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edwardbilodeau's review
2.0
I had only vague memories of reading this as a late teen when I was deep into D&D. Was hoping it was better than I remembered, but alas it was worse. The cover (which on my copy was the three characters sitting at the tavern table) probably told the best story of the lot. I pushed through hoping the stories would get better (they are all short stories by different authors), but they never did. The few good bits kept it from getting one star.
vimcenzo's review against another edition
This is my third time trying this, and the reader does a decent job, but the names are unique to the setting and intentionally off. This doesn't really flow well in the audio format, and I'd prefer a print edition. I have the First Blood omnibus I bought off iTunes; I'll be giving that a shot.
ceadda's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read from a couple decades ago. One of my favorite sword and sorcery settings shared by some of the best fantasy authors of the time.
Definitely a product of its time though. The MZB story is especially problematic.
Definitely a product of its time though. The MZB story is especially problematic.
bbrien's review
2.0
I read this back in the 80's, after reading the "MYTH" books by Aspirin. The two series are nothing at all alike though, and I definitely preferred the "MYTH" books.
maddandroid's review
4.0
This is the first shared world anthology I've ever read back in the late 1970's, it may be the first ever published, lots followed like Wild Cards and Merovingen Nights two of my favorites.
My favorite stories from this first volume are Poul Anderson and Marion Zimmer Bradley, my favorite character is the thief Shadowspawn by Andrew Offutt who went on to write a standalone novel Shadowspawn.
This one paragraph from Anderon's story says more about the series then 10,000 words from myself could ever say.
Beneath a westering sun, the bazaar surged and clamoured. Merchants, artisans, porters, servants, slaves, wives, nomads, courtesans, entertainers, beggars, thieves, gamblers, magicians, acolytes, soldiers, and who knew what else mingled, chattered, chaffered, quarrelled, plotted, sang, played games, drank, ate, and who knew what else. Horsemen, camel-drivers, waggoners pushed through, raising waves of curses. Music tinkled and tweedled from wine-shops. Vendors proclaimed the wonders of their wares from booths, neighbours shouted at each other, and devotees chanted from flat rooftops. Smells thickened the air, of flesh, sweat, roast meat and nuts, aromatic drinks, leather, wool, dung, smoke, oils, cheap perfume.
re-read 10/15/23 this is my 3rd time time, as I read it when it was first published long before there was a goodreads, I still have the paperback I purchased at WaldonBooks the only store in the mall I actually enjoyed shopping in.
My favorite stories from this first volume are Poul Anderson and Marion Zimmer Bradley, my favorite character is the thief Shadowspawn by Andrew Offutt who went on to write a standalone novel Shadowspawn.
This one paragraph from Anderon's story says more about the series then 10,000 words from myself could ever say.
Beneath a westering sun, the bazaar surged and clamoured. Merchants, artisans, porters, servants, slaves, wives, nomads, courtesans, entertainers, beggars, thieves, gamblers, magicians, acolytes, soldiers, and who knew what else mingled, chattered, chaffered, quarrelled, plotted, sang, played games, drank, ate, and who knew what else. Horsemen, camel-drivers, waggoners pushed through, raising waves of curses. Music tinkled and tweedled from wine-shops. Vendors proclaimed the wonders of their wares from booths, neighbours shouted at each other, and devotees chanted from flat rooftops. Smells thickened the air, of flesh, sweat, roast meat and nuts, aromatic drinks, leather, wool, dung, smoke, oils, cheap perfume.
re-read 10/15/23 this is my 3rd time time, as I read it when it was first published long before there was a goodreads, I still have the paperback I purchased at WaldonBooks the only store in the mall I actually enjoyed shopping in.
mcdyligan's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
More of a loose anthology but it's showing it's age and some stories don't flow well. Cornerstone of my youth though so great to come back to
tani's review
3.0
This is one that I picked up from a lawn sale some unspecified number of years ago, and then found myself loathe to read because it just looked so old. I'm always wary of the older works, as they tend to slap me upside the head with unpleasantness like sexism more often than the more current stuff. Thankfully, this actually was something of a pleasant surprise.
For those who don't know, Thieves' World is a shared world, in which different authors create their own characters and write stories about said characters. Authors can use each other's characters, but they can't kill them, and I believe that the creator gets some power to either approve or disapprove of the actions that their characters take within the story. This particular anthology was a good mix of authors that I am familiar with, and authors that I am not.
As with all anthologies, I liked some stories more than others. If memory serves, I was most fond of "Sentences of Death" by John Brunner, "The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey, and "Myrtis" by Christine DeWees. Unsurprisingly to those who know me, these all featured women using both wits and strength to overcome obstacles. However, although I was more fond of these stories than the others, all of the stories were quite good. They were all action-oriented with clever storylines, and I didn't dislike a single one. If my rating is a bit ambivalent, it's because of my own struggles with short fiction in general, as well as what appears to be an across the board decrease in my overall ratings. (Getting picky as I get older, I guess.)
For those who don't know, Thieves' World is a shared world, in which different authors create their own characters and write stories about said characters. Authors can use each other's characters, but they can't kill them, and I believe that the creator gets some power to either approve or disapprove of the actions that their characters take within the story. This particular anthology was a good mix of authors that I am familiar with, and authors that I am not.
As with all anthologies, I liked some stories more than others. If memory serves, I was most fond of "Sentences of Death" by John Brunner, "The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey, and "Myrtis" by Christine DeWees. Unsurprisingly to those who know me, these all featured women using both wits and strength to overcome obstacles. However, although I was more fond of these stories than the others, all of the stories were quite good. They were all action-oriented with clever storylines, and I didn't dislike a single one. If my rating is a bit ambivalent, it's because of my own struggles with short fiction in general, as well as what appears to be an across the board decrease in my overall ratings. (Getting picky as I get older, I guess.)
subversivegrrl's review
4.0
I stumbled across the first volume of the Thieves' World anthology series shortly after it came out, and being a die-hard, ultimately I bought and read all 12 of the collections (and most of the novels), but after about vol. 6 it was more a labor of stamina and obligation than one of love.
The town of Sanctuary is a sort of robbers' den of a town, at the far reaches of an empire that's seen better days - in other words, not much of a law and order kind of place. The trick to these stories, tho', is that any of the participating authors could use any character created by another author, and do anything to them short of killing them. As a result, we had a male character who, in the hands of another author, was recast as a woman in disguise; a thief of unknown parentage who started out just as a simple, hard-working criminal, but later learned that he was more than human; and, in one case, a military type who was revealed to be the avatar of a god and therefore immortal, which allowed another author to have him kidnapped and tortured at length by vivisection (yeah, they cut him up and he healed - over and over again. Didn't kill him - just hurt him. A lot.) The authors just had to roll with the changes, as it were.
They were a hell of a lot of fun to read, until the whole thing devolved into repeated clashes between the various factions inhabiting Sanctuary - the failing imperial force, bands of mercenaries prone to switching sides at a moment's notice, an exiled ruler of still another country and her own entourage, including a well-armed militia... I intentionally avoid political thrillers because the who's-doing-what-to-whom part bores me, and I hate it when my SF goes that way. I soldiered on (pun sort of intended) until the series ended with Book 12, but it was only for the sake of finishing the job in a way, not because I was really enjoying the stories. Besides, they lost several of my favorite authors and their characters along the way, which took some of the gloss off.
The town of Sanctuary is a sort of robbers' den of a town, at the far reaches of an empire that's seen better days - in other words, not much of a law and order kind of place. The trick to these stories, tho', is that any of the participating authors could use any character created by another author, and do anything to them short of killing them. As a result, we had a male character who, in the hands of another author, was recast as a woman in disguise; a thief of unknown parentage who started out just as a simple, hard-working criminal, but later learned that he was more than human; and, in one case, a military type who was revealed to be the avatar of a god and therefore immortal, which allowed another author to have him kidnapped and tortured at length by vivisection (yeah, they cut him up and he healed - over and over again. Didn't kill him - just hurt him. A lot.) The authors just had to roll with the changes, as it were.
They were a hell of a lot of fun to read, until the whole thing devolved into repeated clashes between the various factions inhabiting Sanctuary - the failing imperial force, bands of mercenaries prone to switching sides at a moment's notice, an exiled ruler of still another country and her own entourage, including a well-armed militia... I intentionally avoid political thrillers because the who's-doing-what-to-whom part bores me, and I hate it when my SF goes that way. I soldiered on (pun sort of intended) until the series ended with Book 12, but it was only for the sake of finishing the job in a way, not because I was really enjoying the stories. Besides, they lost several of my favorite authors and their characters along the way, which took some of the gloss off.
esko's review against another edition
slow-paced
5.0
I liked the world the authors built in this book. There was one bizarre scene that was not necessary in the 2nd story but I will not lower my rating because of that.
Overall It was a dark,captivating and enjoyable read.
Overall It was a dark,captivating and enjoyable read.