Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York : Ace Fantasy Books, 1984.
Description
Robert (Lynn) Asprin was born in 1946. While he has written some stand alone novels such as Cold Cash War, Tambu, The Bug Wars and also the Duncan and Mallory Illustrated stories, Bob is best known for his series: The Myth Adventures of Aahz and Skeeve; the Phule novels; and, more recently, the Time Scout novels written with Linda Evans. He also edited the groundbreaking Thieves World anthologies with Lynn Abbey. His most recent collaboration is License Invoked written with Jody Lynn Nye. It is set in the French Quarter, New Orleans where he currently lives.
User reviews
LibraryThing member threadnsong
It's not a total yuck, but really, this world does not interest me. I read it in the late 80's/early 90's and was far too confused by the characters and their characterization to feel it really catch on. I re-read it in the hopes I could join the followers of this long series, but again, it did not
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reach me. Which is not to say it's a bad book or bad stories, but the world as presented just does not interest me to read further. Show Less
LibraryThing member iftyzaidi
This is the first in a series of anthologies set in a shared world (the city of Sanctuary, dubbed 'Thieves' World). I didn't have high expectations, but I was actually pretty impressed. None of the stories are duds, most of them are very well written and a few are excellent (notably the one by
1) Sentences of Death – John Brunner: 3/5
A magical scroll which contains instructions for an assassination comes into the possession of a scribe, allowing his apprentice to exact revenge for a wrong committed years ago.
2) The Face of Chaos – Lynn Abbey: 3/5
A fortune-teller gets mixed up in a dangerous game as a new temple is about to be consecrated to foreign gods.
3) The Gate of the Flying Knives – Poul Anderson: 4/5
A plot by an established temple to prevent a new temple being built involves bringing in a monster from another dimension.
4) Shadowspawn – Andrew Offut: 3/5
A Thief is employed as a tool in a plot to discredit the Prince-governor of Sanctuary.
5) The Price of Doing Business – Robert Asprin: 3/5
A powerful crime lord is almost laid low by gutter snipes.
6) Blood Brothers – Joe Haldeman: 3/5
An innkeeper gets caught up in a rivalry between mages and a protective spell goes awry.
7) Myrtis – Christine DeWees: 3/5
A brothel-owner acts to prevent the Prince from closing down the brothels in Sanctuary.
8) The Secret of the Blue Star – Marion Zimmer Bradley: 5/5
Lythande the mage battles a fellow mage of the order of the blue star.
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Marion Zimmer Bradley. The setting and the style of the stories have a flavour of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, though with a wider and more interesting cast of characters.1) Sentences of Death – John Brunner: 3/5
A magical scroll which contains instructions for an assassination comes into the possession of a scribe, allowing his apprentice to exact revenge for a wrong committed years ago.
2) The Face of Chaos – Lynn Abbey: 3/5
A fortune-teller gets mixed up in a dangerous game as a new temple is about to be consecrated to foreign gods.
3) The Gate of the Flying Knives – Poul Anderson: 4/5
A plot by an established temple to prevent a new temple being built involves bringing in a monster from another dimension.
4) Shadowspawn – Andrew Offut: 3/5
A Thief is employed as a tool in a plot to discredit the Prince-governor of Sanctuary.
5) The Price of Doing Business – Robert Asprin: 3/5
A powerful crime lord is almost laid low by gutter snipes.
6) Blood Brothers – Joe Haldeman: 3/5
An innkeeper gets caught up in a rivalry between mages and a protective spell goes awry.
7) Myrtis – Christine DeWees: 3/5
A brothel-owner acts to prevent the Prince from closing down the brothels in Sanctuary.
8) The Secret of the Blue Star – Marion Zimmer Bradley: 5/5
Lythande the mage battles a fellow mage of the order of the blue star.
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LibraryThing member kevn57
This is the first shared world anthology I've ever read back in the late 1970's, it may be the first ever published, lots followed like Wild Cards and Merovingen Nights two of my favorites.
My favorite stories from this first volume are Poul Anderson and Marion Zimmer Bradley, my favorite character
This one paragraph from Anderon's story says more about the series then 10,000 words from myself could ever say.
Beneath a westering sun, the bazaar surged and clamoured. Merchants, artisans, porters, servants, slaves, wives, nomads, courtesans, entertainers, beggars, thieves, gamblers, magicians, acolytes, soldiers, and who knew what else mingled, chattered, chaffered, quarrelled, plotted, sang, played games, drank, ate, and who knew what else. Horsemen, camel-drivers, waggoners pushed through, raising waves of curses. Music tinkled and tweedled from wine-shops. Vendors proclaimed the wonders of their wares from booths, neighbours shouted at each other, and devotees chanted from flat rooftops. Smells thickened the air, of flesh, sweat, roast meat and nuts, aromatic drinks, leather, wool, dung, smoke, oils, cheap perfume.
My favorite stories from this first volume are Poul Anderson and Marion Zimmer Bradley, my favorite character
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is the thief Shadowspawn by Andrew Offutt who went on to write a standalone novel Shadowspawn.This one paragraph from Anderon's story says more about the series then 10,000 words from myself could ever say.
Beneath a westering sun, the bazaar surged and clamoured. Merchants, artisans, porters, servants, slaves, wives, nomads, courtesans, entertainers, beggars, thieves, gamblers, magicians, acolytes, soldiers, and who knew what else mingled, chattered, chaffered, quarrelled, plotted, sang, played games, drank, ate, and who knew what else. Horsemen, camel-drivers, waggoners pushed through, raising waves of curses. Music tinkled and tweedled from wine-shops. Vendors proclaimed the wonders of their wares from booths, neighbours shouted at each other, and devotees chanted from flat rooftops. Smells thickened the air, of flesh, sweat, roast meat and nuts, aromatic drinks, leather, wool, dung, smoke, oils, cheap perfume.
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LibraryThing member kukkurovaca
Thieves' World is your basic dark noir sword-and-sorcery shared world; it pulls down some fairly big names, and some of the writing isn't too shabby. Not, however, knock-your-socks off experience.
LibraryThing member Darla
I'd read later books in this series--this is the first one. Anthology by different authors, but all set in the same world. Fun, & clever. I've got a few more in my TBR pile.
LibraryThing member jpsnow
Interesting anthology of 8 stories by notable and newcomer sci-fi authors; characters and plots are interwoven with consistency throughout all author's perspectives; storylines occur in the city of Sanctuary, continuously under political and economic transition due in part to the actions of the
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thief, bard, ruler, crime lord, child, fortune teller, translator, soldier, henchman, barkeep (One-Thumb), prostitute, and other characters. Poul Andersons Gate of the Flying Knives (the scroll) was perfect. The tales of Shadowspawn, Jubal and Mungo, Jarveena, Myrtis (the brothel owner), and Prince Kadakathis were also memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is the first of a 'shared world' series of novels about a fantasy world with a strong focus on (guess what?) a thieves guild. It features a ridiculously good collection of authors - Brunner, Abbey, Anderson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Joe Haldeman. The stories are very good and all work together
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well, which is why this series went on for many more collections. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jean_Sexton
This short story collection has the following stories:
"Sentences of Death" by John Brunner;
"The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey;
"The Gate of the Flying Knives" by Poul Anderson;
"Shadowspawn" by Andrew Offutt;
"The Price of Doing Business" by Robert Lynn Asprin;
"Blood Brothers" by Joe Haldeman;
"Myrtis"
"The Secret of the Blue Star" by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
There's also an essay about the creation of the book.
This collection is one that I had fond memories of. It was really the pioneering work for shared world building and eventually spawned a published RPG setting which I cheerfully used. Even my players loved playing in that world. Would the book hold up to my memories?
It did! Some stories I loved more than others. Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Christine DeWees, and Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote my favorites. The setting was just as rich as I remembered with plenty of unsavory characters running around, along with some that have a touch of inner nobility.
The only downside is the scanning was less than perfect. Sometimes I struggled to decide what word they were aiming for. But this is a case where I am so glad to have the book again that I will overlook the ebook's flaws.
If you are a fan of fantasy short stories, this book should be on your "read now" list. If you are into RPGs, this book can fan the creative ideas you have. I highly recommend it.
"Sentences of Death" by John Brunner;
"The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey;
"The Gate of the Flying Knives" by Poul Anderson;
"Shadowspawn" by Andrew Offutt;
"The Price of Doing Business" by Robert Lynn Asprin;
"Blood Brothers" by Joe Haldeman;
"Myrtis"
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by Christine DeWees; and"The Secret of the Blue Star" by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
There's also an essay about the creation of the book.
This collection is one that I had fond memories of. It was really the pioneering work for shared world building and eventually spawned a published RPG setting which I cheerfully used. Even my players loved playing in that world. Would the book hold up to my memories?
It did! Some stories I loved more than others. Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Christine DeWees, and Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote my favorites. The setting was just as rich as I remembered with plenty of unsavory characters running around, along with some that have a touch of inner nobility.
The only downside is the scanning was less than perfect. Sometimes I struggled to decide what word they were aiming for. But this is a case where I am so glad to have the book again that I will overlook the ebook's flaws.
If you are a fan of fantasy short stories, this book should be on your "read now" list. If you are into RPGs, this book can fan the creative ideas you have. I highly recommend it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CarltonC
First read in 1982 I remember being really impressed with these morally ambiguous fantasy stories, an anthology with characters inhabiting a shared universe (Thieves’ World) and all stories occurring in the down-at-heel town of Sanctuary, which is similar to Leiber’s Lankhmar, but with a
Rereading them now, having recently read Janet Morris’ Tempus novels which are set in the same world, these original short stories are an enjoyable introduction to Thieves’ World, but are more memorable for each story being told from a different character’s point of view in the same setting, rather than the originality of the stories themselves.
Robert Asprin’s introduction, story and afterword describing the genesis of the anthology provide a useful framework for the stories as a whole, but this anthology now reads as good introduction to the series as a whole, rather than having any great stories in itself.
Contents:
• "Introduction" by Robert Lynn Asprin
• "Sentences of Death" by John Brunner
• "The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey
• "The Gate of the Flying Knives" by Poul Anderson
• "Shadowspawn" by Andrew Offutt
• "The Price of Doing Business" by Robert Lynn Asprin
• "Blood Brothers" by Joe Haldeman
• "Myrtis" by Christine DeWees
• "The Secret of the Blue Star" by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Essay: "The Making of Thieves World" by Robert Lynn Asprin
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seedier feel.Rereading them now, having recently read Janet Morris’ Tempus novels which are set in the same world, these original short stories are an enjoyable introduction to Thieves’ World, but are more memorable for each story being told from a different character’s point of view in the same setting, rather than the originality of the stories themselves.
Robert Asprin’s introduction, story and afterword describing the genesis of the anthology provide a useful framework for the stories as a whole, but this anthology now reads as good introduction to the series as a whole, rather than having any great stories in itself.
Contents:
• "Introduction" by Robert Lynn Asprin
• "Sentences of Death" by John Brunner
• "The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey
• "The Gate of the Flying Knives" by Poul Anderson
• "Shadowspawn" by Andrew Offutt
• "The Price of Doing Business" by Robert Lynn Asprin
• "Blood Brothers" by Joe Haldeman
• "Myrtis" by Christine DeWees
• "The Secret of the Blue Star" by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Essay: "The Making of Thieves World" by Robert Lynn Asprin
Show Less
Awards
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Collection / Anthology — 1980)
Language
Original publication date
1987
Physical description
x, 308 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0441805825 / 9780441805822