Rating: 
Summary: A point to remember
Review: A point to remember - this was the first book in the "shared world" genre. It spawned several copycats - the Hell series comes to mind, as does Wild Cards. Sure, there had been 'round robin' books before, but this was the first shared world.As the first attempt at a new genre this book is good. Alas, few people used each other's characters, but that was corrected by book two when the concept had come together better. MZB introduced a character that later appeared in another Shared World (kind of violating the premise of both series) which later had its own book (collecting and adding to the short stories about it). After burning out around book 10 (but struggling on to book 12) the series bunt out, but it seems that Lynn Abbey (ex-wife of teh founding editor) has restarted it - so this book can serve as a base line for the new series.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a bunch of good short stories
Review: If you are in the mood from some fantasy short stories that have a good action pace to them, then this is worth reading. What I read I liked. My only thing with the book is that it is exactly that...a bunch of short stories that take place in the same universe(I kinda knew this from the start but didnt' really think much of it till I was 2/3rds of the way through). In my opinion if there were reoccuring characters (if there were I don't remember seeing them) then that would have been more enjoyable to me.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed and Addicting
Review: If you like to follow multiple plot lines, with rich personalities, and interesting locales.....and more than a little interest in skullduggery, sorcery and vengence well-deserved, you'll get sucked right into this place. So grab a chair at the Vulgar Unicorn, (for gods' sake order wine, not the beer) and keep your hands down near your belt, near your money and weapons.
Rating:
Summary: Sit down stranger, have a drink, let me lighten your purse..
Review: One of the few anthology series to work, this book comprises a series of stories by different authors all set in the same town. The town of Sanctuary is no ordinary town, as the title of the book suggests it is the home of a great numbre of people who live by nefarious means. Each and every story is a wonderful tale, introducing interesting characters. Unfortunately, while the series did continue for at least another 11 books only the next two managed to continue the ethos and wit of the first book. By the fourth novel the series lost it way and became dull reading. Content yourself with this book. If you want to, read the next 2 (Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn and Shadows of Sanctuary) but go no further for the series becomes self-important, dull and unreadable.
Rating:
Summary: A good bunch of short stories
Review: Playing out like a who's who of the fantasy writing world, this book is engaging and entertaining and, at times, quite emotional. I highly recommend this book, and this series, to anyone interested in fantasy books.
Rating: 
Summary: Chaos, Mayhem, Political Intrigue, and really great writing!
Review: Set in a common place and time, this anthology tracks the tales of several different characters through a city rife with corruption, crime, and immorality. Some of the characters are
* Shadowspawn- a master thief that finds himself in the middle of a web meant to catch another...
* Prince Kadakithis- the brother to the emperor he is a political threat so he has been sent to San to bring order, or to meet a more gruesome end...
* Myrtis- the most powerful and beautiful madam in Thieves' World she will do whatever it takes to protect her girls and their way of life, even if that means bargaining away a bit of her soul... Fans of science fiction and fantasy are sure to recognize and be fans of at least a few of the authors represented including Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Asprin, John Brunner, Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Joe Hademan, and Christine DeWees. Part of the fun of this unique series is that while each author had a character (or two) they created themselves to use in this series, all authors had access to that character. Therefore Shadowspawn appears in more than just his story and so on. It's a great and entertaining read, but be warned, you can't just read one book in the series. You'll be back for book 2: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn!
Rating:
Summary: Chaos, Mayhem, Political Intrigue, and really great writing!
Review: Set in a common place and time, this anthology tracks the tales of several different characters through a city rife with corruption, crime, and immorality. Some of the characters are
* Shadowspawn- a master thief that finds himself in the middle of a web meant to catch another...
* Prince Kadakithis- the brother to the emperor he is a political threat so he has been sent to San to bring order, or to meet a more gruesome end...
* Myrtis- the most powerful and beautiful madam in Thieves' World she will do whatever it takes to protect her girls and their way of life, even if that means bargaining away a bit of her soul... Fans of science fiction and fantasy are sure to recognize and be fans of at least a few of the authors represented including Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Asprin, John Brunner, Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Joe Hademan, and Christine DeWees. Part of the fun of this unique series is that while each author had a character (or two) they created themselves to use in this series, all authors had access to that character. Therefore Shadowspawn appears in more than just his story and so on. It's a great and entertaining read, but be warned, you can't just read one book in the series. You'll be back for book 2: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn!
Rating:
Summary: Full of talent.
Review: Thieves' World is a collection of stories written by a Who's Who in the field of fantasy and sci-fi, such as John Brunner, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Joe Haldeman and Poul Anderson. With this talent setting the stage in the first book and others joining in the later books, such as Philip Jose Farmer, A.E. Van Vogt, CJ Cherryh and David Drake, they set a standard for all other
shared worlds that followed. Yep, these are ESTABLISHED writers. Established, Hall of Famers and Grand Masters. These are the writers that Jordan, Martin, Brooks and Goodkind read as kids, learned from, aspired to be. They were established and winning major awards while Jordan et al. were still in diapers.
Rating:
Summary: A personal guilty pleasure
Review: This first book didn't particularly strike me when I read it. None of the writers are exactly masters in the field, and the stories are all action-oriented (don't expect any philospohical insight here). However, as I began to read more of the series, especially by book 3, I started getting into it. It becomes interesting to see how the different plot strands connect to the overall saga. I'm only on book 5 now, but I'll probably read the rest eventually. If you have some time to kill, check these out, but otherwise, stick to the more established fantasy writers (Jordan, Eddings, Fiest, Goodkind, Martin, Brooks, etc...) who do a much better job of developing character and setting.
Rating:
Summary: A personal guilty pleasure
Review: This first book didn't particularly strike me when I read it. None of the writers are exactly masters in the field, and the stories are all action-oriented (don't expect any philospohical insight here). However, as I began to read more of the series, especially by book 3, I started getting into it. It becomes interesting to see how the different plot strands connect to the overall saga. I'm only on book 5 now, but I'll probably read the rest eventually. If you have some time to kill, check these out, but otherwise, stick to the more established fantasy writers (Jordan, Eddings, Fiest, Goodkind, Martin, Brooks, etc...) who do a much better job of developing character and setting.
| 
