The Eyes of the Overworld

Tales of the Dying Earth, Book 2

De: Jack Vance

Narrado por: Arthur Morey

The Eyes of the Overworld is the first of Vance’s picaresque novels about the scoundrel Cugel. Here he is sent by a magician he has wronged to a distant unknown country to retrieve magical lenses that reveal the Overworld. Conniving to steal the lenses, he escapes and, goaded by a homesick monster magically attached to his liver, starts to find his way home to Almery. The journey takes him across trackless mountains, wastelands, and seas. Through cunning and dumb luck, the relentless Cugel survives one catastrophe after another, fighting off bandits, ghosts, and ghouls—stealing, lying, and cheating without insight or remorse leaving only wreckage behind.

Betrayed and betraying, he joins a cult group on a pilgrimage, crosses the Silver Desert as his comrades die one by one and, escaping the Rat People, obtains a spell that returns him home. There, thanks to incompetence and arrogance he misspeaks the words of a purloined spell and transports himself back to the same dismal place he began his journey.

©2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 1980 Jack Vance

Jack Vance is the Master

I began reading Jack Vance 30 years ago and have collected all of his books that I can find. It was delightful to find him on audible and Arthur Morey is the perfect narrator for his work. Listen and enjoy!

Was mit prepared for how funny this was!

A lot of people talk about how the magic of DnD is based off of Jack Vance’s novels. But what they fail to impress on anyone who hasn’t read (or in this case listened) is how much of the vibe, the weirdness, can be traced to these books.
Vance brings us a world OOZING with interesting people, places, and things. And the things that happen between our man Cugel and these things are great. Often, it’s completely unpredictable and amazing. Other times, what will happen is laughably obvious, and knowing what Cugel the Scoundrel is going to do given any chance of profit adds this simple, yet very effective layer of irony to nearly all of the book. The ending is the hilarious cherry on top!
The performance was pretty good, but I’ve definitely heard better.

Jack Vance was a visionary

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is the first book I read by Jack Vance. I was surprised when I realized that many of his ideas inspired many modern and much more famous authors. Even RPG games such as dungeons and dragons were inspired by his books, for example the wizards having to memorize spells and then forgetting after they have been cast.Jack Vance has not receive the credit he is entitled.

What did you like best about this story?

Dying earth is gloomy place, and the characters reflect that. You are not going to find a happy endings here if that is what you are looking for. I just did not give it 5 stars because the outline of the 5 or 6 tales are very similar. But that does not mean I'm not listening to this author again, in fact I just purchased the next book in the series

What does Arthur Morey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator is great at bringing the dying earth to life, metaphorically speaking since it's actually dying. haha

A wonderful classic

Listen or read this. One of the most picaresque characters in all of fiction.
A must in the genre.

Great listen for those who love words

The narrative style of this book is wonderfully charming, but something you need to be prepared for. At first I was expecting that the 'strange' style of writing was only for the forward, or an intro, and was impatient for it to hurry up and go to "normal" part of the story. Once I realised the whole book was written that way I was able to relax and enjoy the story. The use of language and the variety is just wonderful, and I will be looking for more. If you enjoy words you will appreciate this book. The narration was great also, suited the language of the book.
As to the story - it's a lot of fun, and I found myself making excuses to find time to listen for more, waiting to see what would happen. A good old-fashioned adventure.

Excellent - with a caveat

If you could sum up The Eyes of the Overworld in three words, what would they be?

It's very well done. My only gripe is that Cugel sounds a bit more oafish than I had imagined. My impression when I read the book was that Cugel was severely deluded about his intellectual abilities - quite arrogant - but nonetheless a sharp intellect. But the narrator makes him sound more like a Longshoreman with slight speech impediment than a quick-witted but unlucky scammer.

I would still recommend this to anyone. It's a riveting listen for a raod journey.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Eyes of the Overworld?

The writing is great no matter who reads it. Vance is a unique voice in 20th C American literature.

What does Arthur Morey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The wrong voice for Cugel, but a great Iocunu.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yep.

Any additional comments?

Great but minor caveats. I feel petty complaining. Morey did a stellar job and kept me listening.

Decorous Rogues Under A Dying Sun

A classic of the fantasy genre. Vance's picaresque is replete with jeweled prose and clever dialogue that is a pleasure to hear read aloud.

Arthur Morey is my favorite reader to date.

What makes audiobooks a particular pleasure is when they are read by an actor with deep affinity for the material. Arthur Morey conveys the attitudes and peculiarities of the characters with delightful nuance and gusto.

These Dying Earth books are among my favorites and yet I cant say precisely why. The characters tend to be amoral, smugnorant, virtue signalling twats - and I am fascinated by their often absurd over-eloquence. Beyond that, there is a dream like quality to the theme - an ancient Earth orbited by a dying sun (or so the learned aver)- and the antique superstitions and sensibilities of the Dying Earth's inhabitants. Really, how might the common belief that the Sun may gutter out at any moment affect metaphysics of commoner or magician or inhuman and half human inheritors of a terminally moribund world?

I have listened to these stories again and again and again I give credit to the talented reader for casting upon me this agreeable spell; this welcome obsession.

I both love and hate Cugel

This is definitely one of the best audiobooks I have ever heard. Following the adventures of Cugel is both intensely frustrating and rewarding. Cugel is the best anti-hero I have ever read!

Classic anti-hero adventures

Jack Vance’s The Eyes of the Overworld is the second installment in his Dying Earth. Set far into the future, inhabitants of Earth know that that the sun is on its last legs and some degree of magic has manifested. In this tale, Cugel, a conman and classic anti-hero bungles a burglary of a magician and is forced into a quest to satisfy his debt to the magician. What transpires is a series of misadventures with Cugel getting conned as often as he is doing the conning. Throughout, there is never any insight on his part.

Vance clearly had fascination with this type of character. Cugel is a classic narcissistic conman, while at the same time, being utterly clueless that anyone else would ever attempt to con him. Vance offers an eclectic array of social groups and eccentric individuals all with an air of formality that is distinctly Victorian in nature.

The narration is excellent with solid character distinction. Pacing is smooth.