Cugel the Clever (!) isn't a very likable hero. His odyssey-like quest to get home following a quest imposed by a justly angry wizard is filled with self-pity and unwarranted self-righteousness, during which he inflicts harm on a very many others purely for his own needs and wants.

The whole thing again reads like a fable, or indeed a Greek myth, short on depth and with a plot heavy on the 'mission'. Oddly, it's quite refreshingly in its slightness, but a marvel of making you read despite the horrible central character.