Product Description
To end a generational curse, Emma Merrigan travels back through time to a horrific act of violence--and faces the possibility that saving those in the future may mean sacrificing others in the past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent novel--only complaint is it's getting too serial
Emma Merrigan is a 40-something in not the most glamourous of occupations.By day, she's a librarian.As she sleeps, she goes into the Never-never and moots curses.In this book, she's trying to sort out a curse that's followed a family for several generations.Sadly, she doesn't really answer how this is going to happen and leaves us hanging.I very much enjoyed the book, but I would have preferred some resolution for this one rather than having to wait til the next episode.

Take Time to Read Taking Time
This is a great series. I enjoyed the first two immensely, and had a hard time putting this one down. Emma is not the run-of-the-mill heroine. She's middle-aged, twice-married, holds down a real job, and has a complex relationship with the mother who abandoned her as a child (and looks like her daughter). Plus a hot romance with a long-dead French swashbuckler with whom she hunts and moots curses.

The only thing I didn't like about this one is the abrupt ending. Even though a sequel is obviously forthcoming, a few pages of wrap-up would have made it more satisfying.

I highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary fantasy.

Time Passages
From the day I picked up the first book in this series I knew that Lynn Abbey had written something special.At last, someone was writting urban fantasy for the woman I had become. The main character in this story, Emma, is a woman of a certain age ahead of two bad marriages, some good step children, her father's death and her mother's disappearance when she was an infant.In the first book in the series her mother reappears and Emma's life has not been the same since.

Emma is a curse hunter, one of a group of people with special powers and the ability to travel to another dimension.Their goal is to destoy the curses that are nurtured by human misfortune.But Emma came to her talent late and did not have the indoctrination of most curse hunters so she is a wild card, or a black sheep as her stepfather says.

In this section of the story while trying to moot a particularly odd curse she runs into the Curia, the official curse hunter society and must deal with not just the curse but the other hunters as well.

Blaise, her ghostly SO, makes an appearance along with other characters from the earlier books.

While I probably should knock a star off because this book is obviously a wind up for the next book, I'm not going to do it.These books are too scarce to damn with faint praise.So at the top of lungs:THANK YOU MS ABBEY, THIS BOOK REALLY HIT THE SPOT. ... Read more

Product Description
Thieves World, the bestselling (and first!) shared-world phenomenon, returns with an epic novel of the fate and history of the infamous city of SanctuaryEmpires rise and fall but the city of Sanctuary trudges on.he Age of the Rankan reign of Kadakithis, the occupation of the Beysib, and indeed the erstwhile Renaissance are all in the past. But the memories of the glory, savagery, and intrigue still live on. It is years later and the heroes of the past, Jubal, Tempus, Shadowspawn, and the Storm children are consigned to the ranks of fallible memory, myth, and rumor.A lone survivor of the past, Molin Torchholder, is preparing to die in hiding, the victim of an assassination attempt by enemies long thought to be dead. But before he dies, he must arrange for a successor to guard the citys secrets. Cauvin, a refugee from one of the citys bloodiest eras, and a boy named Bec are enlisted to do Molins bidding and thus uncover the secrets of the past, present, and even the future of the legendary Thieves World.Part tale of magical/political intrigue, part sword and sorcery, part Micheneresque fantasy epic of a citys history, Sanctuary is the book that Thieves World fans have been anticipating for more than a decade, part Coda to the past, part launching port for the future.Amazon.com Review
The past and future of Sanctuary hang in the balance in this tale of intrigue, politics, magic, and sacrifice from veteran writer Lynn Abbey.

Life in the city of Sanctuary has moved on from the days of Jubal and Tempus, and the epic adventures of gods and men are already degrading into myth and superstition. Molin Torchholder, who carries the only living memories of these times, knows that the future of Sanctuary depends on preserving them. With assassins on his trail, Molin must prepare a successor to hold and protect the secret truths of Sanctuary. And Cauvin, a survivor of the cruel pits of the Bloody Hand, will have a series of difficult choices to make as he is drawn deeper into Molin's desperate struggle.

Readers new to Sanctuary (the core setting of numerous Thieves' World stories) will find enough backstory to make this novel accessible. Fans should be delighted with the wealth of historical references, new and familiar characters, and high adventure that Abbey weaves together. --Roz Genessee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Catching Up with Old Friends
*spoiler alert - if you haven't read any of the previous anthologies, and plan to, some of the information below could be considered spoilers*

Way back in the 1980's, several authors entered into an ongoing collaboration on a fantasy series which eventually came to be called Thieves' World. Long before the gritty, realistic and, perhaps, perverse protagonists written by GRR Martin, Robert Jordan, Greg Keyes and R. Scott Baker written in revolt of so-called "stock characters" so prevalent in fantasy, Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey's world was populated with heroes but predominantly rogues in the "cess pit of the Empire", the city of Sanctuary. For those overdosed on the stock characters promulgated by, predominantly, the success of Tolkien, the denizens of Sanctuary were all too human (even if not completely human, themselves) in their desires and pursuit of self interest. Several parts the rankest districts of Rome, and a large part main street Sodom and Gomorrah, one always knew when starting a chapter that you would meet only the most interesting of characters in the pages to come, surrounded by their only slightly less fascinating fellows in a city where one had to be smarter and more devious than everyone else just to make it through the day, else end up meat in a gutter or, worse, a pawn in the schemes of the more competent manipulators in the city. Imagine New York, with all the water, sewage, subway and financial services shut down for a day (and the resultant frustration and madness), and you have every day in Sanctuary.

In contrast to the popular and prevalent high-medieval settings of the day, Thieves' World was, at latest, analogous to the late pre-Christian Roman Empire. As one would expect in a series with several authors, each composing a separate chapter in the several thousand pages of the story, the writing could be uneven at times. Regardless, it was never a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup.

While it would be inaccurate to say Thieves' World wasn't filled with stock characters, initially, it was what the various authors turned these main points of view archetypes into that kept readers coming back for more. The heroic, undefeatable soldier became the serial rapist (and closet homosexual), while the wicked witch/necromater became the façade of a coquettish mage with a (very, very) deeply buried heart of gold. The slaver/crime boss became the patriot, the shape-changing mage with immeasurable power a pawn to his anyone who fed his sex addiction, and the benevolent but tough-as-nails mage as belonging to a monastic doomsday cult and a transsexual lesbian.

Sadly, the series stopped rolling out installments in the mid-1990's.

*spoilers for previous anthologies end here*

In Sanctuary, the novel by Abbey from 2005, we return to the mean streets of an even more ravaged city for a much needed update. The cult of the mother goddess, Dyreela, has been expelled and, seemingly, eradicated, allowing the denizens of Sanctuary a tentative breath of relief. Molin Torchholder, former high priest and architect of Vashanka (god of war and storms), discovers a vengeful remnant of the cult, however, and scrambles furiously to complete certain plans and set others into motion in order to protect the city he detests with a passion. Caught up in his plans are Cauvin, formerly a novice of the bloodiest of Dyreela's splinter cults and rescued from death by Molin 15 years before, and Bec, his brother through Cauvin's adoptive family. Cauvin is essentially trained as a thug, and puts his former training to use breaking ruined mansions up for stone to sell through his adoptive father, while Bec is the sheltered child fascinated by his brother's more visceral abilities while remaining confident in his own abilities as a scholar. As Molin, Cauvin and Bec wind their way through the story, we catch up with the stories of those characters prevalent in the previous five anthologies of the series, some of whose ultimate fates proved a bit anticlimactic.

Unlike previous Thieves' World installments, this story is concluded within the pages of one volume, and is written solely by the one author (Abbey). As a result, it's also a frenetic page-turner, my having read all of the approximately 500 pages in a day. The level of action, detail and sheer genius of the writing is akin to the best of that of the previous various anthologies.

If you enjoyed GRR Martin, Greg Keyes or R Scott Baker, and haven't read any of the Thieves' World series, definitely give it a go if you can find an extant copy - the first anthology was entitled, similarly, Sanctuary, published in 1982 and consisting of Thieves' World (1979), Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980) and Shadows of Sanctuary (1981). Sadly, not having read at least 2 of the anthologies (the second being Turning Points, of 1986), you're likely to find the tales in the Abbey novel much ado about folks who mean nothing to you. However, if you have read any of the series, and missed the colorful yet bleak denizens of the Empire's most insignificant city, you'll relish every page, as I did.

A Good Crossover
Lynn Abbey has resurrected Sanctuary from Thieves World again.She has started a new series based on the old and needed a crossover book to bring the old readers up to date and try and fill in the back ground for the new readers.The only character from the "old" series is Molin Torchholder and he is in trouble.He has enlisted a new character named Cauvin and his younger brother Bec to help him.

The book revolves around a cult of murderers that has returned to Sanctuary from the past and they are out to kill Molin.At this point in the book, Molin is very old and the past is in the distant past with all of the old characters gones with the exception of one that makes a brief period at the end of the book.

"Sanctuary" is a very good crossover from the original series to the new.While the book nevers goes into great detail about the past, the reader is getting a nice thumbnail that covers the general storyline.As all brief descriptions, much is left out for brevity, but the very base is there.Abbey has done a good job of making the new book read like the old series and that could not have been easy.

The old characters are mentioned, but much like all history they are not really remebered right except by those of us that read the original series.I suggest that you read or reread the original series because you will be surprised how much you forget, but if you do not want to return to the past you do not need to either.Highly Recommended.

Thieves' World is back...
and here is not just the first novel but the first book of the new generation of books about the old city.Molin Torchholder, survivor of wars, magic battles and all the dangers of the city itself, has killers on his tail.Good ones.With the help of the cursing Cauvin, the son of a stoneyard owner, and Cauvin's younger bother, Bec, Molin MIGHT be able to protect Sanctuary before he dies.But it'll be a close one.
I took away a few stars for many reasons.Cauvin cusses too frogging much, seems a tad too slow and, in a character driven plot line, it just seemed the author used his slowness to add a few hundred extra pages.The book is 533 pages long and much of it is Cauvin trying to think of what to do when not cussing his bad luck.
Also, there was a lot of information about the past - we learn about the Hand, but also about events that happened in the first books.A lot of names are dropped - Tempus, Jubal, Kadakithis and even Hakiem - which fans, old or new, may enjoy.But all these scenes seemed more like a data dump to me and slowed the action, what little there was, down.The story didn't even really start to move till the last few chapters.
It can't be helped - a story needs a starting point, a foundation.You have to cook the meal before you eat it.After all, this is the first book of the return to the world of 'Thieves' World' and I would suggest reading this one first.But it is still long, slightly boring in some parts and throws a lot of both old history and not-so-old history at you.
For fans it is a must, but once done I doubt you'll wish to re-read.

A return to Thieve's World
Time has passed.Molin Torchholder is dying.He picks an heir, or to be precise the Gods seem to pick his heir, a boy named Cauvin who is just growing into a man.It is an interesting tale of the passing of a torch and, as in all the tales of thieves world,there is the usual array of villains.The Vulgar Unicorn has survived, of course, and is still a meeting ground.The Red Light District has fallen on hard times.Trade has declined, but occasional ships still show up in the harbor.Sanctuary is somewhat down at the heels, and the coinage is debased.

This is an interesting tale about the battle against an evil cult, but it has flashbacks to earlier times.For someone who has not read the other novels, the information is fragmentary.For someone who has read the novels, and is fully familiar with the setting, the digressions into the past seem to be overdone and distracting.

The story does not quite reach a full conclusion as one of the evil people escapes.One can guess that the author is planning a sequel.In Thieves World, there are always stories to be told.

Welcome to the Relaunch!
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. ... Read more

Product Description
Lynn Abbey's novels "make fantasy worth reading" (Booklist). Now, in Behind Time, Emma Merrigan-who has only recently discovered her time travel powers-must venture into the wasteland to rescue her imperiled mother. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Librarian goes to Hell.....
What would you do if your 70-something mother showed up and looked as young as the college co-eds you're used to helping in the university library where you work?There are already too many secrets in this relationship.Emma's mother had disappeared 40-some years before when Emma was only 1 and left Emma's father to raise her.Oh, and let's not forget that Mom's legacy to Emma was magic that Emma's only now learning to use.Then, her Mom goes unconscious and the only way Emma can recover her is to go to this world's equivalent of Hell to get her back.

This book is a lot slower moving than the first, but is interesting.I love the quandary that Lynn Abbey's placed our heroine in, plus I am intrigued by the atypical heroine as well.

Kudos to Abbey for making this book stand on its own.That's hard to do in a serial.Her third book "Taking Time" is not as good.

great book, stands alone
I didn't realize that this was a continuation of another of abbey's novels until I was half way through, and I wasn't about to quit reading in order to get the first part. Turned out not to matter. The book does a good job of giving enough of an overview of the previous book that you understand completely what's happening, though I imagine reading them in the proper order would give you even more empathy for the characters. Of course, reading this book first spoils the ending of the other, but go figure. All in all, it's a good book and if you can't get your hands on Out Of Time, you'll still enjoy this one.

A haunting, multi-faceted story
Emma is struggling to save her mother, who has fallen into a coma, though the use of her psychic powers as she accesses a world which Eleanor introduced her to, which has consumed her mother. As she travels between worlds she becomes increasingly involved in a handsome man's life and in a world frequented by supernatural forces. A haunting, multi-faceted story powered by strong characterization.

A little thin
Some of the plot was a little thin and cliche.The original book was much better but it is still a fairly good read.

Not Bad
Having really liked the previous book, "Out of Time", I was very eager to start reading "Behind Time". The book continues where the previous book left: Emma Merrigan's mother, Eleanor, is trapped in the wasteland and as a result, her real body is in a coma. Emma, along with the mysterious rogue - Blaise Raponde, tries to further explore the wasteland and rescue her mother from the curses. What complicates matters, is that one of the rogues she encounters takes on a body in her close vicinity - a girlfriend of her good friend Matt.

Sounds kind of messy? It definitely is.
I think the author really wanted to get this book done with. The first two thirds of the book should've been compacted to 50 pages; almost nothing happens, and it just feels like an attempt in filling pages. The rest of the book is not bad, but way too rushed, and more than that - a few things in the book don't really feel complete, which makes me feel cheated because most of the book was so slow - other parts just don't make sense. I guess it will be continued in another sequel..
If you liked the previous book, you can read this one - but don't expect too much: despite it being an okay book, I can't say I wasn't disappointed - I really expected more! ... Read more

Product Description
Emma Merrigan and her mother take a Caribbean cruise to reconcile their differences. But to help a cursed passenger, Emma must travel into the "wasteland." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Cruise blues....
Emma Merrigan woke up in the night terrified the night before her library director, Gene Shonneker, gave his resignation.Now she knows why.The new director appears to be planning to do some major shakeups.She's putting in more hours than she cares to think.

"You look horrible," her mother, Eleanor, who's used the magic of her _wyrd_ to remove her own aging and looks more like a college co-ed than the mother of a 50-year-old daughter states. "You need a vacation.I'll pay for a Carribean cruise."

Things only get worse from there.I imagine the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" playing....

First verse,I'm sharing a cabin with my mother--who looks and dresses like my daughter--and I'm responsible for her, too!

Second verse, there's food everywhere and I'm getting fatter and fatter!

Third verse, my waitress is cursed and I can't get to _audela_ to help her because of some stupid rule about going to the Netherlands to moot curses when you're moving.

Fourth verse, migraines--bad meds, too much food, sun, and Calypso music.

Fifth verse, can't sleep and manage to be just at the spot to see a crew member effected by the curse take a dive.

And on and on....

There is some hope for Emma and the storyline.Once she finally gets off the ship, her mother Eleanor takes her to the Atlantis curia to get help for her eye. (I think that was Verse 7) I'm really hoping the future storylines will include more about this group.

THIS is a VACATION?
I have to agree that I too love these books.I can only conclude that Lynn Abbey wanted to write a cruise off on her income tax as research for a book but didn't have a very good time.

Emma, whose life is not going well mainly because her job as a librarian is under seige with shakeups in management, agrees togo on a cruise with her mother.Then she is talked into driving all the way to Florida.After they are on the ship she drinks both red wine and champagne-- bad idea for a migraineur!At their first port of call, she and her mother get lost.Emma's headache gets worse-- Arrgh, a migraine in the tropics!And I recognized those red pills that the author gave her.They are incredibly ineffective.No wonder it was taking her days to shake it. Come into the 21st Century Em!

Things continue to go downhill.Souvenirs are tacky, there's an employee with a curse on board, Emma witnesses a suicide, there's food 24 hours a day every day.And that headache keeps coming back.Then just when it seems they are going to get to spend a few fun days at the world of the mouse, fate strikes again.Oh yes, fate also has them driving through Atlanta on the interstate.

Abbey seems to be losing her focus on the story arc but for Emma's fans (would can sympathize with the fact that given tremendous power she removes the gray from her hair) this is an interesting few days in her life.

I love these books and I love Lynn Abbey
I just can't get over how realistic Emma is.Her mother is an idiot, her lover is a ghost.She gets talked into doing all kinds of things she knows she shouldn't and really doesn't want to do.But she brings us along.

I'm always waiting for the next one.While you're waiting try some of Abbey's other books.You'll love them.

spectacular urban fantasy
Fifty years ago, Emma Merrigan's mother Eleanor abandoned her newborn baby and her husband and it is only recently that they reconciled.Both Emma and Eleanor are hunters, going into the wasteland to destroy curses and rogues (giant curses).Eleanor was imprisoned by powerful curses and upon returning to the mundane world, she could pass as Emma's daughter.The immortal hunters never age as they possess the power to appear younger even though Emma chooses to look her real age of fifty.

The two women take a Caribbean cruise hoping to bridge the breach that exists between them but Emma has a headache most of the time.She sees a cursed woman on the wait staff, a person who has seen the atrocities committed in Serbia.Emma has the ability to plunge through time and stop a curse before it begins.When she gets off the boat she does exactly that and finds a young boy without an adult to take care of him since Emma took away his primary caretakers in order to end the curse.He is either a hunter or a rouge but either way he sets up a loop that prevents Emma from returning to her own time and she must hope that someone from the mundane world come into the wasteland looking for her to guide her home.

DOWN TIME is an interesting urban fantasy featuring a heroine who is smart enough to know she doesn't have all the answers and is savvy enough to listen to people who have more of them.The wastelands are an interesting place, a barren dimension with a magnetic sky where curses and rogues abound.Emma is obsessed with destroying as many as she can to make the world a better place. Lynn Abbey is a spectacular urban fantasist.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
This new volume includes new stories by Raymond E. Feist, Dennis L. McKiernan, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Diana Paxson, Lynn Abbey and others.

Sanctuary: a lawless city governed by evil forces, powerful magic, and political intrigue, where survival is an unexpected bonus. The Age of the Rankan reign of Kadakithis, the occupation of the Beysib, and even the erstwhile Renaissance are all in the past. It is years later and the heroes of the past-Jubal, Tempus, Shadowspawn, and the Stormchildren-are memories, myth, and rumor.Now outsiders rule with an iron hand and a bloody dagger. Molin Torchholder, the secret guardian of the city, is dead, his mantle and staff secretly passed to another.But Sanctuary and its inhabitants carry on. The city has reached a turning point . . . and only the fates know where it will lead.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Good anthology helping to restart Thieves' World
Disclaimer: If you have not read the original Thieves' World books, this book will not be of much interest to you.You really do need the back story from the other books for this collection of short stories to be of much interest to you.

Review:
The Anthology is fairly well written with a clear story line developing in the background of the short stories.The feel is very much in line with the original Thieves' World books.However, the grittiness and nastiness of Sanctuary is not quite right.It seems a bit on the sanitized side vs. the original books.

It makes sense to try to get a new group of readers interested in the Thieves' World milieu.However, I think you lose a key part of what made Thieves' World so inventive and alive -- not sure of what will happen to any character.The characters are never really in any danger which is my only large knock on the new Thieves' World books.In the old books (aside from Shadowspawn), you never knew what was going to happen to a character from one book to the next book.

After reading this book, it has made me want to go back and reread all of the original Thieves' World books.So, it must be doing something right if it has relite my interest in the milieu.

The lack of magic in Sanctuary limits what the various authors can do which is unfortunate but a natural side-effect of the massive magic escalation in the original books.The hints of Magic returning does bode well for the direction of the new Thieves' World books.

I liked this book enough to read the next book in the series.

Disappointing
I loved the Thieves' World books as a teenager. Unfortunately, the same can not be said now. Shadowspawn was always my favorite character, but Andrew Offutt's new story featuring his character was overwritten to the point of being unreadable and soured the rest of the book for me. There may be better stories by other authors later in the book, but I couldn't force myself to stay interested enough in the goings on of Sanctuary to read them all.

First Story Collection for the New Thieves' World
This is the first Thieves' World volume to follow Lynn Abbey's "Sanctuary", the novel that, if it didn't wipe the slate clean for this shared-universe setting, at least erased a whole lot of what had come before. "Sanctuary" was a "and now, many years later" type of reboot to clear the decks of a lot of old characters and punt a whole mess of overly byzantine plotlines to the curb. This collection of short stories therefore deals mostly with brand new characters with a different set of concerns and goals than the "old school" heroes and villains from the original run back in the Eighties. It's a good point to jump aboard because things haven't become too terribly convoluted yet.

I just had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Abbey this past weekend at a convention. In addition to the second new short story collection, "Enemies of Fortune", that has already been released, there is a third volume that is being planned. We are very unlikely to see the return of the big names from the past (such as the loathsome Tempus). In some cases (in particular Marion Zimmer Bradley's Lythande the Blue Adept) this is because the authors in question spun their characters off into stand-alone novels and went beyond the scope of the shared universe and were told that there was no bringing them back into Sanctuary. At any rate, Ms. Abbey will be trying to keep each collection more self-contained, so that plots don't span multiple volumes and the characters won't be pursuing 18 different agendas simultaneously.

In addition to sharing tidbits of how things were done back in the day (the writers from the first run seemed to spend plenty of time plotting against their own editors, when they weren't taking out their frustrations on the characters of fellow authors they were quarreling with), Ms. Abbey and some folks from Green Ronin fielded questions about the new Thieves' World role-playing game. Chaosium had their own version of this 20 years ago, but now the game rights have been transferred and Green Ronin is rolling out four d20-compatible volumes, two of which have already been released. The upcoming guide to the world of Sanctuary (including city maps and details on all of the realms we've heard of, such as the Rankan Empire, Ilsig, and so on) sounds really great. And everything in the RPG material will be considered canonical. Worth a look when it comes out!

sword-sorcery-skullduggery at its best
If you are looking for an excellent sword/scorcery/adventure read then Sanctuary is the place. Old fans of the original 12 books and new ones will be greatly pleased with this effort. Anyone that says there is nothing exciting in the heroic fantasy genre needs to look no further.

Remember the good old days...
When the Hell-Hounds patrolled the Maze, when Unicorns were Vulgar and when Sanctuary was just a play-thing for the Gods?
Well, the Gods have left and the city has new rulers, but most of the rules are the same - there are none.Keep a sharp eye on your friends, a closer one on your enemies and grow a third eye to watch your back.
Welcome to Thieves' World!Enter one of the darkest cities EVER to be created by ANYBODY.Ten stories by such authors as Raymons E. Feist, Lynn Abbey (of course) and Diana L. Paxson.
Old fans will wish to get this book and new fans will wish to collect the old series (if they can).Meet the most dangerous, most tight-fisted, most foul-mouthed, Heros you may EVER come to love.
Just keep a fourth eye on your purse.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The Witch Returns
Rifkind's Challenge (2006) is a sequel to Daughter of the Bright Moon.In the previous novel, Rifkind joined a rebellion against the Emperor.She defeated the Emperor's sorcerer.Then she became a ger-cat and stalked the Emperor.

Then Rifkind returned to the desert wastes of Asheera.She became the Healer of Hamarach's clan and started training other Healers.She trained so many Healers and introduced them to the Bright Moon that she was called the Mistress of Healers.

In this novel, twenty years have passed.Rifkind is still the best Healer among the clans, but her students are very proficient.Her special patient -- Tyrokon -- has agreed that further healing will not help him.And Rifkind is having dreams of the Wet-landers that she has known.

Hamarach is the chief of the clan in which Rifkind lives.He is also Rifkind's lover.Hamarach a very wise man and knows how much status the clan receives from Rifkind's talents.

Domhnall is Rifkind's son.He was named for his father, but he denies that Donhnall was his father.In fact, he tends to deny anything she says and insists on going by the name of Cho.

Tyrokon is Hamarach's eldest son.He was born with a wasted leg and Rifkind has gradually healed it as far as she can.But he still limps and generally loses to Cho in practice fights.

Vendle is a caravan leader from Epigos in the Wet-lands.He seems to know his business.

In this story, Rifkind is on her way to Hamarach's tent when she sees Cho and Tyrokon practicing together.Cho is winning by working against Tyrokon's weak leg.When Tyrokon finds himself unable to continue, Rifkind takes up the practice blade and challenges Cho.She defeats him in every time.

After Rifkind departs, Cho is angry with his mother for not teaching him her techniques.Cho is usually angry with Rifkind.In fact, she cannot do anything that doesn't offend him.

As Rifkind passes through the tents, an upset mother intercepts her and claims that her child is dying.Amra -- Hamarach's daughter -- has said nothing to her, so the mother is convinced that the worst has happened.Rifkind goes to check the seven year old child.

Amra is present when they arrive.Rifkind says that the child probaly was bitten by a snake or stung by an insect.The mother insists that such could not be the case since she had held the child throughout the night to protect her.

Rifkind then asks Amra where the bite is located and Amra replies that it is at her ankle.Rifkind asks her why she didn't show the mother the bite.Amra says that she doesn't like to argue and was hoping that the mother would stay away until after she had treated the child.Rifkind then scolds Amra for avoiding such conflicts and reminds Amra that she is the Healer for Hamarach's clan.

Then Rifkind leaves the Healer to her work and continues her way to the tent of Hamarach.There she explains her reasons for leaving.He realises the path of her thinking and agrees with her departure.But he would like her to escort Tyrokon to the north with Vendle's caravan.

Since Tyrokon will not be able to hold his own against challengers, he must leave the clan.Otherwise, he is will be challenged until he falls.His departure will ensure a quiet transition of power to his brother Izakon.

So Rifkind agrees to go with Tyrokon.The boys have been listening to this conversation and Cho decides to go also.Rifkind meets Vendle that evening at the meal and discusses pertinent issues.He is amazed at her knowledge of the Wet-lands.

This tale takes Rifkind and the boys to Epigos.They get in trouble there and have to flee without most of their supplies.Rifkind then tries to get the boys to return to the clan, but Cho disagrees.After Cho asks whether she can prevent them following her, she gives in and starts teaching the boys about the strange Wet-lands.

The prequel to this novel was copywrited in 1979, so its sequel is somewhat overdue.But better late than never.

Like this novel, Rifkind returns to the Wet-lands rather late.She finds many changes, mostly for the worse.But some friends are still around.

Highly recommended for Abbey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of personal magic, political intrigue, and women warriors.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Try the Rifkind's Challenge Taste Test!
We've known and heard of fantasy author Lynn Abbey for quite some time, but had never read any of her books for some reason.

And even though Rifkind's Challenge seems like a continuation, it is still a stand alone novel unto itself. Not only did the beautiful cover design and cover art by one of the best fantasy artists working today, Julie Bell, captured our eye, but the back cover story sounded intriguing, too.

And what we found was a worthy, well-rounded, strong character driven fantasy novel full of magic, adventure, action, and interesting and believable characters that had us turning pages until the wee hours of the morning. Rifkind is a challenging figure of a woman, a healer with magical powers, but also a deadly swordswoman when needs arise.

And they arise aplenty!

The huge rift between Rifkind and her estranged son, Cho, is written beautifully, creating a dynamic in which the reader is driven to turn the next page, wondering if and when or how these two will ever see eye-to-eye on anything, and if they will ever become mother and son again.

And mixed in with the drama is world-building writing at it's finest, chock full of nomads and and raiders, dangerous magical creatures and beings that will surely keep fantasy enthusiasts at the edge of their seat. Lynn Abbey proves here that she is comfortable in her fantasy realm, creating memorable characters and not one-dimensional hero's that are easily forgotten.

There is no challenge in reading this one. Just a challenge to see whether you can put it down or not. ... Read more

Product Description
From fantasy fan favorite Lynn Abbey, co-creator ofThieves' World(tm), comes a novel of modern witchcraft and one woman'snewfound powers.

The novels of Lynn Abbey are..."Brilliantlyconceived."-C. J. Cherryh

"All the things that make fantasyworth reading."-Booklist ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Persistent Curses
Out of Time (2000) is the first fantasy novel in the Time series.It is set in the near future within the Midwestern town of Bower, Michigan.

Merle Acacia Merrigan is the acquisition librarian at the university.She had never liked her name and now everyone knows her as Emma.She has been married -- and divorced -- twice.She still relates well with her two step-children.

Eleanor Merrigan is Emma's mother.She had disappeared when Emma was five.At first, Emma thought that she had died, but later Emma learned that she had fled to New York city.

Jennifer Hodden is a senior at the university.She has recently moved into the Blue House -- a student co-op -- where she met her boyfriend.

Bran Mongomery is a graduate student at the university.He has recently moved from an Eastern school and in living at the Blue House.He met Jennifer there and is now her boyfriend.

Matt Strabo is the official System Administrator for the university library.He knows Emma because she is the unofficial SA for the library.She has been performing that additional duty since the computer was using punched cards.

In this story, it is the first week of November.Emma is now living alone.Her Dad had passed away the previous February and her two stepchildren -- Lori and Jeff -- are living elsewhere.She arrives at her desk to find that the library director has again locked himself out of his files.

After Emma helps Matt to discover the cause of the problem, she starts working on her current acquisition difficulties.At the end of her day, Emma checks to see if any additional bodies are lying within her assigned area of the stacks (her reasons are too long for this review).

Toward the end of her route, Emma discovers somebody slumped over a table with blood spills on the notebooks and table top.Fortunately, the body is still alive, with only a split lip.Jennifer prefers not to explain how she got the lip and black eye, so Emma takes her out to supper and gets most of the story.

Jennifer and Bran have fallen into love with not only passion, but also inevitability.As Bran later states, Jennifer filled a hole within him.But Jennifer had poked him in the ribs and stated that he would have been dead if she had a knife.So Bran beat her to drive the demons away.

Emma takes Jennifer home and puts her into the spare bedroom.Then she starts having terrors -- panic attacks -- and dreams that seem very real.Emma tries to drive away her anxieties by work and cleans up the boxes in her basement.There she finds a box that she has never seen before that has her full name written on the outside.

Inside the cardboard box are newspapers wrapped around a wooden box with a lock and key.Inside the wooden box is an envelope with a note to Emma from her mother.Below the envelope is a black bound book with onion skin papers.Below that are other objects, including two bowls, a bell, a silver dish, another book, and a tray of bottled potions.Under that are the remains of melted candles and a candle stand.

The note spooks Emma.It speaks of a wyrd and of walking through time.The black book contains passages about persistent curses and potions for effective dreaming.Emma starts to believe that her mother had been deranged.

This tale leads Emma into a place outside time which she calls the Wasteland.It starts to interfere with her sleep, for she wakes up in that place.Emma starts to hear dogs and see red masses.Then she finds that her anger can drive them away.

Emma decides that the things that are harassing her are curses.Or maybe they are just delusions.But they hurt her and she starts to find evidence of their reality.

This novel clears up the problems of Bran and Jennifer, but leaves Emma with other problems.The next volume is Behind Time.Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Abbey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of time travel, interdimensional places, and befuddled magic users.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A glum, middle aged divorcee seeks adventure
"Out of Time" follows the story of E--, a 51 year old librarian, who discovers that her sleep is filled with more than just dreams.E-- uses her newly discovered powers to rescue a young college couple from a mysterious malevolence.

The setting is modern day, with dream-magic and curses.the plot is interesting, the characters well developped, and all quite well described.The cats & computers & setting are well portrayed, and the conversations skillfully written.The point-of-view sticks with E-- like glue.

E--'s life is filled with morose happenings, which she feels obliged to dwell upon constantly.Two messy divorces, no dates or love life, a distant relationship with her dad (now deceased), abandoned by her mother when one year old, said mother when she finally shows up quite callous, two grown stepchildren who never call or write, no siblings, no close friends, a borring career that is going nowhere, and no hobbies.Whew.Emotionally, the mood of "Out of Time" is so very depressing.

Overall, "Out of Time" is suitable for a rainy afternoon read.

Coming of 'middle age' novel
Emma Merrigan is a 40-something librarian raised by her professor father.She lives in academia:a community that doesn't take a lot of risks and generally doesn't have a lot of adventures.

Emma offers help to Jennifer a young student who's clearly been battered.The girl's presence in her life, in her home, brings back nightmares from a past Emma didn't have.When Jennifer's boyfriend shows up, Emma believes the young man suffers an ancient curse, which she sets out to moot.In doing so, she discovers powers and history she never expected.

Excellent Paranormal Story
Emma, a 50 year-old university librarian, has led a fairly normal existence until the day she stumbles upon a strange box in her basement. Her real name, Merle Acalia, is written across the yellowed cardboard. Inside she finds a book of charms and spells and old letters, all left to her by Eleanor, the mother who abandoned her when she was very young. To her distress Emma becomes involved in a world of dimensions she had never imagined, a frightening world where curses take onform and must be hunted through time and destroyed lest they cause terrible suffering for those who live in the here-and-now. With reluctance Emma takes up the mantel of hunter-witch.Out of Time has a brilliant plot and intricate, believable characters. There is a proper ending, but with one part of the plot left unresolved, leaving it obvious that there is a sequel. I searched Amazon.com to discover the title - Behind Time. I can't wait to read it!

The Second Face of the Goddess
Lynn Abbey has always had the happy knack of writing what I wanted to read at the time I needed it.(I'm excluding her franchise work here.)This book is no exception.

The main characters in fantasy works are often very young.The theme is often coming of age.This is a fantasy for the sandwich generation, the one caught between the demands of children and aging parents.The story opens with the heroine essentially an orphan.Her father, who raised her after her mother's death, has died.Romantic relationships have failed her and all she retains of her last marriage is an attachment to her step children.However, she finds herself reluctantly playing maternal figure to some troubled college kids while her mother reappears.

It turns out her life is a great deal more complicated than she expected.There are going to be great demands placed on her but she is going to have great personal resources to meet these demands.

Watching the heroine discovering who she is and essentially coming into her power is a positive experience.I found myself cheering her on as she copes with the unexpected burdens she finds laid on her, both magical and mundane.Of the three faces of the goddess-- virgin, matron, hag, this is the one that is shown the least and I'm very happy to have Ms. Abbey fill this lack. ... Read more

Product Description
Contains all of the stories of the first two Thieves’ World anthologies (Thieves’ World and Tales of the Vulgar Unicorn), with additional material.

Return to the Olden Days of Sanctuary!

Sanctuary, a seedy, backwater town governed by evil forces, powerful magic, and political intrigue

See how Thieves’ World all began!

Classic stories by:

Robert Lynn Asprin
Lynn Abbey
Poul Anderson
Marion Zimmer Bradley
John Brunner
David Drake
Philip Jose Farmer
Joe Haldeman
Janet Morris
Andrew J. Offutt
A. E.van Vogt
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thieve's World: First Blood
I have always loved the Thieves' World series. I also love my Kindle. Would love for all the books available here, Shadowspawn, the 3 by Janet Morris,the one about the caravan master and his niece, Come on Amazon scan them in:)

A Classic Returns
I read all the Thieves' World Series as a teenager.The series was amazing then and its GREAT to see it back in print. For those of you who do not read much fantasy - Thieves' World is a shared world anthology - that means that various authors come together to write stories under a shared theme...in this case, the city of Sanctuary.The characters are solid and the different perspectives of the stories create a rich tapestry.

Last, the nice thing about having the first two in a single book - which should be obvious - only one book in the backpack on the way to the beach.

Expertly weaves fantasy and sci-fi together!
I found my copies at a used book store 12 years ago--back when the two books were separate. The narrative was so good, I read both in the same night.

Thieves World is an usual type of anthology in that, while different writers are contributing, the individual stories are more like chapters. This is because they all share the same characters and what happens in one story, carries on as character background in the next story by the next author. If a character or event is introduced in one story, it is fodder for future stories.

The effect is that you get many different viewpoints for the same story--some light, some dark--and it makes the overall story seem more well-rounded, yet cohesive at the same time. This is a tribute to the talents of the many writers involved with the project, and to the editors, Abbey and Asprin [fine writers in their own right].

As for the overall story, Thieves World is set on a terrestrial planet, with most of the action taking place in and arround the city of Sanctuary. Initially, the tone is fantasy--swordsmen, magic, gods/goddesses. As the series progresses, subtle elements of sci-fi are woven in--non-human species from the sea, advanced technology, etc. By the end, Thieves World had transformed into an anthology series unlike any I've read.

I regularly read the entire series [all 12 books] at least once a year, and I'm happy they're being reissued since my copies are getting very worn out.

I absolutely recommend this anthology for any fan of the fantasy genre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Planesegway
Overall a decent read.Though Abbey reiterates characterization elements slightly too often, and the book doesn't keep quite the same pace as the first book in the series (The Brothers' War), it was still an entertaining read.Likable characters and an interesting two time line story structure explaining the three thousand years after Urza becomes a planeswaker makes this a must read if you plan on continuing onto the third book in the series. However, it is often a bit long-winded and Urza seems to diverge a bit from his character in the first book which makes it only average in comparison to the other three books in the series.

Very disappointing
As the follow-up to The Brothers' War (Magic: The Gathering: Artifacts Cycle), PLANESWALKER disappoints.Where the previous book was full of action and intrigue, this tedious book is contains lots of philosophy and a gradual build-up towards a climax that ends just a few pages after it begins.Additionally, the writing style of Abbey doesn't hold a match next to Jeff Grubb.Dialogue between characters who don't seem to know each other even after about three thousand years of constant companionship annoys, and dull action scenes fail to excite.

All the being said, this book is worth reading.Find out what happened to Urza after he unleashed devastation at the end of THE BROTHERS' WAR, and follow characters as they travel through the Multiverse and visit bizarre but somewhat familiar realms, including Serra and Phyrexia.Also, the characters are actually quite unique and intriguing.Xantcha in particular (who is really the main character) presents a very complicated character that you'll wish you could appreciate more.The interplay between her and Ratepe is very emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking.Even the two-fold way in which the story is presented, from Xantcha's reminiscing of the past and of her adventures in the present was a good idea, just not pulled off all that well.

Bottom line, this book was a disappointment, but I'm not too upset that I spent a couple of days reading it.I'll continue with the series, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

The most annoying aspect of the book:

"Waste not, want not"

WTF!! Where does that come from and how can it be used constantly without pissing off everybody around you?!

A Pretty Good Book
After reading all the negative reviews, I really wanted to like this book.And for the most part, I did.I never had a problem figuring out when the author switched time frames or anything like that.However, I was horribly bored by the entire Serra visit.From that point onward, the book was pretty much a slow decline for me.

I don't regret reading the book.I did enjoy quite a bit of it, there are just some serious lulls in it.I'd still recommend it to any Magic fan as there is quite a bit of interesting information revealed.

Quite nice
I'm surprised on how low rated this book is. I really enjoyed it! Unlike other books in the Magic: the Gathering line, it's not simply all battles and fighting and junk. It explores the psychology of being a planeswalker, and Urza's struggle with guilt and insanity. It's very character driven, a bit deeper than the usual WotC written-in-a-month hackery. I also really liked Xantcha's character.

Not that good
I was hoping for a continuation of the Urza Saga, but got a half-baked love story instead.The Urza character here is quite different that Jeff Grubbs original in the Brothers War.I was left at the end wanting something more.The book is really not even needed to understand the other story lines. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a set of 3 stories under 1 cover. Includes Aftermath, Uneasy Alliances & Stealer's Sky. ... Read more

Product Description
Jerlayne's mother had warned her not to marry the handsome elf, but Jerlayne refused to listen. Now a century after the wedding, Jerlayne's marriage is in shambles and none of their children have matured into elves like their parents. Jerlayne wants answers--she wants to know why her mother was so opposed to her marriage, and in finding those answers, these two elven women will confront an issue that will rock both realms down to their very foundation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

All in all, fairly blah
This is one of those odd books that is remarkably hard to categorize, even though it does fit quite neatly into the fantasy section of any bookstore. You see here we have a book about Elves, who live in faire, and the women can all "shape" things (such as fabric flowers out a piece of a thread, or pain into flesh, or healing) while the men forage for any supplies needed-in the mortal world.

These elves don't really do anything but farm (or their servants, the gnomes, dwarfs, and so on) farm, so they need almost everything from the mortal side of the "veil." Meanwhile the elves have tons of children, since they're immortal, and most of these kids turn into gnomes or dwarfs or some other kind of fairy creature, occasionally even a dragon. There are also ogres about, and to be protected from these beasts, goblins make bargains to protect the homesteads of each elf couple (yup, just like in the Wild West) in exchange for iron chains which the women shape as their induction into adulthood.

But this land is full of secrets, upon secrets, upon secrets. Mostly about why all of the children that our heroine has keeps turning into something else when she so desperately wants them to be elves.And there's some kind of goblin conspiracy, a whole lot of weird religion stuff (and I do mean weird) and some fairly odd interactions with the mortal world.

All in all this isn't a bad book, it's just strange. There's a constant shifting of perspective which makes things a little hard to track, and I will never understand why the elf husband married the elf wife in this first place-I mean he seemed so disinterested and then all of a sudden he's head over heals in love. In general, the book was kind of blah. I can't even remember the names of the main characters, which shows you how much I cared about them.

In all, could have been worse, could have been better, so three stars.

A Fantasy Novel You'll Never Stop Wanting to Read
Jerlayne was a fantastic novel. It took me almost 2 weeks, maybe less. this book had millions of twists & turns. Once you thought you knew something for sure, it'd change like that. There's so many lies in this book, also. It's very imagative how elves are born. Cuz is very funny in this book. Time goes fast in this book & the mortal realm changes fast. I can't believe Jerlayne [interacts with] a goblin, who's blue! It's a krazy story. Plus Aulaudin never gets angry at Jerlayne for cheating on him. If you love fantasies with romance & comedy then you should read Jerlayne. I couldn't stop turning the pages. It was so interesting & thrilling. It kept me at the edge of my seat. It's 1 book i'll read again in the future. There better be a second or something like it soon!

Boring, Plodding, and Tiresome
I usually can read a 500 page novel in about 4 days.Jerlayne took me over 2 weeks - and I really pushed myself to finish!

This book had very little explaination about how/why certain things were happening.I felt like I was reading the second book in a series the entire time.The characters were totally uninteresting - even the title character Jerlayne was a bore.I had no sympathy to anyone in this book because they were 2-dimentional sadsacks.I would have liked to read more about the relationships between the characters instead of being told "they loved each other." I wish we would have been shown more than told.

If you like books that are about having children and housework, by all means, read Jerlayne.

If you like books that have a smooth plot, interesting/believable relationships, and intelligence please, read something else.

An excellent crossover book for non-Fantasy enthusiasts
While I wouldn't call it literature, this book is a spellbinding, if deeply flawed, depiction of a well conceived and well fleshed-out world that even those not fond of the elf/fairy/gnome genre will enjoy. I found it extremely enjoyable and resonant in the way that good mythology is, but you have to stick it out through the first hundred pages or so to get to the good stuff.What sets this book apart is its refreshing injection of an unflinching and boldly drawn modern-day mortal realm into the otherwise mostly bland and sweet Faerie. It's like adding rocket boosters to the story. Look to meet a character you won't soon forget. My biggest problem with the book was the unevenness of the writing and the lack of emotional payoff (at least for me) at the end. Sometimes the dialogue is so good it crackles; other times it is confusing or ingenuine. Some of the plot elements seem forced as well. Author Lynn Abbey does such a skillful job in the book's thick middle section of building a strong plot and character conflict that I expected the resolution of those elements to be of comparable high quality. But Abbey seems unsure how to resolve them, especially the lopsided sexual/romantic competition for Jerlayne's love between heroic Goro and tender but weak Aulaudin. Abbey goes to great lengths at the end to counter Goro's strong presence and appeal (ladies, prepare to fall for him) by bolstering Aulaudin's manliness, but it is not convincing, and ultimately Jerlayne's character becomes lackluster as Abbey fits her to remain happily with Aulaudin. Throughout most of the book, Jerlayne's character is quite likeable, even if her "cluelessness," as another character puts it, sometimes makes her seem less than heroic, and she seems to stumble across the truth more than she seeks it out. Her claim of being the one who "changes the world and saves Faerie" is also dubious considering that it is another character's willingness to pay the ultimate price that seems to save it; look for some sometimes disturbing Christ imagery. It is also dissatisfying that this character's sacrifice seems to go unappreciated by the other characters. However, there is a fairly satisfying redemption of another character, and a grisly death for another. The supporting characters are often richer and more interesting than Jerlayne, and you will find that you care about some of them most, including the fierce and mournful Evoni; tormented Cuz; loyal Joff; mischievous Maun; other characters that it would blow the plot to disclose; and Goro, who is the most vividly and sympathetically drawn.If the plot falters sometimes, nevertheless the story is always interesting and complex. Abbey also includes some "cool" concepts such as riding shadows and skirting two realms to shorten traveling distance. With all its faults, this book is a page-turner and I have found myself rereading my favorite parts over and over again. And writing long reviews. Enjoy!

Full-bodied story
This was a wonderful read.The portrayal of elves as immortals who filch whatever they can't produce in Fairie (iron, non-stick frying pans, synthetics, etc.) was new and intriguing.From the first few pagesJerlayne is established as an exasperating, intelligent and clueless woman. Witness, for example, her brilliant mastery of the twenty link chain andthen her subsequent overdose of bryony to cure the iron-poisoning.

Ilook forward to reading more about this new version of Faerie, andsincerely hope that they are in the works. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

FROM BACK COVER
A WORLD OF THEIR OWN...

LYNN ABBEY
POUL ANDERSON
ROBERT ASPRIN
JOHN BRUNNER
JOE HALDEMAN
ANDREW J. OFFUTT

Have created Sanctuary, and people it with wonders: One-Thumb (The crooked bartender at The Vulgar Unicorn); Enas Yorl, magician and involuntary shape changer (he lost a duel with another magician); Jubal, ex-gladiator and slave who is now a pillar of the community (he made his money selling slaves); Lythande the Star-browed (his magic is in question, his sword-play is not); Cappen Varra the Minstral (the only honest man in Sanctuary).These are just some of the unforgettable players you will meet on a stage where murder, mayhem, and skullduggery - with always a bit of magic - are the order of the day.

Liked the Thieves World series? Try the roleplaying game!
The darkly grim city of Sanctuary was an immediate hit with readers, and not surprisingly, gamers wanted to adapt the city to their fantasy game settings. The Thieves World roleplaying game (ISBN 093363501X) was released in 1981. Greg Stafford, et al at Chaosium, worked with with some of the brighter lights of the RPG industry (Dave Arneson, Steve Marsh, Midkemia Press, Marc Miller, Steve Perrin, Lawrence Schick, Ken St. Andre, and many others) to make the Thieves' World RPG compatible with 9 RPG systems: AD&D, Adventures in Fantasy, Chivalry & Sorcery, DragonQuest, D&D, The Fantasy Trip, RuneQuest, Traveller, and Tunnels & Trolls.

Truly a Rosetta Stone of early roleplaying, the box set includes 3 source books and 3 fold-out maps (A map of Sanctuary, the Maze, and the Maze Underground). Gorgeous!

Super Reader
A shared world anthology to come out of a science fiction convention meeting between a group of established authors.

Thieves World : Sentences of Death - John Brunner
Thieves World : The Face of Chaos - Lynn Abbey
Thieves World : The Gate of the Flying Knives - Poul Anderson
Thieves World : Shadowspawn - Andrew J. Offutt
Thieves World : The Price of Doing Business - Robert Lynn Asprin
Thieves World : Blood Brothers - Joe W. Haldeman
Thieves World : Myrtis - Christine DeWees
Thieves World : The Secret of the Blue Star [Lythande] - Marion Zimmer Bradley


Reading, writing and spells.

3 out of 5


Card reading can be scary.

3.5 out of 5


Down and out godrobbery, and sikkintair swordplay.

3.5 out of 5


Wanding, women and whipping.

3 out of 5


Gladiator commerce is death.

4 out of 5


Dog racing dodginess and stabbing.

2.5 out of 5


Really old and really good looking is handy for running a brothel, but a bit off-putting for the average bloke.

3.5 out of 5


Master magician duel and horizontal mambo mojo inflicted.

3.5 out of 5

Thieving Thieves.
Thieves' World, edited by Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey is an excellent book. The small city of Sanctuary, a city where every resident, down to small children, must thieve, cheat, or scam every earning they make. It is in this waste-land that Robert invited other published fantasy authors to place their characters, each of which could be used by the other authors, within certain limits. For example Mr. Brunner couldn't kill off Poul Anderson's character, or alter him to an extreme. However, the collection of stories piece together the history of Sanctuary, a seamless mosaic of literary genius. Thieves' World is not to be passed by.

Get Lost in Sanctuary
I picked up this little, actually rather large book, at the library and became intrigued at first by its title: Sanctuary.The picture on the front depicted people of a time long ago, in a medievil setting...even more interested, I flipped through a bit.Hmmm...three books in one.I must say, this is the most interesting anthology that I have ever read...you get the feeling as you read along, with all of the different perspectives of so many authors, that the story just came together at the end brilliantly.That being said, I cannot find the book on amazon containing all three books, I will begin with "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.Unfortunately for Jarveena, she kind of falls out of the story, so do not get too attached to her!You will, however, 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.However, the gods in Sanctuary are quite different than the gods that are revered today.Remember, this town is very medievil, and even a bit mythological, as well.

In my opinion, 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 the bad boys!Oh, how we do love their soft and vulnerable sides.Just read about him and you will also fall in love instantly!

Than, of course, their is the mage, Lythande, who holds a heavy secret in order to be a part of the Blue Stars.What will become of him in stories to come?

All in all, I think the authors worked really hard at bringing an illusionary world to life.The characters are all amazing, not to mention the extra twist you get from seeing the other authors points of view on some of the more important characters.A great read, indeed, you will be begging for more of that desolite town!

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not Free SF Reader
So successful a project was the original idea from Thieves World that they did more, and a game.

Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : Spiders of the Purple Mage - Philip José Farmer
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : Goddess - David Drake
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : The Fruit of Enlibar - Lynn Abbey
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : The Dream of the Sorceress - A. E. van Vogt
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : Vashanka's Minion - Janet Morris
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : Shadow's Pawn - Andrew J. Offutt
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn : To Guard the Guardians - Robert Lynn Asprin


Rats, arachnids, killer monkeys and even bigger octopedal nasties are a lot to put up with.

3 out of 5


Flaming demon midwifery.

3.5 out of 5


Steel secret.

3 out of 5


Some good advice in the middle of a divine disagreement: "Clearly, a human confronted by a god should not rely on force alone."

3.5 out of 5


Storm God sending is painful.

3.5 out of 5


Stone cold thievery.

2.5 out of 5


A spot of killer killing and slaver slaying can be good for a town.

4 out of 5

Sanctuary and Vashanka
The Thieves' World anthologies are an interesting concept in the fantasy realm. Unlike normal anthologies which are put together due to some minor thing - like all featuring cats, or swords, or a purple paint - this anthology series features a fully fledged and thought out corner of a fantasy world called Sanctuary. Sanctuary is a city at the far southern corner of the empire which happens to be where all the less-than-law-abiding citizens of the world tend to congregate. As in all real cities, there are various areas that cater to the various socio-economic classes. There is also a hierarchy of gods and of citizens who all answer to the prince and his chief law enforcers known as Hell-Hounds.

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. There are some common themes which are the contributions of Robert Asprin. They are mainly the overall structure and idea of Sanctuary and the character of Hakiem. Additionally, Asprin contributes one of the stories and an epilogue. This epilogue contains the only humorous part of the book as it is a purported Chamber of Commerce brochure advertising the "charms" of Sanctuary. Aside from this epilogue, all the other stories in this volume are grim, bloody, and point out the terrible debasement and hopelessness of a place like Sanctuary.

So, 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. If you are expecting a story along the lines of Skeeve, or the Phules, then you will be mightily surprised.

A Big Improvement
The first book in this series left me yawning, but "Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn" has convinced me to keep reading.The quality of the tales seemed far better than in the first collection, and they certainly fit well together too.The closing essay was very humurous as well.A contrast to the generally dark tone of stories from Sanctuary.

Great Continuation
First and foremost, if you have not yet read Thieve's World, you must in order to understand a lot of what is happening in TFTVU.

That being said, this is a great continuation!I love the fact that we start off with such a vivid story about the purple mage.Masha is introduced here, for the first and last time, but that's okay, she was a strong woman, and one well worth reading about!The effects of this story will also be seen later on in further stories...

In the next story, we learn a little more about the gods and goddesses of Sanctuary.Interesting indeed, but the characters are all pretty much new, and only really belonging to this one chapter.

However, in the following story we are introduced to Illyra again, yipee...and we also learn a little more about the ever powerful god, Vashanka...he is definately a naughtly little god if I ever read about one!Up to no good, for sure!We also learn about his sister Azyuna, and all of this will be very important in chapters to come.

Most importantly, in my eyes, is that we meet up with Hanse again, but not only that, we also meet perhaps the most pivotal character in Tempus.You will love him, you will hate him, but you just cannot turn away from him no matter what.This man will having you thinking, believe me, and if he were real, he would have either your undying love, or your utmost hatred.He is a very specail character, indeed.

This second series was fantastic, and if you loved Thieve's World and want to see what else your favorite people have been up to, please, I urge you to continue on!

Overall this book is hard to grasp for first time TW readers
If you are interested in twists, turns and some descriptive writing, this book is for you.If you can stomach some things that you normally wouldn'tlike then you can enter the marvelous world of Santuary. ... Read more

Product Description
From the authors of Elfquest and the creators of Thieves' World, this second volume is set in the Elfquest world--a time when the Wolves and the Wolf-Riders were forming their deep emotional bonds and learning how to live on the World of Two Moons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Entertaining reading
I was fascinated by this book and the others in the Blood of Ten Chiefs series, even though I hadn't (and still haven't) read any of the Elfquestcomics.The stories, by various fantasy writers, are mostly complex andabsorbing.

I was even inspired to go on a lengthy search for anunavailable title in the series (this was several years ago).

A goodread.

Uggh, I hated this book!
This book is a collection of short stories set in the World of Two Moons.The main characters of the stories are mostly chiefs of an elf tribe.Each chief is a decendant of an earlier chief.This book started out so bad, Ialmost put it down, but I hate starting a book and not finishing it, so Istruggled through to the end.A few of the stories were actually prettygood, but they didn't make up for the ones that weren't. ... Read more

Product Description
Escaping a life of slavery by hiding beneath the city among other outcasts, Maribe of the "New Race" is forced to accept a contract from King Hamanu to search for the alchemist Kakaim, whose views threaten the stability of Urik. Original. 75,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

UPS AND DOWNS
The fourth book in "The Chronicles of Athas" DarkSun series, this novel by Lynn Abbey painted a great picture of the burnt wastes of the land of Athas. The character development was good but the plot could haveprofited from a few more twists. Occasionally a bit predictable, butoverall a good story for anyone who likes the DarkSun genre. ... Read more

Product Description
PB-Gift quality, no shelf wear, no scuffs, tight binding, clean pages,no marks,1st Ed, full # line, more than 6 pages, has 56 pages, smoke/pet free home, no spine crease. Ships anywhere 7 days a week ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding Fantasy Series.
The best capturing of what youd expect a fantasy city to be like.A handful of authors writing about people that live in a seedy city named 'Sanctuary'

Theres Warlocks,Thieves,Warriors,gods,hookers and politics hanging out in a shady tavern.Few authors attempt needlessly over worded stories.A plague of which most fantasy series suffer from.

If more authors focused on writing good stories instead of trying to be the next Shakespeare impressing us with their huge vocabulary,this would be the result.

An interesting if average collection of AD&D like stories.
This collection of short stories started a whole series of collections that all reflect an era not unlike the AD&D novels.These stories are written mostly by up and coming authors with a few ringers in each collection ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

World encompassing concept
What a great concept! Establish a mythical world and a specific city in it, then get many of the most famous names in science fiction and fantasy to creat short stories that take place in that city. Further, you create the main structure of the place and then watch how it evolves in the hands of many other writers! There are only a few rules: No one may kill of someone else's characters, nor can you substantially change the place. Other than that, it's all yours!

That is the basic premise of this series of anthologies created by Robert Asprin but populated and brought to life by dozens of other writers over the 20+ years that this series has been going on. This book is the very first one and it features entries by Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, and Marion Zimmer Bradley among others.

The concept starts with an introduction written by Asprin in which you get the sense of the place. It seems that this city - Sanctuary - is at the furthest end of the empire and is the place where the flotsam and jetsam of the empire ended up. All the thieves and underworld types have come there since it is the furthest away from the rest of humanity and therefore its strictures.We learn that the emperor is worried that his younger brother - who has principles and a conscience - might rebel against him and therefore he sends the younger brother to this frontier province to get rid of him. Of course, having a rule with a conscience is not exactly a good match with an outlaw town like Sanctuary!

Now that the stage is set, we are introduced to various characters and see how they try to live in the town. We also learn more about the magic users who also inhabit the world and are quickly drawn in to several conflicts that are ongoing.

Many of the stories do a great job of fitting in within the structure and in giving us small tastes of what a place like that might be like. Some are of course better than others. While io immensely enjoyed several of the stories, some others were either too dark for me or too fluffy - but, then again, what can one expect from an anthology populated by many authors?

In general I think the concept is great and I will continue to read more volumes in the series while understanding that some of the detailed stories will not be too successful.
... Read more