Author | Jack Vance |
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Illustrator | Stephen E. Fabian |
Cover artist |
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Language | English |
Series | Dying Earth |
Genre | Fantasy, Dying Earth subgenre |
Publisher |
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Publication date |
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Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 198 (first); 219 [1] |
ISBN | 0-88733-004-5 (first) ISBN 0-671-55911-7 |
OCLC | 11554599 |
Preceded by | Cugel's Saga |
Rhialto the Marvellous is a collection of one essay and three fantasy stories by American writer Jack Vance, first published in 1984 by Brandywyne Books, a special edition three months before the regular (below). It is the fourth and concluding book in the Dying Earth series that Vance inaugurated in 1950. One of the stories was previously published. [1]
The foreword and first two stories were original to the collection. "Morreion" was originally published in the Lin Carter-edited anthology Flashing Swords! 1 (1973). [1]
In which the list of players and the general state of the world in the 21st Aeon are defined.
The Sorceress Llorio, also known as the Murthe, has journeyed through time to the 21st Aeon, and is transforming the wizards of that era into women. Rhialto and his colleague, Ildefonse the Preceptor, attempt to foil her plans with the aid of the mysterious time-traveller Lehuster.
A series of intrigues perpetrated by his colleague Hache-Moncour land Rhialto in the bad graces of his fellow wizards. Whilst he is away, they ransack his manse and appropriate many valuable items in supposed recompense. On his return, Rhialto accuses his colleagues of violating the "Blue Principles", their code of conduct, and insists on examining the original document of the "Principles", stored at Fader's Waft. Upon arrival, Rhialto and Ildefonse discover that the "Principles" have been replaced with a forgery, and Rhialto undertakes a journey back through time to recover the original.
Rhialto and his associates journey towards the edge of the Universe to seek their erstwhile colleague Morreion, sent away in the distant past to locate the source of the valuable, magic-annulling IOUN stones.
The special edition preceded by three months the regular hardcover edition (Baen, cover artist Kevin Johnson)
For its predecessor Cugel's Saga, the special edition had followed eight months after the regular hardcover. Fabian and Johnson remained the cover artists but the publishers (or imprints) changed. The special editions were "550 signed and numbered copies" at $30 (vol 3), "Slipcased, signed and limited to 1000 copies" at $40 (vol 4). [1] [ page needed ]
In the articles about both books, the upper-right inset provides bibliographic data for both editions.
The most powerful wizards of the 21st Aeon of the Dying Earth are banded together in an association, and mostly reside in the territories of Ascolais and Almery. Unlike other wizards of the Dying Earth, such as Turjan and Mazirian, these wizards possess nearly godlike power. Much of their power comes from their ability to bind and control potent genie-like beings called sandestins, while they also derive power from their large stores of magical relics. Their conduct toward one another is governed by a set of rules called the Blue Principles, because they're inscribed upon a blue stone which displays them through a sort of projector. Restrictions from The Dying Earth, that wizards can memorize only few spells by stringent study, which are forgotten again when used, appear to be missing from the Cugel and Rhialto cycles.
Because the wizards are so powerful, they have little to fear except from one another and from powerful external threats such as the archveults. Thus, while the Blue Principles acts as a nonaggression pact and a defensive alliance, most of the time it serves as a social circle and gentleman's club. The members spend most of their time enjoying fine food and drink, courting ladies of the nearby kingdoms, conversing, and squabbling with one another over magical relics, or playing pranks on one another.
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