However, his schemes fail more often than they succeed, and as the story progresses, the reader comes to realise that Cugel is actually rather naïve and that he has few, if any, redeeming qualities. He makes a somewhat precarious living as a charlatan. “My interest was cursory.”Ĭugel likes to think of himself as a subtle and sophisticated person, hence his cognomen. You will obtain a better view from within, but first I must shorten the chain of the captive erb which roams the premises during the night.” But I thought to notice you examining the manner in which the timbers of my booth are joined. “Your booth occupies the site of the old gibbet, and has absorbed unlucky essences. “I can resolve your perplexity,” said Fianosther. “I am both perplexed and disappointed, for my talismans are not obviously useless.” “In all candor, not too well,” said Cugel. Hoarse from bawling futile inducements, Cugel closed down his booth and approached Fianosther’s place of trade, in order to inspect the mode of construction and the fastenings at the door.įianosther, observing, beckoned him to approach. On the third day of the fair Cugel had disposed of only four periapts, at prices barely above the cost of the lead itself, while Fianosther was hard put to serve all his customers. Cugel cannot help but notice that the man in the next booth is doing much better business than he is, and so begins to consider a plan to rob the man:
Cugel has been selling talismans at the Azenomei fair, but business is bad. Vance’s characters converse with scrupulous politeness, yet they still manage to warn, threaten and insult each other. The prose is mannered and lush but it repays careful reading for it is delightfully witty and often laugh out loud funny. Well, if that structure was good enough for Homer… The Eyes are the archetypal rose-coloured glasses!Ĭugel succeeds in his quest quite early in the story and is then required to take a long rambling journey through many adventures as he makes his way back to the manse of the Laughing Magician with his trophy. Squalor and ugliness are perceived as exquisite beauty. The eponymous Cugel falls foul of Iucounu, the Laughing Magician, who transports him far away to search out and retrieve the Eyes of the Overworld – violet lenses that let the wearer see a superior version of reality. Nevertheless, it tells a complete and very satisfying tale.
It’s a picaresque novel made up of shorter pieces that were originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, so by nature, the story is episodic.
All of his strengths as a writer are on display here, and they all mesh together beautifully. I’ve always thought that Cugel the Clever (aka The Eyes of the Overworld) is the perfect Jack Vance novel.
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