I started reading Thieves World again. My first go-through with the first couple of books occured when the the first few books in the series were published back in the 80's. I believe I read the first three or so back then.
I just picked up the first book again, and, wow...I've fallen in love with that pit of the Rankan Empire, the city of Sanctuary, one more time.
The stories have this dark, gritty feel, not unlinke the Hyborian Age. And, they play out not as epic tales, but more like a day in the life of a fantasy city. I love that.
The first tale is about a scribe--one of many working for a taskmaster--who is charged with unraveling the mystery of a magicked scroll that come into her possession. Another story is about a smith, and his gypsy-like fortune-teller wife, who have to somehow figure a way to get a new anvil--in a town at the edge of a desert where the caravans no longer run. I remember one of my favorite tales. It's in the third book. One of the major recurring characters is cursed by his god to be undying. And, in that favored tale, a vivisectionist gets ahold of the undying man, slicing him apart, watching how the human body works, all the while the undying man is conscious and living through that hell.
Great stories.
Highly recommended.
I just picked up the first book again, and, wow...I've fallen in love with that pit of the Rankan Empire, the city of Sanctuary, one more time.
The stories have this dark, gritty feel, not unlinke the Hyborian Age. And, they play out not as epic tales, but more like a day in the life of a fantasy city. I love that.
The first tale is about a scribe--one of many working for a taskmaster--who is charged with unraveling the mystery of a magicked scroll that come into her possession. Another story is about a smith, and his gypsy-like fortune-teller wife, who have to somehow figure a way to get a new anvil--in a town at the edge of a desert where the caravans no longer run. I remember one of my favorite tales. It's in the third book. One of the major recurring characters is cursed by his god to be undying. And, in that favored tale, a vivisectionist gets ahold of the undying man, slicing him apart, watching how the human body works, all the while the undying man is conscious and living through that hell.
Great stories.
Highly recommended.
