Mountains of Magnatz, The-Jack Vance novelette, later as a chapter of a novel

Mountains of Magnatz, The-Jack Vance novelette, later as a chapter of a novel

AKA: Cugel the Clever, chapter III

The Eyes of the Overworld, chapter III

Tales of the Dying Earth, Book II, chapter III

Mountains of Magnatz was first published as a novelette in the February, 1966 issue of the Magazine for Fantasy and Science Fiction.  In 1994 is was included as part of the Vance novel The Eyes of the Overworld chapter III.  The author’s preferred title for The Eyes of the Overworld is “Cugel the Clever.”  Mountains of Magnatz is 26/32 pages long.

In The Mountains of Magnatz story Cugel continues his journey back to Amery.  Accompanying him is a woman he met in Cil named Derwe Coreme, who use to be the ruler of Cil.  Derwe asks Cugel how he ended up in this remote region so Cugel mentions Iucounu who he describes as a “detestable wizard of Almery. He has a boiled squash for a head and flaunts a mindless grin. In every way he is odious, and displays the spite of a scalded eunuch.” Cugel needs guidance through the dangerous Mountains of Magnatz so makes a trade with some guides for information.  But he owns nothing, so what Cugel trades does not belong to him.  He is warned of vampires, grues, erbs, leucomorphs, basilisks and a series of poisonous swamps plus a region called the Land of Evil Recollection but Cugel has no options except to continue.  He is soon stalked by a deodand whom Cugel manages to injure and take as hostage. The deodand offers to be his guide if he will free him at the end but Cugel is also being followed by three other deodands.  These are cave dwelling humanoid beings that like to eat people.  Soon he meets some men in a hunting party from a nearby town called Vull Village.  His Pythonesque adventures continue and include a new wife named Marlinka, a job as the watchman in a tall watch tower, and a giant monster named Magnatz.  How does so much happen in so few pages?  It is all extremely imaginative, surreal and very well written. Rated 5.

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