false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg 297815 2 Kage Baker's stories and novels of the mysterious organization that controls time travel, The Company, have made her famous in SF. So has her talent for clever dialogue, and pointed social commentary with a light touch.The Anvil of the World is her first fantasy novel, a journey across a fantastic landscape filled with bizarre creatures, human and otherwise. It is the tale of Smith, of the large extended family of Smiths, of the Children of the Sun. They are a race given to blood feuds, and Smith was formerly an extremely successful assassin. Now he has wearied of his work and is trying to retire in another country, to live an honest life in obscurity in spite of all those who have sworn to kill him.His problems begin when he agrees to be the master of a caravan from the inland city of Troon to the seaside city of Salesh. The caravan is dogged with murder, magic, and the brooding image of the Master of the Mountain, a powerful demon, looking down from his mountain kingdom upon the greenlands and the travelers passing below. In Salesh, Smith becomes an innkeeper, but on the journey he befriended the young Lord Ermenwyr, a decadent demonic half-breed. Each time Ermenwyr turns up, he brings new trouble with him.The outgrowth of stories Baker has been writing since childhood, as engaging as Tolkien and yet nothing like him, Smith's adventure is certainly the only fantasy on record with a white-uniformed nurse, gourmet cuisine, one hundred and forty-four glass butterflies, and a steamboat. This is a book filled with intrigue, romance, sudden violence, and moments of emotional impact, a cast of charming characters, and echoes of the fantasy tradition from Lord Dunsany and Fritz Leiber to Jack Vance and Roger Zelazny. 288949 2003 The Anvil of the World total:194|5:49|4:69|3:61|2:11|1:4| 194 730 284 24 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 0 false Mon Mar 09 20:41:15 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 20:47:30 -0700 2009
Basically Anvil of the World is great because it contains everything that's wonderful about Baker: she's funny, highly imaginative, a clear writ...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 1 false Thu Feb 07 06:07:17 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 19:49:04 -0800 2008 (This is also an absolutely excellent book to read aloud with a lover before bed. Not because it's necessarily erotic--it's not, though there are some deliciously sexy characters--but because ...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 03:42:52 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 21:55:18 -0700 2009 House of the Stag--the characters didn't seem as well developed and the fact that it was 3 novella-type stories strung together made it a bit choppy. However, it was really funny, and I sort of loved the bratty drama-queen Lord Ermenwyr. Along with the wha...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 1 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jul 30 10:16:46 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 10:16:53 -0700 2007 more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 3 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 06:36:29 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 06:39:49 -0700 2009 does hammer in the irony a bit much at times -- you definitely can't esc...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Fri Nov 07 18:54:08 -0800 2008 Tue Jul 01 09:50:35 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 07 18:54:08 -0800 2008 The Anvil of the World narrates the adventures of a man named simply Smith, who takes on a job as caravan master after giving up his old job of assassin. On the way from the inland city of Troon to the coastal city of Salesh, he meets a number of bizarre people, from the caravan's cook, Mrs. Smith (...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 13:48:36 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 13:49:55 -0700 2009 2 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 3 0 false Thu Feb 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 13:00:38 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 10:32:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 0 false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 12:27:19 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 12:28:04 -0700 2009 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 0 false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 02 18:37:11 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 17 10:04:01 -0800 2008 2
I highly recommend that you read this book's prequel "The House of the Stag" first. If you do, this book will make a lot more sense and the humor and allusions will be richer (more obviou...more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 3 0 false Wed Feb 18 08:42:52 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 08:42:52 -0800 2009 http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2006/02/an...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 0 0 false Tue Feb 24 21:05:53 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 21:06:25 -0800 2009 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 0 0 false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 23:26:18 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 23:27:24 -0700 2009 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Feb 26 23:45:15 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 15 20:28:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Sat Mar 29 14:29:28 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 11:14:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 0 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Dec 27 16:26:35 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 16:29:04 -0800 2007 more...]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 3 0 false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Mon Sep 03 11:21:32 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 11:21:32 -0700 2007 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 0 0 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Aug 20 22:13:45 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 22:13:45 -0700 2007 It's a very interesting fantasy novel containing contemporary and unique characteristics. She went on to write a series about cyborgs and time travel which is also fantastic.]]> 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 5 0 false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 13:28:57 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 15:01:16 -0700 2008 297815 0765349078 9780765349071 180 23 3.76 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173495909m/297815.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297815.The_Anvil_of_the_World 4 0 false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 21:32:22 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 18:10:01 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=297815