Cugel: the Skybreak Spatterlight, Paperback

Earth is a decadent world older than memory, the bloated red sun soon to wink out forever. Iucounu the Laughing Magician has for the second time magicked Cugel the Clever across the Ocean of Sighs, to faraway Shanglestone Strand. Beset by thieves and schemers, whose cunning almost equals his own, Cugel must fight the long way back to Iucounu's manse where he means to exact a comprehensive and memorable revenge, before the old red sun goes out forever. In his unique, sardonic prose, SF grandmaster Jack Vance weaves a full brimming measure of humor through a picaresque tale of treachery and adventure, where clashes of philosophy and moments of poignant irony will make you wince, even as you laugh. - Matt Hughes

Cugel: the Skybreak Spatterlight, originally published as Cugel's Saga, is Volume 28 of the Spatterlight Press Signature Series. Released in the centenary of the author's birth, this handsome new collection is based upon the prestigious Vance Integral Edition. Select volumes enjoy up-to-date maps, and many are graced with freshly-written forewords contributed by a distinguished group of authors. Each book bears a facsimile of the author's signature and a previously-unpublished photograph, chosen from family archives for the period the book was written. These unique features will be appreciated by all, from seasoned Vance collector to new reader sampling the spectrum of this author's influential work for the first time. - John Vance II