Edited
by
Mark Finn & David Afsharirad
(Baen, September 2, 2025, 377 pp, pb and Kindle)
“The Beer Run” by Mark Finn
“The Mistress of Spiders and the Hooded Crow” by Bill Willingham
“Gilt and Glamour” by Tracy S. Morris
“The Unworthy” by Stephen Aryan
“Legacy of Dragons” by Wen Spencer
“The Orpheus Job” by A. Lee Martinez
“Five Beneath the Palace of Kalgranis” by Adrian Simmons
“The Darkflame Deception” by John C. Hocking
“To Steal a God” by Tim Akers
“Just a Bit of Smoke” by Jim Zub
“Black Bones of the White Hypaethral” by Edward M. Erdelac
“The House of Fame” by James Enge
“The Shrine of Lost Stars” by Christopher Ruocchio
Reviewed by Richard Cartwright
Before I get into the stories, I believe a comment on the dedication is in order:
“For Howard Andrew Jones. The lamp expires, but the fire remains.”
Howard Andrew Jones was a prolific sword and sorcery writer and editor, penning over 26 short stories and 12 novels during a life cut too short by an aggressive brain cancer in January 2024. Look him up.
The thirteen stories in this anthology have a common theme of groups large and small seeking gain. While most are heists and capers (read the foreword to find out the difference) there’s a quest or two. Plus a story from the point of view of the investigators rather than the thieves. Fun book to while away an afternoon or two.
“The Beer Run” by Mark Finn is a story that illustrates the principle that rich criminals shouldn’t piss off thieves. Larcen and his band, thanks to a herd of pigs and war goats, stumble their way through the caper while showing that no plan survives contact with the livestock.
Bill Willingham’s “The Mistress of Spiders and the Hooded Crow” is a story where a defeated nobleman and his family and entourage are rescued from sorcerous and deadly spiders by a group of rangers on the run. The tale has a distinct Robin Hood vibe and a delicious twist at the end.
“Gilt and Glamour” by Tracy S. Morris is a fantasy romp through a fantasy France modeled on the time of Louis XIV. Our protagonists—two banished actors and a thief—are engaged by a courtesan turned spymaster to audition for greater things by doing her a little favor. The world-building is well done. Like many of the anthology’s stories, things don’t go as planned.
Stephen Aryan takes a dark turn in “The Unworthy.” He twists the classic story of a search for ancient treasure guarded by various monsters and tasks. His everyday adventurers seek riches to free them from their humdrum lives. Things don’t turn out as they plan.
Wen Spencer continues to build momentum after she ended a five-year writing hiatus in 2022 with “Legacy of Dragons.” We meet our hero as she’s getting ready to steal from her rich relation’s dragon’s horde. What you think is the end of the story is only the start of the true tale, which goes in a completely different direction that the reader won’t regret that the author took.
“The Orpheus Job” by A. Lee Martinez, as the title suggests, is a romp through the Underworld seeking a treasure beyond price. As the story unfolds, the reader finds that the view of a treasure is often in the person’s eye seeking it. The story is told in flashback, which is often difficult to pull off. The writer does it well, right down to a happier ending than Orpheus got.
Adrian Simmons weaves a story of five sorcerers seeking a treasure trove of forgotten knowledge in “Five Beneath the Palace of Kalgranis.” Two things they didn’t plan on were their mutual distrust and the presence of a guardian equal to their power. Things end about as you would expect.
“The Darkflame Deception” by John C. Hocking flips the point of view from the takers to the investigators seeking to solve a locked-room mystery. While the outcome is somewhat predictable, the story has enough twists, turns, and action to keep the reader’s interest.
In “To Steal a God” by Tim Akers, his protagonist, Morgen, is a fallen paladin condemned to death for cowardice by his superiors for pointing out a hopeless battle was pointless. The problem is, when you are imbibed with the strength and power of an angel, carrying out the sentence is about as difficult as one might think. Fortunately for the story, Morgen’s given a chance at reinstatement and redemption. Just steal a god.
Jim Zub has a library caper involving a young thief, her mentor and a very unusual horse in “Just a Bit of Smoke.” Between weak potions, low upper body strength and the fear of fire in a library, our protagonists stumble their way through everything going wrong in this funny story.
Edward M. Erdelac crafts an amusing triple, or possibly quadruple cross story in “Black Bones of the White Hypaethral.” A shady commerce runner and thief takes a job, knowing that his party includes a shape-changing assassin that will kill him to avoid paying for the relic his employer seeks. Nobody trusts anyone and by the end of the story almost everyone is dead, except the ones you least expected.
“The House of Fame” by James Enge is a tale of cutthroat pirates in search of a different treasure than pirates would normally seek. Our maritime thieves are out to take a currency more valuable than gold or jewels that spends anywhere people can be found. The ending has an unexpected twist that you don’t see coming.
“The Shrine of Lost Stars” by Christopher Ruocchio wraps up the anthology with a tale employing Ruocchio’s signature mix of fantasy and science fiction concepts echoing Arthur C. Clarke’s maxim that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” A man older than he looks recruits a brother and sister to aid him in gaining a relic from a bygone age. They all find something. Just not what they are looking for.