Customer Reviews

Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune (Thieves' World Anthology)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many moons ago a fantasy anthology written by many top authors was conceived and Thieves World was born. The idea was that the City of Sanctuary would be the base with the various characters from the authors inhabiting this place. The idea was that the characters could be borrowed among the authors and you would get various perspectives of each character from different points of view. What the anthology turned into was a wonderful rollicking mess and one of the most important antholgy series to ever have been written for the fantasy world. The final book from the original series was published in 1989.

13 years later and Sanctuary rises again under Lynn Abbey's editorial control. This time it is a more mature version of theives world. The stories are every bit as good as the original, but a bit more polished this time around. Abbey must have learned hard lessons from the first anthology. There is a better focus and the story line is more organized. While the first anthology is going to be hard to match, the second anthology is starting off right.

The second book, "Enemies of Fortune" is very very good. There isn't a bad story or filler here. The book has both light and very dark stories. You feel bad for the various characters and yet laugh at them too. You find both love and gallantry among the denizons as well as honesty among thieves. The stories warn of the dangers of drug use "Good Neighbors" as well as not kidnapping the wrong woman "Protection". My personal favorites are "Ghost in the Pheonix" a light hearted story about possesion and "The Man from Shemhaza" which is anything but lighthearted.

"Enemies of Fortune" shows there are growng clouds for the future, which makes me want to read the next book before it is published. For those of you who have not read the original series, buy them if you can or at least read "Sanctuary", which will provide you a working knowledge betweent the old series and the new version. Highly Recommended.

I just picked up this book and have enjoyed it greatly. Thieves' World and the city of Sanctuary are such rich settings, and these authors explore that setting to great effect. I've only read about half the volume thus far, but highly recommend it based on what I have read. You'll enjoy this especially if you enjoy the whole 'shared world' concept (like I do). The stories are solid and the characters well-written. I strongly recommend the stories by Jody Lynn Nye, Robin Wayne Bailey, the 2 by CJ Cherryh & Jane Fancher, and Selina Rosen. And by all means, if you enjoy these stories, check out these authors' other works. Each one has a unique and entertaining style.

Congratulations and a hearty 'thank you' to Lynn Abbey for reviving the wonderful and engaging Thieves' World!

Reading a new Sanctuary anthology is like coming home again.

If home is a godsforsaken, mage-cursed seaport at the arse-end of the world, soaked in a generation of blood and stinking of fish, urine, vomit, magic and death, that is. Still, you've got to love the place. I do. I've been here since the beginning.

Of course comparisons to the original series are inevitable, and often apt. The first four books of the original were delightful, and while they started to decline towards the end, the genuis loci of the place still has a magnetic draw. Several of the stories in this one were extremely good at invoking the spirit of Sanctuary. Andrew Offut, a personal favorite, returns with a lively one, and the last story is by Steven Brust. If you don't know who Steven Brust is, get your nose out of Dance with Dragons and enjoy one of the finest living fantasy authors, particularly his Vlad Taltos series. Since I encountered Brust and Sanctuary at roughly the same point in my life, discovering his story at the end of the book was like . . . well, going fishing in a dinghy and discovering a lost treasure ship abandoned on the reef. And the twist he adds to the story is delightfully sick. In a good way. The other stories range from competent to extremely good. I highly recommend this to anyone who read the original. Anyone who didn't should probably start with Lynn Abbey's novel Sanctuary and move forward from there.

Best yet? This is the only anthology series I've ever known that ended up as an item in a divorce proceeding.

I know Tor is reeling with the advent of epublishing in a big way, and they might be hesitant about authorizing another book in the series due to market considerations. But even if they do balk, I urge Ms. Abbey to continue the series on her own, publishing on Kindle and dividing the spoils among the authors. Believe me, I could read four of these a year and be happy to pay good money. It's the town, you see. It calls you. Location, location, location.

(And WTF happened to Enas Yorl?!?)

Overall:
The anthology is a solid effort by the various authors and the editor. However, the magic of Sanctuary is not quite there from the original series. Steven Burst's story, 'The Man from Shemhaza' is quite good.

If you are not a hardcore fan of the Thieves' World series, the stories will not make any sense to you. If you are interested in finding out more about Sanctuary, please pick up the 'Sanctuary' and read it -- you will understand why Thieves' World has touch so many fantasy readers.

Details:
Plot: The backstory behind Sanctuary continues to move forward. Magic is slowly coming back to Sanctuary and many powerful kingdoms are starting to show interest in Sanctuary again. The plot advances are not dramatic but clear thought has been given to it.

Prose: The writing style varies quite a bit by each author. The authors do try to avoid using the main characters of the other authors which is counter to the original Thieves' World concept. In the original series, it was always very interesting to see the different takes by each author on a main character.

Action: The action is quite tame for the most part in the stories. You do not have much in the way of high fantasy in the stories. The stories are more about low ranking individuals with limited spheres of influence which is in keeping with the spirit of the original Thieves' World series.

Summary:
If you like Thieves' World, you should give this a read if you can pick it up cheap as a used book.

Around about what you would expect, from one of these anthologies. Although it would seem to be a bit smaller scale than some of the early volumes, and less dark, as far as Sanctuary and various characters go. Story average 3.23, and basically this is a tweener, in the middle of 3 and 3.5, but not good enough in this case to round up to a 4.

Offutt and Grubb the picks of this bunch, I think.

Enemies Of Fortune : Introduction - Lynn Abbey
Enemies Of Fortune : Widowmaker - C. J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher
Enemies Of Fortune : Deadly Ritual - Mickey Zucker Reichert
Enemies Of Fortune : Pr1cks and Afflictions - Dennis L. McKiernan
Enemies Of Fortune : Consequences - Jody Lynn Nye
Enemies Of Fortune : Good Neighbors - Lynn Abbey
Enemies Of Fortune : Gathering Strength - Selina Rosen
Enemies Of Fortune : Dark of the Moon - Andrew Offutt
Enemies Of Fortune : Protection - Robin Wayne Bailey
Enemies Of Fortune : Legacies - Jane Fancher and C. J. Cherryh
Enemies Of Fortune : Malediction - Jeff Grubb
Enemies Of Fortune : The Ghost in the Phoenix - Diana L. Paxson and Ian Grey
Enemies Of Fortune : The Ballad of Shemhaza - Steven Brust

Never good when your strangler ex-wife comes back to town.

3.5 out of 5


Giving up piracy is an option, you know.

3.5 out of 5


Stunted mama's boy.

3 out of 5


Hornets, snakes, whichever.

3 out of 5



Healer choices.

3.5 out of 5


Froggin' drugs.

3 out of 5


Hope she doesn't frog me to death.

3.5 out of 5


Shadowspawn's apprentice's new lover and jewellery are more than they seem.

4 out of 5


Racket's moggie rebound.

3.5 out of 5


Chameleon amnesia.

2.5 out of 5


The Vulgar Unicorn leads to Hell, thanks to a small-codded frog-rooter.

4 out of 5


Spirit separation accident.

2.5 out of 5


Musician not so nice.

3.5 out of 5

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