Lynn Abbey Books

Sometimes I think that the Thieves' World editions that work the best are the books with the least number of contributors. Whatever the formula, Aftermath functions beautifully as a book and has a lot of the good stuff that makes the series so addictive. There are a handful of really interesting new characters put into play (Star, Samlor, Cade). Additionally, a number of the more established dramatis personae makes some significant steps forward (Illyra, Kama and Hans).

Writers in this volume include: Asprin & Abbey, David Drake, Mark C. Perry, Janet Morris, John Brunner and Andrew Offutt.

After the minor disappointment of Book 8 and the more hopeful turn in Book 9, Thieves' World readers should really enjoy Aftermath. As usual, begin this series at the beginning. It will be too much work to catch up with the backstory if you try to jump in so late in the series.

This is #10 in the Thieves World series and a fine explosive volume it is too.

We find Tempus and the Stepsons abandoning the war torn city of Sanctuary (can you believe the irony of the name?) as vicious rivalries emerge from the rubble. The fate of the city hangs in the balance as the struggle for power lurches on.

So come join this city of outlaws and adventurers in a world of war and wizardry, peopled with colorful characters created by a legion of today's top fantasy adventure writers: Lynn Abbey, Robert Asprin, John Brunner, David Drake, Janet Morris, Andrew Offutt, Mark Perry and more.

I read all the Thieves' World Series as a teenager. The series was amazing then and its GREAT to see it back in print. For those of you who do not read much fantasy - Thieves' World is a shared world anthology - that means that various authors come together to write stories under a shared theme...in this case, the city of Sanctuary. The characters are solid and the different perspectives of the stories create a rich tapestry.

Last, the nice thing about having the first two in a single book - which should be obvious - only one book in the backpack on the way to the beach.

I found my copies at a used book store 12 years ago--back when the two books were separate. The narrative was so good, I read both in the same night.

Thieves World is an usual type of anthology in that, while different writers are contributing, the individual stories are more like chapters. This is because they all share the same characters and what happens in one story, carries on as character background in the next story by the next author. If a character or event is introduced in one story, it is fodder for future stories.

The effect is that you get many different viewpoints for the same story--some light, some dark--and it makes the overall story seem more well-rounded, yet cohesive at the same time. This is a tribute to the talents of the many writers involved with the project, and to the editors, Abbey and Asprin [fine writers in their own right].

As for the overall story, Thieves World is set on a terrestrial planet, with most of the action taking place in and arround the city of Sanctuary. Initially, the tone is fantasy--swordsmen, magic, gods/goddesses. As the series progresses, subtle elements of sci-fi are woven in--non-human species from the sea, advanced technology, etc. By the end, Thieves World had transformed into an anthology series unlike any I've read.

I regularly read the entire series [all 12 books] at least once a year, and I'm happy they're being reissued since my copies are getting very worn out.

I absolutely recommend this anthology for any fan of the fantasy genre.

It is in 'Beneath the Web' that the whole story really gets going, as set up in 'The Wooden Sword'. In the world patiently crafted Lyn Abbey lets her characters lose to solve the mystery of 'Dart' and wether he is man, demon, fetch, or who knows what. Berika the sheperdess came off relatively poorly in the first book, still gaining her feet. As she finds her power that changes. The obsessive reader of science fiction for some thirty five years, I rarely find a book who's ending I can't guess, but Lyn Abbey makes the whole thing a unique experience with her depth of detail and characterization. I only wish I could say of her that 'she doesn't know when to end a series', as two books seems to be her limit. A pity, because the rich worlds she carves out have the potential for much more. These two books are worth finding.END

Welcome to SANCTUARY, a city of outlaws and adventurers in a world of war and wizardry, peopled with colorful characters created by today's top fantasy adventure talents, including:


LYNN ABBEY
ROBERT LYNN ASPRIN
C.J. CHERRYH
ANDREW J. OFFUTT

In this dramatic final adventure, clouds of war gather over Sanctuary once again. And as warriors prepare for battle, thieves eagerly await a great dust storm to envelop the city. For then they can silently strike, slipping in and out of the raging currents of the storm...

As with the other anthologies in this series, this one is written in a braided format - in fact, more so than the preceding volumes, so that there is a nearly seamless flow from story to story.

Abbey, Lynn: "Strange Bedfellows" - Further development of Marina Kamat's infatuation with Mondragon, mainly from the Kamats' point of view. Once Richard becomes aware of some of what's been going on, he steps in and meets with Mondragon. For one thing, Richard takes action to see that a promise made to Raj by Marina is kept - help getting accepted at the College as a medical student. This story also sets up Richard's working relationship with Mondragon, as Richard works to create the Samurai, a new security force for the merchants' docks and warehouses.

Asire, Nancy: "By a Woman's Hand" - This thread follows Justice Lee, his mentor Father Rhajmurti, and various figures at the College, and introduces his fellow-student Sonja Keisel. She's a wizard at math, willing to tutor Justice at Rhajmurti's suggestion - and the daughter of two families at the top of Merovingen's hierarchy.

Cherryh, C.J.: "Troubled Waters" - This thread weaves in and out of the others, mainly following Jones and Mondragon.

Fish, Leslie: "Treading the Maze" - We find out more about Black Cal, the only honest cop in Merovingen - such as why he only seems to show up when Rif's around, and why the blacklegs at the Signeury know it's time to clean out the blueblood's cell when Cal takes out rookies on his beat. The Janists, Rif among them, are busy trying to get permits for Master Milton's Magic Show - but why? :)

Lackey, Mercedes: "A Tangled Web We Weave" - Raj finally cracks under the strain of letting Marina Kamat think that his love poems actually come from Mondragon (among other things, it's potentially dangerous for Mondragon). Being a Takahashi, Raj does what he considers to be the honorable thing.

We find out a bit more about Raver and May, the swampies who were closest to Raj in his days out there...including that Raver was once Raven, a Janist agent, and that he scooped something very interesting out of the harbor after the 'sharrh overflight' in FEVER SEASON.

Morris, Chris: "Saying Yes to Drugs" - Michael Chamoun, having been introduced to deathangel powder during his catechism sessions with Cardinal Ito Boregy for past-life regression, proceeds to introduce his wife, Cassie Boregy, to the stuff - and she begins to acquire a reputation for prophecy.

Morris, Janet: "The Prisoner" - In case you're wondering why one faction or another never grabbed Jones as leverage against Mondragon, well, everyone in Merovingen knows that it's crazy to lay hands on the Trade; they stick together against landsmen. But Chance Magruder, the Nev Hettek ambassador, doesn't know the rules.

Rogow, Roberta: "Nessus' Shirt" - If the title doesn't mean anything to you, grab a book of Greek mythology and turn to the end of the section on Hercules. (Yes, I read way too much mythology when I was a kid, if there is such a thing as too much.)

I would put this in my top list of fantasy books. It was amazing. You start the book, thinking you'll read a chapter and do something else. But the story of a boy coming of age, becoming a monster, and finally seeking redemption was just too good to let go of.

One thing I'll always remember was my sister reading this book, and then screaming when the doorbell rang because she wanted to finish the novel instead of going out with her friends.

Did any of you actually read this book????? AS a big fan of the Dark Sun World,I found this book to be a MAJOR letdown.Lynn Abbey threw all the established rules and history of Athas and dragons out the window to make this garbage,the plot makes no sense,her desription of Hamanu's past makes no sense(for one thing in the book she says he is only 1000 years old,but he is at least 2000 years old because thats when he helped lock Rajaat up!!!).The woman obviously read the history of Athas,but she ignored it when she wrote this book and that I just can't get by.

SO if you love Athas and it's sorcerer-kings,DON'T READ THIS BOOK!!!

A wonderful book. Once again, Lynn Abbey tells a wonderful story with great characters and an extremely engaging plot. This book certainly sheds a lot of light onto the Dragonkings and on Athas. Highly recommended.

Lynn Abbey's book seems to end the "Dark Sun" chronology. The author is most concerned with character and motivation. We originally met Hamanu in the Prism Pentad, as a harsh tyrant and brutal defender of his city. In later novels and stories, his relationship with the land's protectors, and his humility and overall deep sadness were explored. Lynn Abbey creates a past and a set of motivations for Hamanu which (in the context of this make-believe world) are credible and profoundly moving. The dictators of our own world (both right-wing and left-wing) claim (if pressed) that they must suppress freedoms to maintain security and prosperity for their people. Are they sincere? Are they correct? I don't know. But Hamanu finds himself in their position, and struggles (as perhaps they do) with its implications. The struggle is the theme of this book. And in the end, he recovers his humanity, both literally and spiritually.

Lynn Abbey does a very remarkable job of bringing us behind the scenes of being a sorcer-king. I think this was the last Dark Sun book written and I had already read all the others. Abbey shows that Hamanu is not necessarily evil but is more a victim of circumstances than anything else. I also gotta admit I really like the names Lynn came up with such as Gallard Bane of Gnomes, Ogre-Naught, Myron Troll-Scorcher, etc. Unfortunately it seems WoTC has ended Dark Sun. I'm gonna write em and ask why because I think Dark Sun has excellent potential. I wanna see more of Sorak, Just-Plain Pavek, Sadira and Rikus.

Many moons ago there was an anthology called Thieves World. It was about a small city called Sanctuary and the goings on within this city. A caste of characters was developed by different authors and as the books progressed, so did the characters. The difference was the authors could use characters from each other. This gave a very rich narrarative to the various tales. Instead of getting one version of events, the reader recieved many versions of the same accounts. This gave the world of Thieves World a depth not very often seen.

Lynn Abbey has returned to the city again and worked his magic. Once again the city of Sanctuary is in full bloom. This is the first of the new set and it is a great beggining. The setting is many years after the end of the last book from the last collection. This gives the city a new feel, but does leave an old reader wondering what happened to the various characters from the last anthology. Some old characters do make appearences as older or dead versions of themselves, but most of them are gone without mention. A new reader can figure out what had happened with the history from the new stories, but there is nothing like living the old books. This is my only complaint about first book. The writing is superb and Abbey gets my compliments with his editing and choice of writers. My personal favorite story is "Doing the Gods' Work" by Jody Van Nye. Even in a city of cutthroats, somebody is trying to build something for the good.

This book is great start to something new and does harken back to the old for those of us who enjoyed the first Anthology. Highly reccommended.

Overall the book was a fairly strong return to Thieves' World. With, for the most part, a good stable of returning authors as well as what look to be some very promising new (to Thieves' World) authors.

By and large, the new characters offer a great deal of potential for diverse and interesting stories. In the entire volume, I personally only found the Andrew Offut and Dennis McKiernan stories to not be to my liking. Offut's story simply failed to insire me while McKiernan's was, by and large, little more than an exercise in literary powergaming. At least at this point in the renewed series nothing is lost but wasted time if a reader were to wisely choose to skip that particular story.

If you are looking for an excellent sword/scorcery/adventure read then Sanctuary is the place. Old fans of the original 12 books and new ones will be greatly pleased with this effort. Anyone that says there is nothing exciting in the heroic fantasy genre needs to look no further.

This is the first Thieves' World volume to follow Lynn Abbey's "Sanctuary", the novel that, if it didn't wipe the slate clean for this shared-universe setting, at least erased a whole lot of what had come before. "Sanctuary" was a "and now, many years later" type of reboot to clear the decks of a lot of old characters and punt a whole mess of overly byzantine plotlines to the curb. This collection of short stories therefore deals mostly with brand new characters with a different set of concerns and goals than the "old school" heroes and villains from the original run back in the Eighties. It's a good point to jump aboard because things haven't become too terribly convoluted yet.

I just had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Abbey this past weekend at a convention. In addition to the second new short story collection, "Enemies of Fortune", that has already been released, there is a third volume that is being planned. We are very unlikely to see the return of the big names from the past (such as the loathsome Tempus). In some cases (in particular Marion Zimmer Bradley's Lythande the Blue Adept) this is because the authors in question spun their characters off into stand-alone novels and went beyond the scope of the shared universe and were told that there was no bringing them back into Sanctuary. At any rate, Ms. Abbey will be trying to keep each collection more self-contained, so that plots don't span multiple volumes and the characters won't be pursuing 18 different agendas simultaneously.

In addition to sharing tidbits of how things were done back in the day (the writers from the first run seemed to spend plenty of time plotting against their own editors, when they weren't taking out their frustrations on the characters of fellow authors they were quarreling with), Ms. Abbey and some folks from Green Ronin fielded questions about the new Thieves' World role-playing game. Chaosium had their own version of this 20 years ago, but now the game rights have been transferred and Green Ronin is rolling out four d20-compatible volumes, two of which have already been released. The upcoming guide to the world of Sanctuary (including city maps and details on all of the realms we've heard of, such as the Rankan Empire, Ilsig, and so on) sounds really great. And everything in the RPG material will be considered canonical. Worth a look when it comes out!

When the Hell-Hounds patrolled the Maze, when Unicorns were Vulgar and when Sanctuary was just a play-thing for the Gods?
Well, the Gods have left and the city has new rulers, but most of the rules are the same - there are none. Keep a sharp eye on your friends, a closer one on your enemies and grow a third eye to watch your back.
Welcome to Thieves' World! Enter one of the darkest cities EVER to be created by ANYBODY. Ten stories by such authors as Raymons E. Feist, Lynn Abbey (of course) and Diana L. Paxson.
Old fans will wish to get this book and new fans will wish to collect the old series (if they can). Meet the most dangerous, most tight-fisted, most foul-mouthed, Heros you may EVER come to love.
Just keep a fourth eye on your purse.

This book is a history of ElfQuests first 10 chiefs, from Timmorn Yellow-Eyes to Bearclaw. This book was a "breaking in" period for the BOTC series. It focuses on the hardships of chiefhood. It offers insight into the difficult struggle many of the earlier chiefs experienced between the wolf-song and their elven sides.It also goes in depth about the beginning of the bond between Wolf-Riders and their wolf-friends If you're a long time fan of ElfQuest it answers questions you may have about th 10 chiefs. If you aren't than this is one of the best places to start

A richly drawn journey through the World of Two Moons, this collection of stories spanning thousands of years is a fine addition to the ever unfolding ElfQuest saga. "The Blood of Ten Chiefs" gives us an all too brief glimpse into the lives of the wolfriders before the familiar days of Cutter and his family. Like the best of the ElfQuest tales, these stories are well written, beautifully drawn and easily capture emotions without the need for excess dialogue and narration. The change in styles from story to story, artist to artist, can be distracting at first, but after the first few pages the reader is fully involved and captivated by each artist's unique vision of these wonderful elves and their magical world. Wendi Pini's creative absence, so terribly and painfully obvious in many of the other recent entries in the series, in no way diminishes this collection which features some of the finest work of the "guest" artists I have yet seen.

The stories are varied in style and scope, ranging from the visually stunning "Colors" which tells the epic tale of Timmorn and his struggle to reconcile his elfin and wolf heritage, to the whimsical and innocent "At the Oak's Root" which tells of a young Tanner and his misfit "wolf"-friend who is not a wolf at all.

Taken together the stories serve as an engaging glimpse at the legendary Ten Chiefs. Newcomers to ElfQuest should probably save this collection for last, as the stories assume that the reader comes to them with a full and comfortable command of World of Two Moons and its inhabitants.

In the twenty-one years since Wendy and Richard Pini introduced the graphic series "Elfquest", many readers have been curious about the background of Cutter and his Wolfrider tribe. The Pinis took a first step toward answering these questions by endorsing a fantasy-novel series, "The Blood of Ten Chiefs", which appeared throughout the 1980s; this collection of short prose stories brought to light major events in the lives of the chieftains who lived in the 10,000 years before we meet the elves for the first time. From 1993 to 1995, the spirit - and some of the substance - of these tales was brought into a new EQ graphic serial, "Blood of Ten Chiefs"; the first nine issues retold stories from the prose-books, the last eleven were original tales created specially for this new series. Book 9b reprints issues 1 to 7, and 10-11 (a two-part story).

In these episodes published here the storytelling is always of quality, and two of the tales - "Colors" (issue 1) and "The Broken Circle" (issues 10-11) are among the most memorable and significant in the series. "Colors" is the visual version of Richard Pini's tale about the struggle of the half-wolf Timmorn, the first Wolfrider chieftain, to reconcile the elfin and lupine sides of his soul. The difficulty of illustrating states of mind is handled beautifully here; profound as the prose is, the drawing is even more eloquent, particularly in the last few pages. Even the coloring-work, though reprinted only in black-and-white, yet adds to the total effect (a pleasant surprise in almost all the issues here is the graceful transfer of these originally colorized drawings). No issue in BoTC was less than solid, but this debut issue remains the best of the series.

Other stories include another carryover from the novels, "The Phantom of the Berry Patch" - a tale about the young Bearclaw (the father of Cutter); the grim, disturbing "Swift-Spear", an account of Two-Spear's madness and his resulting campaign against the humans; and the last story in this volume, "The Broken Circle", about young Skywise's discovery of a great relic of the High Ones, ancestors of the elves - and the havoc it wreaks with him and his tribe. Drawn in a completely different style from that of "Colors", it too is ambitious, far-reaching and thought-provoking - with a more unsettling conclusion.

The series - and this book - are, by design, a literary and artistic grab-bag, with contributions from several different artists, but the level of inspiration is high all around; about the only flaw is a certain blockiness of pencil-work in two of the stories ("Swift-Spear" admittedly being one of those two). As I have said, the art has transferred very well to this lower-price format (not always the case with other volumes in the EQ Reader's Collection).

To summarize: if the "Blood of Ten Chiefs" book had been a mere history of a tribe of elves, it would have been much less interesting. But because it focuses on the major events in the chiefs' lives - and, through them, illuminates their characters and times - these stories will bear repeated reading. Recommended.

The stories in these books are really great and fill in a lot of gaps in the story. Keep it up! I want more!

I really enjoy Elf Quest comics, but they don't tell you much about what life was like before Cutter's tribe. This book provides you with exelent, well written background information, and detailed drawings of the elves and the incredible world of two moons. It tells you different stories about all the ten cheiftens that came before cutter.

I dug up my old copy of this book at my Father's house where it has been moldering in the basement for the last 20 years. Out of curiosity, I brought it back with me to Holland because I had the notion that I remembered it.

Funny how *well* I remembered it. As I turned the pages, I could clearly remember what I was reading and had a sense of what was coming next. Rifkind is a loner in a tribe of loners-- outcast from her desert tribe, she turns to her goddess to help her find her destiny.

I'm not sure how well it holds up over time (my real review is something more like 3.5 stars) but there was a fair amount to hold an adult's interest, just like there was enough to hold that of a teenager. Some of the aspects feel visionary in light of the fiction that came after this book and others simply fall flat.

Worth reading if you can find it.

Unfortunately I have not read this book in too long. However, it has been one of my favorites, and I have read it many times. It's a fabulous book and I've always been unhappy that there werent more sequels. Lyn Abbey brought a new world, a new magic system to life, as she does so well, and characters that are believable and act true to their nature. It seems to be a flaw of hers (the wooden sword, beneath the web) that she gets me going and then wont write the rest of the sequels! any of these books is worth an eddings like string of sequels to further develop the world. my one complaint is that lynn abbey doesnt write more!

I read this book many!!! years ago and regret I ever loaned it to a friend. (they never returned it) It took me a long time to ever find it again as it is out of print. I think this is her best work and there should be more writers with her talent

Let me explain my enthusiasm. In some ways I want to give this book five stars, and in others, two, because some elements of it were absolutely fantastic (the culture-building) while others made me wince (some of the characters are quite stereotypical, as is the lack of "fill"). Abbey always seems to write unforgettable stuff, though, and she has with this book. There are components of swordplay, magic, and gritty realism that is lacking in much of today's fantasy, or else poorly done, that make it a refreshing change-of-pace. She successfully creates a world you can believe in, but almost seems to place random characters within it that are acted upon, rather than act out of personal and true-to-life motivation. On the other hand, her characters don't do anything out of sync with their personalities, although this indeed may be part of the problem (again, stereotypes). For all of this, Daughter of the Bright Moon is a rare and interesting find certainly worthy of any avid fantasy-reader's attention.

I just can't get over how realistic Emma is. Her mother is an idiot, her lover is a ghost. She gets talked into doing all kinds of things she knows she shouldn't and really doesn't want to do. But she brings us along.

I'm always waiting for the next one. While you're waiting try some of Abbey's other books. You'll love them.

I have to agree that I too love these books. I can only conclude that Lynn Abbey wanted to write a cruise off on her income tax as research for a book but didn't have a very good time.

Emma, whose life is not going well mainly because her job as a librarian is under seige with shakeups in management, agrees to go on a cruise with her mother. Then she is talked into driving all the way to Florida. After they are on the ship she drinks both red wine and champagne-- bad idea for a migraineur! At their first port of call, she and her mother get lost. Emma's headache gets worse-- Arrgh, a migraine in the tropics! And I recognized those red pills that the author gave her. They are incredibly ineffective. No wonder it was taking her days to shake it. Come into the 21st Century Em!

Things continue to go downhill. Souvenirs are tacky, there's an employee with a curse on board, Emma witnesses a suicide, there's food 24 hours a day every day. And that headache keeps coming back. Then just when it seems they are going to get to spend a few fun days at the world of the mouse, fate strikes again. Oh yes, fate also has them driving through Atlanta on the interstate.

Abbey seems to be losing her focus on the story arc but for Emma's fans (would can sympathize with the fact that given tremendous power she removes the gray from her hair) this is an interesting few days in her life.

Emma Merrigan woke up in the night terrified the night before her library director, Gene Shonneker, gave his resignation. Now she knows why. The new director appears to be planning to do some major shakeups. She's putting in more hours than she cares to think.

"You look horrible," her mother, Eleanor, who's used the magic of her _wyrd_ to remove her own aging and looks more like a college co-ed than the mother of a 50-year-old daughter states. "You need a vacation. I'll pay for a Carribean cruise."

Things only get worse from there. I imagine the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" playing....

First verse, I'm sharing a cabin with my mother--who looks and dresses like my daughter--and I'm responsible for her, too!

Second verse, there's food everywhere and I'm getting fatter and fatter!

Third verse, my waitress is cursed and I can't get to _audela_ to help her because of some stupid rule about going to the Netherlands to moot curses when you're moving.

Fourth verse, migraines--bad meds, too much food, sun, and Calypso music.

Fifth verse, can't sleep and manage to be just at the spot to see a crew member effected by the curse take a dive.

And on and on....

There is some hope for Emma and the storyline. Once she finally gets off the ship, her mother Eleanor takes her to the Atlantis curia to get help for her eye. (I think that was Verse 7) I'm really hoping the future storylines will include more about this group.

Fifty years ago, Emma Merrigan's mother Eleanor abandoned her newborn baby and her husband and it is only recently that they reconciled. Both Emma and Eleanor are hunters, going into the wasteland to destroy curses and rogues (giant curses). Eleanor was imprisoned by powerful curses and upon returning to the mundane world, she could pass as Emma's daughter. The immortal hunters never age as they possess the power to appear younger even though Emma chooses to look her real age of fifty.

The two women take a Caribbean cruise hoping to bridge the breach that exists between them but Emma has a headache most of the time. She sees a cursed woman on the wait staff, a person who has seen the atrocities committed in Serbia. Emma has the ability to plunge through time and stop a curse before it begins. When she gets off the boat she does exactly that and finds a young boy without an adult to take care of him since Emma took away his primary caretakers in order to end the curse. He is either a hunter or a rouge but either way he sets up a loop that prevents Emma from returning to her own time and she must hope that someone from the mundane world come into the wasteland looking for her to guide her home.

DOWN TIME is an interesting urban fantasy featuring a heroine who is smart enough to know she doesn't have all the answers and is savvy enough to listen to people who have more of them. The wastelands are an interesting place, a barren dimension with a magnetic sky where curses and rogues abound. Emma is obsessed with destroying as many as she can to make the world a better place. Lynn Abbey is a spectacular urban fantasist.

Harriet Klausner