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Liavek #2
The Players of Luck
The fantastical city of Liavek, home of dark magic, adventure, gambling, and horror, comes to life in a series of interconnected stories by Jane Yolen, Gene Wolfe, Pamela Dean, John M. Ford, Patricia C. Wrede, Gregory Frost, and other noted fantasy writers
292 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 4, 2020
You can read my impressions of the series as a whole here. The best stories (IMO) in this volume are:
"Choice of the Black Goddess," Gene Wolfe
"Show of Faith," Gregory Frost + "An Act of Trust," Steven Brust (need to be read as a unit)
"A Cup of Worrynot Tea," John M. Ford
"Choice of the Black Goddess," Gene Wolfe
"Show of Faith," Gregory Frost + "An Act of Trust," Steven Brust (need to be read as a unit)
"A Cup of Worrynot Tea," John M. Ford
May 7, 2018
The shared-world anthologies draw strength from two major elements. First, from the fact that they share a setting and crossover characters. Second, from the fact that they can tell a larger-scale story with many points of view. Thieves World was always weak on the stories: even after the authors started introducing large-scale changes to the setting, there was no plan and no regular progression. After two books, Liavek still hasn't gotten to the overarching-story stage of shared-world design at all. So that means it has to depend entirely on its characters ... and it's a little weak here too. There are great stories here that are building a series of meaningful crossovers, but there's also too much here that's new or that stands on its own. Still, some superior stories help to raise the book up (barely) to a four-star level).
A Happy Birthday (Shetterly: The Magician). Yep, it's another birthday story. But at least there's some interesting material on the culture of magicians and Liavek's relations to the adversarial empire of Tichen [6/10]
Before the Paint is Dry (Dalkey: Aritoli). A cute little story about our favorite wizardly art critic. There's some fun magic in here and a side of Liavek we haven't seen before, including a nice look at their Council [7/10]
The Rat's Alley Shuffle (De Lint: Saffer). This bardic tale of heists gone wrong is fine enough, but there's very little depth to it [5/10].
Two Houses in Saltigos (Dean: Deleon). Dean's "The Green Cat" was definitely one of the greats of the first Liavek volume, so it's a pleasure to see her sort of return to that narrative by introducing us to Deleon, one of Nerissa's siblings. This is really Deleon's tale that's wholly separate from Nerissa's, but it's also wonderfully informed by what we already know. The result is a nicely nuanced tale that's only weakened by the opaqueness of its ending [7+/10].
Rikki & The Wizard (Wrede: Folk Tale). A fun little story that improves the verisimilitude of the secondary world of Liavek. It's shallow, but that's appropriate for a story of this (short) length [7/10].
Dry Well (Bucklin: Liramal). The trope of finding oneself is well known, but finding that oneself is already what one is looking for, that's trickier. Buckling, unfortunately, isn't up to it. He presents a character that's so frustratingly blind to his own talents that it's hard to like him. If not for that severe characterization flaw, this would be a good story, with some interesting links to the greater world of Liavek that we're continuing to learn more about [5+/10].
Choice of the Black Goddess (Wolfe: Tev Noen). In Liavek, Wolfe gave us a great pulp story. Here, he repeats that, but he also mixes in enough hidden identity to turn it into a truly classic Wolfe story. The only real deficit is that it has almost no connection to Liavek, since it occurs out on some island [7/10].
The Ballad of the Quick Levars (Yolen: Poem). A boring poem [3/10].
Pot Luck (Lindholm/Hobb: Kaloo). The story of Kaloo's continued education as a wizard continues to be great. The interaction between her two lives here is emotional and meaningful, especially since Lindholm is willing to up the stakes as the story goes on [8/10].
Show of Faith (Frost: Jolesha). A neat look at a different class of people within Liavek that feels very authentic, and a neat magic artifact. The story is fun too, and makes good connections with existing characters. Overall, a nice debut by Frost [7/10].
An Act of Trust (Brust: Dashif). This is the sort of story a shared-world anthology was made for. Perhaps it spends too much time on servicing the plot needs of "Show of Faith", but overall its gathering of characters from Hobb and Frost and creates a great sense of continuity, while the story still manages to have its own dramatic consequences [8/10].
Ishu's Gift (Saunders: Folk Tale). Some nice insight into the Arabic-feeling culture of Liavek, something that we haven't previously seen. But the story is dull and opaque [4/10].
A Cup of Worrynot Tea (Ford: Kory, Reed & Ghosh). This story of children becoming adults has some depth to it, but the real joy of it is in these strongly defined characters. The plot involving the Regent is also interesting, though it gets a bit complex by the end [7/10].
The Well-Made Plan (Bull: Koseth). We end with a light story that advances Snake's arc using another viewpoint character. It's well-written and fun, but ultimately somewhat shallow [6/10].
A Happy Birthday (Shetterly: The Magician). Yep, it's another birthday story. But at least there's some interesting material on the culture of magicians and Liavek's relations to the adversarial empire of Tichen [6/10]
Before the Paint is Dry (Dalkey: Aritoli). A cute little story about our favorite wizardly art critic. There's some fun magic in here and a side of Liavek we haven't seen before, including a nice look at their Council [7/10]
The Rat's Alley Shuffle (De Lint: Saffer). This bardic tale of heists gone wrong is fine enough, but there's very little depth to it [5/10].
Two Houses in Saltigos (Dean: Deleon). Dean's "The Green Cat" was definitely one of the greats of the first Liavek volume, so it's a pleasure to see her sort of return to that narrative by introducing us to Deleon, one of Nerissa's siblings. This is really Deleon's tale that's wholly separate from Nerissa's, but it's also wonderfully informed by what we already know. The result is a nicely nuanced tale that's only weakened by the opaqueness of its ending [7+/10].
Rikki & The Wizard (Wrede: Folk Tale). A fun little story that improves the verisimilitude of the secondary world of Liavek. It's shallow, but that's appropriate for a story of this (short) length [7/10].
Dry Well (Bucklin: Liramal). The trope of finding oneself is well known, but finding that oneself is already what one is looking for, that's trickier. Buckling, unfortunately, isn't up to it. He presents a character that's so frustratingly blind to his own talents that it's hard to like him. If not for that severe characterization flaw, this would be a good story, with some interesting links to the greater world of Liavek that we're continuing to learn more about [5+/10].
Choice of the Black Goddess (Wolfe: Tev Noen). In Liavek, Wolfe gave us a great pulp story. Here, he repeats that, but he also mixes in enough hidden identity to turn it into a truly classic Wolfe story. The only real deficit is that it has almost no connection to Liavek, since it occurs out on some island [7/10].
The Ballad of the Quick Levars (Yolen: Poem). A boring poem [3/10].
Pot Luck (Lindholm/Hobb: Kaloo). The story of Kaloo's continued education as a wizard continues to be great. The interaction between her two lives here is emotional and meaningful, especially since Lindholm is willing to up the stakes as the story goes on [8/10].
Show of Faith (Frost: Jolesha). A neat look at a different class of people within Liavek that feels very authentic, and a neat magic artifact. The story is fun too, and makes good connections with existing characters. Overall, a nice debut by Frost [7/10].
An Act of Trust (Brust: Dashif). This is the sort of story a shared-world anthology was made for. Perhaps it spends too much time on servicing the plot needs of "Show of Faith", but overall its gathering of characters from Hobb and Frost and creates a great sense of continuity, while the story still manages to have its own dramatic consequences [8/10].
Ishu's Gift (Saunders: Folk Tale). Some nice insight into the Arabic-feeling culture of Liavek, something that we haven't previously seen. But the story is dull and opaque [4/10].
A Cup of Worrynot Tea (Ford: Kory, Reed & Ghosh). This story of children becoming adults has some depth to it, but the real joy of it is in these strongly defined characters. The plot involving the Regent is also interesting, though it gets a bit complex by the end [7/10].
The Well-Made Plan (Bull: Koseth). We end with a light story that advances Snake's arc using another viewpoint character. It's well-written and fun, but ultimately somewhat shallow [6/10].
August 13, 2025
Reread after many years and comes with baggage, since many of the authors are or were friends. Still holds up surprisingly well, though as an anthology it's a mixed bag.
May 14, 2020
This one was, on balance, stronger than the first one. Some of the characters have had more time to develop, the integration between stories was stronger, and fewer tales hinged on the same birth luck investiture hook.
May 30, 2023
4 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
In the city of Liavek, everyone has birth luck, but magicians can bind it during their birthday and use it during the year. Those who fail, die. The second in a shared-world fantasy anthology series.
Review
I just ran across a comment by Orson Scott Card that Liavek was an example of what’s possible in a shared world anthology when everything goes right, and that seems pretty accurate. Certainly, the Liavek books and stories caught my imagination in a way that no anthology before or since has done. From a well thought out world to a collection of good writers to nicely (if lightly) interwoven stories, the whole thing just works well.
While this second volume isn’t quite as effective as the first – it feels slighter – it’s nonetheless a solid, self-contained collection of stories. It draws on places and events from the prior volume, but works just fine as a standalone collection. Interestingly, the stories I enjoyed most were not all from ‘known’ writers – one I liked, Dry Well, was by Nathan A. Bucklin, whom I have not otherwise heard of.
In any case, another strong entry in the Liavek series.
PS For a while, it was possible to write your own stories in the world of Liavek through an open license from the editors. That now seems to have gone away.
Summary
In the city of Liavek, everyone has birth luck, but magicians can bind it during their birthday and use it during the year. Those who fail, die. The second in a shared-world fantasy anthology series.
Review
I just ran across a comment by Orson Scott Card that Liavek was an example of what’s possible in a shared world anthology when everything goes right, and that seems pretty accurate. Certainly, the Liavek books and stories caught my imagination in a way that no anthology before or since has done. From a well thought out world to a collection of good writers to nicely (if lightly) interwoven stories, the whole thing just works well.
While this second volume isn’t quite as effective as the first – it feels slighter – it’s nonetheless a solid, self-contained collection of stories. It draws on places and events from the prior volume, but works just fine as a standalone collection. Interestingly, the stories I enjoyed most were not all from ‘known’ writers – one I liked, Dry Well, was by Nathan A. Bucklin, whom I have not otherwise heard of.
In any case, another strong entry in the Liavek series.
PS For a while, it was possible to write your own stories in the world of Liavek through an open license from the editors. That now seems to have gone away.
May 16, 2015
I've had this anthology on the shelf for quite some time and wanted to read it... several times. I bought it because I really like shared world settings, when done right, and there are some promising writers in this book, like Charles de Lint, Gene Wolfe, Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb) and Steven Brust.
This is another review-in-progress, and I will review the shortstories as I get to read them, starting with the first, of course, and ending with the last.
A Happy Birthday (by Will Shetterly) is the story of the Magician of Liavek and how he is saved... by luck, from one of his greatest enemies. It was a little confusing at times, since it introduces a lot of new ideas, but overall - a good and solid read. (2.5 stars)
Before the Paint is Dry (by Kara Dalkey) is a tale of the artists of Liavek, and how they compete. Strong characters and definitely a story with another pace than your average fantasy story. (3 stars)
This is another review-in-progress, and I will review the shortstories as I get to read them, starting with the first, of course, and ending with the last.
A Happy Birthday (by Will Shetterly) is the story of the Magician of Liavek and how he is saved... by luck, from one of his greatest enemies. It was a little confusing at times, since it introduces a lot of new ideas, but overall - a good and solid read. (2.5 stars)
Before the Paint is Dry (by Kara Dalkey) is a tale of the artists of Liavek, and how they compete. Strong characters and definitely a story with another pace than your average fantasy story. (3 stars)
May 8, 2009
This was the second book in the Liavek series, and it maintained the quality of the first. I liked it but didn't feel like I needed to read a lot more. I'm sure there was at least one more book in the series but I'm not sure how long it went.
Want to read
March 27, 2011Hennepin County has- no others in series, though.
April 10, 2019
see review of #2.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews