Very satisfying collection of Liavek stories -- lovely to return to that world, lovely to read new stories in it, and pleasing to have all the ones about these characters in one place. ( )

Mixed

I enjoyed some of the stories involving Rikiki and Granny, but there were others that...I respect the skill and insight that went into their crafting, but I did not enjoy reading them. I was more conscious of the craft than I prefer.

Amusing, but not top shelf. ( )

Mixed

I enjoyed some of the stories involving Rikiki and Granny, but there were others that...I respect the skill and insight that went into their crafting, but I did not enjoy reading them. I was more conscious of the craft than I prefer.

Amusing, but not top shelf. ( )

Interesting. It's been a long time since I read any Liavek stories, and the only one I remembered was the legend of Rikiki and Ryvenna, the first story. The rest were - well-written, aside from Shards which had such a jumbled timeline it made no sense; evocative; carried forward a very complex arc (most of them) - and most of them weren't very interesting to me, dysfunctional family and minor politics (with gods involved, so sometimes not so minor). The last one was the one I enjoyed most, tying more of the threads of Liavek together. I may read more Liavek stories if I come across them. ( )

Fun. A collection of short stories all set in the same city and following various members of the same family as they struggle to cope with living in a foreign city. The stories pick up some ten or more years after they've settled there, and are more or less chronological, although a couple start before the previous one finished.

The basic princlple of hte world seems to be that everyone is born with magic, but most don't use it. If you haven't actively decided to do so, the most you'll get is a few hours of luck, for the duration of your birth each year. Magicians make the concious choice to learn how to invest their luck into an object that gives' them a year's worth of magic. There are few local gods too brought a long with various population influxes. Other than that it's pretty much a standard trading / port city, never quite at peace with it's neighbours, but more or less settled.

As ever with short stories I liked some more than others. None of them were that short. I think my favourite was probably the Green Temple of Suicides, where the priests ensure that only once you've settled all your responsibilities in this world can you contemplate the options for leaving it. ( )