accepts a job as the supervisor at Twango's home, Fluatic, where the main business is diving into a watery pit to find valuable scales from the demon Sadlark. Many years ago Sadlark plunged into the earth and created a pit. He became disassembled in the pit but is reported that he would be alive again if he was put back together again. Cugel soon finds that as the supervisor he has no authority over others and is expected to supervise the comfort of the workers. They order him around and earn more money diving for scales. Cugel soon begins diving into the pit himself. All divers hope to earn money finding demon scales. Some scales are more valuable than others with one of the more prized being "an interlocking sequalion for either turret or pectorus". The most valuable and highest prized of all, however, is the one of a kind Pectoral Sky-break Spatterlight that is reported to be the key scale that locks all the others together. All the scales are purchased by an unknown Wizard through an intermediary. It is a humorous, creative, fascinating adventure.
Later Cugel hires on to a ship as a worminger where he is in charge of caring for and supervising two of the four giant marine worms that are strapped to the ship and propel it. Later they have a stop over at an island that is reported to have rejuvenating springs and where men wear veils so they don't over stimulate the women sexually. There is much more to the story, but it would disclose too much to discuss it. It is very interesting and imaginative, especially during the worminger descriptions.
Cugel eventually ends up off the ship and stranded in the village of Tustvold where he meets the quarry caretaker named Nesbit. Nesbit uses magic antigravity boots to build columns of rock where the men of the community spend most of their time sitting out under the faded sun on top of their personal pillar of rocks. The women do all the work and each tries to have the tallest column for her husband, the highest being the most prestigious for the family's reputation. They pay Nesbit for each rock for their pillar, but he is unable to keep up with the demand so Cugel joins in his enterprise. It is a very funny, weird adventure that was very entertaining.
Cugel later has a dangerous encounter with a wizard named Faucelme and then steals a nautical ship that he makes float in the air after applying magical boot polish to it. (Initially he thought it was the boots that were magical, but he finally determined that the magic was due to the special polish rubbed on the boots.) He uses the ship to join a caravan to cross the desert and sells tickets to passengers who want a room and passage on his stolen ship. There is an exciting, imaginative trip across the desert.
After crossing the desert Cugel ends up in the town called Gundar where the last remaining Solar Emosynary exists. This is a device that is a "contrivance of lenses above the fire" aimed toward the sun. The people of the town believe the sun will die out if they do not continue to direct their lenses and mirrors toward the sun to stimulate its vitality. They believe that a number of other locations around the planet do the same thing under the World Wide Order of Solar Emosynaries. Cugel makes a few innocent comments about some of these places no longer existing and this is misinterpreted. The local people think he is calling their work useless and challenging a tradition that has been continued for many centuries. He inadvertently causes social unrest and finds himself in trouble with the local citizens. It doesn't help that he tried to cheat the proprietor with a money bag that he filled with rocks or that he used his own card deck in a game where he readily won money from the locals. He also set up a booth and advertised himself as The Eminent Seer Cugel who will answer any question for a fee of three terces. In order to answer questions for people he does not know, Cugel developed a clever plan. It is another scam to cheat others so he can raise enough money to leave town. Although Cugel is sometimes blamed or punished for innocently offending local customs or religions, more often he simply behaves like a scoundrel and deserves what he gets. He is much more Cugel the Troublemaker than Cugel the Clever.
Cugel wants to leave the town of Gundar by joining a caravan but he can't afford the fee even after acquiring money as a so called seer. So he develops a plan that involves forcibly detaining one of the caravan's new employees so that Cugel can be hired in his place. After doing so Cugel obtains the job as the night armed guard for a caravan of young maidens who are called the Seventeen Virgins of Symnathis. They are being transported to grace the annual Grand Pageant in the city of Lumarth. Cugel eventually gets into trouble again on two different fronts, one with the employee he detained and secondly over his amorous behavior as a night guard.
Cugel is taken into custody after having ruined the Grand Pageant for the people of Lumarth. But they are called Kind Folk and subscribe to the Doctrine of Absolute Altruism so they offer only a mild punishment. In order to repent and redeem himself Cugel is required to perform the charitable mission of meeting with a giant demon named Phampoun to convince him to change his ways and behave kindly. Cugel is to see that Phampoun "be instructed in kindness, consideration and decency; by making this effort, you will know a surge of happy redemption."
After he is escorted to the demon's temple Cugel inspects the huge demon who is fast asleep. He has fingers that are three feet long, a head as large as a wheelbarrow and eyes the size of dishpans. Cugel also sees a small creature peering forth from Phampoun's mouth. This tiny homunculus is named Pulsifer and he grows on the end of Phampoun's tongue. Pulsifer engages Cugel in conversation while Phampoun sleeps. Cugel learns that when Phampoun awakes, he will ask Cugel to confess his crimes and will then devour him. If he is to survive, Cugel will have to live up to his epithet "the Clever" and use his wits to try to outsmart or trick Phampoun and Pulsifer. This encounter with the Kind Folk, Pulsifer and Phampoun is fascinating and very creative.
Cugel later performs one of his few kind acts by rescuing a man from a huge, predatory bird called a pelgrane. But his good deed does not go unpunished and the man he rescues betrays him so that Cugel ends up being held by a large tentacle that reaches up out of a hole. (He later finds out that it is attached to a huge creature in the Overworld.) This does not prevent Cugel from using the hole and tentacle to enter a contest of bizarre exhibits that is sponsored by Duke Orbal. Cugel has to compete with a Bagful of Dreams, military marching cockroaches, singing fish and other strange entries. Does he eventually return home or take his revenge on the wizard Iucounu? The adventures were so mind boggling and inventive that I rarely thought about an ending. Vance does provide us with one, but the journey, adventure, creativity and humor is really what is so captivating.
This is one of the greatest fantasy novels I have ever read, a product of an amazingly imaginative genius who has the writing skills of a magician and a wonderful sense of humor that never quits. I loved reading Cugel's Saga, have read it three times recently, and will continue to read it regularly. As with many of Vance's writings, it just keeps getting better each time I read it, and there is always something new that I missed previously. It is truly a classic fantasy masterpiece. -
This is copy 402 of 500 signed numbered copies.
-
reviews.metaphorosis.comCugel: the Skybreak Spatterlight
Jack Vance
Dying Earth, #3
5 starsThis is Vance at his classic best. The dastardly Cugel once again must fight his way back across the Dying Earth, over hostile regions, past weird and unnatural creatures, and, worst of all, through the endless shades of human culture and habit. Vance is at his literary best, with beautiful, original language sketching characters and actions from base to idealistic, with the would-be urbane Cugel taking it all in stride. Yet, however he schemes, whomever he cheats, he always seems to come off worst. What's a bombastic rogue to do?
Work, mostly - through situations bizarre and farcical, abd usually of his own making. This book is one of the treasures of fantastic writing, and one of the best parts of the Dying Earth sequence. It's far more entertaining than Mazirian and his stuffy magicians, and just as caring as "Guyal of Sfere", if in an unusual, off-kilter way.
Structurally, the story is simple - Cugel gets in trouble, gets out of trouble, gets out of trouble again. And there are a couple of places where an edit would have made for a smoother transition between chapters. But those are minor caveats in what is simply one of SFF's great masterpieces.If you haven't read Vance before, this is a great place to start, though the story starts in the predecessor volume Cugel the Clever, which is just as much fun. If you have read Vance, and you somehow haven't read this book, buy it right now! In fact, whoever you are, buy this now. Even if you somehow manage to hate it, it's a classic. And most of you will like it a lot.
CVIE VI
-
-Siguiendo la estela de “Los ojos del sobremundo”.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En la costa de Shanglestone, donde le habíamos dejado al final del anterior volumen de la serie, Cugel el Astuto promete venganza contra el mago Iucounu y comienza el viaje de vuelta hasta Almery durante el que tendrá que ser buscador de reliquias a su pesar, competirá por un puesto en un barco, se encargará de los gusanos que propulsan la nave, acabará haciéndose con el propio barco y pasará muchas otras aventuras y desventuras. Tercer libro de la Saga de La Tierra Moribunda.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/... -
Following on from ‘The Eyes of The Overworld' we rejoin Cugel, who has been transported back across the world to Cutz by the Magician Iucounu and is attempting to find his way back.
Far more Swiftian and satirical than the previous novel this displays Vance’s preoccupation with the absurdities of social rules and customs, such as the island where the men are forced to cover their faces as well as their bodies, lest they arouse the passions of their rapacious womenfolk.
It’s basically a series of morality tales in which, Cugel either outwits, or is outwitted by, a series of tricksters and con-men. Tellingly, when Cugel ends up with ill-gotten gains he almost immediately loses them again.
Vance’s overall point seems to be that despite the civilisations which have risen and fallen between our time and this far future earth where the Sun is about to expire, human nature has not essentially changed. Greed, Pride, Stupidity, Intolerance and Malice are not in short supply.
Despite the rather formulaic construction of each section, which sees Cugel lying, cheating, scheming and plotting his way in and out rather convoluted situations, it is still a marvellous book which holds a mirror to our own society and forces us to question our own cultural habits, which in some cases are every bit as absurd as Vance’s caricatures. -
"Cugel the clever" in here comes off as a bit more likable than the previous book. He still lies, cheats and steals, but more often to those who have wronged him. Also the fact that most of the people he meets are scoundrels shows him in a better light.
-
7.5/10
Το τρίτο βιβλίο που συνεχίζει τις περιπέτειες του Μέγα –Πανούργου- Κουζέλ είναι ένα ακόμα διασκεδαστικό βιβλίο από τον Jack Vance αλλά όχι χωρίς προβλήματα.
Παρ’ ότι είναι το μεγαλύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς οι σελίδες, πρέπει να πω, κυλάνε πολύ γρήγορα γιατί, εκτός ότι σε απορροφά αυτός ο «άτιμος» Κουζέλ, οι περισσότερες ιστορίες του εδώ είναι πιο «απλές», σε σχέση με το προηγούμενο ή ακόμα και από το πρώτο βιβλίο.
Αυτό βέβαια είναι ταυτόχρονα και το αρνητικό του βιβλίου καθώς στο πρώτο μισό ο Vance κολλάει συνέχεια στο ίδιο μοτίβο με τον Κ��υζέλ να κάνει τα ίδια και τα ίδια.
Όμως στο δεύτερο μισό αρχίζει και καλυτερεύει μιας και αλλάζει λίγο στυλ, και όσο φτάνει προς το τέλος οι ιδέες του δείχνουν και πάλι τον κλασικό Jack Vance.
Επί��ης το χιούμορ του εδώ, πιστεύω, είναι καλύτερο μιας και λείπει λίγο το «γλυκόπικρο» στυλ που είχε στο προηγούμενο (αν και έχει, απλά όχι τόσο πολύ όσο το προηγούμενο) και αυτό προσωπικά μου άρεσε περισσότερο μιας και νομίζω ότι έτσι είναι πιο διασκεδαστικός.
Συνολικά πάντως είναι ένα αρκετά διασκεδαστικό βιβλίο αλλά σίγουρα όχι τόσο καλό όσο το προηγούμενο της σειράς.
-------------
English review: -
Once again we follow the adventures of Cugel the "Clever" as he he attempts to return to his homeland and wreak vengeance on his nemesis Iucounu, the Laughing Magician.
This book is a direct sequel to
The Eyes of the Overworld following on immediately from where that book left off. Those who read the previous book when it came out only had 17 years to wait for the sequel to find out what would happen to the almost loveable rogue Cugel.
Possibly one of the greatest characters in the fantasy genre, the tall, bow-legged man of loping gait, strides from one place to the next always looking to get ahead but invariably barely escaping with the shirt on his back. He oscillates between good fortune to misfortune with alarming regularity. He seems damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. If he sets out to con or deceive he invariably gets his comeuppance but if he tries to make his way honestly, he becomes the unwitting victim of bizarre local customs or vindictive individuals. Usually, at the end of the day, he hightails it from one place to the next with his life intact but his dignity in tatters, leaving a trail of angry crowds in his wake.
All in all a worthy addition to the Dying Earth saga and I look forward to the last instalment. -
Jack Vance's Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight (a.k.a. Cugel's Saga) is the third volume of the author's Dying Earth Quartet -- and so far the best. As in The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel the Clever is hurled by magic wielded by Iucounu, the laughing Magician, to a distant strand from which he must work his way back to his homeland, Almery. Curiously, both acts of malicious magic send Cugel to the same remote shore.
Cugel is known as The Clever for a very good reason. Typically, he winds up in some remote town hungry and with an empty pocket, mulcts one or more of the townspeople, including almost always the local innkeeper, of their funds, and leaves with the his victims in hot, but ineffectual pursuit.
In Vance's world, the earth is dying of old age and the sun threatens to sputter out. Yet it is inhabited by numerous magicians, most of which are eager to defeat whoever comes their way. There are also a number of other persons, some even more Clever than Cugel. Yet Cugel always seems to come out ahead by a dizzying variety of stratagems.
I am not sure of the literary merit of Jack Vance's series: All I know is that I like what I've read and would like to read more. -
I've read this in the omnibus Tales Of The Dying Earth. Cugel's adventures continue in his own saga now, following The Eyes Of The Overworld. Here he again has to work his way back to reality, to get even with Iucounu, the magician who tricked him a second time.
Cugel experiences many adventures, gains wealth, has to bust his ass off for it, but only works enough to get the money (terces) and then continue his journey. He also encounters people that provide him with food, shelter and so on, but again Cugel uses the hospitality only to his advantage. On many occasions he does have to abandon his riches to save his life, but somehow he's like MacGyver or the A-Team; he always manages to escape, talk himself out of further trouble. Luckily for him he does get to fulfill his goal and trick Iucounu.
The story itself was much better, more attractive than The Eyes Of The Overworld. The writing is more enticing. However, I sometimes wished there would be less pages. Cugel may be a nice character, but after a while, one can become fed up with him, to be honest. Other than that, recommended reading it is: 8/10. -
More raucous misadventures starring Cugel the Clever, the ultimate haughty, shiftless dirty rotten scoundrel and perennial schlamazel!
"I am not one to crouch passively with my hind-quarters raised, awaiting either the kick or the caress of Destiny! I am Cugel! Fearless and indomitable, I confront every adversity!"
It's amazing that Vance picked up this series after so many years and was able to so deftly craft another wonderful Dying Earth tale, with the same feel and creative inventiveness as the original stories. -
Cugel is still an amoral jerk, but the "clever" title is a bit more accurate as his quick, selfish thinking sometimes works. I wish I had read this before Book of the New Sun-- Vance would have taught me not to take Severian so seriously.
-
I much preferred this to Eyes of the Overworld. I think the plot, structure, and characters--while similar--are better done here. I recommend the audiobook, but would like to read the print version prior to a more in depth review. Reminded me of," Hercules, My Shipmate."
-
The second book in Jack Vance's Cugel saga, and third novel in 'The Dying Earth' series, 'The Skybreak Spatterlight' once again follows the rogue Cugel across fantasy wastelands in a world where the sun threatens to extinguish at any moment. Given the book's nature as a sequel, spoilers for the previous novel will follow, as well as light spoilers for the opening chapters.
The novel picks up immediately after where the last book left off, with Cugel deposited on a sandy beach far, far north of his home in Almery, a victim of his hubris after attempting to cast one of Iucounu's spells of exile, only for it to backfire and render upon him the very fate he intended for the Laughing Mage. Naturally, Cugel disavows any of his own involvement in his predicament, preferring to renew vows of revenge against Iucounu. And so Cugel begins the long walk back to Almery, and Iucounu.
The framing story is unoriginal, identical in most aspects to Cugel's first book: Our rogue lands in the strange northern lands in the exact same spot as when he was first exiled, and has the same goal as before: Return home and exact vengeance upon the Laughing Mage. This time, Cugel is not rushed in his quest by the liver-mate Firx, who was safely extracted towards the end of the last adventure.
I can't fault Vance too much for reusing the circumstances: They lend themselves perfectly to the author's goal of telling various, unconnected stories of Cugel's adventures in unfamiliar and dangerous locales. As with the other novels in 'The Dying Earth' series, 'The Skybreak Spatterlight' is more of the same, with Vance writing effectively stand-alone stories, one to a chapter, with Cugel's goal in each to either survive, earn money, or both. The novel itself can be read without reading its predecessor: The books share only two characters, and as I've mentioned, they're almost the same book anyway.
This time around, there is something of a plot thread that weaves its way through the chapters: The Skybreak Spatterlight itself is a particularly valuable scale formerly of the ancient overworld being Sadlark. Over the course of Cugel's adventure, he learns more about the history of the Spatterlight, as well as some of its odd properties. In other words, the Spatterlight fulfils its role as the magical macguffin. It is highly coveted by Iucounu, as Cugel finds out early on, a fact that Cugel intends to exploit.
Unlike the previous novel, where Cugel was prone to losing everything he had gained in each chapter by its end, Cugel merely loses mostly everything this time. Certain items that were gained in earlier adventures make reappearances, and this helps make the story feel more cohesive and alive as a result. However, Vance still chooses not to make things easy for Cugel: There are losses, and the losses hit hard. Perhaps this is Vance's way of telling the reader that crime and vagabond-ism doesn't pay... most of the time.
Cugel himself has changed for the better. I like to think that the second long journey north mellowed him out somewhat. Gone is the Cugel who kills in rage, who negociates the death of others for his own gain. Cugel's only attempted murders in this novel are non-explicit and open to the possibility of survival. If he tries to kill you, you probably deserve it. So we can scratch out the 'super' in 'super psychopath' when referring to the new, kinder Cugel. Cugel's attitudes towards his fellows has likewise improved. In the previous novel, Cugel abandoned all but one his comrades to their fate - that man also didn't pull through - but this time Cugel can be seen to have more of a conscience, at least making a token effort to save his companions before fleeing. All these subtle changes have the result of making the character more likeable. I found myself rooting for him far more than in the last book, but don't worry: The reader will still feel the bliss of schadenfreude when Cugel's more selfish schemes fall through.
The overarching structure of the series hasn't changed since the last book, so characters continue to not persist between chapters. As if to make up for this, the chapters are significantly longer, often broken up into two parts. Now, we gain more of an insight into the lives of the poor people that Cugel comes into contact with. In one case, we get to see how Cugel slowly twists and corrupts an honest man into becoming more roguish. In another, we witness a whodunnit-style mystery unfolding upon a floating ship, becoming familiar with the suspects and victims in the process.
While still effectively one dimensional, the longer exposure to each character makes their eventual downfall or victory all the sweeter. I have no doubt some of the characters have deep histories somewhere in Vance's head, but we only get a cross-section of their lives, for them the worst cross-section: the one in which they meet the rogue Cugel.
Vance's imagination continues to deliver, although I understand many years had passed before he took up his pen again to write this chapter of the Cugel saga. Cugel comes across many new strange things: Oddly-benevolent people living on the site of ancient demon temples, a field of towers that reach towards the sky with men who lounge upon them to take in the sun's healthy radiation, a festival of wondrous displays, and more.
The opening chapter deals with Cugel's resolve to return to Almery, and his discovery of the Skybreak Spatterlight. Once again, Cugel's infinite luck in finding long lost items comes through. And once again, he intends to deliver this item to the one who covets it the most: The mage Iucounu. In this sense, the story once again echos 'Cugel the Clever': Cugel intends to trick Iucounu while delivering the item, but many, many miles lie between himself and Almery...
The writing has definitely improved, and reviewing this novel gives me the opportunity to mention something I neglected previously: Vance has a very, very large vocabulary. I was reaching for the Kindle dictionary more times than I remember. However, in the process it became apparent that Vance invents a great deal of the words he uses. This isn't a bad thing! For someone such as myself with a limited vocabulary, however, this makes sorting the wheat from the chaff challenging.
When I say the writing has improved, I refer to the fact that I didn't have to perform the dictionary dance as often: The barrier to entry has been reduced, but maybe too late for people put off by the first novel.
The combination of the easier writing with the kinder Cugel and less severe setting makes the novel lighter. This could be considered a downside for people who still remember the utter despair that radiated from the first book in the series. For myself, these were welcome changes. I'm all for a bit of grim, but I need something more of an anti-hero in those cases, rather than the full-on villian that was Cugel in his first outing. While still not a hero, our Cugel isn't a complete monster, acting more like a karmic deliverer.
The novel is a fitting end to Cugel's adventures, but I would not be surprised if Vance decides to bring him out of retirement for a farewell run in another decade or so - presuming Cugel doesn't perish horribly in the final book of the 'Dying Earth' series. If you're a fan of humour, pathos, irony (or simply put, Cugel), 'The Skybreak Spatterlight' might be for you. -
Like its companion novel, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga is an odd duck of a book, nominally fantasy, but different from most popular fantasy in setting and style. It takes place on a far future Earth, where magic exists, the Sun is about to go out (or so the inhabitants of the world believe), and all manner of odd people, weird creatures, and bizarre societies occupy their own corners of the world. The writing is very tongue-in-cheek, mixing high-minded language and ideas with low humor, and the hero of the story, Cugel, is about as much of a vain, swindling, self-serving rogue as can be imagined. Exiled to a distant beach by a magician that he failed to rob in the previous book, Cugel wanders through a wholly different series of misadventures than before, each time coming up with some clever scheme to enrich himself, and almost (but not quite) pulling it off.
Despite the overt silliness of affairs, Vance is a smart, literate writer, and the clever exchanges between characters can be a hoot. Everyone on the Dying Earth, it seems, from cart boys to sorcerers, is an amateur philosopher, theologian, legal scholar, or student of etiquette, though many are as amusingly corrupt as Cugel himself. A number of the situations he gets implicated in have a parable-like meaning, if one reads between the lines. And the background world seems full of half-forgotten myth and history, which, while never explored in much depth, gives the story's details a tapestry-like richness. (Speaking of which, if you're interested in a more serious-minded cycle of books set on a similar end-of-Earth world, I highly recommend Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series, which was directly inspired by Vance's Dying Earth, and takes it to a whole new level.)
As with Eyes of the Overworld, the episodic nature of the story and lack of recurring characters limits its depth, but if you're in the mood for something imaginatively *different*, either or both novels are worth a read. I thought this one had a bit more continuity than its predecessor and made Cugel a little more sympathetic, so I liked it more. I also enjoyed the audiobook narrator's inspired choice of making Cugel sound like Richard Nixon.
