Customer Reviews

Uneasy Alliance (Thieves World, Bk 11)

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

 

 

I have probably mentioned here before that I have a long-standing love that I am nearly able to defend for the Thieves' World series. I have never lost my taste for the chaotic writers' world that started with the eponymous first book and ended with Stealer's Sky. I know that the quality is uneven. I recognize that sometimes the writers liked each other more than they liked us. But that, for me, was part of the fun. Anyhow, I have been rereading the series slowly over the last few years, and am disappointed to report that I am nearly done.

Book 11 is not one of the strongest books in Thieves' World. Although Book 10 is called Aftermath, book 11 has a strong Intermezzo feeling. Evidence, I guess, that the series was winding down. Magic has largely disappeared from Sanctuary; Daphne seems to be gaining a sense of perspective; Prince Kadakithis grows up; Ischade is still tortured. I was particularly fond of the Diana L. Paxson section on "The Vision of Lalo". This gives me hope that someday I will find a book that she has written which I actually enjoy.

Writers in Book 11 are: Robert Lynn Asprin, C.J. Cherryh, Jon DeCles, Chris Morris, C.S. Williams, Robin Wayne Bailey and Diana L. Paxson.

There are seven stories in this, the eleventh compendium of Sanctuary stories, and like the ten volumes before them, they are written by different authors about different events happening roughly at the same time. They even reference some of the same characters. However, this is not one of the better compendiums in the series as there is no real unifying theme that runs amongst the various stories. They are all set in a time about a year after the big mage wars, but that's about the only common denominator. Unfortunately, that's not enough to carry this book and so I am giving it a three star rating because it's just an OK book. Nothing special.

If you are a fan of the series, this eleventh book will occupy space on your shelves, but if you are thinking of reading this as a first attempt, do not bother. Too much of this book will not make sense to you and there are too many references to events that happened in previous volumes, or are dependent on understanding what took place in previous volumes. A couple of examples are who and what are Hakiem and Lalo and why are they such important characters in this volume.

The writing style is more uneven then normal as maybe some of the authors are getting tired of this world? Not sure, but it sure seems this way. There is one more book in the series and I intend to read it for completeness.