Thieves World

Information about the Thieves World books, with links for deeper exploration of the books, including links to authors' homepages and links to the Amazon page for each book.

For a comprehensive list of all the authors of Thieves World, visit the Authors of Thieves World lens.

Background

Brief history of the series

Thieves World was created in 1978 by author Robert Lynn Asprin, who wanted to build a shared fantasy universe. He wanted to create a world where there were several central characters. The characters would "all share the same terrain and be peripherally aware of each other's existance as thier paths crossed" ('The Making of Thieve's World,' Robert Lynn Asprin).

With the help of his (now ex-) wife, Lynn Abbey, Asprin brought together notable and aspiring authors. Twelve anthologies were written until Asprin lost control of his authors, and the works went on hiatus. Lynn Abbey brought the series back to life in 2002 with the anthology 'Turning Points.'

Thieves World Sites

A Notable Guide to Thieves World: The absolute best Thieves World site on the 'net! Detailed, updated, good-looking.
Locus Index Series List: Comprehensive series list through 1990.
Wikipedia: Thieves World: If it's not Wikied, it doesn't matter.
TW Yahoo! Group: A Yahoo! Group dedicated to Thieves' World.

The World

Thieves World is centered around the city of Sanctuary. It is a tough, gritty town populated by gutter-scum, evil mages, vampiric sorceresses, and walking gods. Heroes are often out for themselves, and life is cheap, in the town described as "the anus of the Rankan Empire."

The Books

The series of Thieves World books can be broken into Anthologies, Novels, and Spin-offs.

Anthologies include the first twelve books, and the contemporary books 'Turning Points' and 'Enemies of Fortune.' These works are the essence of Thieves World, because they spin tales along common threads, but deliver unique - and sometimes stand alone - stories presented by different authors.

Novels are the stand-alone books, such as 'Beyond Sanctuary' and 'Shadowspawn.' These books follow the same characters, and are written by one or two authors.

There are several spin-off books centered around Thieves World characters, but are not officially part of the Thieves World universe. These include novels about Jamie the Red, Tempus, and Lythande. There are also numerous short stories in magazines and anthologies about Thieves World characters but are not officially part of Theives World.

There are three book club omnibuses that, combined, have all twelve of the original books. The newest omnibus is 'First Blood,' which combines the first two books ('Thieves World' and 'Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn').

Thieves' World Books 1-5

Thieves' World (Thieves' World #1)

by Robert Asprin

The book that started it all!

Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (Thieves World, Book 2)

by Robert Asprin

Shadows of Sanctuary (Thieves World #3)

by Robert Asprin

Storm Season (Thieves World, Book 4)

by various

Face Of Chaos (Thieves World, No 5)

by Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey

Books 6-10

Wings of Omen (Thieves' World, Book 6)

by various

The Dead of Winter: Thieves' World, Book 7

Soul of the City: Thieves' World, Book 8.

by C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris

Blood Ties: Thieves' World, Book 9

Aftermath: Thieves' World, Book 10

Books 11-14

Uneasy Alliance (Thieves World, Bk 11)

by Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey

Stealers' Sky (Thieves' World 12)

by Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey

Thieves' World: Turning Points (Thieves' World)

by Lynn Abbey

Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune (Thieves' World)

by Lynn Abbey

The (Official) Single Author Spin-offs

Thieves World from One Perspective

Thieves World spawned several spin-offs. The first was a series of books by Janet Morris. Titled 'Beyond Sanctuary,' 'Beyond the Veil,' and 'Beyond Wizardwall,' these books follow the adventures of Tempus and the Stepsons. Published from 1985 to 1986.

'Shadowspawn,' by Andrew J. Offutt, is about the thief Hanse and his travels outside of Sanctuary, first published in 1987. In 1993, Offutt revisited Hanse in 'The Shadow of Sorcery.'

David Drake's 'Dagger' is about Samlor hil Samt, a caravan master and warrior. First published in 1988.

Finally, in 2002, Lynn Abbey brought us 'Sanctuary - An Epic Novel of Thieves World.'