Dagger

Thieves' World Novels #5

by David Drake

The dagger's blade was double-edged with magic...and danger. And Samlor hil Samt was its new owner. Caravan master, warrior extraordinaire, Samlor had come to the foul city of Sanctuary to protect his niece's claim in a secret inheritance. Yet something dark and savage lurked in the shadowed streets--something evil--born of the mystical blade Samlor dared to wield...

Now, in the fifth full-length novel inspired by Thieves' World, acclaimed author David Drake takes his remarkable warrior, Samlor, on the deadliest of adventures--filled with high royal intrigue, low-down danger, and scintillating sorcery!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Science Fiction Fantasy

250 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

David Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't one of Drake's better novels; I think he was not quite as comfortable trying to force his story into the Thieves' World framework as he would have been without the existing confines. It's still a pretty fun read, and his knowledge of blades and weaponry is impressive, but it does get a little slow in spots.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've very much enjoyed a lot of David Drake's books so I'm putting this down to an anomaly. I didn't like this much. It just seemed so incredibly slow. It read to me like something that should have been a short story but was expanded into a novel without having the plot to carry it. Read his Hammer's Slammers stuff, or his horror stuff.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Drake running around in Thieves' World universe. Not a bad adventure tale.

[HereticalMind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little entry in the Thieves World series. Really enjoyed the unique character ideas, and the first part set in Sanctuary was intriguing. Star was a character that seemed to be built up for no reason in this book, but maybe she will come up again in later books? The second half of this book was a very strange tale of tomb raiding, magic books, ancient dreams, and a really really dark scene... Darker than anything I've read so far in this series. 4 stars :)

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of action, other worldly weirdness, a bit of disturbing violence, and hint of sex ... Samlor hil Samt is back and gets beyond Sanctuary. Drake's world is well developed - his characters are interesting, there's intrigue, twists, the supernatural.

I'd happily read more adventures of Samlor ... if only there were more.

[Cynik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A side novel in the Thieves' World universe.

[Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good, except for a couple of places where it stops trying to even attempt to make sense.
Really it's more of an ultra-long short story than a novel, so don't expect much in terms of plot or character development or much of anything else, but it's still entertaining.