The Dying Earth

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'...

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...

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.

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.