Preview
  • Rhialto the Marvellous

  • Tales of the Dying Earth, Book 4
  • By: Jack Vance
  • Narrated by: Arthur Morey
  • Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (169 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Rhialto the Marvellous

By: Jack Vance
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In the interlocking Tales of the Dying Earth Vance explores the world at the end of time when sun is guttering. Light itself is different and Vance’s landscapes —described in language that is lyrical, seductive, and partly self-invented —are wild and surreal, full of opportunity and danger. On the Dying Earth, the rules of physics as we know them have been amended and replaced by magic. The laws of evolution have spun out creatures that are humanoid, hybrid, and often terrifying. The interpenetrating world of ghosts is equally fantastic. Religion and philosophy are diversified and rewoven into myriad theories, creeds, and dogmas. Human culture is archaic, vaguely medieval European or feudal Japanese. There is nothing quaint or allegorical about the Dying Earth stories. We’re not in Oz anymore, nor Narnia either. Voldemar is a harmless grouch compared to Chun the Unavoidable. Yet, at the same time, these works are as weirdly funny as the poetry and journals of Edward Lear or the fantastic yarns of Dr. Seuss.

©2010 Jack Vance (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Rhialto the Marvellous

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    114
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    114
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    100
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Last Of The Dying Earth

It’s Jack Vance. What else needs to be said? If you enjoy Jack Vance, you will enjoy this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dark and Wonderful

I'm new to Jack Vance, that gone through the entire dying Earth series in a rush. His writing is compelling, vivid, and mysterious. What a wonderful imagination!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A refreshing change of pace

The Dying Earth series has quickly become one of my favorite settings. I greatly enjoy the misadventures of Cugel, but I found Rhialto to be a refreshing change of pace. If instead the author would have penned another Cugel story it may have worn out its welcome at this point. The different perspective made it feel as if I was visiting the setting again, but for the first time.
Side note, having recently read an Ian M Banks' novel I noticed certain similarities to these author's famous settings. You have to squint and not look too close, but Dying Earth almost feels like a dystopian end to Ian M Banks' utopia. The power to do the impossible with trivial effort. The constant search of pleasure and novelty. There are similar vibes even if they are on the complete opposite spectrum of -topias.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Join the club

Except that this club is formed of very powerful magicians. Whole the other three books in the series almost feel like parables or allegories on life, this book is a good primer for anyone joining a club thinking about running for a leadership position and ought to be read first. The author’s imagination is pretty amazing as he details the different events occurring within the magician’s club. Certainly a worthwhile read, but the least successful of the series, its primary benefit, being to give the role playing game, dungeons and dragons the iTunes stones.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

You'll Regret It

Incoherent, rambling, and dull. Here you'll find all the pedantic verbosity of the earlier Dying Earth books without any of the wit, interesting characters, or world development that made them worthwhile. Particularly if you've enjoyed Vance's other books, do yourself the favour of avoiding this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Short tales of a magician in the Dying Earth serie

Rhialto the Marvellous is Jack Vance’s fourth installment in his Tales of Dying Earth series which is set far into the future where the sun is dying out and magic has manifested itself. This installment consists of three short stories revolving around Rhialto, a magician who has rubbed certain other magicians the wrong way and finds himself the target of attacks. There’s also a tale of needing to recover a certain artifact that involves some creative, but convoluted time travel episodes.

Vance continues with the theme of society at the end of its run with most individuals out for them-selves and little else. Most interactions involve double crossings with Rhialto mostly seeming to come out ahead.

The narration is quite well done with solid character distinction. Pacing runs to the brisk.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!