The Laughing Magician: The Adventures of Cugel

The Dying Earth #2-3

by Jack Vance

The Laughing Magician combines two of the most popular novels in Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" series. Both recount the adventures of Cugel, also called Cugel the Clever, forced by a mordant magician into a quest across an Earth of the far distant future. In this Rabelaisian picaresque, Cugel has only his wits - and loose morals - with which to survive a world teeming with tricksters, monsters, and magicians. Vance's vivid, witty prose and rich imagination is combined with Stephen Fabian's gorgeous art.

Genres: Fantasy

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Aka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, John Holbrook, Ellery Queen, John van See, Alan Wade.

The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.

Reviews

[Luke Maton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, ridiculous, and wonderfully stupid at times. The speech of every character is that of eloquent absurdity, and the world is full of strange and dangerous things. Just about everyone is out for themselves, and the whole story will have you rooting for and against Cugel. Karmic justice happens at least twice every chapter.

[Michael Wühle · Rating 5 out of 5]

mein Lieblings Fantasy-Roman.