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Jack Vance's "The Dying Earth" Quiz

Among Jack Vance's voluminous works of fantasy is the "Dying Earth" series. These are purest "suspension of disbelief" fantasies set in the far future when the sun has become a red and flickering remnant.

A multiple-choice quiz by brian59. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
brian59

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
105,393

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
167

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Three of these characters from the first book in the series, "The Dying Earth", are villains (or worse); one is a hero. Can you guess which one? Hint

Turjan of Miir

Liane the Wayfarer

Mazirian the Magician

Chun the Unavoidable

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Question 2 of 10

2. Mad King Cutt ordered Phandaal, the Arch-Necromancer, to create many weird beasts for his private zoo (and then let them loose on the countryside as a joke). Which of these is NOT one of these hybrid monsters? Hint

Blikdak

Erb

Deodand

Basilisk

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Question 3 of 10

3. The next book in the "Dying Earth" series is "The Eyes of the Overworld", in which Cugel the Clever is sent by Iucounu the Laughing Magician to recover magic cusps enabling the viewer to see the Overworld. Why did Cugel agree to perform this task? Hint

For training in magicianship by Iucounu

Cugel was promised two cusps for his own use

Iucounu had trapped Cugel's lover in an underground cyst

A star-beast was clamped on his liver

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Question 4 of 10

4. Cugel got in major trouble with the sorceror Pharesm for doing what? Hint

Eating TOTALITY

Demolishing Pharesm's thousand-year-old construct

Peeing in Pharesm's magic cauldron

Deflowering the ceremonial virgins in his care

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Question 5 of 10

5. After joining pilgrims to Erze Damath by raft, Cugel crosses swords with one Lodermulch. What is his usual job? Hint

Hetman of Magnatz

Lord of a village beside the Songan Sea

Margrave of Amery

Provost of Barlig township

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Question 6 of 10

6. Cugel manipulates the idol at Erze Damath (a little bribery in the right areas, know what I mean?)so that the pilgrims are ordered to cross which desert? Hint

Golden

Sahara

Barren

Silver

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Question 7 of 10

7. Cugel finally gets back to Almery to find Iucounu behaving bizarrely. Why? Hint

He suffered a reciprocal spell on banishing Cugel

He's been taken over by Firx's vat-companion

He has developed cerebral syphylis

He suffered from a surfeit of lampreys

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Question 8 of 10

8. The third book in the series is "Cugel's Saga", continuing Cugel's duel with the Laughing Magician. By his usual nefarious tricks, Cugel comes into possession of a scale from an Overworld Being, Sadlark, who descended to earth and sprawled on his face in the mud, dispersing his essence, and his protective scales, into the muck. This particular scale (with Cugel's usual dumb luck)is the key which holds all the others together. What is its name? Hint

Ventral Starbright

Lateral Flasher

Pectoral Sky-break Spatterlight

Cutaneous Blockout

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Question 9 of 10

9. Cugel's further adventures lead him to take a job as town butcher of a certain community. His employment is terminated and he leaves under a cloud (in fact, just ahead of a howling mob!) Why? Hint

He deflowered the hetman's daughter

He butchered the sacred beasts

He spurned the overtures of the hetman's randy wife

He misaligned the sacred reflector

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Question 10 of 10

10. Cugel falls in with a man with a magic salve which renders things weightless, leading to several curious adventures. How does one use this salve? Hint

Coat boots with it and kick the object to be levitated

Coat object underneath, thus screening off gravity

Coat wand with it and say "UP"

Rub salve into biceps to gain superstrength

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Three of these characters from the first book in the series, "The Dying Earth", are villains (or worse); one is a hero. Can you guess which one?

Answer: Turjan of Miir

Mazirian once shrunk a woman to thumb size and kept her in a glass bottle with two buzzing flies. Liane was a robber and murderer, killed by Chun the Unavoidable, of which little is revealed other than that he wears a cloak of his victims' eyeballs and is - literally- unavoidable!! Turjan is rescued from Mazirian by T'sain, a beautiful girl he grew in a vat! (The commercial possibilities are mind-blowing!)

Answer: Blikdak

Blikdak was a demon who was able to thrust his huge face into the Museum of Man, but was unable to proceed further, kept at bay by the Curator, Kerlin, but still able to send ghosts out to summon young men and women, in pairs, to the Museum for his own abominable pleasures.

The deodand was like a handsome coal-black man with white tusks, cursed with an ungovernable appetite for human flesh.

Answer: A star-beast was clamped on his liver

Cugel was trapped by Iucounu while (most unwisely) trying to burgle his manse. Iucounu set Firx, from the star Achernar, on Cugel's liver to encourage him to complete the task, so that Firx could return to his mate in Iucounu's vats. An alternative punishment was the "Spell of Forlorn Encystment", in which the victim was confined eternally 45 miles underground. Some choice, eh!?

4. Cugel got in major trouble with the sorceror Pharesm for doing what?

Answer: Eating TOTALITY

After mistaking TOTALITY for seafood, and cooking and eating same, Cugel was sent by Pharesm one million years into the past to recover it, where he had more outlandish adventures. The "virgins" bit came later in Cugel's highly checkered career.

5. After joining pilgrims to Erze Damath by raft, Cugel crosses swords with one Lodermulch. What is his usual job?

Answer: Provost of Barlig township

After Cugel cheats him out of a night's accommodation at an inn, Lodermulch is given a magic salve to make his sword unbreakable. He later vanishes from the raft without trace (lots of Cugel's acquaintances come to sticky ends!)

6. Cugel manipulates the idol at Erze Damath (a little bribery in the right areas, know what I mean?)so that the pilgrims are ordered to cross which desert?

Answer: Silver

The pilgrim numbers are whittled down by bandits, scorpions, poisoned wells, and insanity until only Cugel is left to complete his quest.

7. Cugel finally gets back to Almery to find Iucounu behaving bizarrely. Why?

Answer: He's been taken over by Firx's vat-companion

Cugel finally rids himself of Firx and Iucounu of Firx's companion. He puts Iucounu in a bottle and subjects him to many indignities. Iucounu finally gets free and to punish him; Cugel decides to banish him to the far north, poetic justice, right? Wrong! Cugel's lack of wizard skills betrays him and he is flown north by a demon, for the second time!

Answer: Pectoral Sky-break Spatterlight

This scale has the most remarkable powers, literally "sucking up" anything it contacts when dry. Half a dozen of Cugel's foes are dealt with in this way.

9. Cugel's further adventures lead him to take a job as town butcher of a certain community. His employment is terminated and he leaves under a cloud (in fact, just ahead of a howling mob!) Why?

Answer: He butchered the sacred beasts

Another adventure involved his wrecking the efforts of one sect to rekindle the Dying Sun by reflecting back its rays.

10. Cugel falls in with a man with a magic salve which renders things weightless, leading to several curious adventures. How does one use this salve?

Answer: Coat boots with it and kick the object to be levitated

Cugel's Saga comes to a close when Iucounu collects all Sadlark's scales and dons them, in effect becoming Sadlark, who must be the Adam Sandler of Overworld Beings....but read the book!!

Source: Author brian59

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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