Thomcat
3/10/2024
Like the previous book The Eyes of the Overworld, this is a collection of stories about Cugel the clever, once again sent far away by Iucounu the laughing magician. Good stories where Cugel often gets what he deserves, and occasionally makes a profit on his tricks.
There was seventeen years between book 2 and 3 of Vance's Dying Earth books. In between, Michael Shea took up the pen to write about Cugel the clever. That book is not as highly rated, and I doubt I know the whole story.
One more Dying Earth book remains, Rhialto the Marvellous. The main character is described as "the wisest and most sympathetic of all of Vance's wizards." After two volumes of the conniving Cugel, I look forward to this conclusion of the series.