Festival Week

Liavek #5

by Will Shetterly, Darrell K. Sweet (Illustrator), Emma Bull (Editor)

More short stories set in Liavek, the city of luck and magic, with contributions by Jane Yolen, Stephen Brust, John M. Ford, and others

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Speculative Fiction, Collections

276 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by shared settings, how each idea came about and how all the stories work together: their relation in time and possible presence in some greater arc or theme. This collection revolves around the intercalary festival week between the Fleeing Year and the New Year, each day of which has ritual significance. And, coincidentally, Prince Jeng's vendetta plan against the city of Liavek.

As my first exposure to Liavek, there is a bit of the "I bet that is explained in Book Four". Or perhaps not. The framing device of poems by John M Ford didn't work for me, if they were intended to explain anything.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the previous book, I didn't believe the railroads. In this one, I don't believe the airships. Still an enjoyable reread. As I said before, my favorite stories are the connected ones by Pamela Dean and Patricia Wrede. In future, I might just reread Points of Departure, where those are collected.

[Virginia Serna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was hard to stop reading these, I wish there were more. The world is very different from the current fantasy books. The stories in this book could have started an entirely new set of stories, twice. Does anyone know if there are more ?

[Jeff Youngstrom]

(October 21, 1995)