Reviews

The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance

mdiffer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

hagbard_celine's review against another edition

3.0

Better then the previous entry, I think. Silly and odd and strangely legalistic. So much revolves around shady contractual dealings and conflicting legal interpretations, rather than out and out sword-and-sorcery violence. Wacky.

rocketiza's review against another edition

4.0

The ornate and expansive vocabulary used made this a delight to read. Coupled with a complete bastard of a protagonist that the author never makes any attempt to make like-able, this novel had a lot of unique personality to it that I highly enjoyed.

platanus's review against another edition

4.0

This is a while different charm than the first book. It follows one single story, but takes one to all sorts of places.
It was a hard choice between 3 and 4 for me.

absoluteturkey's review against another edition

5.0

If your experience with Fantasy is that it is tediously long, badly written, and always involves some morally-beige quest of good conquering evil, then I urge you to read Jack Vance, and in particular the Dying Earth series (collected in "Tales of the Dying Earth"). His immaculate prose and vast command of the English language creates wonderful conversations between characters and a fascinating glimpse into an old version of Earth, basking in the last rays of the sun. Here we have a few last inhabitants, mostly dubious rogues, zealouts, and hermitic alchemists, waiting to trick or be tricked. This is a superb, vibrant and stimulating collection of stories that exudes imaginative power. With the recent death of Mr Vance, we have lost a truly outstanding and wonderful voice.

tallpaul's review against another edition

4.0

The main character, Cugel, is deplorable in every sense of the word. Even so, the world in which he explores is mesmerizing and vivid. The characters he meets along his journey are also fascinating. Every time a new character was introduced I couldn't help but wonder, "How will Cugel try to manipulate this one?"

Fantastic world building, but the main character does things that are so questionable it's hard to read at times.

sheldonnylander's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

choomsky's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

gkolocsar's review against another edition

4.0

Que lindo anti-héroe este Cugel... Todo un personaje.

ibrow's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I read this as a teenager (and the rest of the Dying Earth quartet) and now reread in my late thirties. Even as a teen I realized Cugel was sort of problematic as a character, but reading now as an adult, I found him unbearable to the point that I couldn't even enjoy the worldbuilding or fun of the adventure and setting. It's okay to have an anti-hero, but it's hard to enjoy a book where the protagonist is so purely self-centered and immoral with no redeeming qualities.

While I still thought the original Dying Earth book (the collection of six short stories) was excellent, I don't know if I can bring myself to read through the rest of the Cugel trilogy when I dislike Cugel so much.