I Read Books: Thieves' World

 

Thieves’ World

In the afterword of this, the first volume of the long-running shared world heroic fantasy anthology series, editor Robert Lynn Asprin explains the genesis of the project. He begins by complaining that the hard part is creating a world every time, so you have to do all the hard work before you can start writing about it, and so proposed creating one for other people to write in. From the many, many world-building projects one can find online or otherwise published, I feel he overestimated the problem. However his next step – that then characters, situations, events and other bits of setting created by one writer could be used by others – was a smart and clever one.

Sanctuary used to be a stop for the caravans, on the edge of one old kingdom. But now that kingdom has been conquered by the Rakene Empire, and they’ve defeated the mountain men so the caravans don’t go here any more. It’s become a town of smugglers and exiles, one exile being the governor, the half-brother of the emperor, who has become the unwilling focal point of plots. He’s taken command, and he, with his incorruptible guards the Hell-Hounds, want to clean up this “Thieves’ World.”

What we get in this volume is: a pair of stories around the attempt to dedicate new temples to the Rankene Gods that various characters get caught up in; two related to Aphrodisia House and the relationship between the city and the Street Of Red Lanterns (the sex worker district); one about taking revenge on a newly arrived Rankene; one about a local thief who gets caught up in Rankene political plots; and two about crime lords, both of whom outsmart themselves, though one survives the events.

The stories range from a little gritty to full on grimdark; sexual assault is the mark of a villain. They vary in style, as in fact is expected (the editor’s note at the start explains that any inconsistencies are because they are being told from different points of view) and also in quality, though Asprin having picked accomplished writers all are at least competent.

This was successful, probably for the obvious reasons; the writers had a good time using each other’s characters and ideas; they plugged into the zeitgeist so people kept reading; and with 8* writers on roster, that’s fans of many different writers to pick it up. How does it hold up 45 years on? Some good bits, especially when, yes, bit part characters become protagonists and vice versa. Some awkward and self-indulgent bits. (Why did Shadowspawn, over-written, over-dramatically named and here running more by luck than any other element, become a fan favourite?). Marion Zimmer Bradley’s posthumous reputation has suffered, and if I note that at the heart of her story is a young woman being manipulated by two magicians consider yourself warned.

Read This: A classic set of braided sword and sorcery stories with all the virtues of the genre
Don’t Read This: Also has all the vices of the genre on display

* In the afterword Asprin says that due to a change in the deadline, he found himself short of the stories he needed; negotiating with the publisher they agreed on seven stories and the afterword. With six in hand and time running out he turned to Christine DeWees, a white-haired Harley-riding grandmother, who reading the packet of information (with other participants characters, the map of the city etc) picked out a side character. When Asprin noted that this character belonged to another writer she had mysteriously already cleared it, getting the telephone number from somewhere. This mystery is cleared up by DeWees’s entry in the ISFDB, which notes it as a penname of Lynn Abbey, Asprin’s writing and editing partner and future wife, who already had a story in the volume. https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?19548