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Series created by Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey
Description
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 in Thieves' World series:
- 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 in Thieves' World series:
Official Novels in Thieves' World series:
- Beyond Sanctuary by Janet Morris (1985)
- Beyond The Veil by Janet Morris (1985)
- Beyond Wizardwall by Janet Morris (1986)
- Shadowspawn by Andrew Offutt (1987)
- Dagger by David Drake (1988)
- The Shadow Of Sorcery by Andrew Offutt (1993)
- Sanctuary by Lynn Abbey (2002)
Other Novels and Collections in Thieves' World series:
- Jamie The Red? by Gordon R Dickson (1984)
- Beyond The Dar Al Harb? by Gordon R Dickson (1985)
- Lythande? by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1986)
- Tempus? by Janet Morris (1987)
- City At The Edge Of Time? by Janet Morris (1988)
- Tempus Unbound? by Janet Morris (1989)
- Storm Seed? by Janet Morris (1990)
Other short stories in Thieves' World series:
- The Valor Of Cappen Varra? (1957)
- Bitch? (1987)
- The Walker Behind? (1987)
- The Malice Of The Demon? (1988)
- Here There Be Dragons? (1995)
- The Stars Are Tears? (1996)
- The Gratitude Of Kings? (1998)
- The Lady Of The Winds? (2001)
- A Tale Of Two Cities? (2005)
Omnibus editions of titles in Thieves' World series:
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