by Jack Vance

isbn: 0312874561
subject: SF, Fiction and Literature
finished: 11/20/2002

Tales of the Dying Earth collects four novels that Vance wrote during the 1940s through 1980s. All are set near the end of the world -- the Earth overflows with history, stars are visible at noon, and the population has dwindled to a few thousand weary individuals. The atmosphere that Vance has created is wonderful: he writes incredible descriptions and has a knack for finding the right words to evoke a particular mood. The stories vary widely in style: the first book is a moody collection of loosely connected stories that have very little plot. The second and third books contain more narrative and are considerably lighter in tone, describing the (mis)adventures of Cugel the Clever, a magician of no great power whose harebrained schemes never leave him in any better circumstances than he started. The fourth book is also light; it describes the problems that a group of pompous magicians create for themselves. This is a fun, addictive collection of novels; I recommend it.