trope: Fantasy city setting

Sanctuary: An Epic Novel of Thieves’ World

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Sanctuary: An Epic Novel of Thieves' World
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Set in the Thieves’ World 

From the Bestselling Fantasy Adventure Series, Thieves’ World (tm)
Created by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey

Return To The City That Would Not Die!
Return To Thieves’ World!
Return To Sanctuary!

Thieves’ World was the bestselling and first of the shared world phenomenon, selling well over a million copies of anthologies detailing the exploits and intrigues of the high-born and low-born denizens of Sanctuary, a city that has seen many masters.

The Age of Ranke and the reign of Kadakithis, the occupation of the Beysib, the war of the gods and indeed the erstwhile Renaissance are now all in the past. Memories of heroes and villains, glory and savagery have all been relegated to the shadows of yesteryear as present-day residents once again apply themselves to the task at hand: survival.

Only Molin Torchholder, architect of Sanctuary’s glory and master of her secrets. knows the whole truth, but he is dying . . . He must hold on until he can pass along the city’s hidden history of empires come and gone and blood shed for reason and naught. Aiding him are a lowly laborer named Cauvin, himself a survivor of one of the city’s darkest moments, and a young boy named Bec.

So many secrets and so little time. And as Molin’s chronicles of the past unfold, even darker forces return, an evil that jeopardizes the very survival of a city that until now has always refused to die.

Sanctuary – An Epic Novel of Thieves’ World ushers in a whole new age of tales, a whole new age of Thieves’ World.

Thieves’ World

Thieves' World
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“Game of Thrones has come to an end. . . . [Here’s] a fantasy series to fill the void. . . . You’ll be pulled into political intrigues, watch new gods replace old, and witness fortunes rise and fall and rise again.” — Book Riot

Experience “a bold and daring experiment in fantasy storytelling” with the first three books in the bestselling Thieves’ World® series (Fantasy-Faction).

Created by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Myth series, as well as the Phule’s Company series, Thieves’ World® brings together classic fantasy’s finest authors to flesh out the shared world with their own unforgettable characters and epic worldbuilding.

The first three books include stories by Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, Robert Lynn Asprin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, C. J. Cherryh, David Drake, Philip José Farmer, Joe Haldeman, Janet Morris, Andrew J. Offutt, and others. They introduce you to the nefarious citizens of the city of Sanctuary, including One-Thumb, the proprietor of the Vulgar Unicorn tavern; Regli, a nobleman; Illyra, the seer; Hanes, the thief; Jubal, the crime lord; and Tempus Thales, the immortal mercenary.

in the same universe : Sanctuary: An Epic Novel of Thieves’ World

“Sanctuary was the city where anything could happen, where characters created by some of the best fantasy writers of the generation crossed paths and shared adventures.” —Black Gate

Half-Elven Thief

Half-Elven Thief
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There is honor among thieves…but only to a point.

Rivah Half-Elven is a master thief of the Court of the Masked King, the ruling thieves guild of the imperial city of Tar-Carmatheion. Yet her debts hang over her head like a sword that might fall at any moment.

So when a guildmaster of the Court orders her to take a job from a mysterious client, Rivah has no choice but to accept.

But the client wants her to steal the spell book of a fearsome and powerful wizard.

And when you steal from a wizard, death might be the happiest outcome…and it will take all of Rivah’s wits, skills, and courage to survive.

Child of the Ghosts

Child of the Ghosts
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When her life is torn apart by sorcery and murder, young Caina Amalas joins the mysterious Ghosts, the legendary spies and assassins of the Emperor of Nighmar. She learns the secrets of disguise and stealth, of assassination and infiltration.

But even that might not be enough to save her.

For the evil that destroyed her family seeks to devour the entire world…

The Swords of Haven (A Hawk & Fisher Omnibus Book 1)

The Swords of Haven (A Hawk & Fisher Omnibus Book 1)
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Hawk and Fisher: partners, husband and wife, Captains in Haven’s City Guard. Known, respected, and mostly feared, Hawk and Fisher fight crime, pursue justice, and protect Haven with their unique blend of strength, steel, and razor-sharp instinct. Haven’s citizens have never needed their protection more. The city is a hotbed of violence and corruption, where the natural and supernatural constantly collide, ready to boil over at any moment. Hawk and Fisher have their work cut out for them—for even by daylight, Haven is a dark place.

Swords of Haven brings together the first three novels in New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green’s beloved Hawk & Fisher series:

Sweet Silver Blues (Garrett, P.I. Book 1)

Sweet Silver Blues (Garrett, P.I. Book 1)
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It should have been a simple job. But for Garrett, a human detective in a world of gnomes, tracking down the woman to whom his dead pal Danny left a fortune in silver is no slight task. Even with the aid of Morley, the toughest half-elf around, Garrett isn’t sure he’ll make it out alive from a land where magic can be murder, the dead still talk, and vampires are always hungry for human blood.

Child of the Night Guild: A Grimdark Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Thief Adventure

Child of the Night Guild: A Grimdark Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Thief Adventure
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They killed her family. They ripped apart her home. But to repay her debts, she’ll have to sacrifice her innocence.

4 gripping novels, 1300+ pages of grim, dark intrigue in the underworld of thieves and cutthroats!

Viola, a child sold to pay her father’s debts, has lost everything: her mother, her home, and her identity. Thrown into a life among criminals, she has no time for grief as she endures the brutal training of an apprentice thief. The Night Guild molds an innocent waif into a cunning, agile outlaw skilled in the thieves’ trade. She has only one choice: steal enough to pay her debts.

The cutthroat streets of Praamis will test her mettle, and she must learn to dodge the City Guards or swing from a hangman’s rope. But a more dangerous foe lurks within the guild walls. A sadistic rival apprentice, threatened by her strength, is out for blood.

Thrown together with unlikely allies, her burgeoning skills draw the attention of sadistic bullies and jealous rivals with dark intentions. But fueled by grief-filled rage, Viola won’t let anything distract her from preparing for The Guild’s most treacherous test.

standalone series set in the same world as Defenders of Legend, but can be read either before or after. Chronologically, it occurs before the events of the previous collections

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
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See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone — Season 2 streaming now!

Meet Kaz Brekker and his crew: Jesper, Inej, Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, on the heist of a lifetime in Six of Crows from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo returns to the breathtaking world of the Grishaverse in this unforgettable tale about the opportunity—and the adventure—of a lifetime.

Read all the books in the Grishaverse!

Dissolution: Forgotten Realms: War of the Spider Queen

Dissolution
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Favorite characters and situations from R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy return in a series that chronicles a devastating civil war that threatens the Drow civilization.

The race to save drow society begins in this first installment in the War of the Spider Queen series

The subterranean drow-city of Menzoberranzan is in chaos. The Silence of Lolth has descended, leaving the priestesses’ without their magical abilities—and effectively cutting off the city’s main source of power. While their world changes around them, four dark elves struggle against different enemies but are led to the same terrifying discovery about their society. Now, they must all embark on a quest to save not just the jewel of the Underdark but the dark elf race itself.

The War of the Spider Queen begins here . . .

Dissolution is the first novel in an epic six-part series from the fertile imaginations of R.A. Salvatore and some of the most exciting names in fantasy. Join them as they peel back the surface of the richest fantasy world ever created to show the dark heart that lies beneath.

City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers)

City of Last Chances
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Arthur C. Clarke winner Adrian Tchaikovsky’s triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution. There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now.

The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse. What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?

Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores. Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places. Ilmar, City of Long Shadows. City of Bad Decisions. City of Last Chances.

Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky: ‘Brilliant science fiction and far out worldbuilding’ James McAvoy ‘Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human’ Patrick Ness ‘A refreshingly new take on post-dystopia civilizations, with the smartest evolutionary worldbuilding you’ll ever read’ Peter F. Hamilton