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The Anvil of the World, by Kage Baker
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Kage Baker's stories and novels of the mysterious organization that controls time travel, The Company, have made her famous in SF. So has her talent for clever dialogue and pointed social commentary with a light touch. “Ms. Baker is the best thing to happen to modern science fiction since Connie Willis or Dan Simmons. She mixes adventure, history and societal concerns in just the right amount, creating an action-packed but thoughtful read,” says The Dallas Morning News.
The Anvil of the World is her first fantasy novel, a journey across a landscape filled with bizarre creatures, human and otherwise. It is the tale of Smith, of the large extended family of Smiths, of the Children of the Sun. They are a race given to blood feuds, and Smith was formerly an extremely successful assassin. Now he has wearied of his work and is trying to retire in another country, to live an honest life in obscurity in spite of all those who have sworn to kill him.
His problems begin when he agrees to be the master of a caravan from the inland city of Troon to the seaside city of Salesh. The caravan is dogged by murder, magic, and the brooding image of the Master of the Mountain, a powerful demon, looking down from his mountain kingdom upon the greenlands and the travelers passing below. In Salesh, Smith becomes an innkeeper, but on the journey he befriended the young Lord Ermenwyr, a decadent demonic half-breed. Each time Ermenwyr turns up, he brings new trouble with him.
The outgrowth of stories Baker has been writing since childhood, as engaging as Tolkien and yet nothing like him, Smith's adventure is certainly the only fantasy on record with a white-uniformed nurse, gourmet cuisine, one hundred and forty-four glass butterflies, and a steamboat. This is a book filled with intrigue, romance, sudden violence, and moments of emotional impact, a cast of charming characters, and echoes of the fantasy tradition that runs from Lord Dunsany and Fritz Leiber to Jack Vance and Roger Zelazny.
- Sales Rank: #2266447 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Tor Books
- Published on: 2003-08-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.62" h x 1.14" w x 5.70" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 352 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
Best known for such time-travel novels as Sky Coyote, Baker now turns her hand to humorous fantasy in this picaresque tale of a retired assassin, Smith, who is just trying to stay on the right side of the law, but who continually finds himself knee-deep in mayhem. Smith takes a job as a caravan master, shepherding a cargo of one gross of glass butterflies and a variety of eccentric passengers on a dangerous journey from the city of Troon to Salesh-by-the-Sea. Most notable among his passengers are the decadent Lord Ermenwyr and his nurse Balnshik, neither of whom are entirely mortal. Surviving his stint on the road, Smith eventually buys a decrepit resort hotel in Salesh-by-the-Sea and, aided by his talented former caravan cook, also named Smith, turns it into a raging success. Unfortunately, on the eve of the Festival, the most profitable day of the year, things begin to get dicey. Lord Ermenwyr pops in incognito, on the run from a sorcerous rival, then the health inspector turns up, just as a yellow journalist well known for blackmailing his victims is found dead, perhaps by magic, in one of Smith's best rooms. As usual, Baker successfully combines witty dialogue, well-drawn characters and an eye for telling details. Particularly memorable are her wind-up caravan with its heavily muscled keymen and Mrs. Smith's deftly described culinary masterpieces. Although not as substantial as her time-travel novels, Baker's latest is good fun and should please fans of quality fantasy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The author of the rollicking yarns (In the Land of Iden [1997] et seq.) about the Company, which controls time-travel, drops the sf veneer for a just-as-rollicking fantasy of three-dimensional travel. Smith agrees to lead a small caravan from desert-bound Troon to Salesh by the sea and, although inexperienced as well as incognito, gets most clients and cargo safely across the intervening, bandit-and-demon-infested wasteland, after enough action to buckle any swash. But only a third of this book's pages have been turned, which means that some characters from the caravan and a few picked up in Salesh eventually steamboat o'er sea and up river, including up a waterfall (demonically embodied spirits do the lifting), to find the Key of Unmaking, the wielding of which will winnow the too-prolific race to which Smith belongs. Between the two trips is orgy season in Salesh. Whoopee! Imagine an Errol Flynn classic ebulliently re-imagined by Monty Python director Terry Gilliam: that's this wacky romp whose pace never flags and which launches a second series from Baker. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"If John LeCarre wrote science fiction, it might read like the Graveyard Game."
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Give it time. This has a rocky start.
By Esther Schindler
If you start reading Kage Baker's first fantasy novel, The Anvil of the World, you may wonder why the book is so highly rated. That's because the weakest part is the first section. Perhaps it's because so many of the characters have something to hide, or at least some unspoken backstory that Baker feels she must reveal bit by bit, but it took me quite a while to warm up to the tale. In fact, she has so much to hold back about the main character, Smith, that she writes about him almost at arm's length, and I didn't really care what happened to the guy.
You might not, either, because the tone in the first part isn't especially smooth (at least compared to Baker's other works, nearly all of which I adore), and it wasn't until the second part (I should really call them several related novellas) that it finally hit me that, Oh! She's being *funny*! I was taking it all seriously, with perhaps a bit of lighthearted commentary. (I bet it'd all be a lot better on a second read. Or you might not have this problem, since you've been warned.)
But do bear with that rocky start, because once Baker finds her stride, she immediately proves why so many of her books earn 5-star ratings. While showing us the adventures of one Smith, an ex-assassin who's looking for a better life, she creates a believeable world with distinct races and plenty of conflict to cope with. Her portrayal of demons as, to some degree, technology indistinguishable from magic, is nothing short of great. And the book might be worthwhile for the Fatally Verbal Abuse duel.
Do read it. And if it seems hard going to begin with, plod on through. It gets better. LOTS better.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
A Journey to Salesh-by-the-Sea
By Arthur W Jordin
The Anvil of the World (2003) is a standalone fantasy novel. The Children of the Sun are a very prolific people, spreading throughout the world. The Smiths are the most widespread people among the Children of the Sun. Their god -- the Smith himself -- expects them to be ingenious, coming up with solutions to all problems.
In this novel, Smith -- not his real name -- is fleeing a blood feud. He is living incognito with his cousin in Troon. When the cousin loses a man to a vendetta, Smith is asked to become the master of his cousin's caravan. How can he refuse?
Lady Seven Butterflies of Seven Butterflies Studio is shipping a gross of glass butterflies encased in a specially developed packing material. Lord Ermenwyr of House Kingfisher is taking passage with his nurse to Salesh-by-the-Sea; of course, he fully expects to die enroute.
The rest of the passengers are listed on the manifest as Lyran and Demara Smith and family, jewelry designers; Paradan Smith, courier; and Ronrishim Flowering Reed, herbalist. All are Children of the Sun, except Ronrishim, who is probably Yendri. Nothing can possibly go wrong on the way.
The caravan crew includes Keymen Crucible, Smith, Bellows, Pinion, and Smith. The runner is young Burnbright and the culinary artist is Mrs. Smith. After these introductions, the keymen crank the gears and springs, the passengers take their seats, Burnbright blows her trumpet, and they start the journey.
In this story, they travel across the yellow land to the first way station, where they set up camp. Caravanmaster Smith meets Lord Ermenwyr's nurse and is quite impressed. Runner Burnbright informs him that Paradan Smith is a gangster; she has seen his tattoos, including Bloodfires' insignia.
The next day, the caravan is attacked by gliders. The first shot hits Smith in the thigh. He and the keymen fire back with their pistol bows, Paradan Smith sends bolt after bolt from an apparently inexhaustible magazine, and Balnshik -- the nurse -- shoots with an immense old hunting weapon.
The gliders veer off and fly away, dropping a firebomb behind them. One of their number, however, has been shot down. He looks like a pin-cushion, struck by a dozen bolts or more. Most of the bolts were shot by Paradan Smith, with three from Nursie and two from the Caravanmaster. Two others, however, are poisoned and unclaimed.
This story includes more assassination attempts, road hogs, and other perils. They finally get to their destination with only minor damage. Even Lord Ermenwyr survives the journey. But Caravanmaster Smith's troubles are not yet over.
Highly recommended for Baker fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures, exciting journeys, and interesting personalities.
-Arthur W. Jordin
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
The trials of having a demon as a friend
By David Roy
"We were just like any other family, except for a few things like Daddy's collection of heads and the fact that half the world wants us all dead." Lord Ermenwyr
Kage Baker is one of my favourite authors. Her books about the Company are not to be missed. How successful would she be at fantasy? If The Anvil of the World is anything to go by, she has nothing to worry about. With her trademark wit and punchy style fully in evidence, The Anvil of the World contains enough juicy goodness for even the most cynical palate.
The book is actually a collection of three linked novellas starring Smith (an alias), a man of many mysteries and an unknown past. A blood feud (the Children of the Sun are notorious for them) has forced him to become the caravan master in his cousin's business, and he's selected to lead one to the pleasure city of Salesh with some valuable cargo. Things don't quite go as planned. In the second story, Smith has started a hotel in Salesh with the staff from his caravan, and business is booming, especially during festival time when freedom is loose and the participants are looser. Unfortunately, a death in the hotel could cost him everything as the constable gives him just four days to present a murderer or the constable will shut down the hotel. The third story involves an expedition to rescue Lord Ermenwyr's sister. This becomes a mission of destiny for Smith, as it turns out he holds the fate of the entire world in his hands. One wrong decision will result in the death of everything.
Baker has a wonderful way with words, and The Anvil of the World is a breezy read. She is a master character-builder, knowing just how much detail to add to make you care about (or at least be entertained by) each person in the story. The two biggest characters are Smith and Lord Ermenwyr. Smith is a former assassin who's given it up because he was getting tired of killing. Now he just wants to be left alone to run his business. Ermenwyr is a decadent demonic half-breed who whines a lot and thinks he's going to die all the time. He's also immature and stubborn, causing Smith no end of grief. It's even worse when his family gets involved.
The world Baker has created is alive. While there are many races around, there are mainly two: The Children of the Sun (humans, basically) and the Yendri, a deeply spiritual people who abhor violence (though they're not above having others do it for them). The Children of the Sun have all the foibles that our own human race has, especially where ecology is concerned. In fact, that's one of the minor problems I have with the book, that the ecological message is heavy-handed at times, especially in the last story. One pitfall she avoids, however, is making the Yendri pure of heart. Many of them think they are, but Baker does a good job showing both the good and the bad side of them.
The best thing I can say about this book is that it's fun. While Ermenwyr is the source for most of the humour, everybody gets involved. Smith is the straight man for the most part, trying to deal with people trying to kill him or his companions. When he realizes that he is the key to whether or not the world is destroyed, he is suitable (and humorously) overwhelmed. Some of the events are absurd enough that they make the reader laugh even without character involvement. However absurd the events are, though, they are realistic in the world that Baker presents. I had no trouble suspending my disbelief for any of it.
One word of warning for those who wish to browse just one of the stories in the bookstore: The stories are not individually titled and there's no way to distinguish where one ends and another begins other than reading. Read the whole book, as it's well worth it. While each story stands on its own, they do read better as a whole, with events in one story influencing the next.
Other than the occasional blunt message as noted above, there really isn't anything noticeably wrong with The Anvil of the World. Baker has further cemented her place as one of the best authors of the genre, showing that she can handle fantasy just as well as science fiction.
David Roy
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