The Anvil of the World

The Anvil of the World, by the late Kage Baker, appears to have started life as a novella; at least, the first long chapter was previously published in Asimov's. The novel is made up of three sections, all dealing with the adventures of Smith, a former assassin who has fled that life and taken up a new role, first as a caravan master and then as the proprietor of a resort hotel. In the first section, he heads his cousin's caravan on its trek from inland Troon to seaside Salesh, and finds that his former skills are still very much needed as somebody seems to be interested in murdering a passenger, Lord Ermenwyr. Ermenwyr appears to be a decadent young man, but in fact he is a half-breed, the product of the marriage between a female Saint show more and a male Demon, and whenever he turns up, interesting times are likely to follow! This book is at once very very funny (a duel to the death between mages is carried out using that dread weapon, Fatally Verbal Abuse) and quite poignant (who Smith actually is, and why he is important, is not revealed until the end of the novel, and is quite surprising). Among many other reasons to mourn Baker, who died in 2010, is the fact that we will not have any more stories about Smith, Mrs. Smith, Ermenwyr and his minder Balnshik, Burnbright and Willowspear, and that is a very sad thing. Recommended. show less

Genuinely funny fantasy is hard to find (although stupid humor masquerading as fantasy is not), and this book succeeds marvelously.

It reminded me quite a lot of ‘Thieves' World' – which means, I suppose, that I should say it reminded me of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, but I guess that places me in my cultural era! However, I found this book to be both wittier and more enjoyable.

It's made up of three linked novellas, following an ex-mercenary named Smith.
In the first story, Smith, having left his previous employment after deciding he doesn't enjoy killing people, appeals to his cousin for a new job, and is placed as "caravan master," in charge of safely transporting a load of goods and passengers to Salesh-by-the-Sea. Unfortunately, the show more goods are exceedingly fragile, the passengers are difficult, and the road is plagued by bandits, demons, and more...

The second tale picks up after the caravan trip. Having overcome the difficulties of caravanning, Smith has settled down and, with the help of the caravan's cook, Mrs. Smith (no relation; it's a very common name), opened a popular hotel in Salesh. The story opens at the outset of the annual fertility festival – which is basically one big orgy. However, members of the hospitality industry don't get to have much fun at such times – especially when a celebrity journalist turns up dead in one of the hotel rooms. The health inspector charges Smith with solving the crime before festival's end – or he'll lose his license.

In the last installment, we get down to the familiar saving-the-world theme. The Children of the Sun have plans to develop a native Yendri holy spot and build a Planned Community. From this seemingly small conflict, the threat of an all-out race war quickly emerges. And if anyone gets their hands on the legendary Key of Unmaking, all could be lost...

Smith is a rather taciturn, enigmatic character – but the people who surround him are memorable, colorful types, who both fit into the archetypes of fantasy, but are original enough to feel fresh and unique – the matronly cooking-contest winner Mrs. Smith, who hides a wild past... Lord Ermenwyr, the spoiled, part-demon teenager with way too much power, money and drugs than is good for him, his voluptuous demon nursemaid, Balnshik, the athletic young courier Burnbright, and the sensitive, ecologically minded Yendri Willowspear...etc. There's also plenty of action, with ambushes, duels, assassinations, lots and lots of poisoned darts, sorcery and more.
Oh, and did I mention it's all very funny?

It doesn't end on a cliffhanger - but there's definitely plenty of room for more tales of Smith and his compatriots... show less

The Anvil of the World is a story that spans the course of a man's life.. well a part of it anyway. There are three main stories that feature the main character named Smith, a former assassin, and his relationship and dealings with not only the other characters he meets but also with the young man named Lord Ermenwyr. The stories reveal not only a small portion of Smith's past, but also the past of his new found friends (that he meets in the first section while he works as a caravan master), as well as how he views himself after quitting his job as an assassin.

Personally I loved the book. True, the stories do seem a bit disjointed because when reading them you do not really understand why exactly the author focuses on three separate show more stories instead of having one major story. But I enjoyed viewing the book as a whole when you realize that it focuses on Smith coming to terms with his gifts as an assassin as well as how the other characters have developed to deal with their changing world. I felt the style reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett, especially The Colour of Magic, but more of an Americanized version of the context. {This has more to do with the parody elements rather than plot, etc.} There are also many vivid pictures presented that would make for a visually stunning movie adaptation.

Overall, I would recommend this to any fantasy reader. The characters, I feel, are very well developed and I would love to know more about them, especially more of their pasts, which are mostly hinted at rather than vividly described. The situations presented are also very "real" in the sense that she gives you the nitty gritty as well as the fantastical. There is romance, a lot of comedy, violence, and mysteries. It's definitely a need to read. show less

A delightfully skewed fantasy, lightly told (reminded me ever so slightly of Asprin). Engaging and often surprising, full of memorable incident and imagery, there's not much depth here, but I still found it surprisingly touching.

Two of the stories from Mother Aegypt were connected to this story. It's actually a set of three stories centered on a retired assassin and his misadventures in a gently satirical fantasy setting. I smirked a few times, but no big laugh moments. Clever and enjoyable. (October 01, 2004)

I’ve been disappointed with Baker’s work of late (will her Company series never get to the climax? Argh!), and the first two-thirds of this book did little to help. She created a rich, detailed, and varied world to play in, peopled with the highly-capitalist, pagan Children of the Sun (complete with fertility festivals and the ritual saying, “Joyous couplings!’), the vegan, holier-than-thou Yendri, and assorted demons, gods and saints. The first two adventures are nothing special, although they’re amusing and involve novel twists to classic fantasy tropes. And then, in the third and last adventure, Lord Ermenwyr gets his ex-assassin, now-hotelier friend Smith into trouble *again*, but this time the consequences are incredible. show more Suddenly throwaway details like parentage and gardening assume huge importance. Genocide is contemplated. Armies are gathered, and religious sects revealed. The Anvil of the World is not an excellent novel; the first part is too pedestrian for that. But the finale is so excellent, so poignant and well-written, that it saves the initial hundred pages from inconsequence and turns them into a necessary prelude to a fantastic climax. show less

Taste and all that but in modern Fantasy I find the idea of Sherlocks and their lookalikes locked in combat with Lovecraft's dull critters about as appetising as Harry Potter porn fan fiction to be as boring as hell. That’s why I don’t like Fantasy. The last two fantasy books I’ve read seemed promising but one thing about those fantasy novels? Good grief! I share the eye-rolling exasperation with 'stock Arthurian templates' but I do wonder, apropos that the last volume of fantasy fodder I’ve read, if readers as steeped in Indian myth as we are in Arthurian myth, would read this review and think: “'Come on, not another fucking djinn - and an evil mystic: please shoot me now!'? Why is it that audiences and apparently authors show more have almost abandoned science based fiction even social or political science as exemplified by Heinlein, Phil Dick, Asimov or Ursula K. Le Guin for fantasy or at best offer variations on cyberspace themes? A good piece of writing by a real scientist with some idea of the potential direction of his specialism is rare. It is a cultural shift which seems to be part of a zeitgeist which turns to superstition, racist pseudo-science and religious fundamentalism. The current tendency of those who write about SF to be so inclusive as to see almost all fantasy as SF is deplorable enough. Here in my blog we now also have a wonderful fantasy novel (praised for being better than your average fantasy the first time I read it when it come out more than 10 years ago) and a “sturm-und-drang” book with the dreaded ingredients '18th Century Urban Fantasy' and 'magic realism' (both mostly terms used by people who think genre is beneath them really). But this cannot be applied only to fantasy. Because there seems to be too many SF books recently which are effectively the Battle of Trafalgar in space and war stories, usually designed as a cheap "taster" with a cliff-hanger to encourage the reader to buy the whole series. Or consider the world-building of Harry Potter where the headmaster flies back tool late on a broom in book 1 and they can teleport by book 6. Terrible world-building. But acceptable as the plot needed it. And the reader will make their own excuse up. Narrative and character rule. The world is formed out of hints around that. It can be inconsistent if the story is well enough told. Anyone creating a world for adult readers where magic has no penalties and can do pretty much anything finds they have no plot they can’t deus ex out of. Would be a terrible read. None of that in “The Anvil of the World”. If you’re into climate-minded quarter demons, go for it. You won’t regret it.

When the shelves are stuffed with the heavily promoted or sure-fire sellers then there are no more gems like “The Anvil of the World” to be (re)-discovered. show less