tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post6294765384702668415..comments2024-03-28T13:22:07.685-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Pulp Fantasy Library: The Eyes of the OverworldJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24034495071948070342009-03-31T10:38:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:38:00.000-04:00I love The Dying Earth, but I don't care for its s...<I>I love The Dying Earth, but I don't care for its sequels (which seem very different than the first book).</I><BR/><BR/>They are quite different and I'll admit I don't much care for either <I>Cugel's Saga</I> or <I>Rhialto the Marvelous</I>. I much prefer the first two, which I think make nice book ends in treating the setting.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6982653957903531222009-03-31T10:37:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:37:00.000-04:00I don't have my 1E DMG but isn't there an artifact...<I>I don't have my 1E DMG but isn't there an artifact based on the EotO?</I><BR/><BR/>Sort of. There are a number of magical lenses (called "eyes") in the DMG, although none reproduces the effects of those from the novel.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-10831296526697548712009-03-31T10:34:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:34:00.000-04:00So Cugel can be a bit of a bastard... but compared...<I>So Cugel can be a bit of a bastard... but compared to Liane the Wayfarer, I'm sure he comes off like a saint.</I><BR/><BR/>This is true. I think the reason why more people are hard on Cugel than on Liane is that Cugel, despite his flaws, isn't wholly despicable. Likewise, I think, because the tenor of this novel is much "lighter" than <I>The Dying Earth</I>, people are more shocked by Cugel's behavior than by Liane's.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33519060700110536422009-03-31T10:32:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:32:00.000-04:00Vance enlists our sympathies for Cugel, despite ou...<I>Vance enlists our sympathies for Cugel, despite ourselves, by pitting him against foes who are yet more duplicitous, self-righteous, arrogant, and venal than he himself.</I><BR/><BR/>A fine point!James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89813955601960828712009-03-31T08:06:00.000-04:002009-03-31T08:06:00.000-04:00I always felt that Cugel was like Fraser's Flashma...I always felt that Cugel was like Fraser's Flashman: the enjoyment is in seeing the bastard get punished while around him the author weaves an interesting world. I've never felt that either character was likable, let alone lovable, in any way. It is a masterpiece of writing to have such a contemptible central character yet keep the reader tagging along, IMO.<BR/><BR/>Great stuff, as are all the Dying Earth stories.Nagorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04934827653905274555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50575384954061085602009-03-31T02:00:00.000-04:002009-03-31T02:00:00.000-04:00I love Jack Vance. I've got a copy of his &quo...I love Jack Vance. I've got a copy of his "Fantasms & Magics" (sp?) always near my reading pile, saving it for those times when I'm in just the right mood to read it.Chris Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064988977152302364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13643499342073527052009-03-30T16:09:00.000-04:002009-03-30T16:09:00.000-04:00I really like The Eyes of the Overworld. It strik...I really like <I>The Eyes of the Overworld</I>. It strikes a very nice balance between plot, linguistic display, adventure, and misanthropy. I found the subsequent Dying Earth efforts hard to get through--Vance got so caught up in his verbal dynamite that Cugel's sequel (which name is escaping me at the moment) felt more like a stage-play than a novel. And the central idea of Cugel's journey through the law of equivalences got awfully repetitious the second time around.<BR/><BR/>Of course, I think the original <I>The Dying Earth</I> is the best of the bunch and one who's mood I have vainly attempt to evoke in gaming.Matthew Slepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056247825064943944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-78834655819948179822009-03-30T15:08:00.000-04:002009-03-30T15:08:00.000-04:00George RR Martin is editing a book of writers doin...George RR Martin is editing a book of writers doing homages to Vance's setting called Songs of the Dying Earth. If they do justice to the original books I will be a happy camper indeed.Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67911938737869242582009-03-30T11:29:00.000-04:002009-03-30T11:29:00.000-04:00I love The Dying Earth, but I don't care for its s...I love The Dying Earth, but I don't care for its sequels (which seem very different than the first book).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82861812825537409562009-03-30T09:28:00.000-04:002009-03-30T09:28:00.000-04:00My favorite Vance character. The great thing about...My favorite Vance character. The great thing about Cugel is how sometimes you will be on his side and sometimes you will be rooting for him to fail. When he starts to work his cons, you can just feel the wariness and irritation of the other characters. The deadly greed and hatred of Cugel and the poor bastards who have to deal with him get sublimated into ludicrous but technically correct and polite logic in a way that is just hilarious.<BR/><BR/>I haven't read any CAS but if he compares I should go do so.<BR/><BR/>I don't have my 1E DMG but isn't there an artifact based on the EotO? I know it's also a quest artifact in the old computer game NetHack...K. Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06623767121412820113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52359154969464725862009-03-30T00:45:00.000-04:002009-03-30T00:45:00.000-04:00I just started reading this, though I am only a fe...I just started reading this, though I am only a few pages into it. (Those pesky responsibilities are ever nipping at my heels) <BR/><BR/>So Cugel can be a bit of a bastard... but compared to Liane the Wayfarer, I'm sure he comes off like a saint.DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46178306839840753782009-03-30T00:31:00.000-04:002009-03-30T00:31:00.000-04:00I love Jack Vance. Cugel, however is an untrustwor...I love Jack Vance. Cugel, however is an untrustworthy rat bastard, and if he were in my adventuring party, I'd kick him into a pit as soon as the cleric's back was turned.E.G.Palmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10229893317543621720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43970130779067172202009-03-30T00:07:00.000-04:002009-03-30T00:07:00.000-04:00Vance enlists our sympathies for Cugel, despite ou...Vance enlists our sympathies for Cugel, despite ourselves, by pitting him against foes who are yet more duplicitous, self-righteous, arrogant, and venal than he himself. Vance used this technique in many stories, to great and sometimes brilliant effect.Allen Varneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10751693785863649469noreply@blogger.com