I’ve been reading Matthew Hughes’s delightful Jack Vance Dying Earth pastiches for over 20 years. Hughes created a number of characters like Luff Imbry, a master thief who can steal just about anything to generate the funds that allow him to indulge in his obsession for exquisite food. Imbry’s adventures in “Arboghasz Dal Xander Rides Again” display his cleverness and cognitive skills. It’s my favorite story in Mixed Bag (2022), Matthew Hughes’s latest Print on Demand volume available on AMAZON (there’s also an e-book).
Other Old Earth stories in Mixed Bag include “The Friends of Masquelayne the Incomparable” that features a battle of wizards. I enjoyed “Hapthorn’s Last Case” where a mystery is solved while Reality is being transformed. Erm Kaslo, Hughes’s Sam Spade of the Future, plies his investigative skills in “Thunderstone” and “The BiColor Spiral.”
Mixed Bag delivers plenty of thrills, sly humor, and detection. Perfect Summer Reading! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — v
- The Friends of Masquelayne the Incomparable — 1
2. The Gift of Gabby — 33
3. Thunderstone — 49
4. Mean Mr. Mustard — 73
5. Loser — 80
6. Greeves and the Evening Star — 102
7. The Prevaricator — 133
8. Hapthorn’s Last Case — 152
9. The Bicolor Spiral — 184
10. Arboghasz Dal Xander Rides Again — 213
11. Awakening — 250
I’ve read just about everything Hughes has written. I just finished his Passengers and Peril. His stuff isn’t deep. It’s just a lot of fun.
Steve, I totally agree with you! Matthew Hughes tells great stories and some of them show up in MIXED BAG!
I do consider myself mainly an entertainer, but I have written one serious novel: WHAT THE WIND BRINGS tells the story of African slaves, shipwrecked on the coast of Ecuador in the 1500s, who melded withe local indigenous peoples. Together, they outfought and out-thought the conquistadors of Quito to preserve their freedom.
It’s the book I want to be remembered for.
Matt
I’ll check that one. I’ve read a good short story or two by you.
I’ve read a few of his things. Sounds fun.
Jeff, there’s a ebook of MIXED BAG you might enjoy.
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I’ve read a bit of Hughes’s tributes to Vance, and Michael Shea’s. And there’s likely to be more Vance to read for most of us. And now we know what Hughes himself recommends particularly among his own work…(and I’ve just read Charle Platt’s brief account of his one conversation with Vance, the other day while waiting for a doctor visit to begin).
Todd, Jack Vance is my favorite SF writer. My appreciation for his work grew over the years. His unique style can put some people off initially.