I just started reading Thieves’ World again yesterday, and strangely enough, the original editor of the series, Robert Lynn Asprin, passed away on the same day. Quite a shame, especially since he was only 61. His obituary has been posted in several places–here’s one of them.
Although the shared universe or shared world concept has existed for quite a while in the world of fiction, Thieves’ World, to my knowledge, is the first shared world short fiction anthology to really gain popularity. Its success spawned a host of others, such as Magic in Ithkar, Liavek, Merovingen Nights, and Wild Cards, which is still going strong today under the editorial direction of George R. R. Martin. In the small press world, Carinvah House has taken a shot at the shared universe concept with its forthcoming anthology Infinity Swords. I’m sure there are others I’m neglecting.
In addition to a dozen anthologies and seven official novels, the Thieves’ World franchise has also given birth to several spin-off novels and collections, a table top role-playing game, and a series of graphic novels. Last I heard, someone had even purchased the movie rights.
My goal is to read all 12 of the Thieves’ World volumes this summer, and maybe dive into the novels. It will be my little tribute to a major piece of the considerable fantasy legacy Asprin left behind.
EDIT: I failed to mention the additional two anthologies edited by Lynn Abbey in 2002 and 2004. Yeah, I’ll read those, too.
July 5, 2008 at 9:31 pm |
Nik, you’re in for some great reading, especially the first four books of the original series and the Shadowspawn novels by Andy Offutt. The latter books of the original series still had some good stuff, but the shared-world idea seemed to get taken over by a handful of authors. The newer stuff is pretty decent, too, but I haven’t heard anything about a new anthology in at least four years, so I fear TW has died yet again. Hopefully not.