"02 - Tales From the Vulgar Unicorn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

THIEVES WORLD #2
TALES FROM THE VULGAR UNICORN

Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin



CONTENTS

EIDTOR'S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

SPIDERS OF THE PURPLE MAGE Philip Jose Farmer
GODDESS David Drake
THE FRUIT OF ENLIBAR Lynn Abbey
THE DREAM OF THE SORCERESS A.E.vanVogt
VASHANKA'S MINION Janet Morris
SHADOW'S PAWN Andrew J. Offutt
TO GUARD THE GUARDIANS Robert Lynn Asprin

ESSAY: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF SANCTUARY



EDITOR'S NOTE

The perceptive reader may notice small inconsistencies in the characters
appearing in these stories. Their speech patterns, their accounts of certain
events, and their observations on the town's pecking order vary from time to
time.

These are not inconsistencies!

The reader should consider the contradictions again, bearing three things in
mind.

First, each story is told from a different viewpoint, and different people see
and hear things differently. Even readily observable facts are influenced by
individual perceptions and opinions. Thus, a minstrel narrating a conversation
with a magician would give a different account than would a thief witnessing the
same exchange.

Second, the citizens of Sanctuary are by necessity more than a little paranoid.
They tend to either omit or slightly alter information in conversation. This is
done more reflexively than out of premeditation, as it is essential for survival
in this community.

Finally, Sanctuary is a fiercely competitive environment. One does not gain
employment by admitting to being 'the second-best swordsman in town'. In