A Quest for Simbilis

For the record, I've not read any of the actual Dying Earth books, or even any Vance for that matter, despite pretty extensive familiarity with the material and concepts thanks to a lifetime of ttrpgs. I'm sure that influences how I felt about this one to some degree, maybe if I'd read Vance's stuff first I wouldn't care for this as much as I do. Because I loved this.
Shea's Lovecraft sequel, per a review way back, fell pretty flat for me. Which left me a little apprehensive about this sequel written in someone else's world, though less so due to its reputation (including amongst such notable as Patton Oswalt). This was such a pleasantly surprising experience though.
It certainly has some of the sword and sorcery tropes, though it never show more feels like its really embracing that subgenre. It reminds me a little bit of some of Moorcock's work in that regard.
I think what really made the book was that it was funny, which was something I wasn't expecting. Its not poking fun at the genre, or Vance's setting, but it also never feels like its taking itself too seriously. The series of misadventures experienced by the characters along their titular quest seem so random, beyond their power, and the characters themselves make such amusingly silly choices at times. This is really working in someone else's world, in a genre that maybe has aged past its prime, at its absolute best. show less

A sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld written prior to Vance writing his own sequel, Cugel's Saga. In my mind, given that a true Vance sequel exists, it works better to ignore the setup (picking up where The Eyes of the Overworld ends) and treat it instead as a further adventure of Cugel the Clever.

It's clearly a book written with love for the world of the Dying Earth, and of Cugel as a character. It feels Vancian at times, and Cugel very much epitomizes his characterisation as found in Vance's original work - but Shea is not Vance. This shouldn't be read as a criticism given the impossibility of the author being someone whom they are not. Instead of simply attempting to mimic the inimitable Vance to the best of his ability, a fools show more errand for any writer, Shea makes the work his own - weaving a darker tale, and providing Cugel with an increasing cast of companions as the adventures go on.

The only part of the tale which felt a bit flat was the ending - Shea provided a brilliant setup, but didn't manage to deliver a conclusion that felt as satisfying as the story deserved. If anything it felt as if it left itself open ended on purpose to allow for future adventures, which if planned, likely were abandoned when Vance concluded Cugel's Saga in his own way. show less

An authorized sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld before Vance got around to writing his own.

It's about what I expected: it's very Vance-esque, sometimes even Vancian, but even though some story beats and a few scammy interactions read like an original, I cannot but think of Shea's book as a mimesis rather than a true sequel.

That said, I don't at all regret reading this. It's fan-fiction, but it's high quality and an entertaining picaresque story in its own right.

Reads like a perfect continuation of "Eyes of the Overworld", the first Cudgel the Clever book by Jack Vance, which is high praise. Captures the language, the character, the world and the situations of Vance's book.