Michael Shea, _A Quest for Simbilis_. DAW Books, 1974.
I first learned of the existence of Michael Shea's novel _A Quest for
Simbilis_ some twenty or so years ago. The novel is set in Jack Vance's
Dying Earth, and is a direct sequel to Vance's own _The Eyes of the
Overworld_ (now retitled _Cugel the Clever_ in the Vance Integral
Edition), following Cugel's adventures immediately after the events of
Vance's novel (Vance himself would later write his own independent
sequel, _Cugel's Saga_, which ignores this book). As I considered
Vance's work a classic of the genre, and considered Shea's _Nifft the
Lean_, if not a classic, an enjoyable fantasy of middle rank, this of
course interested me. Only recently, however, have I come across a copy.
The first few adventures in this episodic novel follow Vance's novel
fairly closely, revealing an imagination much like Vance's, and using
some of Vance's creations in the earlier Dying Earth books, such as
erbs, grues, and hoons. Later, Cugel and companions adventure into a
hellish underworld, and Shea's creations here bear more resemblance to
those in _Nifft the Lean_, in which his thieves adventure in two
different hells, one the afterworld and the other underground. This part
of the novel can get quite entertaining with its myriad of gruesome
inventions.
This DAW edition, like many of DAW's books, is marred by misprints.
"Obscenetrobes", for example, mutate into "obscenehpobes" [sic], which
is repeated several times. None of these misprints should hinder
understanding, though.
All in all, I would rate this novel with Shea's _Nifft the Lean_ and
other works as a good mid-rank fantasy, but not quite a classic. Readers
who like Vance and/or Shea will want to read it. As it's a sequel to
_The Eyes of the Overworld_, readers will want to read that first, but
do not need to have read other works by Vance or Shea.
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/1587154838/ref=nosim/thedanclorenecro
Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/clorebeast/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"Tho-ag in Zhi-gyu slept seven Khorlo. Zodmanas
zhiba. All Nyug bosom. Konch-hog not; Thyan-Kam
not; Lha-Chohan not; Tenbrel Chugnyi not;
Dharmakaya ceased; Tgenchang not become; Barnang
and Ssa in Ngovonyidj; alone Tho-og Yinsin in
night of Sun-chan and Yong-grub (Parinishpanna),
&c., &c.,"
-- The Book of Dzyan.
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