The Dying Earth By Jack Vance
Review written by Bowden P. (Trey)
Yes, I know I read Eyes of the Overworld first, instead of this
The Dying Earth. And you know what? I’m glad I did. Otherwise I
might not have read Eyes of the Overworld.
I’ll admit I’ve heard about The Dying Earth for years
from older friends, critics, etc., etc. Somehow, I never got around to
reading it until recently. Is it worth the praise that’s been heaped
on it for years? I’m not so sure…
The Dying Earth is a short story collection, with following
chapter and character names:
Turjan of Mir
Mazirian the Magician
T’sais
Liane the Wayfarer
Ulan Dhor
Guyal of Sfere
On reading the book, I see some some of the sensawunda elements of
Eyes of the Overworld with its weird creatures, ancient ruins
and names with no obvious antecedent. “Ulan Dhor” is the best example
of this with his quest to Ampridatvir and obtain the lost powers of
its legendary ruler, Rogal. There there are the flying vehicles and a
weird society that echoes some of the themes of his Planet of
Adventure series. It was fun and neat, plus we get to see some of
the accomplishments of future humanity. And the depths it can sink to.
The book also shows some of the elements I liked of Eyes of the
Overworld with “Liane the Wayfarer” who is a spiritual cousin to
Cugel the Clever and every other low highwayman or bandit that ever
drew breath. The twist in the story also echoes much of Eyes of the
Overworld as well.
The rest, well, they seem derivative. Good, but derivative of Conan
and other sword and sorcery pulps. “Turjan of Mir,” “Mazirian the
Magician” and “T’sais” all seem to draw from sword and sorcery
(especially with “Turjan of Mir”) and elements of gothic horror – all
of the remaining stories.
Did I like it? Yes. To me it was like reading a Conan story, but with
Conan as both swordsman and sorcerer, and occasionally elements of the
post-apocalyptic in “Ulan Dhor” and “Guyal of Sfere.” I know I’m
showing my age, but elements of “Ulan Dhor” made me think of Thundarr
the Barbarian or moments during games of Gamma World.
Was it worth all the talk about it? Maybe. When it was published in
1950, it was ground breaking and probably was up into the 70’s. Since
then, its become a classic. And like all classics, its not to
everyone’s taste. I give it three stars.
Likes: Sensawunda moments; Combining different genres (sword and
sorcery and post-apocalypse); Showcasing the range of Jack Vance’s
imagination (especially in “Ulan Dhor”); The occasional hints at how
things went in the future; The hints of things ‘Man Was Not Meant to
Know’ in the various stories and with the demons.
Dislikes: Characters as deep as the typical sword and sorcery pulp;
stiff (if occasionally funny) dialogue.
