Dying Earth

The Dying Earth subgenre is a sub-category of science fiction or science fantasy which takes place in the far future at either the end of life on Earth or the End of Time, when the laws of the universe themselves fail. Themes of world-weariness, innocence (wounded or otherwise), idealism, entropy, (permanent) exhaustion/depletion of many or all resources (such as soil nutrients), and the hope of renewal tend to pre-dominate.

The apocalyptic sub-genre is nearly as old as literature itself. The Dying Earth genre differs in that it deals not with catastrophic destruction, but with entropic exhaust
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The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth, #1)
The Shadow of the Torturer
The Eyes of the Overworld (The Dying Earth, #2)
Tales of the Dying Earth
Shadow & Claw
The Claw of the Conciliator
Hothouse
Zothique
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance
Cugel's Saga (The Dying Earth, #3)
The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun, #3)
Sword & Citadel
A Quest for Simbilis
The Pastel City (Viriconium #1)
The Night Land
La terra morente by Jack VanceZothique by Clark Ashton SmithL'ombra del torturatore by Gene WolfeThe Night Land by William Hope HodgsonLa saga di Cugel by Jack Vance
All Dying Earth Books
57 books — 13 voters
Outpassage by Janet E. MorrisShadow Over Avalon by C.N. LesleyThe IX by Andrew P. WestonThe Secret of Excalibur by Sahara FoleyExile's Gate by C.J. Cherryh
Best Science Fantasy Books
59 books — 83 voters

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. TolkienThe Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own M... by Catherynne M. ValenteStranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. HeinleinThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank BaumThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
SFF: Best Settings
49 books — 18 voters
1984 by George OrwellThe Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le GuinA Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinSomething Wicked This Way Comes by Ray BradburyStories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
SFF: Best Themes
27 books — 18 voters



Jack Vance
To the furthest reach of my memory, Rogol Domedonfors ruled the city. He knew lore of all ages, secrets of fire and light, gravity and countergravity, the knowledge of superphysic numeration, metathasm, corolopsis.
Jack Vance, The Dying Earth

Jack Vance
Guyal of Sfere had been born one apart from his fellows and early proved a source of vexation for his sire. Normal in outward configuration, there existed within his mind a void that ached for nourishment. It was as if a spell had been cast upon his birth, a harassment visited on the child in a spirit of sardonic mockery, so that every occurrence, no matter how trifling, became a source of wonder and amazement. Even as young as four he was expounding such inquiries as: ‘Why do squares have more ...more
Jack Vance

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