Thieves' World

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 more. 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 and published short stories in a variety of places.

"Thieves' World" is set in the city of Sanctuary, located at the edge of the Rankan Empire. The city was depicted as a place where many were downtrodden and where the invading Rankan gods and the Ilsigi gods they had ousted begin a struggle for primacy. As the series continued, additional invasions occurred and the city was taken over by the snake-worshipping Beysib as the Rankan empire collapsed. 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 discover or develop various powers as the series progresses. A unifying framework for the second half of the series implied that the city of Sanctuary was about to become the kernel of a new empire with a new and syncretic pantheon; however, the series was abandoned before this came to fruition.

In 2002, Lynn Abbey, who co-edited several of the original anthologies, revitalized 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 and has plans for future anthologies.

As of 2006, Scot Barbour (director of "Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story)" has begun development of feature films and video games based on the "Thieves' World" series.

Original anthologies

*"Thieves' World" (1979)
*"Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn" (1980)
*"Shadows of Sanctuary" (1981)
*"Storm Season" (1982)
*"The Face of Chaos" (1983)
*"Wings of Omen" (1984)
*"The Dead of Winter" (1985)
*"Soul of the City" (1986)
*"Blood Ties" (1986)
*"Aftermath" (1987)
*"Uneasy Alliances" (1988)
*"Stealers' Sky" (1989)

New anthologies

*"Turning Points" (2002)
*"Enemies of Fortune" (2004)

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:
*Janet Morris, "Beyond Sanctuary" (1985)
*Janet Morris, "Beyond the Veil" (1985)
*Janet Morris, "Beyond Wizardwall" (1986)
*Andrew J. Offutt, "Shadowspawn" (1987)
*David Drake, "Dagger" (1988)
*Andrew J. Offutt, "The Shadow of Sorcery" (1993)
*Lynn Abbey, "Sanctuary" (2002) Tor Books

The first six novels were published in paperback by Ace Books. The novel "Beyond Sanctuary" is a collection of two stories from the anthologies plus two additional stories. The first part of the novel "Dagger" appeared in the anthology "Aftermath".

Other novels/collections include:
*Gordon R. Dickson, "Jamie the Red" (1984) - novel
*Gordon R. Dickson, "Beyond the Dar Al Harb" (1985) - novella - collected in the Tor Books collection of the same name
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Lythande" (1986) - collection - includes two stories from the anthologies
*Janet Morris, "Tempus" (1987) - novel collecting the Tempus stories from the anthologies
*Janet Morris, "City at the Edge of Time" (1988) - novel
*Janet Morris, "Tempus Unbound" (1989) - novel
*Janet Morris, "Storm Seed" (1990) - novel

hort stories

*Poul Anderson, "The Valor of Cappen Varra" (1957) - short story - first published in Fantastic Universe Science Fiction magazine
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Bitch" (1987) - short story - F&SF Feb 1987
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "The Walker Behind" (1987) - short story - F&SF Jul 1987
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "The Malice of the Demon" (1988) - short story - F&SF Sep 1988
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Here There Be Dragons?" (1995) - short story
*Robin Wayne Bailey, "The Stars Are Tears" (1996) - short story
*Marion Zimmer Bradley, "The Gratitude of Kings" (1998) - short story
*Poul Anderson, "The Lady of the Winds" (2001) - short story - later collected in Tor Books anthology "First Blood"
* Lynn Abbey, "A Tale of Two Cities" (2005) - short story included in the "Thieves' World Player's Manual"

Omnibuses

* "Sanctuary" 1982. Book Club hardcover omnibus collecting "Thieves’ World", "Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn", and "Shadows of Sanctuary".

* "Cross-Currents" 1984. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: "Storm Season", “The Face of Chaos”, and "Wings of Omen".

* "The Shattered Sphere" 1986. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: “The Dead of Winter”, “Soul of the City”, and “Blood Ties”.

* "The Price of Victory" 1989. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: "Aftermath", "Uneasy Alliances", and "Stealers’ Sky".

* "First Blood" 2003. Tor Paperback omnibus collecting "Thieves’ World", "Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn", and "The Lady of the Winds".

Comics

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

* Thieves World 1. Containing: 1) "Introduction"; 2) "Someone is always awake in Sanctuary..." (original); 3) "Sentences of Death"; 4) "Myrtis"; 5) "The Price of Doing Business".
* Thieves World 2. Containing: 1) "Blood Brothers"; 2) "The Face of Chaos"; 3) "Gaeta" (original); 4) "Shadowspawn".
* Thieves World 3. Containing: 1) "The Dream of the Sorceress"; "The Blue Camel" (original); 3) "Vashanka's Minion".
* Thieves World 4. Containing: 1) "Shadow's Pawn"; 2) "Runcigor and Alminda" (original); 3) "To Guard the Guardians".
* Thieves World 5. Containing: 1) "Looking for Satan"; 2) "Ischade"; 3) "A Gift in Parting".
* Thieves World 6. Containing: 1) "The Vivisectionist"; 2) "The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn"; 3) "Arvo the Nose" (original).

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

Role Playing Games

* "Thieves' World Complete Sanctuary Adventure Pack" (Chaosium Box Set, 1981). Containing: 1) The "Player's Guide to Sanctuary"; 2) "The Gamemaster's Guide to Sanctuary"; 3) "Personalities of Sanctuary"; 4) "Map of Sanctuary"; 5) "Map of the Maze"; 6) "Map of the Maze Underground". [cite journal| last =Dickinson| first =Oliver| authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Open Box: Thieve's World| format = review| journal =White Dwarf| volume = | issue =Issue 30| pages =15| publisher =Games Workshop| year = 1982| month = April/May| issn = 0265-8712]
* "The Blue Camel" (mini-adventure; FASA, 1982)
* T1 - "Traitor" (FASA, 1982)
* T2 - "Spirit Stones" (FASA, 1982)
* T3 - "Dark Assassin" (FASA, 1982)
* T4 - "Vengeance" (FASA, 198?)
* "Sanctuary Under the Beysibs" (Chaosium Companion, 1986)
* "Thieves' World Player's Manual" (Green Ronin, 2005)
* "Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary" (Green Ronin, 2005)
* "Thieves' World Gazetteer" (Green Ronin, 2005)
* "Murder at the Vulgar Unicorn" (Green Ronin, 2005)
* "Black Snake Dawn" (Green Ronin, 2007)
* Thieves' World MUD - Online Text-Based Game based on the Thieves' World novels, and approved by Lynn Abbey (http://tw.genesismuds.com)

Characters

References

External links

* [http://www.thievesworld.info/index.html A Notable Guide to Thieves' World]
* [http://www.sfsite.com/11a/la139.htm Interview with Lynn Abbey]
* [http://www.sfsite.com/11a/ct139.htm Interview with several Thieves World contributors]
* [http://www.thieves-world.com A Thieves' World MUD]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thieves-world/ Thieves World Group Page]