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    Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
    Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
    Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
    Audiobook28 hours

    Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance

    Written by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

    Narrated by Arthur Morey

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    To honor the magnificent career of Jack Vance, one unparalleled in achievement and impact, George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, with the full cooperation of Vance, his family, and his agents, have created a Jack Vance tribute anthology: Songs of the Dying Earth. The best of today's fantasy writers to return to the unique and evocative milieu of The Dying Earth, from which they and so many others have drawn so much inspiration, to create their own brand-new adventures in the world of Jack Vance's greatest novel.

    Half a century ago, Jack Vance created the world of the Dying Earth, and fantasy has never been the same. Now, for the first time ever, Jack has agreed to open this bizarre and darkly beautiful world to other fantasists, to play in as their very own. To say that other fantasy writers are excited by this prospect is a gross understatement; one has told us that he'd crawl through broken glass for the chance to write for the anthology, another that he'd gladly give up his right arm for the privilege. That's the kind of regard in which Jack Vance and The Dying Earth are held by generations of his peers.

    This book contains original stories from George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Elizabeth Moon, Tanith Lee, Tad Williams, Kage Baker, and Robert Silverberg, along with fifteen others--as well as an introduction by Dean Koontz.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateNov 15, 2009
    ISBN9781441807045
    Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
    Author

    George R. R. Martin

    George R. R. Martin has been a full-time writer for over 25 years. He is the author of the acclaimed, internationally bestselling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which is the basis of HBO's popular Game of Thrones television series. Martin has won multiple science fiction awards, including 4 Hugos, 2 Nebulas, the Bram Stoker, the Locus Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Daedelus, the Balrog, and the Daikon (Japanese Hugo).

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    Reviews for Songs of the Dying Earth

    3.5/5

    88 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      The ratings don't do this collection justice. Although it might not be for everyone, if you like imaginative fantasy and are a fan of highly descriptive styles like Tolkein or George R.R. Martin, you'll likely get enjoyment out of the variety they manage within trying to match Jack Vance's style.
    • 2/5
      A better narrator who can pronounce words correctly and accurately.
    • 4/5
      Most of these authors manage to capture the spirit, tone and outlook of the master surprisingly well.

      Inhabiting Vance-like worlds with familiar characters and personalities.
    • 2/5
      I probably should've realised that it'd be a good idea to read some Jack Vance before picking up this collection. But I didn't, and I only managed 160 pages before calling it a day. I understand that the stories are a homage to Vance and his particular style of writing but, unfortunately, it's a style that's not for me (especially when there's nearly 700 pages of it). I did skip ahead to look at the stories by two of my favourite authors - Tad Williams and GRRM himself - but couldn't even finish those. I did, however, enjoy Neil Gaiman's story, which is fortunate as he's been on my to-read list for a long time. This is probably one to avoid if you're unfamiliar with Vance or don't like a high-flown writing style in fantasy.
    • 3/5
      Fun, but after a while it started to pale. Too similar, not inventive enough. So okay, but not great
    • 5/5
      This is a collection of short stories written in honor of Jack Vance, taking place on the Dying Earth. The contributors, most well known in the field of fantasy and science fiction, take up the flavor of his tales and either revisit some of his characters or introduce us to new ones in the same vein. In these stories nothing and no one is fully as he seems and fate has a way of turning sly triumph into unexpected defeat. Most of the stories fit in well with the original world in terms of characters and atmosphere.
    • 4/5
      I admit that this was pretty awesome despite the fact that I'm not the hugest of fantasy fans. :) Took me forever to get through but that's because this book is massive. Highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      Edited by George R.R. Martin (who contributes a story as well) and Gardner Dozois, this anthology is another journey to the Dying Earth world created by Jack Vance. Vance himself provides an introduction, and Dean Koontz provides an appreciation. But the heart and meat of the anthology are the stories.Many of the authors do a remarkable job in capturing the essence of the Dying Earth. The language, the picaresque characters, the strange rambling adventures. Some of the stories feature characters from Vance's stories as main protagonists, others rely on those characters as plot devices, or even just as background color. So how did they do?Given the truism that anthologies can vary in the quality and interest stories and authors bring, I thought the quality of the stories was uniformly high. I was gratified that my high expectations were met by the authors and their stories. And the range of subjects and stories is high. Therein you will find more doings of Cugel (contradictory stories, if you wanted to try and take all of these stories as canonical), an architect who uses his skills to defend a castle, magicians large and small scrambling for power as the sun dies, and more, much more.Dan Simmons has the only novella, the centerpiece of this anthology, The Guiding Nose of Ulfant Banderoz. It's one of the stronger stories in the volume. Like his digestion of Keats in the Hyperion novels, and the Iliad in Ilium, Simmons shows that he truly digests and does a good Dying Earth.Besides his story, I particularly liked Wright's Guyal the Creator (continuing the character's story from the Vance story), Matthew Hughes' Grolion of Almery. (Hughes' own novels show his prior affection for homage to Vance), Paula Volsky's The Traditions of Karzh (showing how a would be wizard really gets his power) and Walter Jon William's Abrizonde (the aforementioned story about a hero architect). But, really, few of the stories are poor, although I do wonder why Neil Gaiman felt the need to tie in the real world with the Dying Earth in his tale. I found that a bit atonal, even if its a decent story.In any event, fans of the Dying Earth should not miss this anthology, especially given the list of authors and the love and care they have given the world of Messr. Vance.The full list of stories:The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale --Robert SilverbergGrolion of Almery --Matthew HughesThe Copsy Door --Terry DowlingCaulk the Witch Doctor --Liz WilliamsInescapable --Mike ResnickAbrizonde --Walter Jon WilliamsThe Traditions of Karzh --Paula VolskyThe Final Quest of the Wizard Sarnod --Jeff VandermeerThe Green Bird --Kage BakerThe Last Golden Thread --Phyllis EisensteinAn Incident in Uskvesk --Elizabeth MoonSylgarmo's Proclamation --Lucius ShepardThe Lamentably Comical Tragedy (or The Laughably Tragic Comedy) of Lixal Laqavee --Tad WilliamsGuyal the Curator --John C WrightThe Good Magician --Glen CookThe Return of the Fire Witch --Elizabeth HandThe Collegeum of Mauge --Byron TetrickEvillo the Uncunning --Tanith LeeThe Guiding Nose of Ulfant Banderoz --Dan SimmonsFrogskin Cap --Howard WaldropA Night at the Tarn House --George R R MartinAn Invocation of Curiosity --Neil Gaiman