The Compleat Dying Earth (©1998)

The Dying Earth (©1950)
The Eyes of the Overworld (©1966)
Cugel's Saga ©1983
Rhialto the Marvellous (©1984)

At first I wasn't sure what to make of The Dying Earth. The first book was a loosely connected series of vignette's, which were charming and entertaining but when it was finished not very satisfying. Who knows what happened in the intervening decade and a half, but Mister Vance revisited the world with The Eyes of the Overworld, which was a completely self contained story which featured one of the best rogues I've come across in years: Cugel the Clever. After another extended break, Cugel's Saga picked up immediately where Overworld ended. Much to my surprise, the narrative style and writing didn't seem disjoined or out of sync despite a 30 year span. The final piece in The Dying Earth was similar to the first outing, except that the chapters all worked together more cohesively.

I must admit to be entertained throughout, and that it was a treat to read something started during the golden age and completed a generation later. This is good stuff. The Cugel stories are a treat all by themselves.

Reviewed November 6, 2004

(©1871)

What only three stars? Yes it’s a classic and rightly so. It’s just that for me, today, I found it was good story, and it was enjoyable and had me with the engaging narrative. I also really liked the simplicity of the narrative.

Young Harry whose uncle is a bit of a scientific nut bar discovers an old Icelandic reference to the centre of the earth, but the text is cryptic and the old man refuses to eat or drink until he has discovered the secret. Young Harry figures it out and soon he is swept along on a grand adventure to Iceland to find the entrance to the word’s core. Along the way they are joined by the stoic Hans who acts as their guide.

It’s fair to say that the story and science are out of date and somewhat boring by today’s standards, but this was cutting edge stuff once upon a time. There is enough story here to stand the test of time. It’s a solid quest story, with three interesting characters. Hans, who says very little was one of my favourite characters.

In short, this was a story where not much happened, and in the end it didn’t really matter.

Reviewed January 19, 2004

Illusion  

This novel is essentially a fantasy retelling of the French revolusion. This is one big honkin read. When we first meet Eliste, she is a pampered Exalted who is about to head off to court to become one of the queen's attendants. Meanwhile the peasants have had just about enough of the ruling class. Predictably the masses rise up and start bonking some beans. Suddenly being Exalted is a death sentence. The way in which the author weaves a thread of magic throughout the novel is riveting. The characters are real, and I found myself truly engrossed. A rather maudlin ending, that had to happen. On the whole an exceptional book.