Thieves’ World, Book 3: Shadows Of Sanctuary

Thieves’ World, Book 3: Shadows Of Sanctuary (1981) Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey

Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin
Looking for Satan by Vonda N. McIntyre
Ischade by C.J. Cherryh
A Gift in Parting by Robert Lynn Asprin
The Vivisectionist by Andrew Offutt
The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn by Diana L. Paxson
Then Azyuna Danced by Lynn Abbey
A Man and his God by Janet Morris
Essay: Things the Editor Never Told Me by Lynn Abbey

Now things are starting to get good. More stories are entwined and linked, and most of the big players are now here

Introduction by Robert Asprin gives us the return of One Thumb, but things will not return to normal in Sanctuary any time soon.

Looking for Satan by Vonda N. McIntyre is a very good story that doesn’t really belong in this collection. All the characters are nice. Yes, some of the characters in Sanctuary are nice, but they have horrible histories or bad things happen to them. Nice, just doesn’t last in Thieves’ World.

Also, this story has some of the more obvious copy editing errors. One character’s name goes back and forth between Chan and Chad, which is irritating, but could have been a lot worse. (My volume is the 10th Ace printing with the original cover–not the cover displayed here. I actually greatly prefer the reissue covers–the tone matches the contents much better than the original Ace covers.

With the story Ischade by C.J. Cherryh, we have one of the last of the major players arrive in town. (Not counting the invasion, later in the series.) Ischade is a cursed witch, who comes to Sanctuary to steal. Really, it’s the perfect place for her, and she quickly makes herself at home, and quickly she meets up with some of the bigger players in Sanctuary. She also enters into dealings with Mradhon Vis, a man for hire who has no idea what he has just gotten himself into.

A Gift in Parting by Robert Asprin brings us finally to the docks, where we meet the Old Man and some of the citizens who live there. We also see some of the aftermath of last volume, with the death of the Purple Mage, and all his creatures freed. Well, that and the fact I like the Old Man.

“You ask too many questions. Does he know you ask so many questions?”

In The Vivisectionist by Andrew Offutt, we see the friendship–of sorts–developing between Hanse and Tempus, as Shadowspawn determines that no one should be left to the tender mercies of a vivisectionist.

The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn by Diana L. Paxson brings another major player–though in an entirely different way–to our attention with the introduction of Lalo the painter and his wife Gilla. Lalo and Gilla are “regular” citizens of Sanctuary, rather than powers like Molin Torcholder and Ischade and Tempus. Like A Gift in Parting, we get a look at the lives of the non-wizards and thieves and Rankan overlords.

Then Azyuna Danced by Lynn Abbey doesn’t give us a Ilyra story this time, but instead we see the start of the machinations between Tempus and Molin, and an even greater look at their God. (He doesn’t get any more pleasant upon further inspection.)

It must be an act, Molin decided. No one could attain physical maturity with only Kadakithus’ apparently intelligence to guide him. He had attained physical maturity, hadn’t he?

This volume closes with A Man and his God by Janet Morris, where we see Tempus dealing with the aftermath of his time with Kurd, and the formation of the Stepsons from a group of Sacred Banders. If the citizens of Sanctuary thought the Hell Hounds stirred things up, they’ve not seen anything yet.

Essay: Things the Editor Never Told Me by Lynn Abbey closes the volume, with a glimpse at how the set up for this series allowed things to get so nasty–a sign that things are only going to get uglier in the future.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Ace Books

 
 

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