Thieves' World

Thieves' World #1 (Original Printing)

Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by such science fiction authors as Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris, and Chris Morris. The Morrises introduced the Sacred Band of Stepsons[1] in Thieves' World and spun off a series of novels about them and their ancient cavalry commander, Tempus. The first three novels in The Sacred Band of Stepsons saga were authorized Thieves World novels. Marion Zimmer Bradley was an early contributor but spun off her main character in the novel Lythande (1986) and did not return for later volumes. The series went on hiatus after the twelfth anthology. In addition to the official anthologies, several authors published novels set in the milieu of Thieves World.

Thieves' World is set in the city of Sanctuary, located at the edge of the Rankan Empire. The city is depicted as a place where many are downtrodden and where the invading Rankan gods and the Ilsigi gods they had ousted begin a struggle for primacy. As the series continues, additional invasions occur, and the city is taken over by the snake-worshipping Beysib as the Rankan empire collapses. Over time, a number of the characters in the series are revealed either to be the offspring of or otherwise blessed by various figures in the pantheons of the competing cultures, and they discover or develop various powers as the series progresses.

In 2002, Lynn Abbey, who co-edited several of the original anthologies, relaunched the series with the novel Sanctuary. It was followed by the anthologies Turning Points and Enemies of Fortune, which contain some returning authors and several new ones. Abbey also oversaw the republication of the original anthologies in omnibus editions.

Original anthologies

New anthologies

Novels and collections

There are seven official novels, several unofficial novels and various collections and short stories outside the official anthologies.

The official novels are:

The first three novels by Janet Morris were published in hardcover by Baen Books and as Science Fiction Book Club Selections. The first six Morris novels were published in mass market paperback by Ace Books and subsequently expanded in Author's Cut trade paper editions by Perseid Press. The first novel, Janet Morris's Beyond Sanctuary combines two stories from the anthologies with additional stories, weaving the whole into novel form. The first part of the novel Dagger appeared in the anthology Aftermath.

Other novels/collections include:

Short stories

Omnibuses

Comics

Starblaze Graphics 1985. Illustrated by Tim Sale. The original series was all black and white except for the covers.

Thieves World Graphics collects volumes 1 to 3 above, colorised and with a new cover by David A. Cherry

Role playing games

Board game

Characters

References

  1. ↑ the Sacred Band of Stepsons
  2. ↑ Dickinson, Oliver (April–May 1982). "Open Box: Thieves' World". White Dwarf (review). Games Workshop (30): 15. ISSN 0265-8712.

External links

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