- Paperback
- Publisher: Pocket Books (Mm); Reprint edition (November 1984)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0671559176
- ISBN-13: 978-0671559175
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,135,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A rare fantasy gem, Mar 29 2005
By Happy Jack - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cugel's Saga (Hardcover)
Vance smoothed and decorated a small niche of fantasy / sci-fi where overly-mannered, ceremonius language is put to comedic and adventurous use. Critics confuse Vance tales of lacking in plot. True, his books tend to lack subtle scheming and unforeen forces at work against the protagonist. However, the true plots are the rich settings themselves: Cugle is matching wits (often with negative results) with fantastic settings, creatures and customs that no rational person would conceive, let alone write about in brilliant tones. Cugles travels from episode, to episode, trying to get home.Vance has thankfully chosen to render his artistry in a genre mocked and ignored by confused critics who dislike unfamiliarity.
I urge you to gather up this book, as well as the entire Dying Earth series, and without question read the "Demon Princes" series. You'll appreciate a true artist working in colors and hues rarely seen in fantasy or sci-fi.
One last recommendation: Michael Shea's "Incompleat Nifft" is a worthy homage to Cugel, with a hefty dose of Lovecraft. I highly recommend that book as well if you enjoyed The Dying Earth series.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jack Vance's unique style of language is unmatched., Sep 6 1999
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cugel's Saga (Hardcover)
Jack Vance's "Cugel's Saga" is my favourite fantasy novel (the other "Dying Earth" novels coming a close second) - his unique style of writing is unparalleled in fantasy fiction. How often have you read a fantasy novel that tried to furbish you with a so-so plot, but used a style of writing so hackneyed and drab that it hurt? In Vance, you not only get a lovable protagonist in ne'er-do-well Cugel, who's so utterly selfish and vainglorious that the reader can only be baffled and thoroughly amused, but you also get witty characterizations, weird plot turns and the most artistic dialogue you'd ever expect in a fantasy novel. Acidic irony, villainy carefully disguised under a mantle of impeccable (?) politeness, and enough high-brow expressions to fill a mid-level dictionary. The plot is basically a chain of unconnected "scenes", one more imaginative than the other, which could go on indefinitely, but sadly has to end at a point. And here we have the one downside to the book: Its end. Compared to the colorful happenings during the whole of the novel, the end is somewhat of an anticlimax. But Vance, who excels at creating highly complex and enjoyable mini-scenarios, can be forgiven the fact that epic plots are not one of his strengths. If you can get ahold of this out-of-print book, give it a try. Chances are that you will at least like it.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely hilarious!, July 19 2002
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cugel's Saga (Hardcover)
Set in the world of Vance's Dying Earth series, when the sun has all but sputtered out, this book, continues the story of Vance's anti-hero Cugel, a vain popinjay of a man who finds himself once again stranded half a world away from home by his arch-enemy Iocunnu (better known as the Laughing Magician because of his penchant for playing morbid jokes upon his enemies).Vance's Dying Earth is a world of Machiavellian sorcery and science, where a person's every deed is viewed with suspicion - and a good deed even more so! Magicians and monsters vie with everyday mortals for power in the form of powerful runes, ancient amulets, otherworldly gems, etc. "Trust" and "compassion" are basically forgotten terms, as is "generosity" and "goodwill." How bad is this place? It can best be seen by the conversation between Cugel and the fiendish sorceror Fauculme (whom a suspicious Cugel ties up before even introducing himself):
Fauculme: How then is one to distinguish between enemy
and altruist?
Cugel: It is not an important distinction...
Cugel's adventures are absolutely hilarious, as he schemes and scams his way back home across a world of "dangers and woners abundant."
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