A Quest for Simbilis
Cover art by Geoff Taylor.
In the Last Days of the Dying Earth...
Cugel the Clever was seeking revenge when he met Mumber Sull who was seeking justice. Revenge and justice may seem empty dreams when the sun may flicker and go out at any moment, but such is the nature of man as it has always been since the dawn of time.
Mumber Sull owed his loyalty to the long-vanished overlord Simbilis, whose knowledge and science were legendary, whose domains had extended over a vast terrain, and whose whereabouts had been lost for centuries. He persuaded Cugel that if they could but find Simbilis, they would both gain their just rewards.
The story of their quest for Simbilis is a marvellous fantasy of wonder and adventure millions of years from now, on Dying Earth that Jack Vance first described and which has now, by permission, been furthered chronicled by Michael Shea.
Michael Shea
Michael Shea (1946-2014) was an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author living in California. He has won "year's best" World Fantasy Awards for the novel Nifft the Lean and the novella Growlimb.
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.
Dying Earth consists of four primary books, and includes eight additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
