Liavek

Liavek is a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly set in a shared world.

Orson Scott Card found the initial volume to be "an example of what can be accomplished [in a shared-world project] when almost everything goes right."[1]

The collections were published by Ace Books with contributors including Bull, Shetterly, Gene Wolfe, Jane Yolen, John M. Ford, Kara Dalkey, Barry B. Longyear, Megan Lindholm, Nancy Kress, Patricia C. Wrede, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, Pamela Dean, Gregory Frost, Charles de Lint, Charles R. Saunders, Walter Jon Williams, Alan Moore and Bradley Denton. Related works, including a comic book, have been brought out by other publishers.

Setting

Liavek

Located on the southern shore of the Sea of Luck at the mouth of the Cat River, Liavek is a hot, busy trade city. Magic is present and based on a combination of 'birth luck' and the length of time one's mother was in labor. Everyone is privy to some luck, but using it to their advantage is no easy feat. On an annual basis, luck or magic must be invested in an object outside of oneself, and only then can it be used to power spells. Investment is difficult and dangerous, while not investing luck and magic will result in the magic draining away. This is more prevalent in magicians who will find their life drain away with the magic. [2][3]

Works

Liavek

Edited by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull, published by Ace Books in 1985

Liavek: The Players of Luck

Edited by Shetterly and Bull, published by Ace Books in 1986

Liavek: Wizard’s Row

Edited by Shetterly and Bull, published by Ace Books in 1987

Liavek: Spells of Binding

Edited by Shetterly and Bull, published by Ace Books in 1988

Liavek: Festival Week

Edited by Shetterly and Bull, published by Ace Books in 1990

Casting Fortune

In 1989 Tor Books published Casting Fortune, a collection of short stories by John M. Ford - this brought together his stories from the second and third volumes of Liavek together with a new novella in the Liavek shared world. The stories are:

Other appearances

Moore's Liavek story was adapted into comic book format and published as Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard in 2005.

Cousins, by Dean appears in the 2006 anthology from Firebird Books, Firebirds Rising, edited by Sharyn November

On May 12th, 2015, Diversion Publishing released Points of Departure: Liavek Stories; republishing a collection of short stories set in the world of Liavek, by Pamela Dean and Patricia C Wrede.

References

  1. ↑ "The Light Fantastic", If, September 1986, pp.29
  2. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Points-Departure-Patricia-C-Wrede/dp/1626815550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432142703&sr=1-1&keywords=Points+of+Departure%3A+Liavek+Stories
  3. ↑ http://www.npr.org/2015/05/16/406998251/the-gates-of-liavek-are-open-again-in-points-of-departure?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150517
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