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In the Company of Thieves

(The Company #10)

Kage Baker

3.97 · Rating details · 261 ratings · 46 reviews

Espionage, time travel, and affairs gone terribly wrong define this final collection of Kage Baker’s stories in the Company series. The employees of Dr. Zeus Incorporated have discovered a nearly foolproof recipe for success: combining time travel and immortals. The Company, a powerful corporate entity in the 24th century, specializes in retrieving extraordinary treasures ...more

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Paperback, 325 pages

Published October 1st 2013 by Tachyon Publications (first published January 1st 2013)

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Jan 15, 2014 Althea Ann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley! Thanks to NetGalley and to Tachyon Publications!

This is a collection of short pieces by Baker, related to her 'Company' series of novels. At this point, I've read the first seven novels in the series, as well as the first short-story collection 'Black Projects, White Knights.' And the only reason I haven't read the others yet is that Baker has passed away, and I'm going to be really sad when there aren't any more to read. So yes, I'm a fan. I'd say I received a copy of this book from NetGalley! Thanks to NetGalley and to Tachyon Publications!

This is a collection of short pieces by Baker, related to her 'Company' series of novels. At this point, I've read the first seven novels in the series, as well as the first short-story collection 'Black Projects, White Knights.' And the only reason I haven't read the others yet is that Baker has passed away, and I'm going to be really sad when there aren't any more to read. So yes, I'm a fan. I'd say that these stories would be enjoyable to any reader - but your enjoyment will be greatly enhanced if you've read at least some of the other 'Company' books, as you'll have more of an idea of the background, ongoing 'in-jokes,' and who certain recurring characters are.

Some of the pieces here have previously been published, but are middling-hard-to-get, so this volume is quite welcome.

**** "The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park"
The Company's immortality process has gone wrong, and the subject has been rendered something very like what, in the 21st century, we call 'autistic.' The Company puts their failed agent to work as a kind of camera, recording images of a San Francisco park for interested parties in other times and places. However, although he's not socially functional, he forms a kind of connection with a woman he sees day after day, who's obsessed with the small but hopeless cause of restoring the historical flower beds of the park... Set on a much smaller scale that most of Baker's Company tales, this is a delicate, sensitive and touching story.

**** "The Unfortunate Gytt"
A 19th-century metallurgist joins a secret Masonic-type brotherhood - but soon, unexpectedly, finds himself bundled off willy-nilly; shanghaied into a most unusual mission to locate and identify a previously-unknown substance with bizarre properties.

**** "The Women of Nell Gwynne's"
The prostitutes at Nell Gwynne’s house are carefully selected women of many talents. Few know that their clients include not just the upper crust of London society, but The Gentlemen’s Speculative Society, who pay mainly, not for pleasures of the flesh, but for secrets and spycraft. Their payments to the madam seem to include technology which really seems to have no place in 19th-century Britain. When the Society arranges a job where the women are hired as entertainers at a very private auction, a (literal) bedroom farce ensues.

*****"Mother Aegypt"
One of my favorite Kage Baker stories - like the best of her work, it mixes humor and pathos to great effect. Here, a buffoonish con man meets a traveling fortuneteller, whom, the reader quickly realizes, is one of The Company's immortal agents. His attempts to make sense of her actions based on the world he knows are sadly misled.

**** "Rude Mechanicals"
Company men Joseph and Lewis are on assignment in 1940s Hollywood, tasked with finding a legendary lost jewel, the Tavernier Violet. (No, it wasn't really cut into the Hope Diamond.) Against a backdrop of a German director attempting to put on a production of 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream,' the two men chase the diamond through an increasingly-absurd set of rapidly-changing circumstances, in a madcap caper.

*** "Hollywood Ikons"
This story was written out by Kage's sister, Kathleen Bartholomew, after Kage's death. This was in accordance with Kage's wishes and done using her notes... but I have to admit, it's not quite the same. The voice is different. The ideas are very good... a Company secret involves using mathematical principles to create artwork that has a very real and very dangerous effect on the mind of the viewer. The Company assigns Joseph and Lewis to find and deal with some lost Russian ikons created using this process.
I feel like the choice of placement in the book (directly following another story featuring the same two protagonists) unfortunately accentuates the difference in style. ...more

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Jul 20, 2013 Kara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: time-travel, sci-fi, want-to-buy

Company of Thieves

A collection of short stories by Kage Baker taking place in her Company universe where time traveling cyborgs pilfer the past for future profits.

"The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park"
A very touching story about a flawed cyborg who takes refuge in his recorded memories to avoid the ugliness of the 21st century.

“Unfortunate Gytt”
A sort of Steampunk take on the Roslyn Chapel section of the Da Vinci Code. The main character has absolutely no idea what he’s gotten himself into and stumb
Company of Thieves

A collection of short stories by Kage Baker taking place in her Company universe where time traveling cyborgs pilfer the past for future profits.

"The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park"
A very touching story about a flawed cyborg who takes refuge in his recorded memories to avoid the ugliness of the 21st century.

“Unfortunate Gytt”
A sort of Steampunk take on the Roslyn Chapel section of the Da Vinci Code. The main character has absolutely no idea what he’s gotten himself into and stumbles around, sucked into a horrific adventure in which both sides race to get their hands on something that could change the world – or make people richer.

"Mother Aegypt"
A con artist runs into one of the bitterest of Kage Baker’s Company cyborgs. Spectacularly ignorant of just how big a secret he’s stumbled on, and fatalistically big ego’d, he thinks he can sweep her off her feet with a little sweet talk and bon bons and at the same time line his pockets with profitable secrets. It ends as badly as possible in a Russian-comedy type of way. Think The Twelve Chairs rewritten by Roald Dahl.

"Rude Mechanicals"
If Wile. E. Coyote put on a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it might have looked something like this. The cyborgs Joseph and Lewis go on a madcap adventure through Hollywood to keep the universe in order by making sure a certain diamond is not discovered until history says it will be. It’s an old school comedy with punchlines you see coming a mile away, but you are left chuckling the whole time in anticipation of the next anvil Coyote is going to catch on his head.

"The Women of Nell Gwynne's"
The realities of prostitution lightened up with a Steampunk adventure. The women are all well trained spies who take advantage of when men drop their guard in bed to collect information for the Company. They have to infiltrate a house party / private auction to keep some stolen technology from landing in the wrong hands. (A Victorian take on the spy movies where the villain holds an auction to sell the nerve gas / missiles / code list / etc. to the highest bidder.) Luckily, the villain likes to think of himself as “cultured” and wants “entertainment” for his evil soiree. Sexy steampunk hilarity ensues.

"Hollywood Ikons"
Based on her notes, Baker’s sister wrote this after Baker’s untimely death. Joseph and Lewis are sent on a mission through WWII Hollywood, complete with stolen art, Nazis, forgeries, The Little Prince, chocolate, and Casablanca.
...more

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Jun 21, 2019 Jenn "JR" rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fic-sci-fi-fantasy

I enjoyed this collection of short stories -- the ladies of Nelle Gwynne was a bit like "La Femme Nikita" but I quite enjoyed Mother Aegypt's attempt at death by chocolate and the rollicking adventures in Hollywood looking for a purple diamond and ancient ikons that perform powerful magic. Very fun read! ...more

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Mar 09, 2015 Tasula rated it really liked it

This collection of short stories (plus the novella about the women of Nell Gwynne's) is set in the world of The Company- a 24th century corporation which uses immortal cyborgs to travel back in time to rescue treasures that might otherwise be lost. Or at least lost to the corporation, which makes a fortune by selling these treasures. Thus the title, In the Company of Thieves. The stories are pleasant, but not as gripping as the novels of the Company, which are fabulous, especially the ones starr ...more

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Oct 22, 2013 Shivani rated it it was amazing

i loved all the books of kage baker... i still can't get it in my mind that she is no longer there for booklovers like me... i miss her and it would mean the world to me to win a copy of this book... :( ...more

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Jan 06, 2014 Kaethe Douglas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: time-travel, stories

"The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park" is one of the saddest stories ever published. Contrariwise, "Hollywood Ikons" is pure screwball comedy. It's a strong collection, although I can't say if it would be as powerful if it didn't fit into The Company series.

Library copy ...more

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May 15, 2013 Stefan rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, short-story-collection

Review soon on www.tor.com and www.farbeyondreality.com. ...more

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Jan 24, 2021 Tanya rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: femalewriter, short-stories, sf, timetravel, collaboration

I know that history can’t be changed. But it can be lied to, and it’s no better at identifying a fake than anyone else.[loc. 4525]

I very much enjoyed Kage Baker's 'Company' books, about the corporate entity called Doctor Zeus, and uni-directional time travel (you can only travel back in time: the return journey is the slow route, one day at a time) and the historians, preservers and specialists -- all immortal cybords -- who carry out the Company's assignments and sometimes side-missions of their own. It's over a decade since I read any of the series, though, and I'd forgotten some of the detail. This anthology of short works, edited (and in one case completed) by Baker's sister, was at once a pleasure and a disappointment.

Disappointing, as several of the Amazon reviews mentioned 'The Women of Nell Gwynne's' but that novella (which I'm eager to read) is no longer included in this collection, though there is fossil evidence of its former presence in the Contents section. I was disappointed, too, that some of the introductory paragraphs (not to mention the title on the title page!) featured typos, and could have done with proof-reading.

There are five works herein. 'Hollywood Ikons' is a new story featuring Preserver (and Literature Specialist) Lewis and Facilitator Joseph, set in Hollywood in the Second World War. This story was completed by Kathleen Bartholomew from Kage Baker's notes, and I have to say it's a very smooth co-authoring, no seams visible.

'The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park' is a bittersweet story about a defective cyborg (he can't communicate, but wanders Los Angeles in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, 'a bee collecting the pollen of my time') and a woman dying from cancer. (I liked this one a lot.)

'The Unfortunate Gytt' is a Gothic adventure featuring Edward Bell-Fairfax, Rosslyn Chapel and a new initiate.

Mother Aegypt features a pre-modern con artist, Golesco, and the immortal Mother Aegypt, about who he understands nothing. I was not much better off, as -- although one character's idiosyncrasies rang a bell -- I couldn't recall enough from the novels.

And completing the collection, the novella 'Rude Mechanicals', which I'd already read (review here. As usual, I had forgotten enough of it to be entertained all over again ...

Certainly not a bad collection, but really only 'Hollywood Ikons' and 'The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park' were what I actually wanted. Though now I'm terribly tempted to reread the entire Company series ... and I am, again, disappointed to discover how much of Kage Baker's work is available only in high-priced physical formats.

...more

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Jul 13, 2019 Dan Trefethen rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This posthumous 2013 book is a set of stories that are mainly set in the time-traveling world of her “Company” novels, with one exception (“Mother Aegypt”). The original publications were issued by a variety of small presses, so this assemblage in one volume is a welcome treat for those of us who admired Kage Baker's stories when she was alive. The one story original to this collection was finished by her sister (from Kage's notes and direction), who edited this volume.

I give this book four star ...more

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Jul 02, 2020 Robert rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned

I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to a total newcomer to the magic of Kage Baker, but it certainly shows the best of her style in each of the (ultimately) interconnected worlds she created. Yet, it would demonstrate her versatility and style and probably lead the novice on a trek through all her works.

For me, who had read all the Company books as they came out, this was a wonderful find and a sad one since I hadn't known that she had died. And, it introduced me to Mother Aegypt and the women ...more

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Oct 03, 2020 Djj rated it it was amazing

Baker's last book of short company stories, some of which have been published before, and one which was finished posthumously by her sister. I so loved the company series, one of my all time favorites, so it was nice to revisit some of the stories and get a few new insights. 5 stars more for nostalgia. ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Joe Karpierz rated it really liked it

Kage Baker is a writer whose work I never encountered - or experienced - until I read In the Company of Thieves, a fine collection of short fiction compiled by her sister Kathleen Bartholomew and published by Tachyon Publications. Baker died in 2011 of cancer, and Bartholomew is now the caretaker of her work, continuing to compile and write Baker's short stories and novels from notes left by Kage. While she died way too early - she was only 58 - Baker left an apparent wealth of both short fictio Kage Baker is a writer whose work I never encountered - or experienced - until I read In the Company of Thieves, a fine collection of short fiction compiled by her sister Kathleen Bartholomew and published by Tachyon Publications. Baker died in 2011 of cancer, and Bartholomew is now the caretaker of her work, continuing to compile and write Baker's short stories and novels from notes left by Kage. While she died way too early - she was only 58 - Baker left an apparent wealth of both short fiction and novels which the interested reader can mine for gems for years to come (Well, years for me, anyway. Remember, I'm the slow reader in the family.).

The title of this short story collection refers to what is her most famous series of stories - that of The Company. The Company is a corporation that exists in the 24th century. They use time travel and cyborg employees to go back in time to retrieve valuable objects from the past - whether for their own use or someone else's, with the trick being that history cannot be changed in the process. While not all the stories in this book are Company stories, they are all well crafted tales that are enjoyable and fun to read.

As I look at the table of contents of the book, I see that I really like all of them. Two of them, Rude Mechanicals and Hollywood Ikons, are the two stories that are pure Company stories, and while I was originally thinking they were my favorites, I realize that I can't actually say that simply because I like the others equally. Both of the aforementioned Company stories have as their main characters Company agents/cyborgs Joseph and Lewis. Think of them as a sort
of comedy team, although they're funny in a non-overbearing way. In Rude Mechanicals, the story takes place in and around a stage production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Hollywood in 1934 at the Hollywood Bowl. While you may think it's about one thing, it actually turns into what I can only describe as a madcap adventure of two cyborgs from the future looking for the Hope Diamond. Or maybe not the Hope Diamond. The last half of the story is a crazy chase through Hollywood as our heroes try to retrieve the famous gem. It's nonstop, and I just read faster and faster because, after all, that's what the story seemed to call for. Hollywood Ikons is one of the stories finished by Kathleen Bartholomew and once again involves Joseph and Lewis as they look for the Ikons, talismans of extreme power that can turn people's brains to mush, and which have been lost, once again, in the hills of Hollywood, this time in the 1940s. The story is not so frantic and definitely not madcap, but is interesting and thought provoking, especially the neat little twist at the end. Both of these Company stories leave me wanting for more of the same, and at some point in the future I plan to search for more of them.

Mother Aegypt is a difficult story to describe. We are told it is a Company story, although it is much different from the two stories I discussed previously. I'm not quite sure whether the story is about a scheming con artist trying to make a buck by taking advantage of Mother Aegypt, or a story about immortal Mother Aegypt who is tired of her life and life style and just wishes it were over, or a story about little Emil, who has some mystical powers that both Mother Aegypt and the con artist are trying to use to their advantage. It is something of an eerie story, especially as Baker plows toward the finish which
has some really weird things going on.

The Women of Nell Gwynne's is a great story about the women of a brothel - actually the Ladies Auxiliary of the Gentlemen's Speculative Society - who help the society member by gathering information from influential men simply by, well, plying their trade. They are much more than that however. They are a valuable part of the Society, and play an integral role in this offbeat tale involving spies, antigravity, caverns, technical secrets, and a whole lot of other things. It's a fun tale that shows the women of the Ladies Auxiliary as influential and important parts of the procurment and development of advanced technology.

The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park is clearly a Company story, but one that is of a much more different and serious tone than the others in the book. A Company agent is sent back as an observer in San Francisco as he is unable to perform any other function due to his autism, and he ends up observing a woman who is dying of cancer. This is quite an emotional and heartbreaking story. As the lead off story in the book it provides quite the punch.

Perhaps my least favorite story of the bunch is The Unfortunate Gytt, another Gentlemen's Speculative Society story. It may be my least favorite, but it is still an enchanting tale of a man recruited for the Society in 1855, and his first adventure with said society. It was a light and fun read, and really, it is pretty good.

This really is a terrific collection. It is sad that Kage Baker is no longer with us, but these stories are a reminder of just how good a writer she was and is just a small sample of the large number of works she left us. We should all go read more of it. ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 Ari marked it as to-read

Shelves: arc-galley-or-author, 2014, ram-ng-shorties

I just couldn't get into this one. It's probably a case of it's not the book, but me... Or maybe it was different than what I was expecting. ...more

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Dec 26, 2019 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ebook

This book was great. It is a collection of short stories, and some of the concepts were really fresh and fun to read.

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May 31, 2020 Nessie rated it liked it

I loved the first and the last story... Less enthusiastic about the rest

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Nov 18, 2013 Tsana Dolichva rated it it was amazing

In the Company of Thieves is a collection of short stories and novellas by Kage Baker, set in the Company universe (link to Goodreads series page). I've previous read all the Company novels (with the exception of The Empress of Mars, which doesn't fit chronologically with the others) and as many short stories as I could easily get a hold of, which was far from all of them. As such, I was coming to this collection already knowing a lot of the Company's back story. That definitely affected my read ...more

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Jan 06, 2014 Lynn Williams rated it it was amazing

http://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/...

In the Company of Thieves is a book containing six short stories written by Kage Baker (the final story being completed by Kage's sister, Kathleen Bartholomew, using notes).

I've only read one book of KB's - The Anvil of the World - which is a brilliant story, imaginative and full of quirky humour which I really enjoyed so I was looking forward to this collection of stories very much and they certainly don't disappoint.

Apparently the Company, or Dr Zeus Inc http://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/...

In the Company of Thieves is a book containing six short stories written by Kage Baker (the final story being completed by Kage's sister, Kathleen Bartholomew, using notes).

I've only read one book of KB's - The Anvil of the World - which is a brilliant story, imaginative and full of quirky humour which I really enjoyed so I was looking forward to this collection of stories very much and they certainly don't disappoint.

Apparently the Company, or Dr Zeus Inc as it is sometimes known, is a series of time travelling science fiction stories involving a company whose employees, as well as being immortal can travel back into time - although they are not, apparently, permitted to change the course of history. The stories in this particular book include:

The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park
The Unfortunate Gytt
The Women of Nell Gwynne's
Mother Aegypt
Rude Mechanicals
Hollywood Ikons
I haven't read any of the other Company series but having now been introduced I'm definitely interested in making a start - I just need to find the best starting place!

Without question my favourite of the stories was The Women of Nell Gwynne's. I loved the character Lady Beatrice and her story was fascinating to read. Nell's house of prostitution isn't all that it at first seems - Nell's place is used by The Company to gather information from some of it's more distinguished visitors whilst they're in the throes of passion. Run by Nell - a blind woman - who can see now see everything thanks to one of the inventions that she enjoys courtesy of the Company. This particular story involves the girls wangling themselves an invitation to a mansion where a lucrative deal is about to be made with some high rollers bidding for a piece of equipment of great significance. The stakes are high and there's definitely plenty of danger! This is just a great story. I mean, what happened to Lady Bea is no bundle of laughs but the way she turns her world around is such a treat to read. In my opinion this book is worth reading for this story alone - it's fantastic. I loved it and I want so much to return to this world.

Mother Aegypt is also a cracking little story that I found really compelling - the main character being a con man called Golesco who becomes involved with an immortal. This is a strange, dark and funny story - with giant chickens! Try to pretend you're not fascinated if you can.

Rude Mechanicals - involving a great team - Joseph and Lewis. Apparently these are Company story favourite characters and this particular story is a big mash up involving a theatre production of a Midsummer Night's Dream by a famous theatre producer. The scene Italy - the actual location - Hollywood, the props - virtually a full forest, uprooted and replanted! This staging of Shakespeare's play has become a Company mission - at the same time however another Company employee is out on another mission involving a rather special treasure. The two missions will of course cross with quite hilarious results. The brilliant part of this story is that it reads like a madcap caper. Things go from one crazy situation to another and it has this totally black-and-white-movie-slapstick-feel - which is quite fitting given it's set in the 1930's and Harold Lloyd puts in an appearance. Another great addition to the collection.

Okay. That's it. I'm not reviewing all the stories here - I need to leave something for you to go and discover yourselves. Take my word for it - they're good. They're all different. The writing is ace. There's humour. There's sadness. There's steampunk gadgets and, did I mention, the giant chickens. Go and read them for yourself. ...more

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Dec 06, 2013 Daniel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I received an electronic advanced reading copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley.

Kage Baker is a name I was familiar with, but I had only read one of her stories in an issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine years ago. Interested in experiencing more of her work I was excited at the opportunity to read this collection, but ended up feeling ambivalent during most of the time reading it. Yet for fans of Baker I am sure this will be a welcome and highly enjoyed volume, particularly in the I received an electronic advanced reading copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley.

Kage Baker is a name I was familiar with, but I had only read one of her stories in an issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine years ago. Interested in experiencing more of her work I was excited at the opportunity to read this collection, but ended up feeling ambivalent during most of the time reading it. Yet for fans of Baker I am sure this will be a welcome and highly enjoyed volume, particularly in the absence of futher works following her unfortunate death from cancer at a relatively young age.

Part of my difficulty of appreciating these stories likely stemmed from my ignorance about this "Company" universe that her stories mostly fit into. This is probably not an ideal book to start out for an introduction to Baker's works. Oddly, the last story in the collection, written by Baker's sister from notes and fragments that Baker left prior to her death, does the best job at imparting a background to this universe and the rules that defines its characters and their abilities. Sadly this comes at the end, and is written in a very stated fashion rather than anything particularly literary.

The second hurdle inherently facing these stories is their length, primarily novellas. The novella is a tricky beast, too long for the artistry and impact of a short story, too short to develop complexities and overall meditative themes that a novel can afford. Really it fits best stories that are pulpish, prolonged, multi-staged adventures that mix lightheartedness with bits of excitements and thrills. For me most of the stories here dragged, and simply wore out my interest, perhaps because I just don't have an appreciation for Baker's style of humor.

Nonetheless, there were a couple of high points to the collection that I enjoyed. The opening story, "The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park" was engaging and sublime, and succeeds in part because it maintains an appropriate length. Rather than going for word count the story stays on point and has a profound hook in its investigation of a character with characteristics of autism who is immortal and is exploited for his unique abilities. "The Women of Nell Gwynnes" was the most enjoyable of the novella length pieces, really a combination of two intriguing stories. First it covers the history and recruitment of a srong-willed independent woman into a secretive organization and then for the second portion goes into her first 'mission' with this group. Here the story is exciting and the additional portions of text and background that fill out the main 'action' are of note for Baker's no nonsense tackling of the feminine. ...more

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Dec 13, 2013 Stephanie Morrow rated it liked it

Shelves: arc-review

You can find my full review over on NomadicReader

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review, my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I admit, sometimes I’m pretty shallow when it comes to picking a book to read. I judge by the covers (both the front and the back). The cover to ‘In the Company of Thieves’ pulled at me and I just knew that I had to read it.

I was sad to learn that Kage Baker had passed on, and even sadder once I read the first short story in this series. It invo ...more

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Jan 09, 2014 Timothy Pecoraro rated it liked it

First, I would like to mention that this book is a compilation of short stories. It was compiled by Kage Baker’s sister after the author’s passing. This is probably the reason why this collection seems to be a little hit and miss as far as quality and coherence of theme are concerned. In my personal opinion there are perhaps one or two really good works in this book. Everything else is just alright. The synopsis refers to the two stories that are at the end of the book which deal with Kage Baker ...more

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Jan 12, 2014 Genevieve rated it really liked it

A collection of "Company" related stories, most of them previously published. I'd actually read most of them in previous editions, but it was interesting to see them again. This collection stands alone better than some of the past Company collections did, so is a better start for someone wanting to try out Kage Baker's work. (Anyone wanting to start on The Company novels themselves really should start at "In the Garden of Iden" or "Sky Coyote" as after that point they become extremely sequential ...more

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Feb 02, 2014 Kara-karina rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi

This is all my fault, ladies and gents.

Somehow, when I read the description on Netgalley, all I could see was that this was the book about time travel. Woohoo! I love time travel books. Well, what I failed to notice was that it was a collection of short stories from Kage Baker.

I hate short stories with a passion, that's why I avoid anthologies and rarely review novellas. There is just never enough time to immerse yourself into the story and fall in love with the characters.

In this case all the s ...more

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Mar 03, 2014 Annie rated it liked it

Science fiction author Kage Baker passed away in 2010, putting In the Company of Thieves into the awkward category of posthumous works. Some of the stories collected here were previously published, but some were finished by the editor, Kathleen Bartholomew. All of the stories take place in the world Baker created for Dr. Zeus, Inc., a company from the future that uses their immortality/cyborg technology and time travel technology to save lost works of art and literature and endangered plant and ...more

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Jan 19, 2016 Kathy Piselli rated it liked it

I decided when I started with Goodreads that I would read everything of Kage Baker's that I hadn't read yet. This one is a collection of short stories published in 2013 and containing 6 mostly previously-published stories. The last of the group, Hollywood Ikons, was finished by Baker's sister Kathleen Bartholomew, a writer in her own right, who had often collaborated with Baker - that story has its first appearance here. The Women of Nell Gwynne's is probably known to Baker fans - that is includ ...more

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Oct 01, 2013 Jacqie rated it really liked it

Kage Baker is a favorite of mine, and I'm sad that she will be writing no more. In this collection, her sister compiles past work and completes story sketches to give us a fresh take on the Company.

I've read a couple of these before in other iterations, like Mother Aegypt (laugh-out-loud funny) and The Ladies of Nell Gwynne's. There are some I haven't seen, but perhaps have just missed from other collections. And the final story, at least, seems to be written by Kage's sister based on notes on a ...more

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Oct 29, 2013 Dawn rated it liked it

This is not a novel, but a collection of stories within a single universe of the Company. The employees who work for the Company are immortal and their tasks involve time travel. (There are novels by this author that cover the same universe and, obviously, get more detailed about how things work.) These are good tales, if you enjoy short stories. It’s not typically my story style of choice, but with them all sharing a universe to tie things together it was a little easier to handle. Plus, the wr ...more

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Sep 05, 2013 Glennis rated it really liked it

This is a collection of previous published novellas and short stories with one brand new story written by her sister using extensive notes on the story idea. Any fan of the Company stories that hadn't wanted to pay for the small press editions of these stories will be very happy to dip back into this story universe. The new story has that same magic as her solo stories and includes Joseph and Lewis in California. It was good and bittersweet at the same time knowing that we were robbed of so many ...more

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Oct 25, 2013 Irina Stoica rated it really liked it

Shelves: firstreads

I rated it 4/5 not because I really liked it as a whole, but because I loved some of the short stories. the one with lady beatrice for example was sooooo good. others, not so much. i found it kind of strange that the style seemed to differ from one story to another (the writing style i mean), and I guess this influenced my liking only some. Though I didn't like that particular story, the one with the Romanians was pretty funny, given that I'm Romanian myself. All in all, not bad at all. I read t ...more

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Dec 14, 2013 Matti rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american, fantasy-scifi

That was fun. Nice ideas these Dr Zeuss &co, immortal time-traveling cyborgs, techno-magic and steampunk. Also, zesty characters and tongue-in-cheek dialogue. A good flow in the language & plots. So why only three stars? I guess it's a feeling that it's just a story, not a revelation and especially not a key question about us and our world.

Even so, I will probably read more stuff by Kage Baker, now that I've found her. ...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thomas-canty, e-books, 2005, 2014, 2018

I'd love to have a trade copy, that GORGEOUS cover from Thomas Canty ya know? But for now, I have it on my nook...

The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park (from The Best of Kage Baker) re-read aloud to Lisa 12/11/2014
The Unfortunate Gytt
(The Women of Nell Gwynne's) IS ONLY IN THE TRADE PAPERBACK EDITION
Mother Aegypt (read in Mother Aegypt 1/9/2005)
Rude Mechanicals
Hollywood Ikons read 7/26/2014 & again 12/12/2014 ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Short story set in Sutro Heights Park (San Francisco), POV of a statue, in short story collection - contemporary fantasy. [s]	6	495	May 19, 2020 03:53PM

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About Kage Baker

Kage Baker

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Born June 10, 1952, in Hollywood, California, and grew up there and in Pismo Beach, present home. Spent 12 years in assorted navy blue uniforms obtaining a good parochial school education and numerous emotional scars. Rapier wit developed as defense mechanism to deflect rage of larger and more powerful children who took offense at abrasive, condescending and arrogant personality in a sickly eight- ...more