Thieve's World

A marvelous first short story introduces us to Enas Yorl, a mighty magician with a terrible curse. Is he good? or evil? or neither...?  interestingly enough, he is depicted as both sensual, and downright disgusting...if that can make any sense without giving the story away. Anyhow, he is an extremely interesting character who will make many more appearances as you read on. You will also meet Illyra and Dubro, who are vital occupants of Sanctuary. Again, you get different versions of them from different authors, but they are basically harmless, but still rather important. This is also the first introduction to the charachter of Molin Torchholder. You will love to hate him, even though he is a supposed man of the cloth. One of the most important, if not the most important, character of this series is introduced in the fourth story, Shadowspawn, or Hanse the thief. A brilliant example of why females love bad boys. Then, of course, their is the mage, Lythande, who holds a heavy secret in order to be a part of the Blue Star.

The common theme of this second volume in the series is the Rankan god Vashanka and his exploits within the realm of Sanctuary. As you read the seven stories that are part of this collection, you realize that most all of them revolve around Vashanka and his semi-human emissary. Since each of the stories is written by a different author, it is fascinating to see how the same characters appear and act in the various stories. All the stories are dark and grim and are definitely a departure from Asprin's normal fare. As an anthology it clearly works and by having so many famous contributors, the anthology is successful and will probably encompass many more volumes. Should you read it is the question? I found the stories repelling yet compelling at the same time. Clearly these were written by masters in the world of fiction and are therefore hard to put down. The premise and the execution are dark and depressing. So, if you can handle the bleakness, you will enjoy the work

Most fantasy literature is pure escapism -- light, easy, black and white. Thieves' World instead features surprisingly complex characters (for a fantasy tale) with uncertain motivations. It's low, gritty, and not concerned with the matters of elves and men. As a mosaic novel (or linear anthology, or what-have-you), a TW book is a grab-bag of authors and stories.

In this, the third volume of the 12-book series, there's a novella-length opener that seems to subvert the low-fantasy setting by introducing non-humans and intelligent monsters. It felt out of place -- even in a fantasy world where, yes, there are sorcerers who cast spells, an erudite troll's sudden appearance can, ahem, break the spell. Worse, the climax of that story (a large carnival that's destroyed and in which men are killed) is never mentioned again by anyone in the rest of the book.

Beyond this blemish, the rest of the volume is made up of stories by what looks like the core group of authors responsible for the rest of the run of the series; some new characters pop up and some old ones continue their arcs. One other complaint is Janet Morris's pet character, Tempus, a man who evidently doesn't belong in this world and desperately wants out (I think -- he is referred to as both having come through a dimensional gate and as having been born in the TW world). She overwrites everything, too. I suspect neither of them are going anywhere, though.

Another nugget worth mentioning. In the first book of the series, Joe Haldeman had a story which featured his bartender character One-Thumb, and killed him off. This was evidently outside the spirit of cooperation among the TW writers, as editor Bob Asprin noted in the postscript of that book that it was a bit of a shock. Through the second book, many characters wondered about One-Thumb and where he might be; one shapeshifter character actually appeared as One-Thumb for some reason. Now, at the outset of the third book, One-Thumb is back (but Joe Haldeman is not), and Hakiem The Storyteller, who will buy a tale so as to spin it for profit later, calls One-Thumb's story stupid. That struck me as editorial voice, both bitchy and a little funny.

The fourth Thieves' World volume seems to have a surer editorial hand. Albeit that the stories could not be placed in perfect chronological order, this time around there’s an overarching theme to the book: the imminent invasion of Sanctuary by sea and the how the townsfolk prepare. The stories are a good lot overall.

Asprin’s “Exercise In Pain” brings Jubal back from being crippled at the hands of Tempus, but with a price; Lalo, the painter who can see souls, returns to fight for his life in Paxson’s “A Fugitive Art;” Offut’s “Godson” transforms his Shadowspawn from swaggering street rat to confident warrior and confidant of the gods, and makes it work. I didn’t like Cherryh’s too opaque “Downwind,” a confused take of Jubal's remnants feuding with Stepsons and spying on one another; and Janet Morris’ “Wizard Weather” is, as usual for her, a bit much (lord of dreams, some avatar in beautiful woman form, that Cime character... zzz). Still, I think the series is finally starting, after three books of scene-setting, to take off.

Book 5 of the twelve orignal TW anthology novels starts a plot arc with "mysterious invaders" that show up, look like fish, and don't do much else. TW isn't a series with a big-picture focus, though, so the presence of these invaders is more or less artfully *shown* through the new gritty experiences of the now-familiar cast, though some favorites are missing from this volume.

C.J. Cherryh's "Necromant" is the turd of the bunch, sprawling and hard to focus on. Janet Morris, of whom I am seldom a fan, turns in a palatable entry this time with "High Moon," which dangles a promise that Tempus and her other horrible characters are gone. I'm sure they'll be back though.

The other stories are good little adventures, though as a whole don't give much shape to a story arc; the invading Beysib play roles of varying importance throughout, but of them we're shown no conflict, action, or resolution.

In this strange and provocative sixth volume, the Wizardwall War brings undreamed-of horrors as the invaders invoke their powers to raise the very dead...The Beysib invasion that was almost a non-event in the previous volume is finally generating the expected results. The Ranke empire has sent its third commando unit to Sanctuary to help take it back from the Beysib. The third commando is commanded by Kama who we find out is Tempus's daughter. Oh goody, goody! finally some sense.

Wait, what are Ischade and Roxanne doing battling each other and over what? Why does Ischade need unqualified stepsons to help her out? What's with this Zip character who in some stories is a disillusioned, callow, youth and in others is such a great leader of a revolutionary army that all the other factions in Sanctuary bow to him?

As usual with Thieves' World books, the format of the book is both its strength and its weakness. Strength in that the stories are imaginative and its very interesting to see different takes on the various denizens. Weak because we get no consistent treatment of characters. Some do not show up at all; others get short shrift; and some play major roles all of a sudden.

In this volume we also learn a bit more about the Beysib. Now, it is no longer enough to denigrate them as "fish-eyes" we actually read a story about the developing relationship between a male and female Beysib. Unfortunately, Hanse Shadowspawn appears and appears to go crazy! Oh well, there is more to come, obviously.

In this awesome seventh volume, a fearful cold grips Sanctuary, and the risen dead begin to outnumber the living, a new alliance that may save the war-torn Borderlands is born...  In this book, Sanctuary is deteriorating even more (if you can believe that!) into a vicious cycle of war and darkness as winter lays its deadly grip on the world.

All of the stories share the same location - the city of Sanctuary - and many of the main characters, time and even events. However, the fun of the books is in how each author twists his or her interpretation of what is taking place into the viewpoint of their protagonist. No different is this book. The various factions are either making alliances or fighting against each other and the battle lines are literally drawn in colored lines in the streets of the city. However, the alliances are constantly shifting and it is never really clear what they are fighting for and with or against whom.

A big portion of the book is dedicated to the magical fights that pit Roxanne, Ischade, and the other gods or wizards against each other while using the HellHounds, Stepsons, Beysibs, and other groups. We are getting more and more the sense that the battles in Sanctuary are a reflection of the greater events that are unfolding as a result of the breaking up of the Rankan Empire. The individual stories take a look at individual events and tell the stories of individuals at times, but also look at the great scope of events. So, Kadakithis is still enthralled with his Beysib conqueror queen who he adores, but she is put to shame when it comes out that his wife, the Princess Daphne is still in town. There are also stories of hell, perdition, and the life of zombies and other nameless critters.

As is usual in these volumes, the stories are very dark and even deranged as Sanctuary is a very bad place. If you can put up with the darkness, gore, bloodthirstiness, and general evil of the place, you can enjoy the collaboration, the points of view, and the general fun of the idea embodied in these books.

As an idea for a series of anthologies, Thieves' world was a unique concept. By this point it has reached the 8th book and it is suffering a bit. I guess maybe that is why Abbey and Asprin (the editors) decided to play a bit with the format. In previous editions, there were many short stories around a common theme. Every author, however, had the right to look at slightly different events, or even picture the same events from a different angle. This was entertaining and unique.

This volume is very linear. In essence the story line was agreed upon and each of the three contributors provided two chapters that carried the storyline forward. Of course, the fact that there were only three contributors could be a sign of the withering of this concept as previous volumes had as many as ten contributors!

The storyline here is all about the enmity between the two female witches in town - Ischade and Roxane. For reasons unknown to anyone, the rest of the groups in Sanctuary choose sides and Roxane is being attacked. This book examines the impacts of the magical and common attacks that take place as the two women work to destroy each other. Since everyone in Sanctuary is involved, the gods themselves manage to intervene and ever higher powers are invoked leading to some new and powerful beings being summoned from regions that they've never left before.

The battle takes place in all kinds of places including the mind and soul of Niko. Ultimately, nothing is really resolved as to destroy any of the main characters would bring this series to a screeching halt so it is not satisfying at all.

In Beyond Sanctuary, the Sacred Band of Stepsons must leave the cess-pool of a city that they have sworn to protect, and fight in a war against sorcery and the archmage Datan, upon the famed Wizardwall. The dangers that await them might cost them more than thier lives as they must battle the Nisibis witch Roxane, Death's Queen, for the very heart and soul of one of their best fighters, Nikodimus, the Bandaran Adept martial artist called Stealth. In the midst of the battles they must also rescue a half mage-blooded child named Shamshi, from the clutches of Roxane and Datan, before he can be trained to put his powers to malevolent use. Tempus Thales, avatar of the storm god Enlil, called The Riddler, leads the Stepsons on their toughest and most dangerous mission yet in this tale of sword versus sorcery, and sacred warriors against profane mages.
The book is loaded with action and also delves into the hearts and minds of some of the principle characters of the Sacred Band of Stepsons. This revised edition contains some new expanded sections, and parts of the book that were previously edited out in the original release have been re-inserted. It is a must have for die hard fans of the series, and also a great book on it's own for those who have never read any of the stories about The Sacred Band of Stepsons.

Beyond the Veil and Beyond Wizardwall are Sanctuary novels by Janet Morris.

In the entertaining afterword to Blood Ties, C.J. Cherryh writes about the experience of writing for the Thieves' World series:  "The honest truth is that we have very little idea what will happen. Unplanned war breaks out in the streets. It lurches and falters in settlements, just the way it does in real life, my friends, because certain people in it have to get certain things or believe there is a way out, or they go on fighting. Feuds break out between characters and resolve themselves they way they do in live-- with some change in both characters. Characters mutate and grow and turn out to have aspects that surprise even their creator."
As a reader, it is that very quality of evolving chaos and unpredictability that makes the series so much fun to read. At its best, there is a measure of barely controlled chaos that keeps the twists and turns interesting. At its worst, the different voices can mix badly and turn characters into a kind of confused mush.
This edition contains both the best and the worst of what the volumes can be. Blood Ties has a number of really impressive writers associated with the stories: Cherryh, Diana L. Paxson, Janet & Chris Morris, the two editors, Diane Duane, Robert Wayne Bailey, and Andrew & Jodie Offutt. The combined talents are less effective when they deal with the complicated alliances and tensions in Sanctuary ("Sanctuary is for Lovers", "Lovers who Slay Together") but there are also some truly inspired and even very moving sections-- the fate of Siveni Grey-Eyes in "The Tie that Binds" and the brilliant introduction of Strick in "Spellmaster."
As always, you cannot pick up volume 9 of Thieves' World without having read 1-8. Begin at the beginning, if you have not had any introduction to the characters before. If you are a veteran of Sanctuary and were wondering whether this is worth the effort (Volume 8 was a little bit disappointing, IMO) then you should rest assured that it is moving in the right direction. Blood Ties is worth the time to read, and reopens a number of interesting new directions for the poor beleaguered city.

Aftermath is the name of the book and an aftermath of sorts it is. In this 10th book in the series, there are only a few stories, and only a few of the characters that have made this series so memorable and interesting to read. As usual, there are contributions here from various authors with the proviso that while they use the same city, locations, and characters, none of the authors can kill the others' folks.

This book starts after Tempus and his two or three gangs leave the city and it is trying to recover from the wars of the gods that destroyed big portions of it in previous volumes. There are a couple of new characters being introduced, and several of the main ones from previous books show up, yet many of the mainstays make small cameo appearances - if they show up at all.

The pace of the stories is quite slower than the last few volumes and nothing much of substance takes place. Illyra coming to terms with her adopted baby, and prince Kitty Cat emerging from his shell are about the only two storylines that make any progress. On the other hand, the introduction of characters like Cade and the Shepherd makes an interesting new direction. Would you believe that Sanctuary is actually trying to improve and become a city that people might want to live in?

Shadowspawn is a Thieves World novel by Andrew J. Offutt.

Tempus is a Thieves World novel by Janet Morris.

I have probably mentioned here before that I have a long-standing love that I am nearly able to defend for the Thieves' World series. I have never lost my taste for the chaotic writers' world that started with the eponymous first book and ended with Stealer's Sky. I know that the quality is uneven. I recognize that sometimes the writers liked each other more than they liked us. But that, for me, was part of the fun. Anyhow, I have been rereading the series slowly over the last few years, and am disappointed to report that I am nearly done.

Book 11 is not one of the strongest books in Thieves' World. Although Book 10 is called Aftermath, book 11 has a strong Intermezzo feeling. Evidence, I guess, that the series was winding down. Magic has largely disappeared from Sanctuary; Daphne seems to be gaining a sense of perspective; Prince Kadakithis grows up; Ischade is still tortured. I was particularly fond of the Diana L. Paxson section on "The Vision of Lalo". This gives me hope that someday I will find a book that she has written which I actually enjoy.

"Dagger" could be considered a bit of a practice run for the author's later Lord Of The Isles series. A hyper-practical hardworking hero with no hesitation to kill when necessary? Check. Loving attention to the accurate and period-specific details of clothing, weapons, food, and buildings? Check. Heavy use of Middle Eastern folklore and culture? Check. It's an interesting little novel, but by Drake's own admission, not an altogether successful one.

It features Samlor hil Samt, a pragmatic and world-wise caravan master who made three appearances in the Thieves' World series of shared-universe books. (The first section of "Dagger" was also published in the tenth TW volume as the story "Inheritor", a decision which Drake now regrets because he admits that he doubled up this way strictly for the money.) He and his young "niece" (secretly his daughter) Star, an instinctive magical adept, have come to Sanctuary to pick up her inheritance from her late mother. There, they encounter Khamwas, a wizard from Napata whose own purposes happen to coincide with theirs. Adventure ensues.

The novel draws quite heavily on Egyptian folklore and settings, particularly the latter Khamwas-heavy sections. This makes it rather different than most fantasy novels, which is good. But a very lengthy flashback sequence involving a certain Prince Nanefer breaks up the momentum of the book, and in the ensuing pages, Samlor, our protagonist, becomes little more than a mere bystander to the deeds of his wizard companion. Structurally, "Dagger" has some real problems and more or less just limps to a merely satisfactory conclusion.

On the other hand, Drake does a great job showing Samlor's devotion to Star, who (perhaps unfortunately) is only featured in the first third of the book. And Khamwas's manikin-like familiar, Tjainufi, who constantly spouts gnomic wisdom, is amusing.

This is a good book if you're interested in checking out a fantasy setting that doesn't just cover the same ol' European ground, or if you want to complete your Thieves' World collection, but otherwise is not essential.

City At the Edge Of Time is a Thieves World novel by Janet Morris.

Tempus Unbound is a Thieves World novel by Janet Morris.

I am a long time fan of the Thieves world books, and I have always loved the feel of the books, and the use of differeant authors. I loved how each author could take an event and see it and convey it in a unique manner. However this book was dissapointing. The sand storm played a crucial role, and I liked how they used it as a catalyst for the story line.

Saying that, the writing in this one was frankly mediocre at best, and the story line was under huge stress as it seemed like they were just putting this one out because it was time to put another book out. Thieves world is a GREAT series but one that needs to creative and varying influences of authors who are willing to really pull the reader into the world. I liked this book, but frankly it will sit on my shelf as a valued addition to my collection, but it will be a boring day indeed when I remove to read it again.

Deathknight is a Thieves World novel by Andrew J Offutt.

Alas, the very last one of the Thieves' World-novels. It makes you crave for more! The intensity with which the authors write is spell-binding in itself, and truly of all ages (future earth is here, as well as ancient Azehurean culture and the place of timelessness): treating human matters of responsibility, friendship, growing up and the difference/reconciliation of the sexes in a powerful, rounded way. Whoever has read other novels by the Morrises will know that here philosophy, religion and the occult are tested against the human heart. Splendid! I only wish Niko and Kama had grown up a bit more. Note: it took me five years to understand exactly what maat-issue was at stake, and when I did I still thought the book very much worth reading!

This novel is devoted to Hanse, following his adventures in a little town that once housed a nasty wizard named Corstic. Shadowspawn got rid of Corstic (before the story opens) and most of the town is friendly. Unfortunately some are after Corstic's treasures, and Hanse looks like a handy guy to fetch them out of Corstic's maze, especially if he can be persuaded by the kidnapping of his girl Mignureal...

This volume is the relaunch to the Thieves World shared universe created by Abbey and Robert Asprin, which, as I recall, fired up around 1979 or so and ran through the '80s before sputtering to a halt. Thieves World was the precursor to such later series as George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards, C.J. Cherryh's Merovingen Nights, and Will Shetterly and Emma Bull's Liavek. The present volume picks up some years after the events of the twelfth installment of the original series. (In addition to the anthologies and mosaic novels, there seem to have been five stand-alone novels by the dreaded Janet and Chris Morris, against whom I continually rail, inasmuch as I hold their vile contributions to be directly responsible for killing both Thieves World and Merovingen Nights. Be that as it may, their five books evidently dealt with the despicable Tempus and his cronies and I believe they largely took place outside of the city of Sanctuary itself.)
Most everyone the longtime fan knew from back in the day is dead, fled, or vanished. Pretty much the only major figure left is an eighty-year-old Molin Torchholder, and due to circumstances he has to more or less dictate his memoirs in a nifty little ploy that allows the old school readers to dredge up memories of the first series while giving new readers a bit of background on the setting. This device makes it pretty apparent how wildly out of control the series had become and how critical it is to have a strong editorial hand (such as Martin) at the helm to reject the stupider ideas. My opinion is that very few of the authors could content themselves with "writing small" and with telling quiet little tales of interesting but limited and flawed characters. Very rapidly, after the first couple of books, every contributer wanted to turn their amps up to 11, and so each new character became deadlier, angrier, and more brutal than the last, and each of them seemed designed specifically as grudge monsters who were meant only to humiliate or eliminate the pre-existing characters. Not to mention that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as it were, rode through the city so often that it became ludicrous. Authors began to show off and have gods duking it out in the street, or had the city invaded again and again by awesome new and never-before-suspected threats from all quarters of the globe, or tossed in legions of the undead or bands of invincible and sneering warriors. In hearing Molin relate the whole sorry mess, it just really seems ludicrous in retrospect.

This particular addition to the milieu is a necessary but somewhat awkward bridge between the decades-old material accumulated over the first run of the series and the new tales that follow in the newest collection of short stories (entitled Turning Points) that has just become available. (Another volume, First Blood, will be rolling out soon.) Quite likely, it can be skipped, and it may only really be compelling reading for continuity devotees who need to acquire each Thieves World volume for their collections.

Now that Abbey has cleaned the slate by jumping the series into the future so that everyone has keeled over or wandered off, Thieves World can enjoy a fresh start and avoid the mistakes of the past. In Cauvin and Bec, the Thieves World setting has a couple of interesting characters to serve as a starting point, with the help of some of the supporting cast, such as Soldt. Here's hoping that Abbey can prevent future contributors under control so that Sanctuary will not again implode under the weight of overly ambitious and byzantine plots and the hordes of grandiose heroes and villains.

Lynn Abbey has returned to the city again and worked his magic. Once again the city of Sanctuary is in full bloom. This is the first of the new set and it is a great beggining. The setting is many years after the end of the last book from the last collection. This gives the city a new feel, but does leave an old reader wondering what happened to the various characters from the last anthology. Some old characters do make appearences as older or dead versions of themselves, but most of them are gone without mention. A new reader can figure out what had happened with the history from the new stories, but there is nothing like living the old books. This is my only complaint about first book. The writing is superb and Abbey gets my compliments with his editing and choice of writers. My personal favorite story is "Doing the Gods' Work" by Jody Van Nye. Even in a city of cutthroats, somebody is trying to build something for the good.

The second book, "Enemies of Fortune" is very very good. There isn't a bad story or filler here. The book has both light and very dark stories. You feel bad for the various characters and yet laugh at them too. You find both love and gallantry among the denizons as well as honesty among thieves. The stories warn of the dangers of drug use "Good Neighbors" as well as not kidnapping the wrong woman "Protection". My personal favorites are "Ghost in the Pheonix" a light hearted story about possesion and "The Man from Shemhaza" which is anything but lighthearted.

"Enemies of Fortune" shows there are growng clouds for the future, which makes me want to read the next book before it is published. For those of you who have not read the original series, buy them if you can or at least read "Sanctuary", which will provide you a working knowledge betweent the old series and the new version. Highly Recommended.

"The Sacred Band" is a classic work of heroic fantasy. This novel takes place deep within the established rules of Janet Morris's Thieves World, and I like that it doesn't waste any time on throwaway passages designed to "catch up" those readers who are new to the realm. This is a sink or swim type novel, and the reader as well as the characters involved are not the least bit coddled. The result is that you start to acquire a sense of achievement as you piece together all the clues, as if you have earned the right to enjoy this world and become a member of its legions of fans.

The first Thieves World novel is "Beyond Sanctuary," and I believe I might tackle that one now that I've had a taste of Tempus and the Sacred Band of Stepsons. Janet and Chris Morris create a great classic ambiance in "The Sacred Band." I found myself imagining a setting that looked much like Dante's version of Hell decorated and populated with people and artifacts out of Greek Mythology.

The action is instant and non-stop, and the characters are not "squeaky clean" by any stretch of the imagination. For example, early on in the book Tempus takes a troop of new recruits into a brothel and decides to just wait and see "how things play out" when he begins hearing terrifying screams from the room of one of his charges. When the prostitute in question turns up dead a few days later, Tempus embarks on an investigation that is more about maintaining his own autonomy over his group than correcting any wrong. I like the fact that Janet and Chris Morris have the courage to make strong statements on wartime morality, rather than try to push modern society's sometimes hypocritical views of right and wrong into a setting that simply cannot support it (Thieves World deals with individuals who have bigger issues than whether or not the phone store has run out of the 4G portable you've been dreaming about for six months--yes, there was a time when people had REAL issues to deal with people).

The Morris's make some interesting stylistic choices in their writing. Quite a bit of the novel is written in the present tense. At first I found the switches from past to present tense a bit jarring, but after a while I began to enjoy the emphasis on immediacy that the present tense passages provided. The tense shifts help put you in the proper frame of mind to correctly comprehend the more traditionally written text. This is a novel that's happening here and now, and there is a certain sensory overload that the writing creates when you allow yourself to fall into step with it.

Overall, "The Sacred Band" evokes the brutality and lyricism of Robert E. Howard combined with the old school "sword and sandal" movies we all grew up watching. For those of you who aren't quite up for the challenge of swimming in the deep end, you might want to check out "Beyond Sanctuary." For the rest of you, buckle up and prepare to enjoy the ride!

Another wonderful story about Tempus, leader of The Sacred Band of Stepsons created by Janet Morris. If you haven't read any of The Sacred Band stories or novels, treat yourself to this slice of life in the ancient world where Tempus travels to Tyse, the capital of Ranke, to meet with potential allies he hopes will join him and the rest of the Sacred Band when they assault the mages and witches residing at the pinnacle of the mountain of Wizardwall. Wizardwall looks down not only on Ranke, but Mygdonia and Nisbis; the three countries have been controlled by the evil mages for three generations and the people have had enough. Tempus has gone ahead of the rest of the members of the Sacred Band, who are finishing up an assignment in Sanctuary (the putative armpit of the Rankan Empire) before joining Tempus at Tyse. He must contend with the remnants of the Rankan military, militias and guerrilla units that have been harassing the mages, but have not been cooperating with each other, and bring them all to an agreement to band together to finally rid the empire of the mages who are sucking the life out of the Rankan Empire and its neighboring countries.