Cugel's Saga
Encyclopedia
Cugel's Saga is a 1983 work of science fantasy
by Jack Vance
, and the sequel to his 1966 book The Eyes of the Overworld
. The story picks up where the protagonist, Cugel the Clever, had been left at the end of the previous book: sitting disconsolately on a barren beach far to the north of his homeland of Almery.
As in The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's goal is to return home and avenge himself upon Iucounu, the Laughing Magician, whom Cugel regards as indirectly responsible for his second banishment. Taking a different route this time, Cugel obtains a deadly relic of an Overworld being, Sadlark; takes service as worminger (a crewmember responsible for the maintenance of huge marine worms) aboard a worm-propelled merchant ship, which he steals along with its owner's wife and his three comely daughters. Cugel is outwitted by the owner's wife and forced to abandon ship and females; and has various other adventures and setbacks, until with the aid of some new friends, he encompasses the defeat of Iucounu. Like its predecessor, the structure of the story is picaresque, and Cugel remains as ambiguously appealing a character as before.
The book is currently out of print in its original form, but is included (with The Eyes of the Overworld) in the omnibus collection, Tales of the Dying Earth
. In the Vance Integral Edition, it is volume 35, retitled by its editor as Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight.
An earlier sequel, A Quest for Simbilis by author Michael Shea
, was published in 1974.
Science fantasy
Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...
by Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
, and the sequel to his 1966 book The Eyes of the Overworld
The Eyes of the Overworld
The Eyes of the Overworld is a fantasy fixup by Jack Vance published in 1966, the second in the Dying Earth series. It features a series of linked stories detailing the travails of the self-proclaimed Cugel the Clever...
. The story picks up where the protagonist, Cugel the Clever, had been left at the end of the previous book: sitting disconsolately on a barren beach far to the north of his homeland of Almery.
As in The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's goal is to return home and avenge himself upon Iucounu, the Laughing Magician, whom Cugel regards as indirectly responsible for his second banishment. Taking a different route this time, Cugel obtains a deadly relic of an Overworld being, Sadlark; takes service as worminger (a crewmember responsible for the maintenance of huge marine worms) aboard a worm-propelled merchant ship, which he steals along with its owner's wife and his three comely daughters. Cugel is outwitted by the owner's wife and forced to abandon ship and females; and has various other adventures and setbacks, until with the aid of some new friends, he encompasses the defeat of Iucounu. Like its predecessor, the structure of the story is picaresque, and Cugel remains as ambiguously appealing a character as before.
The book is currently out of print in its original form, but is included (with The Eyes of the Overworld) in the omnibus collection, Tales of the Dying Earth
Tales of the Dying Earth
Tales of the Dying Earth is an omnibus collection of the Dying Earth series books by Jack Vance. The collection was first published by the Science Fiction Book Club in 1999 with the title The Compleat Dying Earth...
. In the Vance Integral Edition, it is volume 35, retitled by its editor as Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight.
An earlier sequel, A Quest for Simbilis by author Michael Shea
Michael Shea
Michael Shea is an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author living in California. He is a multiple winner of the World Fantasy Award.-Life and work:...
, was published in 1974.