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Tales of the Emerald Serpent #1
Tales of the Emerald Serpent: Ghosts of Taux
Taking a page from classic early 80s anthologies like Larry Niven’s Man-Kzin Wars and Robert Asprin’s Thieves World, Beyond the Black Gate maintains an old school feel while bringing you some of the latest talent in today’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror markets.
Set in Art of the Genre’s trademarked universe, The Nameless Realms, this anthology takes readers to the Free City of Taux, a fantasy port of cursed stones, dark plots, and a core of rich characters who share space inside the infamous Black Gate District.
This rich anthology links characters and tales in an interwoven mosaic that helps draw the reader on, and with authors like Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Juliet McKenna, Martha Wells, Robert Mancebo, and Julie Czerneda sharing characters with newcomer Michael Tousignant and iconic fantasy artist turned writer Todd Lockwood, the book plumbs the depths of dark city-born fantasy.
Editor and contributor R. Scott Taylor helps create the shadowed metropolis of Taux, where Razor Duelists and mailed and heavily armed Sturgeons try to hold back the tide of ghosts, Moon Cultists, and shadow magic that lurks inside the slithering coils of Wizard’s Mist. Rogues, harlots, and merchant princes share the same streets, and all watch their backs as the stones of the city call out to the living in a never ending game of cat and mouse for the true ownership of the great port.
Memories of Lankhmar, Sanctuary, and Waterdeep merge in each unfolding tale, and fantasy artists Jeff Laubenstein and Janet Aulisio bring form to each story with their incredible pen and ink renderings. Contributor Todd Lockwood also lends his artistic vision to an epic cover that wraps this project in a package so special it’s almost too good to be true.
If you like fantasy, and you remember the days when books sang with slim stories of high adventure and burst with rich illustrations to lend solidity to every epic tale, then Beyond the Black Gate is what you’ve been longing for.
Set in Art of the Genre’s trademarked universe, The Nameless Realms, this anthology takes readers to the Free City of Taux, a fantasy port of cursed stones, dark plots, and a core of rich characters who share space inside the infamous Black Gate District.
This rich anthology links characters and tales in an interwoven mosaic that helps draw the reader on, and with authors like Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Juliet McKenna, Martha Wells, Robert Mancebo, and Julie Czerneda sharing characters with newcomer Michael Tousignant and iconic fantasy artist turned writer Todd Lockwood, the book plumbs the depths of dark city-born fantasy.
Editor and contributor R. Scott Taylor helps create the shadowed metropolis of Taux, where Razor Duelists and mailed and heavily armed Sturgeons try to hold back the tide of ghosts, Moon Cultists, and shadow magic that lurks inside the slithering coils of Wizard’s Mist. Rogues, harlots, and merchant princes share the same streets, and all watch their backs as the stones of the city call out to the living in a never ending game of cat and mouse for the true ownership of the great port.
Memories of Lankhmar, Sanctuary, and Waterdeep merge in each unfolding tale, and fantasy artists Jeff Laubenstein and Janet Aulisio bring form to each story with their incredible pen and ink renderings. Contributor Todd Lockwood also lends his artistic vision to an epic cover that wraps this project in a package so special it’s almost too good to be true.
If you like fantasy, and you remember the days when books sang with slim stories of high adventure and burst with rich illustrations to lend solidity to every epic tale, then Beyond the Black Gate is what you’ve been longing for.
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First published June 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 25, 2012
3 1/2 stars from me.
Very entertaining anthology of stories set in the fictional city of Taux. The Emerald Serpent in a bar where a number of the characters have a drink from time to time. Taux is fascinating--based very much on the ancient cities of the Maya & Aztec peoples. But the original inhabitants of the city have vanished--sucked into the walls and trapped there by some terrible sorcery. The abandoned city stood vacant for a number of years but is now being resettled and it is the new-comers who are the center of our stories.
I wanted more! I was prepared to keep on reading. The final story ends in such a way that there can easily be more to come. While each story was complete in and of itself, there were several that left me wanting to know more--which is a good sign.
The interior illustrations are fantastic and show well in the ebook format.
This was a Kickstarter project that I am happy to have supported.
Some big names contributed stories--Julie Czerneda, Harry Connolly, Martha Wells, Lynn Flewelling, Juliet McKenna and others. I especially want to know what else happens to the two young men introduced in Flewelling's story.
Very entertaining anthology of stories set in the fictional city of Taux. The Emerald Serpent in a bar where a number of the characters have a drink from time to time. Taux is fascinating--based very much on the ancient cities of the Maya & Aztec peoples. But the original inhabitants of the city have vanished--sucked into the walls and trapped there by some terrible sorcery. The abandoned city stood vacant for a number of years but is now being resettled and it is the new-comers who are the center of our stories.
I wanted more! I was prepared to keep on reading. The final story ends in such a way that there can easily be more to come. While each story was complete in and of itself, there were several that left me wanting to know more--which is a good sign.
The interior illustrations are fantastic and show well in the ebook format.
This was a Kickstarter project that I am happy to have supported.
Some big names contributed stories--Julie Czerneda, Harry Connolly, Martha Wells, Lynn Flewelling, Juliet McKenna and others. I especially want to know what else happens to the two young men introduced in Flewelling's story.
September 8, 2015
I love quality short stories because they are like a good snack. Not an American “snack” that leaves you bloated and hating yourself, but a sensible Euro-snack that satisfies the taste buds and just barely satisfies your hunger. A good short story catches the imagination but quickly releases the reader back into their real world with the feeling they just got away with something.
I love anthologies. I have read Robert Aspirin’s Thieves World many times, and it is has become, to my mind, the perfect measuring stick with which to judge all anthology newcomers. I feel that I am an expert on what makes a good fantasy anthology. Beware my reviewers wrath!
Imagine my delight when I opened Tales of the Emerald Serpent and read Scott Taylor’s forward, where he tells us that he “read Aspirin’s tale of the Thieves World and decided that if he (Aspirin) could do something like this, then so could I”. A few sentences later we come to: “we are at the inception of a mosaic shared world anthology that I hope recaptures some of the lost glory of Aspirin’s Thieves World.”.
"If Aspirin could do it so could I"? Now, I’ve read three of Scott’s previous offerings and think highly of his writing, but this is pretty audacious stuff.
At this point I’m thinking how, after reading this book, I will be channeling the great Senator Lloyd Bentsen – “You, Sir, are no Jack Kennedy!”
So I sat and carefully read the nine short stories. One each by Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Todd Lockwood, Juliet McKenna, Mike Touignant, Martha Wells, Julie Czerneda, Scott Taylor and Rob Mancebo.
I’m not going to provide any spoilers. Each of the stories was terrific. Like pieces of a puzzle carefully laid out on a table to gradually form a delightful finished picture. Exactly like a mosaic.
The biggest surprise was Todd Lockwood’s story. Any Fantasy fan knows who Todd Lockwood is. He is a famous and brilliant artist. But (I assumed) letting him write a short story is something akin to having a politician throw out the first pitch at a Major League baseball game and then counting that pitch toward the final score. Did Scott agree to the short story as a condition to getting the cover art done? It turns out that, not only can Mr. Lockwood actually throw the metaphorical baseball all the way to home-plate, he also has a smoking-hot fastball. His story "Between" is exceptional and was completely unexpected.
So, tonight I shall dine on crow. Scott has undertaken to build a fictional city, curse it, turn it over to folks with the power to destroy it (or make it great), guide the overall project and manage to turn out something exemplary.
Tales of the Emerald Serpent is Scott Taylor’s attempt to recreate Aspirin’s magic and he has hit his mark spectacularly!
You should read this book. It is an outstanding anthology.
Most excellent cover by Todd Lockwood
Lovely interior illustrations by Jeff Laubenstein, Janet Aulisio and Todd Lockwood
I love anthologies. I have read Robert Aspirin’s Thieves World many times, and it is has become, to my mind, the perfect measuring stick with which to judge all anthology newcomers. I feel that I am an expert on what makes a good fantasy anthology. Beware my reviewers wrath!
Imagine my delight when I opened Tales of the Emerald Serpent and read Scott Taylor’s forward, where he tells us that he “read Aspirin’s tale of the Thieves World and decided that if he (Aspirin) could do something like this, then so could I”. A few sentences later we come to: “we are at the inception of a mosaic shared world anthology that I hope recaptures some of the lost glory of Aspirin’s Thieves World.”.
"If Aspirin could do it so could I"? Now, I’ve read three of Scott’s previous offerings and think highly of his writing, but this is pretty audacious stuff.
At this point I’m thinking how, after reading this book, I will be channeling the great Senator Lloyd Bentsen – “You, Sir, are no Jack Kennedy!”
So I sat and carefully read the nine short stories. One each by Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Todd Lockwood, Juliet McKenna, Mike Touignant, Martha Wells, Julie Czerneda, Scott Taylor and Rob Mancebo.
I’m not going to provide any spoilers. Each of the stories was terrific. Like pieces of a puzzle carefully laid out on a table to gradually form a delightful finished picture. Exactly like a mosaic.
The biggest surprise was Todd Lockwood’s story. Any Fantasy fan knows who Todd Lockwood is. He is a famous and brilliant artist. But (I assumed) letting him write a short story is something akin to having a politician throw out the first pitch at a Major League baseball game and then counting that pitch toward the final score. Did Scott agree to the short story as a condition to getting the cover art done? It turns out that, not only can Mr. Lockwood actually throw the metaphorical baseball all the way to home-plate, he also has a smoking-hot fastball. His story "Between" is exceptional and was completely unexpected.
So, tonight I shall dine on crow. Scott has undertaken to build a fictional city, curse it, turn it over to folks with the power to destroy it (or make it great), guide the overall project and manage to turn out something exemplary.
Tales of the Emerald Serpent is Scott Taylor’s attempt to recreate Aspirin’s magic and he has hit his mark spectacularly!
You should read this book. It is an outstanding anthology.
Most excellent cover by Todd Lockwood
Lovely interior illustrations by Jeff Laubenstein, Janet Aulisio and Todd Lockwood
July 24, 2012
I received this shared world anthology after lending my support via Kickstarter and was very pleased right away by the quality and production value. The concept focuses on Taux, a fantasy city with an ancient and mysterious Mesoamerican vibe where the very stones are haunted by the spirits of a vanished people. The city has been reclaimed by the current inhabitants, a mixture of Mesoamerican types, European types, and humanoids. It's a city replete with perils and intrigue, with sin and vice, with denizens, some roguish, some dark, plying their wares, scheming, or just trying to eke out an honest living. And let's not forget the ambiguous Black Gate, the seeming nexus point where the lost souls are amassed in great numbers. Or the Star Tower, where unseen Wizards repose in a dark and sibylline solitude.
This is a very slick, professional-looking title with a very cool painted cover by the always-popular Todd Lockwood and several pieces of interior art by Jeff Laubenstein and Janet Aulisio. Editor Scott Taylor has compiled an impressive roster of authors, as well. Here's a quick rundown, with my star ratings:
“Namesake” by Lynn Flewelling (3 stars)
“The One Thing You Can Never Trust” by Harry Connolly (3 stars)
“Between” by Todd Lockwood (4 stars)
“Venture” by Juliet McKenna (3 stars)
“Three Souls for Sale” by Mike Tousignant (3 stars)
“Revenants” by Martha Wells (4 stars)
“Water Remembers” by Julie Czerneda (5 stars - awesome story!)
“Charlatan” by Scott Taylor (4 stars)
“Footsteps of Blood” by Rob Mancebo (4 stars)
So if I do the math here, we have nine short stories and a total of 33 stars for an average of 3.7. That earns Scott Taylor's anthology a four-star rating, and even more, it earns him my continued patronage of The Nameless Realms (the fantasy world where Taux exists). I now plan to pick up another Art of the Genre offering, The Cursed Legion: Volume One of The Five Year War, and I intend to continue to follow the development of this shared world effort (in the vein of the '80s antho Thieves' World compiled by Robert Asprin -- remember those? I still have a boxed set around here somewhere! Hmmm...maybe I'll go look for it while I wait for Scott to put the next Nameless Realms book on Kickstarter...)
--
Tales of the Emerald Serpent is a highly recommended read, especially to fans of heroic fantasy, dark fantasy, swords & sorcery, gaming-fantasy, and anthology enthusiasts! Four (out of five) stars!
This is a very slick, professional-looking title with a very cool painted cover by the always-popular Todd Lockwood and several pieces of interior art by Jeff Laubenstein and Janet Aulisio. Editor Scott Taylor has compiled an impressive roster of authors, as well. Here's a quick rundown, with my star ratings:
“Namesake” by Lynn Flewelling (3 stars)
“The One Thing You Can Never Trust” by Harry Connolly (3 stars)
“Between” by Todd Lockwood (4 stars)
“Venture” by Juliet McKenna (3 stars)
“Three Souls for Sale” by Mike Tousignant (3 stars)
“Revenants” by Martha Wells (4 stars)
“Water Remembers” by Julie Czerneda (5 stars - awesome story!)
“Charlatan” by Scott Taylor (4 stars)
“Footsteps of Blood” by Rob Mancebo (4 stars)
So if I do the math here, we have nine short stories and a total of 33 stars for an average of 3.7. That earns Scott Taylor's anthology a four-star rating, and even more, it earns him my continued patronage of The Nameless Realms (the fantasy world where Taux exists). I now plan to pick up another Art of the Genre offering, The Cursed Legion: Volume One of The Five Year War, and I intend to continue to follow the development of this shared world effort (in the vein of the '80s antho Thieves' World compiled by Robert Asprin -- remember those? I still have a boxed set around here somewhere! Hmmm...maybe I'll go look for it while I wait for Scott to put the next Nameless Realms book on Kickstarter...)
--
Tales of the Emerald Serpent is a highly recommended read, especially to fans of heroic fantasy, dark fantasy, swords & sorcery, gaming-fantasy, and anthology enthusiasts! Four (out of five) stars!
July 14, 2014
I got this book because one of the chapters was written by one of my favorite authors, Lynn Flewelling. I didn't know what to expect from the other authors, so I was happily surprised with this book. The storytelling shifts perspective with each new chapter--not too unique, but each chapter is also written by a new author. Each author brings something to the table, and although the stories seem unconnected at first, they begin to come together as you read on, with characters interacting between stories and affecting the overall tale. The worldbuilding is excellent, rich with new races, each with their own unique traits, and the city itself is mysterious and disturbing. The end of the book comes almost abruptly, leaving off at a bit of a cliffhanger and leaving you waiting for what happens next.
In addition to the superb writing, this book features B&W illustrations that only serve to enrich the world even more.
My only complaint is that it was too short!
In addition to the superb writing, this book features B&W illustrations that only serve to enrich the world even more.
My only complaint is that it was too short!
August 6, 2013
Shared world story anthology inspired by the "Thieves world" series.
The book is filled with solid, entertaining, original stories. They
did a good job of intermixing the stories. An item will be
introduced in one story and echoed in others. Characters migrate
from one story to the next. There are even a set of three stories that
tell different parts of a larger story, all done with a consistent
theme and tome.
I liked this very much.
The book is filled with solid, entertaining, original stories. They
did a good job of intermixing the stories. An item will be
introduced in one story and echoed in others. Characters migrate
from one story to the next. There are even a set of three stories that
tell different parts of a larger story, all done with a consistent
theme and tome.
I liked this very much.
October 12, 2015
Short story collections only sometimes work for me. I like the world they built for this, but there wasn't a sense of building overall tension. If anything, some of them were placed in such a way as to completely remove tension. The buildups on others were too long, that by the time the tension was there, I had long since grown tired of reading about that character. Meh. 2 1/2 stars, really.
August 2, 2014
The best shared world anthology that I've read in over a decade! Fantastic!
September 30, 2014
I really enjoyed this.
August 20, 2012
Tales of the Emerald Serpent (Ghosts of Taux)is a shared world anthology, very much in the tradition of Robert Lynn Asprin's Thieves' Worldseries. It's the brainchild of Scott Taylor, a blogger and senior editor at Black Gate magazine. And it's a Kickstarter funded project, raising an impressive $13,418.
The book features stories from authors Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Todd Lockwood, Juliet E. McKenna, Michael Tousignant, Martha Wells, Julie Czerneda, Scott Taylor himself, and Rob Mancebo. The cover art is by Todd Lockwood, with interior art by Jeff Laubenstein and Todd Lockwood.
I confess to funding it out of curiosity to see just what was possible on Kickstarter, more an act of research than one of pleasure. However, I finished reading Tales of the Emerald Serpent this past Saturday, and my verdict is that I'm very impressed.
It's worth noting that I funded a second book project around the same time. That one achieved ten times its funding goal this past April, and two months past its estimated delivery goal, has yet to materialize.
By contrast, Tales of the Emerald Serpent made its funding on April 18th and had shipped out all copies of it's digital edition by June 26th. The delivery process was professional and efficient, with daily updates explaining which reward levels were being delivered when.
The book itself (and I've seen the physical edition though I speak here of the ebook edition) is a thing of beauty. Todd Lockwood's cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the cover is reproduced inside the ebook and - most importantly - at a decent resolution. The ebook also includes all the interior art, also at a high level of resolution, and has an embedded back cover. It's a good deal better packaged and presented than a good many books coming out of professional houses.
Also, note the medallions in the corners of the front cover. You'll see that three are in sepia tones, while the fourth, in the upper right corner, is in color. These medallions indicate what era of Scott's enormous history these stories occur in. This is similar to what the Star Wars books do, with the icons on the novels telling you where a story takes place in the Old Republic or the New Jedi Order, etc... It's a device that I've been kicking around in my own head for a while now, considering for a project I'm working on, and frankly I'm jealous Scott's beat me to it.
I would like it if there was some sort of introduction that placed this city in context. Perhaps some notes on how the idea came about (I've heard that it was the setting for a RPG campaign but nothing in the book confirms or denies this) or some background on the world in which the city of Taux resides. A glossary would also have been nice. More importantly, the book has a lot of invented races, the Aspara, the Jai-Ruk, the Kin. Wonderful pencil illustrations of these creatures were included in email updates sent out to the Kickstarter backers, but the book itself would really have been served by including them. I found myself logging on to Kickstarter throughout the reading experience to see who was what, and I imagine someone who wasn't a backer, and thus couldn't access the posted art, might have been even more confused. But given that few "traditionally published" anthologies even have interior art, Tales of the Emerald Serpent still comes out at the head of the pack.
Are there nitpicks? Sure. But speaking just in terms of the professionalism of the product, from its "customer service" to its presentation, I give this one an A-. And that's a very high grade.
Now on to the fiction...
The stories in Tales of the Emerald Serpent don't just share a location, they sometimes share characters. The various events described weave together in much the same way that the tales of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels do. They weave and wind through the Emerald Serpent tavern, the Silk Purse brothel, and the Raised Market, and events in one story are often alluded to in another. This adds a level of reality and credibility to the setting that makes me long for a detailed map of the city and another of the continent it's set on. What we do know of Taux we have to glean from the stories themselves. Taux is a sort of faux-Aztec or Mayan style city, whose original inhabitants suddenly vanished one day under mysterious, and presumably horrendous, circumstances. The city has been repopulated by immigrants from other cultures, though one wonders about the intelligence of anyone willing to live in a city where the stones whisper. To live in Taux is to convince yourself that whatever happened to them couldn't possibly happen to you. Having spent six years living above a fault line, I don't have any problem buying into this. Meanwhile, the way the book hints at something under the city and the very real possibility that something dire could be coming to a head is just delicious.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the best stories are by the most experienced contributors. Lynn Flewelling, Juliet E. McKenna, Martha Wells, and Julie Czerneda's tales are all excellent--Czerneda's in particular--while Harry Connolly's "The One Thing You Can Never Trust" is worth the price of the whole anthology by itself. His is the tale of Emil Lacosta, a merchant who deals in love potions (and whose best customer is the madame of the aforementioned Silk Purse), who is approached by a client with a very unusual request. I won't spoil it, but this was the story that made me sit up and take notice.
The big surprise for me was artist Todd Lockwood, who contributes the story "Between." Todd labored under the constraints of having to tie his tale directly into two other stories, but he does an admirable job. More importantly, his character of Torrent (the woman pictured center on the cover above) is marvelous--he can really write character--and I hope he gets to write about her again. Lockwood has long been regarded as one of the top illustrators of our genre, but I suspect, with his recent novel sale to DAW, that he will soon have a reputation as a writer as well.
There was only one story that I felt was below professional quality, though I won't say which one. Finally, Rob Mancebo's story suffers from essentially ending with a big "To Be Continued". It's a set up with no pay off, and I wish the book didn't end that way. But I liked eight out of nine stories in the volume, and that's an amazing average.
I'd highly recommend Tales of the Emerald Serpent. I like what it does and how it goes about it. It's a smart, good looking package with some real gems of fiction inside. I have no knowledge of a sequel in the works, but I'd certainly fund a Tales of the Emerald Serpent 2.
The book features stories from authors Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Todd Lockwood, Juliet E. McKenna, Michael Tousignant, Martha Wells, Julie Czerneda, Scott Taylor himself, and Rob Mancebo. The cover art is by Todd Lockwood, with interior art by Jeff Laubenstein and Todd Lockwood.
I confess to funding it out of curiosity to see just what was possible on Kickstarter, more an act of research than one of pleasure. However, I finished reading Tales of the Emerald Serpent this past Saturday, and my verdict is that I'm very impressed.
It's worth noting that I funded a second book project around the same time. That one achieved ten times its funding goal this past April, and two months past its estimated delivery goal, has yet to materialize.
By contrast, Tales of the Emerald Serpent made its funding on April 18th and had shipped out all copies of it's digital edition by June 26th. The delivery process was professional and efficient, with daily updates explaining which reward levels were being delivered when.
The book itself (and I've seen the physical edition though I speak here of the ebook edition) is a thing of beauty. Todd Lockwood's cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the cover is reproduced inside the ebook and - most importantly - at a decent resolution. The ebook also includes all the interior art, also at a high level of resolution, and has an embedded back cover. It's a good deal better packaged and presented than a good many books coming out of professional houses.
Also, note the medallions in the corners of the front cover. You'll see that three are in sepia tones, while the fourth, in the upper right corner, is in color. These medallions indicate what era of Scott's enormous history these stories occur in. This is similar to what the Star Wars books do, with the icons on the novels telling you where a story takes place in the Old Republic or the New Jedi Order, etc... It's a device that I've been kicking around in my own head for a while now, considering for a project I'm working on, and frankly I'm jealous Scott's beat me to it.
I would like it if there was some sort of introduction that placed this city in context. Perhaps some notes on how the idea came about (I've heard that it was the setting for a RPG campaign but nothing in the book confirms or denies this) or some background on the world in which the city of Taux resides. A glossary would also have been nice. More importantly, the book has a lot of invented races, the Aspara, the Jai-Ruk, the Kin. Wonderful pencil illustrations of these creatures were included in email updates sent out to the Kickstarter backers, but the book itself would really have been served by including them. I found myself logging on to Kickstarter throughout the reading experience to see who was what, and I imagine someone who wasn't a backer, and thus couldn't access the posted art, might have been even more confused. But given that few "traditionally published" anthologies even have interior art, Tales of the Emerald Serpent still comes out at the head of the pack.
Are there nitpicks? Sure. But speaking just in terms of the professionalism of the product, from its "customer service" to its presentation, I give this one an A-. And that's a very high grade.
Now on to the fiction...
The stories in Tales of the Emerald Serpent don't just share a location, they sometimes share characters. The various events described weave together in much the same way that the tales of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels do. They weave and wind through the Emerald Serpent tavern, the Silk Purse brothel, and the Raised Market, and events in one story are often alluded to in another. This adds a level of reality and credibility to the setting that makes me long for a detailed map of the city and another of the continent it's set on. What we do know of Taux we have to glean from the stories themselves. Taux is a sort of faux-Aztec or Mayan style city, whose original inhabitants suddenly vanished one day under mysterious, and presumably horrendous, circumstances. The city has been repopulated by immigrants from other cultures, though one wonders about the intelligence of anyone willing to live in a city where the stones whisper. To live in Taux is to convince yourself that whatever happened to them couldn't possibly happen to you. Having spent six years living above a fault line, I don't have any problem buying into this. Meanwhile, the way the book hints at something under the city and the very real possibility that something dire could be coming to a head is just delicious.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the best stories are by the most experienced contributors. Lynn Flewelling, Juliet E. McKenna, Martha Wells, and Julie Czerneda's tales are all excellent--Czerneda's in particular--while Harry Connolly's "The One Thing You Can Never Trust" is worth the price of the whole anthology by itself. His is the tale of Emil Lacosta, a merchant who deals in love potions (and whose best customer is the madame of the aforementioned Silk Purse), who is approached by a client with a very unusual request. I won't spoil it, but this was the story that made me sit up and take notice.
The big surprise for me was artist Todd Lockwood, who contributes the story "Between." Todd labored under the constraints of having to tie his tale directly into two other stories, but he does an admirable job. More importantly, his character of Torrent (the woman pictured center on the cover above) is marvelous--he can really write character--and I hope he gets to write about her again. Lockwood has long been regarded as one of the top illustrators of our genre, but I suspect, with his recent novel sale to DAW, that he will soon have a reputation as a writer as well.
There was only one story that I felt was below professional quality, though I won't say which one. Finally, Rob Mancebo's story suffers from essentially ending with a big "To Be Continued". It's a set up with no pay off, and I wish the book didn't end that way. But I liked eight out of nine stories in the volume, and that's an amazing average.
I'd highly recommend Tales of the Emerald Serpent. I like what it does and how it goes about it. It's a smart, good looking package with some real gems of fiction inside. I have no knowledge of a sequel in the works, but I'd certainly fund a Tales of the Emerald Serpent 2.
October 14, 2022
I read this for the Lynn Flewelling story, and hers was my favourite of the bunch.
April 12, 2013
Scott Taylor openly acknowledges that, yes, Tales of the Emerald Serpent is a collection of short stories absolutely inspired by Robert Asprin’s Thieves World project. Like Asprin’s collections, the stories are sword-and-sorcery centered around a town of cut-throats, tricksters, callous oligarchs and the poor innocents trapped into living next door to them. Unlike the earlier Thieves World collections, this one is a lot tighter, with the stories referencing each other and, in some cases, woven together. Much of it feels like a fantasy version of 24, only with each story being that day from a different character’s perspective.
Also, unlike Thieves World’s Sanctuary, Tales of the Emerald Serpent’s city of Taux is much more of a character in and of itself. The ancient city, clearly inspired by Aztec and Mayan culture, is populated by ghosts, nearly every brick and stone inhabited by the specters of its previous citizens who were suddenly slain in a mysterious magical disaster. Many of the stories center around these ghosts or are influenced by the ever-present threat that the citizens of Taux are both blase about and constantly aware of.
The book includes nine stories, many by well-known authors. They range from the straight-up caper-style story (reminiscent of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) Three Souls for Sale by Mike Tousignant to the family drama of Lynn Flewelling’s Namesake. Harry Connolly’s dark The One Thing You Can Never Trust is probably the most disturbing and Twilight Zone-ish of the stories. The artist Todd Lockwood gives us a rollicking and fun tale about a Corsair who meets an old flame and gets drawn into his schemes. Juliet E. McKenna’s Venture is a surprisingly sweet story threaded around the warp of racial tensions in a fantasy world.
Martha Wells’ Revnants feels exactly like the sort of story you’d expect from the author of City of Bones, mingling heroic fantasy with cultural archeology. It’s a good story, but the ending feels a touch abrupt, as does Rob Mancebo’s Footsteps of Blood, both leaving the door wide open for sequels or longer treatments.
And then there’s Scott Taylor’s Charlatan, which does a masterful job of weaving nearly all the stories together. Almost every other tale gets a passing nod in his story of a devious trickster challenged to a duel he cannot possibly win. It’s great fun, even if it’s a bit abrupt in the climax (though understandably so).
There’s not a bad story in the bunch and my favorite is Julie Czerneda’s Water Remembers, which gives us a glimpse at those who dwell among the wizards of the Star Tower as well as the ways in which the haunting of an entire city can lead to surprising transformations among what would otherwise be rather mundane trades crafts.
If you’re looking for some new good old sword-and-sorcery derring-do and skullduggery, Tales of the Emerald Serpent is absolutely worth your time and treasure. The characters are intriguing and unique, their adventures feel both fresh and familiar, and there’s a fun mix of danger, greed, heart, and humor. Here’s hoping we get additional glimpses into the days and nights of Taux soon.
Also, unlike Thieves World’s Sanctuary, Tales of the Emerald Serpent’s city of Taux is much more of a character in and of itself. The ancient city, clearly inspired by Aztec and Mayan culture, is populated by ghosts, nearly every brick and stone inhabited by the specters of its previous citizens who were suddenly slain in a mysterious magical disaster. Many of the stories center around these ghosts or are influenced by the ever-present threat that the citizens of Taux are both blase about and constantly aware of.
The book includes nine stories, many by well-known authors. They range from the straight-up caper-style story (reminiscent of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) Three Souls for Sale by Mike Tousignant to the family drama of Lynn Flewelling’s Namesake. Harry Connolly’s dark The One Thing You Can Never Trust is probably the most disturbing and Twilight Zone-ish of the stories. The artist Todd Lockwood gives us a rollicking and fun tale about a Corsair who meets an old flame and gets drawn into his schemes. Juliet E. McKenna’s Venture is a surprisingly sweet story threaded around the warp of racial tensions in a fantasy world.
Martha Wells’ Revnants feels exactly like the sort of story you’d expect from the author of City of Bones, mingling heroic fantasy with cultural archeology. It’s a good story, but the ending feels a touch abrupt, as does Rob Mancebo’s Footsteps of Blood, both leaving the door wide open for sequels or longer treatments.
And then there’s Scott Taylor’s Charlatan, which does a masterful job of weaving nearly all the stories together. Almost every other tale gets a passing nod in his story of a devious trickster challenged to a duel he cannot possibly win. It’s great fun, even if it’s a bit abrupt in the climax (though understandably so).
There’s not a bad story in the bunch and my favorite is Julie Czerneda’s Water Remembers, which gives us a glimpse at those who dwell among the wizards of the Star Tower as well as the ways in which the haunting of an entire city can lead to surprising transformations among what would otherwise be rather mundane trades crafts.
If you’re looking for some new good old sword-and-sorcery derring-do and skullduggery, Tales of the Emerald Serpent is absolutely worth your time and treasure. The characters are intriguing and unique, their adventures feel both fresh and familiar, and there’s a fun mix of danger, greed, heart, and humor. Here’s hoping we get additional glimpses into the days and nights of Taux soon.
October 2, 2012
Tales of the Emerald Serpent is a 2012 fantasy anthology edited by Scott Taylor. The book began as a Kickstarter project, and contains nine stories by Lynn Flewelling, Harry Connolly, Todd Lockwood, Juliet McKenna, Michael Tousignant, Martha Wells, Julie Czerneda, editor Scott Taylor, and Rob Mancebo.
The stories each are self-contained, but include a variety of connections to other tales in the anthology, such as recurring characters, scenes, or items. The effect is well-done, giving you a sense that you're seeing various facets of the City of Taux, but - like the characters themselves - never able to know everything that's going on. The stories are in general very good. As is typical in an anthology, the quality varies. A few were especially well done, my favorites being "The One Thing You Can Never Trust" by Connolly, "Between" by Lockwood, and "Water Remembers" by Czerneda. One or two were a bit short of the others, but overall, it's a strong set of stories.
The City of Taux merits special mention. More than any single story or character, it was my favorite part of the anthology. Taux was vacated years ago by the pseudo-Aztec or Mayan people who inhabited it in some sort of catastrophe that no one understands. The current inhabitants moved in later and live in the shadow of whatever doom occurred in Taux, the very stones of the city whispering of what occurred there. Of course, since none know what happened, none know if it might happen again. The Emerald Serpent of the title is an inn that many of the characters visit in their stories (one is reminded of the Silver Eel in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar's tales). The Meso-American feel of the city is very well done and sets a great tone for the individual stories. It's also very nice to get away from pseudo-European fantasy and explore the fantasy analogue of another culture.
The book includes, in addition to the beautiful cover from Lockwood, who's known for his art, a piece of interior black and white art for each story. These pieces come from Lockwood, Jeff Laubenstein, and Janet Aulisio. The illustrations help set the mood and keep the particular feel of Taux in your mind as you read.
I really enjoyed Tales of the Emerald Serpent, and applaud the well-executed shared world approach to the anthology, as well as the choice to use the myths and legends of Meso-America as inspiration. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun fantasy read, especially something with a different flavor to it. I definitely plan to read any future anthologies set in Taux.
Note: I received my copy of the book by backing it on Kickstarter.com.
The stories each are self-contained, but include a variety of connections to other tales in the anthology, such as recurring characters, scenes, or items. The effect is well-done, giving you a sense that you're seeing various facets of the City of Taux, but - like the characters themselves - never able to know everything that's going on. The stories are in general very good. As is typical in an anthology, the quality varies. A few were especially well done, my favorites being "The One Thing You Can Never Trust" by Connolly, "Between" by Lockwood, and "Water Remembers" by Czerneda. One or two were a bit short of the others, but overall, it's a strong set of stories.
The City of Taux merits special mention. More than any single story or character, it was my favorite part of the anthology. Taux was vacated years ago by the pseudo-Aztec or Mayan people who inhabited it in some sort of catastrophe that no one understands. The current inhabitants moved in later and live in the shadow of whatever doom occurred in Taux, the very stones of the city whispering of what occurred there. Of course, since none know what happened, none know if it might happen again. The Emerald Serpent of the title is an inn that many of the characters visit in their stories (one is reminded of the Silver Eel in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar's tales). The Meso-American feel of the city is very well done and sets a great tone for the individual stories. It's also very nice to get away from pseudo-European fantasy and explore the fantasy analogue of another culture.
The book includes, in addition to the beautiful cover from Lockwood, who's known for his art, a piece of interior black and white art for each story. These pieces come from Lockwood, Jeff Laubenstein, and Janet Aulisio. The illustrations help set the mood and keep the particular feel of Taux in your mind as you read.
I really enjoyed Tales of the Emerald Serpent, and applaud the well-executed shared world approach to the anthology, as well as the choice to use the myths and legends of Meso-America as inspiration. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun fantasy read, especially something with a different flavor to it. I definitely plan to read any future anthologies set in Taux.
Note: I received my copy of the book by backing it on Kickstarter.com.
May 29, 2013
The city of Taux is a great setting, and can obviously be a great site for many different stories to occur over time. The way the stories intertwined and lightly linked together worked well for me. Seeing how one character's story sets up another one was part of what kept me reading. The magic system used was both interesting and a great motivator for the characters. I would be interested in reading more stories set in the city of Taux.
My only gripe is that there was some minor content editing issues. A story's main character's love interest's name changed 3 times inside of 2 pages, which made it all the more obvious that the particular author of that story had almost no focus on the love interest. That took me a little out of the story and thinking about the writing process instead of the plot.
My only gripe is that there was some minor content editing issues. A story's main character's love interest's name changed 3 times inside of 2 pages, which made it all the more obvious that the particular author of that story had almost no focus on the love interest. That took me a little out of the story and thinking about the writing process instead of the plot.
December 1, 2013
As with any anthology, this one is something of a mixed bag, but overall the stories are entertaining. In particular I liked Lynn Flewelling's "Namesake," "Water Remembers" by Julie Czerneda, "Revenants" by Martha Wells, and "Three Souls for Sale" by Michael Tousignant. Todd Lockwood makes a creditable fiction debut with "Between," as well as providing the gorgeous cover art. The anthology has some of the inherent weaknesses of a shared-world anthology, in that the setting sometimes feels a bit like stage-dressing, but there are some really fun moments when the various plots and characters converge. So while it does feel like the first in a series, it's a series that I'm looking forward to revisiting.
July 18, 2012
Entertaining anthology of stories in a shared world. What makes this one stand out is that not only are the contributing authors sharing a world, they also shared some of the characters. So you get a view of the world through several points of view. It means that you know the backgrounds of even some minor characters in some of the stories, and you get invested in them. It makes for a richer setting. I'm looking forward to more stories in this world.
December 29, 2012
I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for this book, and have no regrets - I liked all stories and it was worth paying upfront. The stories in this anthology straddle both fantasy and horror, with a slight tendency towards the horror side. And as a shared-world book, I thought that this was a very coherent anthology, with consistent characterisation and world-building across the various contributions.
July 4, 2012
Wonderful book! These stories revolve around the city of Taux, where the stones them-selves are haunted. I bought this for one author but loved every story in this book! Looking forward to the next book in this series!
July 19, 2012
The Emerald Serpent is chock full of stories written by my favorite authors, and if that weren't enough, the artwork is fabulous. Each story is a polished gem to be read and reread. It's delightful to see how well the stories interlock to build a mosaic of a new world.
July 22, 2012
Following in the tradition of Thieves World, this anthology brings together a number of very good authors to each write a story that takes place in the haunted city of Taux. I really loved the way the different authors blended plot lines and characters. I can't wait to read more!
October 3, 2012
An excellent anthology, giving life to an interesting setting. The carefully interwoven stories and characters worked out very well.
Further, having funded the project via Kickstarter, I must say I feel an immense sense of satisfaction in seeing the end result being of such high quality.
Further, having funded the project via Kickstarter, I must say I feel an immense sense of satisfaction in seeing the end result being of such high quality.
September 11, 2012
Like any anthology a mixed bag but overall, a collection of compelling and interesting stories and an excellent setting. I look forward to revisiting Taux when future stories are released.
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