Guyal of Sfere-Jack Vance chapter from the novel Mazirian the Magician

Guyal of Sfere-Jack Vance chapter from the novel Mazirian the Magician

AKA: Mazirian the Magician, chapter 6

The Dying Earth, chapter 6

Tales of the Dying Earth, Book I, chapter 6

Guyal of Sfere was first issued as chapter six in the 1950 Jack Vance novel Mazirian the Magician also known as “The Dying Earth” and “Tales of the Dying Earth, Book I.”  It is 42/43 pages long.  Since then Guyal of Sfere has appeared as an excerpt in a number of collections of shorter works.  ISFDB labels it as novella length (17,500 words) but I have not listed it as a novella because it was first published as a chapter of a novel and not as an independent work.  There is also a 2005 revised version that is listed at the end of this review.

Guyal irritates his parents and others by constantly asking questions.  Such questions have included "Why do squares have more sides than triangles?" and "What is beyond the sky?"  Guyal's father finally decides to send Guyal to find the Museum of Man where he can meet the Curator who reportedly has the answers to all questions.  He provides Guyal with magical protection so that Guyal is safe as long as he stays on the trail and does not leave it.  Guyal encounters a strange man who plays the flute but turns out to be something other than what he appears. 

Later he meets some men from Saponce who coax him off the trail to welcome him.  He is warned not to touch a sacred section of land.  Guyal's horse is spooked, however, and accidentally steps on the sacred area.  The other men tell him he has violated a strict Saponid law and arrest him despite his appeals.  They quickly convict Guyal of "impertinence, impiety, disregard and impudicity."  As penalties he has to swear never again to repeat his crime and to judge a beauty contest called the Grand Pageant of Pulchritude.  The third penalty will not be disclosed to him until he has complied with the first two.  It is the third penalty, however, that ends up being dangerous to him.  The rest of the story is humorous and entertaining.  This was my favorite story of the six, and I especially enjoyed the quirky twists and the ending. This is a dense story with much symbolism and mythology that improved for me with repeated readings.  It also works better as part of novel The Dying Earth than as a stand-alone story, although it certainly can be read alone.  I’ve read it six times so far and rate it 5.

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Eight Fantasms and Magics (1969)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Fantasms and Magics (1978)

Included in a mixed author anthology The Ends of Time: Eight Stories of Science Fiction-Robert Silverberg, editor (1970)

Included in a mixed author anthology 13 Short Fantasy Novels-Charles Waugh, Martin Greenberg and Isaac Asimov, editors (1984)

Included in the mixed author anthology The Mammoth Book of Short Fantasy Novels-Isaac Asimov, Martin Greenberg and Charles Waugh, editors (1986)

Included in the mixed author anthology The Furthest Horizon-Gardner Dozois, editor (2000)

Included in the mixed author anthology The Ends of Time-Robert Silverberg, editor (2000)