chabot@miles.DEC (Bih ih bih) (06/04/85)
"In the bestselling tradition of THIEVES' WORLD (TM)", the cover declares, but frankly, _Liavek_, edited by Will Shetterly (_Cats_Have_No...) and Emma Bull, is better. Oops, that's a pretty bald statement. Shall I say, then, that this first volume of Liavek is a much smoother read that the first we read of Thieves' World: each individual polished story is entertaining on its own, the stories have some overlap without one author mangling another's protagonist, the gods may scamper about without leaving smoking ruins in their wakes. Liavek is a place where you could believe a merchant and a thief making a decent living. Each time a new Thieves' World volume comes out I eventually break down and rush it home in a plain brown bag: a guilty addiction, but I can't stand the thought of missing out on the big WHOOSH! when Sanctuary goes the way of Atlantis. But, then, Liavek was built on more stable ground. However, I could not let you leave thinking _Liavek_ is boring-dull-cute. (Camels are never cute.) There is magic here, of a different and interesting kind. There are menacing evils here, magical and otherwise. There are stories by (in order of appearance): Emma Bull, Gene Wolfe, Patricia C. Wrede, Nancy Kress (whose first novel was _The_Prince_of_Morning_ Bells_), Steven Brust, Jane Yolen, Kara Dalkey, Pamela C. Dean (_The_Secret_ Country_), Megan Lindhold, Will Shetterly, Barry B. Longyear. There are two great maps (the one showing the town is my favorite because of its perspective). You can read the stories without any introductory descriptions of Liavek &tc, although you can find such in the Appendices. (This is definitely a better idea than putting it first, because it gives the stories a chance to succeed or fail on their own in convincing you of their tangibility. Rant, rant. Well, anyone who likes it the other way, read the appendices first.) Damn, there's a *whole* HERD of camels on the cover. (With eyelids, even.) "You who are about to die, salute me!" L S Chabot ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot chabot%amber.dec@decwrl.arpa