Thieves' World: Turning Points
Thieves' World: Turning Points is a shared-world fantasy anthology edited by Lynn Abbey that revives the legendary Sanctuary setting with ten new stories from authors like Raymond E. Feist, Andrew Offutt, and Diana L. Paxson.
Set in the gritty fantasy city of Sanctuary, Turning Points is the first book in the new Thieves’ World series published by Tor Books in 2002. It picks up ten years after the original anthology series ended in the late 1980s. The Irrune tribe now rules the city, the death cult of Dyareela has fallen, and old power players have been replaced by new ones. Lynn Abbey ties everything together with a framing story about Cauvin, a stonemason who inherited a lifetime of memories from the dead political mastermind Molin Torchholder.
The anthology features ten stories plus an introduction and afterword. Contributors include Mickey Zucker Reichert, Andrew Offutt, Diana L. Paxson, Selina Rosen, Dennis L. McKiernan, Robin Wayne Bailey, Jody Lynn Nye, Jeff Grubb, and Raymond E. Feist. Stories range from street-level survival tales to magical quests, political intrigue, and even a linguist who carries words powerful enough to destroy cities. Each story adds to the shared world, with characters and events crossing between tales.
Whether you’re a longtime Thieves’ World fan or a newcomer to the series, Turning Points works as both a nostalgia trip and a fresh starting point. The writing quality varies across contributors, but the best stories here stand on their own as solid fantasy. It’s a reminder of what shared-world anthologies can do when talented authors commit to building something together.