Revisiting the Thieves' World anthologies

Robert Asprin The main point of Rugg's Handbook of Sales and Science Fiction is that, in general, a person's passion can help them to succeed in their profession, and that in particular, a sales rep's personal interest in speculative fiction can provide ideas for success in sales.  (And I should apologize for the alliteration;  lots of p's and s's in that last sentence!)

And although the Handbook's subtitle mentions "tips and tricks," sometimes the lesson can be as simple as providing an example.  As in the case of Thieves' World.

Robert Asprin's Thieves' World was a fresh and ground-breaking approach to fantasy, and the proof of its success is in its sales pudding; from an over-drinks conversation with friends grew a 12-volume franchise with spin-offs and tie-ins.  Thieves' World sold, and it sold beyond what anyone could have ever predicted.

Regular readers know that I also write for the Fantasy-Faction genre website, and my latest contribution there is a two-part article revisiting the Thieves' World books.  Here's a taste of it, but for the whole thing, be sure to click on over to Fantasy-Faction.  And when you get there, be sure to browse around, the site is chock-full of great articles on fantasy and speculative fiction.

Readers of Fantasy-Faction are likely to be familiar with Scott Lynch and his Gentlemen Bastards books. Lynch has a style that is a pleasure to read, and has given us some very memorable characters. But Lynch has also accomplished a highly engaging bit of worldbuilding, and created a place in which “Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would have felt right at home,” according to George R. R. Martin.

It was the worldbuilding as much as the title of the third Gentlemen Bastards book that drove me back to my bookshelf lately, as Lynch’s latest, Republic of Thieves, brought to mind Robert Lynn Asprin’s Thieves’ World from 1979. The “thieves’ world” of the title was not actually a planet of outlaws, but instead, the city of Sanctuary, a backwater community in decline and overrun with lawlessness...

[Read the full article at Fantasy-Faction.com]