Ace M-149 Paperback Original (1966). Cover Art by Jack Gaughan
Quoting from the back cover:
"In the dim far future of Earth, when the sun had shrunk to a small red disk in the dark sky and the race of man lived in isolated cities that echoed with the vastness of the world's history, science, myth and magic had become one. Sorcerers who read the books of ancient times held great power, and fearsome monsters created in ages long forgotten stalked the land.
"In this world of mystery and danger, the adventurer known as Cugel the Clever was forced to undertake a quest for Iucounu the Laughing Magician -- a quest that was to take him to lands stranger than any he had dreamed of, and pit his wits and his sword against powers from beyond time itself.
"In this long-awaited new novel of the Dying Earth, Jack Vance has written a tale that you will want to read again and again, for its marvels are unending."
Ace M-149 Paperback Original (1966). Cover Art by Jack Gaughan
Quoting from the back cover:
"In the dim far future of Earth, when the sun had shrunk to a small red disk in the dark sky and the race of man lived in isolated cities that echoed with the vastness of the world's history, science, myth and magic had become one. Sorcerers who read the books of ancient times held great power, and fearsome monsters created in ages long forgotten stalked the land.
"In this world of mystery and danger, the adventurer known as Cugel the Clever was forced to undertake a quest for Iucounu the Laughing Magician -- a quest that was to take him to lands stranger than any he had dreamed of, and pit his wits and his sword against powers from beyond time itself.
"In this long-awaited new novel of the Dying Earth, Jack Vance has written a tale that you will want to read again and again, for its marvels are unending."