Dying Earth - Tales of the Dying Earth Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers. The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga, Rhialto the Marvellous

Geschreven bij Tales Of The Dying Earth

Jack Vance is de schrijver die met fijne humor en een mooie scheut sarcasme vele bevolkte sterrenstelsels heeft uitgevonden. Zoals Antoni Gaudi aan de basis ligt van het voorkomen van de Imperial Stormtroopers (het origineel staat al van begin 20ste eeuw op het dak van Casa Milà in Barcelona), zo ligt de geniale fantasie van Jack Vance aan de basis van Star Wars en andere hedendaagse SF. Ik kan gewoon ALLE boeken van Jack Vance aanbevelen voor optimaal binge-reading.

Geschreven bij Tales of the Dying Earth

‘Tales of the Dying Earth’ is the compilation of Jack Vance’s four fantasy novels set on a latter day Earth whose sun is at the brink of extinguishing once and for all. Although this makes for an appealing premise it actually barely plays an essential role. Apart from a common world there is nothing that connects the novels assembled here except for the two about Cugel. Each book in itself is again a collections of short stories, either unconnected (‘The Dying Earth’), connected through common cast list (‘Rhialto the Marvellous’) or through an overarching storyline on the backdrop as in ‘The Eyes of the Overworld’ and ‘Cugel's Saga’. The latter two form the heart and soul of this collection and tell the story of Cugel, scoundrel extraordinaire whose shenanigans continuously bring him in and out of troubles leaving a trail of unhappy people behind. The dialogues are truly delightful and the eloquent prose is overwhelmingly gorgeous. The fourth book, ‘Rhialto the Marvelous’, consists of three episodes involving Rhialto, a magician whose vain attitude makes him the target of resentment. The stories are very enjoyable, even if the character of Rhialto lacks the witticism of Cugel. The first book, ‘The Dying Earth’, is a collection of short stories with hardly any connecting elements. The beautifully archaic vocabulary gives them a fairytale-like semblance, but the absence of amusing characters or even a thoughtful message in some of them can on occasion make them come across as slightly tedious or superfluous. One may consider starting with the books about Cugel and postponing ‘The Dying Earth’ until later.

Certainly all stories in this omnibus are extraordinarily inventive. However, the most breathtaking virtue of these novels is the exquisite penmanship of wordsmith Jack Vance. The prose is of such a devastating elegance that it is simply impossible not to be blown away by it. This wonderful collection is indispensable on any bookshelf. A must-read!