Cugel: The Skybreak Spatterlight

For the second time, Iucounu the Laughing Magician has magicked Cugel the Clever to the farthest reaches of The Dying Earth. Beset by thieves and schemers whose cunning almost equals his own, Jack Vance’s most incorrigible rogue must fight the long way back to Iucounu’s manse, where he means to exact a comprehensive and memorable revenge before the old red sun goes out forever.

SF Grandmaster Jack Vance weaves a picaresque tale of treachery, adventure, clashes of philosophy, moments of poignant irony, and a full brimming measure of humor that makes you wince, even as you laugh.


The Dying Earth

Cugel: the Skybreak Spatterlight is part 3 of 4 of The Dying Earth.


The stories of the Dying Earth series are set in the distant future, at a point when the sun is almost exhausted and magic has reasserted itself as a dominant force. The various civilizations of Earth have collapsed for the most part into decadence. The Earth is mostly barren and cold, and has become infested with various predatory monsters (possibly created by a magician in a former age).

The Moon has disappeared and the Sun is in danger of burning out at any time. A certain fatalism characterizes many of the inhabitants as a consequence.

The series shows the influence of the picaresque tale, applied to a science fiction/fantasy setting.


Cover art by Li-An