Wings of Omen Thieves’ World, Volume 6 edited by Robert Asprin

Wings of Omen
Thieves’ World, Volume 6
edited by Robert Asprin
Copyright 1984

Introduction
Hakiem the Storyteller is now the right hand man and advisor to the Beysib princess who rules over Sanctuary. One day, the princess is approached by Beysib and human fishermen, asking to be allowed to build a new boat for better fishing. She is going to deny the request as a waste of resources, but Hakiem points out that Sanctuary will be easier for her to rule if Beysib and humans start working together. This is the first signs of cooperation. She ultimately takes her advice and Hakiem is pleased to still sit high in her councils. However, one sits higher, the Prince Kadakithis who is now her lover.

Asprin always writes a great introduction to set the tone of the Thieves’ World books. This is no exception. Too bad other writers in the series don’t read it before writing their own stories.

What Women do Best by Chris and Janet Morris
Kama, an assassin of the 3rd Commando and daughter of Tempus, leader of the Stepsons, comes to Sanctuary to unite the small, feuding factions of human revolutionaries to fight the Beysib. Invitations are issued to all and almost everyone shows up for the meeting. One revolutionary, Zip, sits it out. But when a key member of the newly formed alliance is kidnapped by the witch, Roxane, Zip tells Kama where he can be found. The kidnapped man is rescued and Zip, wounded by Kama’s bodyguard, is nursed back to health by Kama. They fall in love.

Of all the stories Morris has written for Thieves’ World, this is by far the best and most coherent. The theme throughout the story is women in leadership positions. The Beysib assassins are led by women. Kama, who wants to lead the revolution to liberate Sanctuary is a woman. Roxane, the wizard whose only motive is to bring about chaos is a woman. Yet, Morris doesn’t write a cohesive story until she’s writing about women with the help of her husband. Interesting. . .

Daughter of the Sun by Robin W. Bailey
Cheyena, cousin to Prince Kadakithis arrive in Sanctuary. She meets with her cousin, whom she loves dearly, then meets with the Beysib Emperor, whom he loves dearly. They do not hit it off and part with a great deal of tension between them (which I’m sure will be fodder for future stories). Cheyena is in Sanctuary because her uncle, the Emperor of Ranke (Kadakithis’s father) has been murdered, along with the rest of the royal family. She fears the 3rd Commando has come to Sanctuary to kill Kadakithis. She goes to the Vulgar Unicorn where she meets Hanse, the thief and learns a great deal about Sanctuary and its ways. She also has a meeting with her god, Savankala. Savankala tells Cheyena when the attempt will be made on Kadakithis’s life. When the time comes, Cheyena arrives and fights off a group of assassins, although they don’t appear to be 3rd Commando. She moves to save her cousin’s life when the Beysib princess and her retinue of guards arrives, informing Cheyena that they’ve already prevented the assassination. The Beysib emperor promises to hold a party, welcoming Cheyena to Sanctuary, although tension remains between the two women.

This was a taut, well told tale that introduces a new author, a new character and a potential new story line to the Thieves’ World canon. This is good because the old characters and old story lines and characters were getting dull with no new characters to develop them.

A Breath of Power by Diana L. Paxson
Lalo, the magician who can paint what lies beneath the skin of mortal men and reveal their true natures has a new talent. He can bring his paintings to life. One evening, he has a fight with his wife and goes to the Vulgar Unicorn to drown his sorrows. Egged on by his son and Cappa Verra, he paints a black unicorn on the wall of the bar and brings it to life. Every evil deed done in the unsavory tavern is embodied in that unicorn which is set loose upon the people of Sanctuary. It also draws the attention of every Mage in the city. One mage, Lythande, decides to help Lalo right the wrong he committed in his drunken bitterness.

I like Lalo better than any character in Thieves’ World, but this story was not his finest hour. It was rather dull because Paxson did very little to develop the unicorn as an evil creature. It was created. It left the Vulgar Unicorn, and returned when drawn back by Lythande. What evil deeds did it do in between? The reader doesn’t know. Lalo’s peril would have meant so much more with a little more action in the story.

The Hand That Feeds You by Diane Duane
Harran, a former priest of the now-forgotten goddess, Siveni, now works as a barber and healer for the Stepbrothers. He lives with his dog and an idiot girl named Mriga whom he uses as a slave and a concubine. Unhappy with his lot in life, he decides to use his old skills as a priest to resurrect Siveni. He completes the ritual and Siveni returns to the world. But she’s not as he remembered her. Instead of goodness and mercy, she is full of bitterness and anger toward the gods that usurped her and her kind. She immediately proceeds to the temple of the Rankan god, Savankala to challenge him to a fight. Appalled at what she is doing, Harran demand that she stop. The goddess turns her wrath on Harran and beating him down when he is rescued by an unlikely savior. Harran finds that he’s created a new goddess with his ritual.

This is precisely the kind of story one would hope to get when reading a short story anthology like Thieves’ World. It isn’t just another chapter written by another author, in someone else’s story. It is a fantastic stand-alone story that uses the characters and setting of Thieves’ World to the maximum advantage. The Hand That Feeds You is one of the best stories in the entire collection to date.

Witching Hour by C.J. Cherryh
It’s a night of chaos in Sanctuary as the witch Roxanne unleashes terror and devastation on the city. Meanwhile, the Piffles (People for Liberation of Sanctuary) led by the 3rd Commandos are attacking Beysib ships. Each faction leader gets reports on attacks and defenses of their interests.

C.J. Cherryh was the most distinguished contributors to the Thieves’ World series by book six. Yet, her stories are just phoned in. This story jumped from point of view to point of view with no seeming logic or connection between events. Cherryh has won a Hugo for crying out loud! Her stories ought to be the best in every Thieves' World book. Instead, they are among the worst. Witching Hour was damn near unreadable.

Rebels Aren’t Born in Palaces by Andrew J. Offut
Zip and Kama want to hire Hanse (Shadowspawn) to enter the royal palace and steal the Beysib queen’s ruling staff. They have heard of his earlier entry to steal Prince Kadakithis’s staff. Reader’s are treated to Hanse’s backstory (much of which he can’t even recall, having voluntarily had it stricken from his memory). Hanse was favored by the goddess, Eshi, who granted him unlimited wishes for ten days for having slain a rival god. Hanse uses the wishes for women and money, but gets bored with it. He also regrets using a wish to entice a young S’Danzo to his bed whom he actually loves. Hanse agrees to go through with the plot and gets the goods for the PFLS. He then leaves town with his beloved S’Danzo and is reunited with his old friend, Tempus.

Getting Hanse’s backstory was great. However, the story suffered because the transition from present tense to backstory was hardly seamless and was difficult to follow.

Gyskouras by Lynn Abby
Illyria the S’Danzo is visited by Zip, who asks for his fortune to be told. She develops and uneasy feeling about him and when she reaches out with her senses, she is touched by another entity much stronger. Zip tells her that he’s been making blood sacrifices at an alter he’s constructed to the dead god Vashanka. Illyria, frightened, orders Zip to leave. After Zips departure, Illyria’s son becomes ill, crying black tears, apparently having been touched by this other being. Soon, Sanctuary is beset with storms, followed by a solar eclipse. People are panicking and threatening Illyria and her husband, blaming them for the misfortune. Eventually, Illyria is drawn to the palace where a divine child is being raised by the Vashankan priest, Molin Torcholder. She brings with her her son. The two children, one full of rage and one very ill, find peace and health in each other’s company.

This story has a great concept, but is not well written. Abbey’s conception of Zip is much different than other authors and totally inconsistent with what we know about him. This is not explained, nor even hinted at. How Illyria’s child was touched by this other being is not explained. Precisely what is a Gyskouras is not explained. It feels like a set up for the next set of stories, but there is too much ambiguity there and the character, Zip, is going to need some major rehabilitation.

A Fish With Feathers is Out of His Depth by Robert Lynn Asprin
The Beysib Monkel, who oversees the fishing operation at the wharf near Sanctuary is smitten with another Beysib who works at the palace. Determined to find an appropriate gift to impress her, he decides to trap a wild, native bird and tame it to give to her. He catches the bird and is eventually able to tame it. When he goes to give the bird to the object of his affection, the bird embarrasses him badly. But all’s well that ends well in Beysib love in this story.

This was a nice, lighthearted story to end the sixth installment in Thieves’ World. As was demonstrated in the first story, while chaos reigns in Sanctuary proper where men kill Beysib and Beysib kill men, life on the docks for the fishermen is one of mutual respect between the two races.

Wings of Omen is significantly superior to Face of Chaos. The stories are more independent of each other and can be enjoyed on their own merits (with a couple exceptions). Authors do not appear to be laboring to advance a preconceived plot and are free to work with their characters and their own plots.

The best stories are front loaded and the book becomes a bit of a chore to read as it goes along. While none of the books that have followed have lived up to the expectations created by the first one (since the notoriety and quality of the authors has decreased substantially), Wings of Omen is one of the better installments in the series.

Storm Season: Book Four of Thieves’ World

Storm Season: Book Four of Thieves’ World
Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin
Copyright 1982

Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin
Hakiem the Storyteller leaves the comforts of the Vulgar Unicorn to travel to the Fishing District near Sanctuary. He has learned the Old Man – hero for killing the giant sea creature that had almost destroyed Sanctuary’s fishing industry – has disappeared and is presumed dead. Hakiem wants to get the story to add to his repertoire. He meets a one armed fisherman who tells him that, despite the claims of authorities, the Old Man and his son did not drown at sea. He cannot explain their disappearance. All he knows is that, one day, the Old Man and his son set off for deep waters. Their boat was later found adrift. The one armed fisherman, who found the Old Man’s boat, says that when he arrived on the scene, he saw a strange ship – one that did not belong in the waters near Sanctuary – sailing for the open sea. Hakiem leaves to investigate further. He is worried because there are many strange events taking place in Sanctuary and events abroad seem to portend war.

Asprin presents Hakiem as a journalist in this story. Hakiem won’t tell the story until it is complete. He is interested in facts, not speculation. Hakiem has evolved from a spinner of tales to the chronicler of the history of Sanctuary.

Exercise in Pain by Robert Lynn Asprin
Jubal, slaver and power player in Sanctuary is left stricken by an encounter with his arch nemisis, the Hellhound, Tempus. His legs are shattered and he is dying. He is carried to a hidden location and his assistant summons the mage, Lizzerene to heal him. Lizzerene does indeed provide his healing tonics. But Jubal wants them to work faster, so he sneaks drinks of the wizard’s tonic, with disastrous results.

This is not a good stand alone short story, which was the original purpose of the Thieves’ World series. It is but a chapter in an ongoing story. Nonetheless, it is well paced and interesting with a great twist.

Downwind by C.J. Cherryh
Downwind is the poorest and most retched part of Sanctuary. It is there that the thief, Mrhadon Vis has fled after his unfortunate encounter with Ischade, the sorceress and enchantress who leaves her lovers dead. A group called The Stepsons is hunting former members of Jubal’s street army known as Hawkmasks. Vis hooks up with two former Hawkmasks to elude the hunters. But one of them is a spy.

This short story was almost impossible to follow. While the setting of Downwind was vividly described, the plot and the characters were tissue thin. No clear motivation for any of them emerged. The betrayal at the end meant little since the reader had little information as to why it was a betrayal. A reader should expect more from a former Hugo Award winner like C.J. Cherryh.

A Fugitive Art by Diana L. Paxson
Lalo, the enchanted artist, is commissioned to paint a series of portraits by a scheming political rival of the prince. Lalo hates painting portraits because he can only paint the person’s true nature rather than their appearance. Before he can finish painting the portraits, a would-be assassin gains access to them to use their information to kill the prince and his courtiers. Lalo must confront this assassin and eliminate his threat. But just when he has the assassin at a disadvantage, the assassin challenges him with a most bedeviling question.

Diana Paxson has created one of the more intriguing characters in Thieves World in Lalo. He is complex and full of character, unlike many of the caricatures and clichés that populate these books. His moral struggle – already rich and complex – is made even more so by the challenge of killing to save one’s own life. Bravo Diana Paxxon!

Steel by Lynn Abbey
Walegrin, half brother of S’Danzo Illyra, has returned to Sanctuary with the ore necessary to make the legendary Elibar steel. He finds a blacksmith willing to refine the ore and make Enlibar blades. Meanwhile, he examines the power structure in Sanctuary and finds a vacuum left by the apparent departure of the slaver Jabul and his army of Hawkmasks. However, when his half sister goes missing, he makes a deal with Prince Kadakathis to help ensure the security of Sanctuary – a town he hates.

This story was well plotted and well written. It fit nicely into the developing instability in Sanctuary after the fall of Jabul. What was unclear in the story is what Walegrin’s goals were beyond getting the Elibar swords made. What did he hope to accomplish with those blades? Perhaps the question will be answered in a later story.

Wizard Weather by Janet Morris
Cime, the killer of wizards is at it again as she kills the leader of the mages in Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Tempus is trying to build a mercenary army loyal to the prince. Other tasks, such as reigning in his wayward sister, Cime, get in the way.

This story was beyond horrible! Constantly shifting points of view made it impossible to follow. Over use of pronouns made it impossible to tell who was saying and doing what. Too many things going on in the story made it unfocused and unpleasant to read. It was as if the editor assigned Morris a word count and asked her to continue a novel and call it a short story. I couldn’t finish it it was so bad!

Godson by Andrew J. Offut
The thief Hanse – aka “Shadowspan” has taken up sword and armor to become a swordsman at the behest of Tempus, whom he rescued from the evil Kurd, the vivisectionist. Hanse thinks back on the summons from the gods that made him aspire to be a swordsman. He is told that he must fight and defeat the god Vashanka for the good of Ranke – and fight him he does.

Best story in the book! Hanse is the series’ best character. He’s already well developed, but a whole new dimension is added to his character here. The family tree of the gods is a bit hard to understand, but the goal is clearly identified and Hanse is a well written hero.

Epilogue by Robert Lynn Asprin
Huge ships arrive on the shores of Sanctuary. Dispatches are sent to the capital city. Residents prepare for invasion. Hakiem the storyteller sits on the shore, watching the largest story of his lifetime unfold before him. Sanctuary, it seems, will never be the same.

Storm Season was incredibly uneven. It appears that editor, Robert Asprin, is trying to drive a narrative through short stories. In doing so, he’s asking his writers to contort their narrative in ways that don’t work in the short story form.

There are a couple gems in the book. Asprin’s introduction and Godson are wonderful fantasy. Steel was a serviceable story. But the rest just tried too hard to drive a unified story and that was not the original, stated purpose of Thieves’ World.

Shadows of Sanctuary: Book Three of Thieves’ World

Shadows of Sanctuary: Book Three of Thieves’ World
Edited by Robert Asprin
Copyright 1981

Introduction by Robert Asprin

Hakiem the storyteller is sitting in the Vulgar Unicorn lamenting the failing fortunes of his city. Sanctuary – never a town of booming “legitimate” commerce – is now on hard times. Hard times lead desperate people to desperate acts and Hakiem fears that Sanctuary’s already dangerous streets and alleys will become more dangerous. He is stunned from his revelry when in walks One Thumb, the inn’s proprietor thought by all to be dead. One Thumb tells his story to Hakiem who is an expert at stories. He finds One Thumb’s story to be second rate and not worth retelling for profit.

One Thumb was the character introduced and killed by author, Joe Haldeman, in the first book of the series. The way Asprin writes Hakiem’s evaluation of One Thumb’s story, it is entirely clear that Asprin didn’t care for Haldeman’s story or the elimination of a potentially interesting character. One reviewer called it “bitchy and funny.” I agree.

Looking for Satan by Vonda McIntyre
Four travelers unfamiliar with Sanctuary and its customs (or the customs of normal humans) arrive in the town looking for their missing friend, Satan – a red, winged humanoid. Through the help of the mage, Lythande, they learn that he was captured and is being held as a freak show exhibit at a carnival. They scheme to get him released and exact a little revenge on one of the Vulgar Unicorn’s more vulgar patrons who tried to rape one of them.

Other Thieves' World fans seem to hold this story in low regard. One called it, “too touchy, feely.” I think it’s the best Thieves’ World story yet. McIntire writes her fish out of water characters brilliantly – eschewing laugh lines and incorporating genuine cultural gaps that are interesting and thoughtful. She also tastefully and artfully injects sex into her story – something other Thieves’ World writers have been a little ham handed at doing.

Ischade by C.J. Cherryh
A new thief has arrived in Sanctuary and she specializes in ripping off mages. Coupling with her means death for her mate. She hires a local thief to assist her in her efforts. The mage, Lythande, hires the thief Hanse to protect his/her interests. The two play a cat and mouse game through the Maze and the temples of Sanctuary.

All I can say of this story is it was incredibly dull. The motivations of the principles were difficult to discern. Ischande was an intriguing character because of her Black Widow nature, but the story was sorely lacking.

A Gift in Parting by Robert Asprin
A young man is eager to blow out of Sanctuary and his boring life as the son of a fisherman. He’s counting on his father, to whom he is not close, to provide him with a little coin before he heads to the capital. The father promises him his coin and a life lesson. All of the fishermen in Sanctuary are going broke because some creature has invaded the fishing waters and scared off the fish. The old fisherman teaches the young man a couple things about making things happen rather than waiting for things to happen.

Of the stories I’ve read in the Thieves’ World series, I think I like this one best. I now put it above In Search of Satan. It need not have been set in Sanctuary. It needed no fantastical element. It was, at its core, a well conceived, well told short story with well developed characters. That’s all one can ask for in a story.

The Vivisectionist by Andrew Offut
Hanse the thief is called upon, once again, to aid the prince, using his thieving skills. The prince’s most elite of his elite Hell Hound guards has gone missing. Hanse will be richly rewarded for finding him. Hanse locates him, imprisoned in a ghastly chamber of horrors operated by a madman who delights in inflicting pain in the name of medical research.

This story was well conceived, but poorly written. Inasmuch as the A Gift in Parting was the finest of the Thieves’ World tales to date, The Vivisectionist was by far the worst. That’s too bad because Offut tried to introduce an element of horror into this fantasy anthology. The writing is just horrible. The first ten pages had no connection to the story. Offut simply stopped that story and started over. The prose is awkward and stilted. The dialogue is stilted and the narrative hard to follow. What a waste!

The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn by Diana L. Paxson
A struggling, middle-aged artist reflects on the failures of his life. Lalo’s once promising career never took off. His once beautiful wife has aged and gone lumpy. He lives in a small apartment with his wife and kids in one of the worst parts of Sanctuary. One evening, he is in the Vulgar Unicorn and the wizard Enas Yorl invites him to paint his portrait. It is difficult since the wizard’s cursed body constantly changes form. In payment, Yorl offers him the ability to paint the souls of people rather than their appearance. He is invited with other artists to submit work to be displayed in a new temple. Lalo finds beautiful women to serve as models, but they are whores, cutpurses, and deviants and their souls transfer to his canvas as ugly. Scared and desperate, he searches in vain for a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and cannot find one. He finally decides he will use his wife as a model. In painting her, he finds out what a beautiful soul she is. That inner beauty, revealed on canvas, is the hit of the show and Lalo finally realizes his life’s dream to be a successful artist.

This story had just touches of femininity to it that provided an interesting perspective on inner beauty versus glamour. Paxson develops a rich subtext and combines it with a clever, well paced plot to write a wonderfully enjoyable story.

Then Azyuna Danced by Lynn Abbey
A slave girl, Seylalha, is chosen to represent the sister of the god, Vashanka, at the Festival of Vahsanka. Once she has finished her ritual dance, she will mate with the man picked to portray Vashanka for the legend says that Vashanka bedded his sister to produce an heir. The local priest wants Prince Kadakathis to portray Vashanka. Kadakathis agrees, but knows, as royalty, it cannot be commonly known that he slept with a common slave girl. So, Tempus Thales is asked by the Prince to step in and fulfill his role. Seylalha dances her dance and she and Tempus copulate. She knows that if she is with child, she will be free and live a life of leisure as a resident of the temple of Vashanka. She is left hoping.

This story left me thinking, so what? Perhaps it was written as a character development piece for Tempus Thales. We do learn more about his background as a disciple of Vashanka. But as a stand alone story, the plot had no purpose.

A Man and his God by Janet Morris
Tempus has survived his imprisonment with the vivisectionist, has participated in the ancient rituals of his god, and is now ready to return to the fold. His old friends come to Sanctuary to help him mete out justice to his tormenter and his constant adversary, the slaver, Jabu.

This story ranks in the top ten worst stories I’ve ever read! I didn’t even finish it it was so bad and I can’t recall the last time I gave up on a story! There was absolutely no coherence in the plot. The words just marched across the page in search of a plot! If the next book contains a story this bad, I will not finish the series.

Essay: Things the Editor Never Told Me Author: Lynn Abbey
Author Lynn Abbey discusses how difficult it has been to maintain the momentum of the Thieves’ World series.

Shadows of Sanctuary contained the finest writing of the first three volumes of the Thieves World series. It also contained the two worst stories of the collection. Poor writing coupled with little or no editing took what could have been an outstanding collection of short stories and made it average.

One cannot help but notice the stature of the writers selected for the volumes declining. The likes of Mercedes Lackey, Theodore Sturgeon and Joe Haldeman have given way to the likes of Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey, and the hapless Janet Morris.

Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn – Thieves World Vol. 2

Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn – Thieves World Vol. 2
Edited by Robert Asprin
Copyright 1980

Introduction by Robert Asprin
Hakiem the storyteller lounges in the Vulgar Unicorn, noting that its clientele has turned seedier since the disappearance of its proprietor, One Thumb. He tries to remain unnoticed in the crowd, gathering tales he will share for coin later.

Not a story as much as it is an mood setter, and as the title states, and introduction to the book.

Spiders of the Purple Mage by Philip José Farmer
A downtrodden woman is on her way home from work in The Maze when a dying man comes upon her and tells her he’s hidden an expensive and stolen jewel in a piece of cheese that was eaten by a rat. The man is covered with spider bites. The woman’s husband hears the story and trades its telling for drinks, which starts a great rat hunt in the city. She is then approached by a mysterious man who tells her the jewel was stolen from a mage who betrayed his religious order. If she’ll help him get into the mages fortress on a remote island, she can have whatever riches she can carry out while he’ll mete out justice. The two confront the mage’s wicked spiders and other minions in their quest.

This story reads like an old fashioned Dungeons and Dragons dungeon crawl. New monsters, traps, and obstacles at every turn. It was great fun. Asprin allowed Mr. Farmer’s story a full 29 percent of the book. This one is long.

Goddess by David Drake
Regli – a Sanctuary nobleman – waits impatiently outside his wife’s room as she endures a second day of labor. His brother in law arrives and is permitted to enter the room to see his sister – much to Regli’s consternation. After the brother in law, Samlor, Regli enters the room and triggers a backdraft. The room has been set on fire. Regli notices that his bride has been stabbed in the abdomen and bled out before the fire started. Meanwhile, Samlor is headed for the catacombs under the city to find a demon who impregnated his sister.

This story shifted gears abruptly and the transition from Regli’s anger at finding his wife dead and Samlor’s underground exploration was hard to understand. At one point, I thought maybe I was reading flashback. The story was too wordy in telling the reader, “he made a right, then a left, and circled around. . .”

The Fruit of Enlibar by Lynn Abbey
Illyra, the half-S’Danzo is visited by her long lost half brother who was with her when their parents were murdered when they were children. He returns to her with her mother’s jewelry and to ask a favor. He wants her to use her powers to move backward in time and decode the magical runes on a shard of pottery. Those runes hold a major clue in the development of a new kind of steel that will make swords more powerful.
Illyra is one of the more intriguing characters inhabiting Santuary and Lynn Abbey has spun her second excellent tale surrounding the S’Danzo. The story is well paced and the development of this new steel and who may wield it promises more great stories in the near future.

The Dream of the Sorceress by A.E. Van Vogt
Many year after the unsolved murder of his father, a Sanctuary healer’s home is invaded. He learns that whomever was in his home exited by simply passing through the door rather than opening it. After consulting a S’Danzo, Stulwig learns that he is caught between warring gods in a lover’s spat.

This story was more cerebral than most in Thieves’ World and was a refreshing change up from the swords and sorcery encountered so far.

Vashanka’s Minion by Janet Morris
Tempus Thales is an immortal mercenary working on behalf of the god of war, Vashanka. His latest mercenary job finds him employed as one of the Hell Hound guards in the employ of the prince. He is dismayed to find that his god, with whom he often quarrels, has spontaneously erected a temple in the Maze of Sanctuary. In that temple, men and women are able to purchase the magical weapons and devices they need to kill more effectively.

This story starts and never finishes entirely too many subplots. While Morris does a nice job of introducing the reader to Tempus who figures in many future Thieves’ World stories, she never really gives us a great deal of insight into the contentious relationship between Tempus and the god he serves.

Shadow’s Pawn by Andrew J. Offutt
Tempus, desperate to retrieve many of the items sold out of Vashanka’s Weather Shop is desperate to retrieve them – particularly the wands. He enlists the aid of Hanse – Perhaps the best thief in Sanctuary to help him. Hanse makes his first attempt and is struck by a wand of fear, causing him to flee. He encounters a S’Danzo who is able to calm him and restore his sanity. Later, he is able to steal a wand of enscolment and return it to Tempus. In exchange for helping Tempus, Hanse has recruited the immortal, mercenary hell hound to accompany him on a treasure hunt.

This second story improves my opinion of the first. It appears that the final three stories in the book are but chapters in long short story. We see now that the weapons initially made their way into the hands of both good and evil. But they are all sure to make their way into evil hands once word of their existence hits the streets.

To Guard the Guardians by Robert Asprin
The commander of the Hell Hounds strikes a deal with the slave trader, Jubal, to stop the murders of Jubal’s spies and henchmen in the city. The Hell Hound, Tempus, hates Jubal and kills his men at every opportunity. The Hell Hound commander asks in return that Jubal shut down the mad scientist conducting horrific experiments on his human slaves. Both men find creative ways to fulfill their bargain.

This was easily the best story in the book and Tempus has developed into a really complex character that will be featured over and over again through the series.

Essay: The Lighter Side of Sanctuary by Robert Asprin
At the end of the book, Asprin laments that most of the stories contained in the first two volumes of Thieves’ World are dark and without humor. So, to lighten the mood, he creates a chamber of commerce marketing piece for Sanctuary that is mildly funny.

Thieves’ World Edited by Robert Asprin

Thieves’ World
Edited by Robert Asprin
Copyright 1978

Fantasy and science fiction writer Robert Asprin created the fantasy setting of Sanctuary – a remote town known as a haven for thieves, brigands and riff raff, a number of characters, and invited the heavy hitters of the genre to write stories for what would become a twelve volume anthology.

Introduction by Robert Asprin
Asprin introduces us to Sanctuary. The emperor has a troublesome, idealistic half-brother who is making his life difficult. His chief adviser says have him killed. The emperor sends his half brother, Prince Kadakithis to Sanctuary to serve as its new governor.

Kadakithis is going to clean up Sanctuary, but he’s going to do it his way. There will be no brutality by the town guard. He will target petty crime first, then move up to the smugglers, assassins, and thieves as he learns the lay of the land. The stage is set for the first story.

Sentences of Death by John Brunner
Jarveena is an orphan whose parents were murdered when marauders sacked her village. She, just nine years old was raped and disfigured. She longs for revenge on the perpetrators and can’t believe her eyes when one of those wicked men from many years ago shows up in her town of Sanctuary as part of the Prince’s guard detachment.

Meanwhile, a member of the town guard has brought to her boss, Melilot who is a scribe who deciphers, decodes, and translates documents, a scroll that was dropped by that very man. Melilot immediately recognizes the runes as magical and develops a scheme to have Jarveena help him swindle some coin from the man who dropped it.

Before the swindle can take place, however, the wizard Enas Yorl intervenes and helps Jarveena develop a better plot – one that will help her realize her revenge fantasies. The scroll is actually a spell that will bring about the death of two people. Through swift contrivance, Jarveena is able to bring death to the man who wronged her so many years before. But, Enas Yarl reminds her that there are two deaths in the scroll and that second death very well could be hers. He convinces Jarveena to sign on with a merchant marine and get out of Sanctuary and let death take someone else.

Brunner masterfully weaves a number of intricate subplots and twists into his short story. It’s clear that Thieves World is going to be an interesting and entertaining collection of stories that combine swords, sorcery, and intrigue. The first three residents of Sanctuary have been introduced and we’ll see where they go from here. Bravo to the late John Brunner for getting this series of books off to a fascinating start!

The Face of Chaos by Lynn Abbey
It’s going to be a bad day Illyra – the half blood S’danzo and fortune teller realizes when the Face of Chaos card shows up in her own reading. A bad day indeed. . .

It starts when her husband’s anvil breaks. Dubro serves as the blacksmith in the bazaar at Sanctuary. In this remote part of the empire, a replacement will be impossible to find. Dubro takes off to drink his sorrows away. Illyra returns to her work of telling fortunes.

A woman of wealth and means, but trying to disguise it, comes to her for a reading. She needs to know what’s in store for her tomorrow. Illyra predicts ill for the woman who finally spills her story. Her father’s land was seized by the priests of one of Rankan’s many deities and they plan to build a new temple on it. Marilla was to be the priest’s prize. When she spurned him, he declared that she would be the sacrificial virgin placed under the cornerstone of the new shrine.

Marilla pleads for help. If Illyra can save her, she can have the anvil resting in her father’s abandoned barn. Illyra gives Marilla a drug that will knock her out. She figures the priests may have no use for her if she is asleep and if they go ahead and sacrifice her by burying her alive, at least she’ll be unconscious.

That night, Illyra is visited by the mage, Lythande who tells her Marilla must be saved. It is imperative for the kingdom. Illyra tells Lythande about the knockout drug, but Lythande says that is not enough. A substitute must be found.

She wanders into the night to find her husband and happens upon a brutal murder. The victim’s demolished face morphs into the Face of Chaos. Emotionally stricken, she collapses and is discovered by Dubro. Illyra tells her of the mage’s visit, the anvil, and they hatch a plan.

The acquire a corpse from the gallows. Confident that it will be too dark to distinguish between a sleeping virgin and a dead old man, they interrupt the late night processional of priests to the temple building site. They switch out the corpses. When Illyra looks upon Marilla, she sees first her face, then the faces of people she’s known before it morphs into a featureless head. Illyra flees in panic to the barn to hide.

There, she encounters an agent of Lythande who explains the ruse. The Priests of Ilsig knew that under their own temple was a body – not of royal lineage as everyone believed – but a lowly slave substituted by the Queen. The Priests of Ils therefore conspired to rig the site of a temple to Ranke with a false body. While their temple was consecrated by an imperfect body, it was a body. A temple consecrated by an inanimate dummy would give Ilsig a leg up on Rankan. Lythande and all mages want to keep the balance of power in the cosmos.

Illyra and Dunro have their anvil. They return to the bazaar where she will resume her occupation as a seer S’danzo and he a blacksmith.

This was an engaging story, but without a little groundwork laid for the background of the deities and temples, the conspiracy was difficult to understand.

The Gate of Flying Knives by Poul Anderson
A young bard’s love is taken from the Prince’s palace by a strange creature called a “flying knife” that apparently comes from a different plane. Cappen Varen and his friend, Jamie, must locate the gate within the temple of Ils, pass through, and rescue the beautiful Danlis and the princess to whom she is a lady in waiting.

I know Poul Anderson is a legend in science fiction and fantasy, but I thought the dialogue in this story was just atrocious. But the story was good enough to overcome the poorly written dialogue. The story also serves as our introduction to the Vulgar Unicorn and its innkeeper.

Shadowspawn by Andrew Offutt
A palace coup is afoot within the walls of Prince Kadakathis’ castle. A royal concubine and a member of the royal guard recruit a thief and conspire with him to have an important staff stolen from the prince’s quarters. The thief, Hanse – or Shadowspawn – is regarded as an up and comer in The Maze of Sanctuary. He knows when he’s being set up, but develops his own plan to take advantage of the situation. But the tables get turned on all parties by the unlikeliest of people and Hanse finds himself with an unprecedented opportunity.

There’s nothing terribly original about the story. It’s the standard treachery of a palace coup fare and finding a dupe to take the fall. But Offutt writes well and it is enjoyable if predictable. The end is a bit of a cliffhanger and we’ll have to wait until later to find out what decision Hanse eventually makes.

The Price of Doing Business by Robert Lynn Asprin
Jubal, once a gladiator and slave, is now a merchant and dealer in slaves and contraband. He is one of the wealthiest merchants in Sanctuary with many paid eyes and ears in The Maze and the Bazaar. As he is receiving his daily intelligence briefing in his mansion, a Maze street urchin is brought before him, claiming he has a message. One of Jubal’s hired spies – Hakiem – is in hiding and in fear for his life. The urchin says that Jubal must come to Hakiem’s aid at once. Jubal agrees and accompanies the lad into the city, musing over the little urchin’s spunk and courage. The boy leads him into a narrow alley where he is set upon by a group of kids bent on vengeance for the random murder of one of their own by Jubal’s men. Jubal tries to fight them off, but there are too many. Just as he’s about to fall, he’s rescued by a Hell Hound – one of the prince’s guard. The Hell Hound is righteous in his attitude about morality and service to the kingdom and is quick to pass judgment on Jubal’s life as a peddler of evil.

The first half of this story was packed with action and moved quickly. Once Jubal was rescued, it read like a political debate with an anti-climatic resolution. Seeing as Asprin was the editor of this series of books, it looks as if he may be developing a character to be passed onto another writer, because this story, standing alone, is not a good short story.

Blood Brothers by Joe Haldeman
Lastel is an assassin in Sanctuary. To some, he’s Lastel, wealthy merchant and trader of the drug krrf (the author’s description would have it resemble cocaine in its effect). To others, he’s the gruff, but good natured bartender, One Thumb at the Vulgar Unicorn. Lastel has just assassinated by way of poison, the son of a noble and acquired a large supply of krrf. He plans to sell it to the owner of a brothel. When they sit down to strike the deal at the Vulgar Unicorn, the brothel owner says she’s been robbed of a brick of krrf. When they go to ascertain if it is the same block of krrf, they find it gone. It seems a wizard is meddling in their business. They pay a visit to the wizard’s father to ask him to intervene.

Joe Haldeman’s climax is a scenario frequently seem in role playing games which is having a character fight himself. In this case, One Thumb must fight Lastel. The blow by blow account of this encounter is confusing and the ending entirely too ambiguous for it to be a good story.

Myrtis by Christine DeWees
The owner of a brothel is informed that she and the other operators of brothels will have to pay a hefty tax to continue with business in Sanctuary. Myrtis immediately recognizes that the tax is designed – not to raise revenue – but to put them out of business. She organizes the other madams and hits Sanctuary’s “respectable” merchants in their pocketbook. She also seduces on the palace guard, “Hellhounds” and shows him what lies beneath her brothel and how important it is to the safety of Sanctuary.

Of all of the writers in the first volume of Thieves World, DeWees is the least heralded. Yet her story was the most concise and tightest of the bunch. It is a story that could be set in our world today with its sin taxes designed to change behavior. Myrtis is going to be an interesting character.

The Secret of the Blue Star by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The magician Lythande saves a poor wretched prostitute from the hands of an evil mage of his order. Each of those mages wears a blue star tattooed on his forehead. But the saving was part of the evil mage’s plan. He hopes that the prostitute will seduce Lythande and force him to tell the secret of the Blue Star which will eliminate him as a rival by destroying his power. But Lythande has a secret bond with the madame Myrtis and she helps get him out of his bind.

Bradley is one of the giants of science fiction writing and this tale is a good example of why she is held in such regard. Great emotion in this story along with well developed characters.

The first Thieves’ World book has some great stories and a few average stories. None of them are bad.

The concept of Thieves’ World is to have each author create their own character and have that character interact with characters created by other writers. What the reader gets is different perceptions of characters based on who is perceiving them (meaning which writer is telling the tale). It is an original concept and was well received by the science fiction/fantasy community. This book is one of the most widely read and best known anthology series in fantasy literature for good reason.