The Dying Earth


The Dying Earth is a collection of fantasy short fiction by American writer Jack Vance, published by Hillman in 1950. Vance returned to the setting in 1965 and thereafter, making it the first book in the Dying Earth series. It is retitled Mazirian the Magician in its Vance Integral Edition, after the second of six collected stories.
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database calls it a "slightly connected series of stories" but it was ranked number 16 of 33 "All Time Best Fantasy Novels" by Locus in 1987, based on a poll of subscribers. Similarly, it was one of five finalists for the Best Novel "Retro Hugo" in 2001 when the World Science Fiction Society provided 50th anniversary recognition for a publication year without Hugo Awards.

Contents

All six stories were original to the collection.
The stories are all set in an undefined far future Earth, when the sun is nearing the end of its life. The sky ranges from pink to deep blue, lit by a dim red sun, and many strange plants and animals exist. Much of the story is set within the forested country of Ascolais, and in the ruined cities which cover the landscape.
The setting is marked by the presence of unaccountable ancient ruins and other fragments of now-decayed civilizations. The human population is shrinking, and most live in the remaining structures built long ago, in varying degrees of ruin, squalor, or luxury. In addition, many people make use of technology or magic which was created long ago, but which they no longer understand. No distinction is ever made between technology created through science and that created by magic; the line between the two is blurred, and it's heavily implied that the two are ultimately indistinguishable. The characters in the stories are aware that they live on a "Dying Earth" and often make carefree, nihilistic references to the fact that their planet doesn't have much longer to live, assuming that the sun will soon burn itself out. It is never explained how long the Earth has left to live; it could be only decades, or possibly still thousands or millions of years.
Many of the most important people in Ascolais are wizards. In the Dying Earth, wizards use magic primarily by memorizing lengthy formulas for spells, and then activating them by speaking the proper commands. Once cast, the spell formula is instantly forgotten, requiring the wizard to reread and re-memorize them. Because even talented wizards can only memorize and "load" a handful of spells, wizards also have to rely on magical relics and their other skills or talents in protecting themselves. There are only one hundred spells which are still known to mankind, out of thousands which were discovered over the course of history. Pandelume implies that what the people of the Dying Earth call "magic" actually has a scientific origin; he indicates that many spells were invented through the use of mathematics and mundane sciences.

Characters

Title characters

The Dying Earth was featured in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Advanced Player's Guide under Appendix N: Literature as one of the works that were read during the development of the game system. The designer, Gary Gygax, also credited the novel with being the inspiration for the magic system, which he called "Vancian."