Book Review: 'Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn'
edited by Robert Lynn Asprin
edited by Robert Lynn Asprin
'Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn' (299 pp.) was published by Ace Books in November 1980. The cover art is by Walter Velez.
This is the second volume of the Thieves' World shared world franchise. My review of the initial volume, Thieves' World, is available here.
The lineup of contributors to 'Vulgar' includes some from the first volume: Robert Asprin; his wife at the time, Lynn Abbey; and Andrew J Offutt. There are a bevy of franchise newcomers, all of whom were established sci-fi and fantasy writers at the time of publication.
All of the stories are of course set in and around the reeking alleys, taverns, and brothels of Sanctuary, the city of Thieves............
More than a few of the entries in 'Vulgar' have curiously stilted, at times wooden, prose, as if the authors, conscious that they were writing 'fantasy' stories, felt the use of too colloquial or informal a style would somehow not be legitimate. This was a common authorial stance when writing fantasy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
There also is the frequent appearance of esoteric nouns and verbs, which, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary.
My capsule summaries of the contents:
Spiders of the Purple Mage, by Philip Jose Farmer: housewife Masha has a price on her head, and the only way to cancel it involves a confrontation with one of the most feared men in the land..........
I approached this novelette with skepticism, given that its title is a play on Farmer's 1967 novelette 'Riders of the Purple Wage', one of the worst stories ever written during the New Wave era. But 'Purple Mage' is surprisingly good, and quite superior to 'Purple Wage' (which, to be fair, may not be saying all that much). I did find Farmer's allusions to child prostitution in Sanctuary to be more than a little creepy. But that stuff didn't raise eyebrows in 1980.........
'Goddess' by David Drake: Samlor the caravan master investigates the Temple of Heqt, where, it is rumored, all manner of depravities are practiced.
This story is the first time I've encountered the verb 'eeled' in a work of fiction.........?! Who would've thought that reading 'Thieves' World' could expand your vocabulary........ anyways, this story has a suitably grim edge to it. The Samlor character would go on to feature in Drake's 1988 Thieves' World novel Dagger.
The Fruit of Enlibar, by Lynn Abbey: Illyra the Seeress returns, this time to aid someone from her past in his search for information about a rare artifact. This story, which is well-plotted and well-written, introduced the noun 'querent' (i.e., one who consults with an astrologer) to my vocabulary.
The Dream of the Sorceress, by A. E. Van Vogt: Stulwig the healer finds himself the object of attention on the part of the god Vashanka; this is not a good thing. I never expect memorable storytelling from Van Vogt, but this contribution, while at times overly wordy and meandering, isn't that bad.
Vashanka's Minions, by Janet Morris: Following a visionary encounter with the god Vashanka, Tempus the Guardian sets some intrigues in motion.
This is the worst story in the anthology. Not only is it confusingly plotted, but it forces readers to negotiate remarkably obtuse paragraphs like this one:
Oh, he had heard endless persiflage about simultaneity – iteration, the constant redefining of the now by checking it against the future – alchemical laws of consonance….he had learned the axiom that Mind is unlimited and self-controlled, but all other things are connected; that nothing is completely separated off from any other thing; nor are things divided one from the other, except Mind.
'Persiflage' is defined as 'frivolous bantering talk'. Elsewhere in 'Vashanka's Minions' I was introduced to the adjective 'preclusive' (to prevent something from happening), and the gerund 'effluescing' (i.e., something that flows out; the act of flowing).
Shadow's Pawn, by Andrew Offutt: continuing the story thread of the previous tale, this one sees the thief Shadowspawn teaming up with Tempus to retrieve an unusual weapon.
To Guard the Guardians, by Robert Lynn Asprin: Zalbar, an officer in the Prince's elite guard, seeks to stop atrocities from being committed by a man held in favor by the said Prince. With a disturbing tenor and a surprise ending, this is another of the anthology's better entries.
Summing up, I found 'Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn' to be less impressive than the first volume in the series. 'Thieves' World' fans will want to have this volume, but I can't recommend it to the more casual fans of the franchise.
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