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| Author | Robert Lynn Asprin |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) |
Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by such science fiction authors as Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris, and Chris Morris.
Thieves' World is set in the city of Sanctuary, located at the edge of the Rankan Empire. The city is depicted as a place where many are downtrodden and where the invading Rankan gods and the Ilsigi gods they had ousted begin a struggle for primacy. As the series continues, additional invasions occur, and the city is taken over by the snake-worshipping Beysib as the Rankan empire collapses. Over time, a number of the characters in the series are revealed either to be the offspring of or otherwise blessed by various figures in the pantheons of the competing cultures, and they discover or develop various powers as the series progresses.
First published in 1979, the series went on hiatus in 1989 after the twelfth anthology. In addition to the official anthologies, several authors published novels set in the milieu of Thieves' World.
Lynn 1131
In 2002, Lynn Abbey, who co-edited several of the original anthologies, relaunched the series with the novel Sanctuary. It was followed by the anthologies Turning Points and Enemies of Fortune, which contain some returning authors and several new ones. Abbey also oversaw the republication of the original anthologies in omnibus editions.
Concept and origin[edit]
The Thieves' World anthologies were conceived by authors Robert Lynn Asprin, Lynn Abbey, and Gordon R. Dickson during a casual meeting at the Boston science-fiction convention Boskone in 1978.[1] Asprin suggested that the task of world-building was a major hurdle for modern fantasy writers:
'Whenever one set out to write heroic fantasy, it was first necessary to reinvent the universe from scratch regardless of what had gone before. Despite the carefully crafted Hyborean world of Howard or even the delightfully complex town of Lankhmar which Leiber created, every author was expected to beat his head against the writing table and devise a world of his own. Imagine, I proposed, if our favorite sword-and-sorcery characters shared the same settings and time-frames. Imagine the story potentials.”[2]
Abbey described the 1978 meeting as 'a casual conversation [that] changed the lives of a couple dozen people who had no idea what they had been missing or what they were getting into.'[3]
Geography[edit]
Abbey stated that the geography of Sanctuary and its surrounding regions shifted due to each writer's needs. 'We had Crom-many drugs, magicians, vices, brothels, dives, haunts, curses, and feuds. Sanctuary wasn't a provincial backwater; it wasn't even the Imperial armpit; it was the Black Hole of not-Calcutta.'[4]
The city itself was envisioned as a late medieval town with similarities to the Shambles in York, England, and additional elements of Baghdad. The faraway capital city of Ranke is based on Rome. 'Nobody knows how big Sanctuary really is. Anytime any one of us needs a secret meeting place we just create one – Sanctuary is either very large or very cramped.'[4]
Storylines and chronology[edit]
The dynamics of sharing characters led to occasional conflicts between authors, as referenced by C.J. Cherryh in her afterword to Blood Ties: 'You write your first Thieves' World story for pay, you write your second for revenge.'[5]
In an interview for Green Ronin's Sanctuary-based roleplaying guides, Abbey explained the increase of interconnected storylines as the series progressed. 'The stories of the first few volumes stood by themselves. But starting in about volume three (Shadows of Sanctuary) the authors began collaborating… big time. Eventually just about every author worked with the same plot threads, some of which stretched over several volumes.'[6]
Asprin addressed the difficulty of the intersecting, overlapping, and diverging timelines in the preface to the fourth collection, Storm Season: 'While in earlier volumes I have tried to keep the stories in the order in which they occur, this have proved to be impossible in Storm Season.. I've left it to the reader to understand what is happening and construct his/her mental timeline as necessary.'[7]
Abbey noted that the interwoven plots eventually hurt the series' readership: 'The very plot and character denseness of a Thieves' World volume, while it was eagerly anticipated by long-time readers, was a bit intimidating to anyone who hadn't been following the series from the beginning.' Her observation led to a revised approach for the 2002 relaunch. 'When we went to work on 'new Thieves' World', we tried to find a happy medium between stand-alone stories and densely interwoven plots. In Turning Points and Enemies of Fortune there are a few events and situations that serve as a backdrop for the stories.'[6]
Reception and awards[edit]
Industry Reactions[edit]
The Thieves' World anthologies are credited as 'pioneering and setting the standard for the shared world format',[8] and the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts cites Thieves' World as the 'first and protype of the form'.[9]
Science fiction author Cory Doctorow says the series 'rocked my world when I was about 13',[10] and author Robin Hobb called its concept of a collective setting and characters 'a brilliant idea'.[11] Author and game designer Robert J. Schwalb said 'Thieves' World is to authors what D&D is to gamers.'[12]
Greg Costikyan reviewed Thieves' World in Ares Magazine #1.[13] Costikyan commented that 'since fantasy role-playing involves the group production of a multi-hero fantasy story, role-playing fans especially will find Thieves' World enjoyable. [..] The stories themselves range from mediocre to excellent, but all are worth reading.'
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy describes the series: 'It is in the creation and editorial supervision of the Thieves' World sequence of shared world anthologies.. that Robert Lynn Asprin -- in collaboration with Abbey -- has done his most original work.'[14]
In the essay included in the second volume, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, Asprin noted that, though fan response was mostly positive and high sales had led to sequels and the development of the Chaosium board game, many readers had written to the publisher to comment on the series' overall lack of humor.[15]
Awards[edit]
Thieves' World
- Balrog Award 1980: Best Collection/Anthology (nominated)[16]
- Locus Award 1980: Best Collection/Anthology (nominated)[16]
- World Fantasy Award 1980: Best Collection/Anthology (nominated)[17]
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn[18]
- Balrog Award 1981: Best Collection/Anthology (nominated)[18]
- Locus Award 1981: Best Collection/Anthology (nominated)[18]
Shadows of Sanctuary
- Balrog Award 1982: Best Collection/Anthology (winner)[19]
- Locus Award 1982: Best Collection/Anthology (winner)[19]
Original anthologies[edit]
- Thieves' World (1979) ISBN0-441-80582-5
- 'Introduction' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Sentences of Death' by John Brunner
- 'The Face of Chaos' by Lynn Abbey
- 'The Gate of the Flying Knives' by Poul Anderson
- 'Shadowspawn' by Andrew Offutt
- 'The Price of Doing Business' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Blood Brothers' by Joe Haldeman
- 'Myrtis' by Christine DeWees
- 'The Secret of the Blue Star' by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- Essay: 'The Making of Thieves World' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980) ISBN0-44179578-1
- 'Introduction' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Spiders of the Purple Mage' by Philip José Farmer
- 'Goddess' by David Drake
- 'The Fruit of Enlibar' by Lynn Abbey
- 'The Dream of the Sorceress' by A.E. van Vogt
- 'Vashanka's Minion' by Janet Morris
- 'Shadow's Pawn' by Andrew J. Offutt
- 'To Guard the Guardians' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- Essay: 'The Lighter Side of Sanctuary' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- Shadows of Sanctuary (1981) ISBN0-441-76028-7
- 'Looking for Satan' by Vonda N. McIntyre
- 'Ischade' by C.J. Cherryh
- 'A Gift in Parting' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'The Vivisectionist' by Andrew J. Offutt
- 'The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn' by Diana L. Paxson
- 'Then Azyuna Danced' by Lynn Abbey
- 'A Man and His God' by Janet Morris
- Essay: 'Things the Editor Never Told Me' by Lynn Abbey
- Storm Season (1982) ISBN0-441-78712-6
- Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Exercise in Pain' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Downwind' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'A Fugitive Art' by Diana L. Paxson
- 'Steel' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Wizard Weather' by Janet Morris
- 'Godson' by Andrew J. Offutt
- Epilog by Robert Lynn Asprin
- The Face of Chaos (1983) ISBN0-441-80587-6
- 'High Moon' by Janet Morris
- 'Necromant' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'The Art of Alliance' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'The Corners of Memory' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Votary' by David Drake
- 'Mirror Image' by Diana L. Paxson
- Wings of Omen (1984) ISBN0-441-805949
- 'What Women Do Best' by Chris and Janet Morris
- 'Daughter of the Sun' by Robin W. Bailey
- 'A Breath of Power' by Diana L. Paxson
- 'The Hand That Feeds You' by Diane Duane
- 'Witching Hour' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'Rebels Aren't Born in Palaces' by Andrew J. Offutt
- 'Gyskouras' by Lynn Abbey
- 'A Fish With Feathers is Out of His Depth' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- The Dead of Winter (1985) ISBN0-441-14089-0
- 'Hell to Pay' by Janet Morris
- 'The Veiled Lady, or A Look at the Normal Folk' by Andrew Offutt
- 'The God-Chosen' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Keeping Promises' by Robin W. Bailey
- 'Armies of the Night' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'Down by the Riverside' by Diane Duane
- 'When the Spirit Moves You' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'The Color of Magic' by Diana L. Paxson
- Soul of the City (1986) ISBN0-441-77581-0
- 'Power Play' by Janet Morris
- 'Dagger in the Mind' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'Children of All Ages' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Death in the Meadow' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'The Small Powers that Endure' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Pillar of Fire' by Janet Morris
- Blood Ties (1986) ISBN0-441-80595-7
- 'Introduction' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Lady of Fire' by Diana L. Paxson
- 'Sanctuary Is for Lovers' by Janet and Chris Morris
- 'Lovers Who Slay Together' by Robin Wayne Bailey
- 'In the Still of the Night' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'No Glad in Gladiator' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'The Tie That Binds' by Diane Duane
- 'Sanctuary Nocturne' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Spellmaster' by Andrew Offutt and Jodie Offutt
- 'Afterword' by C. J. Cherryh
- Aftermath (1987) ISBN0-441-80597-3
- 'Introduction' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Cade' by Mark C. Perry
- 'Wake of the Riddler' by Janet Morris
- 'Inheritor' by David Drake
- 'Mercy Worse Than None' by John Brunner
- 'Seeing is Believing (But Love Is Blind)' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Homecoming' by Andrew Offutt
- Uneasy Alliances (1988) ISBN0-441-80610-4
- 'Introduction' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Slave Trade' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'The Best of Friends' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'The Power of Kings' by Jon DeCles
- 'Red Light, Love Light' by Chris Morris
- 'A Sticky Business' by C. S. Williams
- 'The Promise of Heaven' by Robin Wayne Bailey
- 'The Vision of Lalo' by Diana L. Paxson
- Stealers' Sky (1989) ISBN0-441-80612-0
- 'Introduction' by Robert Lynn Asprin
- 'Night Work' by Andrew Offutt
- 'The Incompetent Audience' by John DeCles
- 'Our Vintage Years' by Duane McGowen
- 'Quicksilver Dreams' by Diana L. Paxson
- 'Winds of Fortune' by C. J. Cherryh
- 'The Fire in a God's Eye' by Robin Wayne Bailey
- 'Web Weavers' by Lynn Abbey
- 'To Begin Again' by Robert Lynn Asprin
New anthologies[edit]
- Turning Points (2002)
- Introduction by Lynn Abbey
- 'Home Is Where the Hate Is' by Mickey Zucker Reichert
- 'Role Model' by Andrew Offutt
- 'The Prisoner in the Jewel' by Diane L. Paxson
- 'Ritual Evolution' by Selina Rosen
- 'Duel' by Dennis L. Mckiernan
- 'Ring of Sea and Fire' by Robin Wayne Bailey
- 'Doing the Gods' Work' by Jody Lynn Nye
- 'The Red Lucky' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Apocalypse Noun' by Jeff Grubb
- 'One to Go' by Raymond E. Feist
- Afterword by Lynn Abbey
- Enemies of Fortune (2004)
- Introduction by Lynn Abbey
- 'Widowmaker' by C. J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher
- 'Deadly Ritual' by Mickey Zucker Reichert
- 'Pricks and Afflictions' by Dennis L. Mckiernan
- 'Consequences' by Jody Lynn Nye
- 'Good Neighbours' by Lynn Abbey
- 'Gathering Strength' by Selina Rosen
- 'Dark of the Moon' by Andrew Offutt
- 'Protection' by Robin Wayne Bailey
- 'Legacies' by Jane Fancher and C. J. Cherryh
- 'Malediction' by Jeff Grubb
- 'The Ghost in the Phoenix' by Diana L. Paxson and Ian Grey
- 'The Man from Shemhaza' by Steven Brust
Novels and collections[edit]
Several Thieves' World standalone novels and short stories have been published in addition to the official anthologies.
The Morrises introduced The Sacred Band of Stepsons in Thieves' World and spun off a series of novels about them and their ancient cavalry commander, Tempus. The first three novels in The Sacred Band of Stepsons saga were authorized Thieves' World novels. Marion Zimmer Bradley was an early contributor but spun off her main character in the novel Lythande (1986) and did not return for later volumes.
The official novels are:
- Janet Morris, Beyond Sanctuary (1985), a Science Fiction Book club Selection Baen Books
- Janet Morris, Beyond the Veil (1985), a Science Fiction Book Club Selection Baen Books
- Janet Morris, Beyond Wizardwall (1986), a Science Fiction Book Club Selection Baen Books
- Andrew J. Offutt, Shadowspawn (1987) (see Andrew J. Offutt#Thieves' World)
- David Drake, Dagger (1988)
- Andrew J. Offutt, The Shadow of Sorcery (1993)
- Lynn Abbey, Sanctuary (2002) Tor Books
The first three novels by Janet Morris were published in hardcover by Baen Books and as Science Fiction Book Club Selections. The first six Morris novels were published in mass market paperback by Ace Books and subsequently expanded in Author's Cut trade paper editions by Perseid Press. The first novel, Janet Morris's Beyond Sanctuary combines two stories from the anthologies with additional stories, weaving the whole into novel form. The first part of the novel Dagger appeared in the anthology Aftermath.
Other novels/collections include:
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lythande (1986) - collection - includes two stories from the anthologies
- Janet Morris, Tempus (1987) - novel collecting the Tempus stories from the anthologies
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris, City at the Edge of Time (1988) - novel
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris,Tempus Unbound (1989) - novel
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris, Storm Seed (1990) - novel
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris, The Sacred Band (2010) - novel
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris, Tempus With His Right Side Companion Niko (2011) - novelization and edit of previously released material
- Janet Morris, Chris Morris, The Fish the Fighters and the Song-girl (2012) - novelization and edit of previously released material
- Gordon R. Dickson, Beyond the Dar Al-Harb (1985) - novella - collected in the Tor Books collection of the same name is similar to, but not really part of the Thieves World universe
Short stories[edit]
- Poul Anderson, 'The Valor of Cappen Varra' (1957) - short story - first published inFantastic Universe Science Fictionmagazine
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'Bitch' (1987) - short story, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1987
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'The Walker Behind' (1987) - short story - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 1987
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'The Malice of the Demon' (1988) - short story - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1988
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'Here There Be Dragons?' (1995) - short story
- Robin Wayne Bailey, 'The Stars Are Tears' (1996) - short story
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, 'The Gratitude of Kings' (1998) - short story
- Poul Anderson, 'The Lady of the Winds' (2001) - short story - later collected in Tor Books anthology First Blood
- Lynn Abbey, 'A Tale of Two Cities' (2005) - short story included in the Thieves' World Player's Manual
Omnibuses[edit]
- Sanctuary 1982. Book Club hardcover omnibus collecting Thieves’ World, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, and Shadows of Sanctuary.
- Cross-Currents 1984. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: 'Storm Season', “The Face of Chaos”, and 'Wings of Omen'.
- The Shattered Sphere 1986. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: “The Dead of Winter”, “Soul of the City”, and “Blood Ties”.
- The Price of Victory 1989. Book Club Hardcover omnibus collecting: 'Aftermath', 'Uneasy Alliances', and 'Stealers’ Sky'.
- First Blood 2003. Tor Paperback omnibus collecting Thieves’ World, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, and 'The Lady of the Winds'.
Comics[edit]
Published by Starblaze Graphics and illustrated by Tim Sale, the original series was produced in black and white except for the covers.
- Thieves' World Graphics 1 (1985). Containing: 1) 'Introduction' 2) 'Someone is always awake in Sanctuary..' (original) 3) 'Sentences of Death' 4) 'Myrtis' 5) 'The Price of Doing Business'
- Thieves' World Graphics 2 (1986). Containing: 1) Blood Brothers; 2) The Face of Chaos; 3) Gaeta (original); 4) Shadowspawn.
- Thieves' World Graphics 3 (1986). Containing: 1) The Dream of the Sorceress; The Blue Camel (original); 3) Vashanka's Minion.
- Thieves' World Graphics 4 (1986). Containing: 1) Shadow's Pawn; 2) Runcigor and Alminda (original); 3) To Guard the Guardians.
- Thieves' World Graphics 5 (1987). Containing: 1) Looking for Satan; 2) Ischade; 3) A Gift in Parting.
- Thieves' World Graphics 6 (1987). Containing: 1) The Vivisectionist; 2) The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn; 3) Arvo the Nose (original).
Thieves' World Graphics (1986) collects volumes 1 to 3 above, colorized and with a new cover by David A. Cherry
Role playing games[edit]
- Thieves' World Complete Sanctuary Adventure Pack (Chaosium Box Set, 1981). Containing: 1) The Player's Guide to Sanctuary; 2) The Gamemaster's Guide to Sanctuary; 3) Personalities of Sanctuary; 4) Map of Sanctuary; 5) Map of the Maze; 6) Map of the Maze Underground.[20]
- The Blue Camel (mini-adventure; FASA, 1982)
- T1 - Traitor (FASA, 1982)
- T2 - Spirit Stones (FASA, 1982)
- T3 - Dark Assassin (FASA, 1982)
- T4 - Vengeance (FASA, 198?)
- Sanctuary Under the Beysibs (Chaosium Companion, 1986)
- Thieves' World Player's Manual (Green Ronin, 2005)
- Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary (Green Ronin, 2005)
- Thieves' World Gazetteer (Green Ronin, 2005)
- Murder at the Vulgar Unicorn (Green Ronin, 2005)
- Black Snake Dawn (Green Ronin, 2007)
Board game[edit]
- Sanctuary: Thieves World (Mayfair Games, 1982).
Characters[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Asprin, Robert Lynn (1982). Thieves' World - Afterword 'The Making of Thieves World'. Ace Fantasy Books. ISBN0-441-80591-4. OCLC40014169.
- ^'Revisiting Thieves' World Anthologies « Fantasy-Faction'. fantasy-faction.com. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^'TW 1980s'. 2013-04-03. Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
- ^ abAbbey, Lynn (1987). Shadows of Sanctuary - Essay: Things The Editor Never Told Me.
- ^Cherryh, C.J. (1986). Blood Ties - Afterword (Book Club ed.). p. 725. ISBN0-441-80595-7. OCLC14204735.
- ^ ab'Thieves' World Developer's Journal'. 2006-05-09. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^Asprin, Robert Lynn (1982). Storm Season. pp. Editor's Note. ISBN0-441-78712-6.
- ^Cheesman, Tara (2016-08-02). 'Welcome to Thieves' World, the Series That Will Tide You Over While You Wait for GOT'. BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^Monk, Patricia (1990). 'The shared universe: an experiment in speculative fiction'. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. 2 (4): 25. ISSN0897-0521. JSTOR43308064.
- ^'RIP, Robert Asprin'. Boing Boing. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ^'Robin Hobb's review of Thieves' World (Thieves' World, #1)'. www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ^'Thieves' World Developer's Journal'. 2006-05-09. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^Costikyan, Greg (March 1980). 'Books'. Ares Magazine. Simulations Publications, Inc. 1: 35.
- ^The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Clute, John, 1940-, Grant, John, 1949- (1st U.S. ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. 1997. pp. 65. ISBN0-312-14594-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^Asprin, Robert, editor (1980). Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn. Ace Books. pp. Essay 'The Lighter Side of Sanctuary'. ISBN0-441-79576-5.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ ab'Title: Thieves' World'. www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ^'sfadb: World Fantasy Awards 1980'. www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ abc'Title: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn'. www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ^ ab'Title: Shadows of Sanctuary'. www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ^Dickinson, Oliver (April–May 1982). 'Open Box: Thieves' World'. White Dwarf (review). Games Workshop (30): 15. ISSN0265-8712.
External links[edit]
Clearly, he hadn’t expected anyone to be swimming at three in the morning.
“No,” I said, my voice traveling along the surface of the water. “It’s your yard, too. Stay.”
I felt ridiculous for being so jumpy. This was a quiet, sleepy little town. The yard was fenced. No one knew what the FBI was training us to do. We weren’t targets. This wasn’t my dream.
I wasn’t my mother.
For an elongated moment, I thought Dean would turn and walk away, but instead, he sat a few inches away from the edge of the pool. “What are you doing out here?”
For some reason, I felt compelled to tell him the truth. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Dean gazed out at the yard. “I stopped sleeping a long time ago. Most nights, I get three good hours, maybe four.”
I’d given him a truth, and he’d given me one. We fell into silence then, him at the edge of the pool and me treading water at the center.
“It wasn’t real, you know.” He spoke to his hands, not to me.
“What wasn’t real?”
“Today.” Dean paused. “At the mall with Locke. Playing games in parking lots. That’s not what this is.”
In the scant light of the moon, his eyes looked so dark they were nearly black, and something about the way he was looking at me made me realize—he wasn’t criticizing me.
He was trying to protect me.
“I know what this is,” I said. I knew better than anyone. Turning away from him, I stared up at the sky, all too aware of the fact that he was staring at me.
“Briggs shouldn’t have brought you here,” he said finally. “This place will ruin you.”
“Did it ruin Lia?” I asked. “Or Sloane?”
Earlier Pro-C versions were buggy with official/unofficial PS1 games. Also, it supports.ZSO format for games. The PSP game Brandish: The Dark Revenant was the cause of the update, so I'm assuming it can't be played on 6.60 and below without version.txt spoofing. In this short video, I'm going to show you guys how to install CWCheat on your PSP. Saezima Angka.How to Install CWCheat Follow the steps below after connecting your hacked PSP to your computer via USB, if any of the instructions don't make sense, watch this 'How To Install CWCheat On 6.60 PRO-B10' YouTube video. Install cwcheat 6.60 pro c. Earlier Pro-C versions were buggy with official/unofficial PS1 games. Also, it supports.ZSO format for games. The PSP game Brandish: The Dark Revenant was the cause of the update, so I'm assuming it can't be played on 6.60 and below without version.txt spoofing.
“They’re not profilers.”
“Did this place ruin you?”
Dean didn’t pause, not even for a second. “There was nothing to ruin.”
I swam over to the edge, right next to him. “You don’t know me,” I said, pulling myself out of the water. “I’m not scared of this place. I’m not afraid to learn how to think like a killer, and I am not afraid of you”
I wasn’t even sure why I’d added on those last six words, but they were the ones that made his eyes flash. I was halfway to the house when I heard him stand up. I heard him walk across the grass to the tiny, shacklike pool house. I heard him throw a switch.
Suddenly, the yard wasn’t dark anymore. It took me a moment to realize where the light was coming from. The pool was glowing. There was no other word for it. It looked like someone had splattered glow-in-the-dark paint across the edge. There was a drop of fluorescent color here, a drop there. Long streaks of it. Blobs. Four parallel smears across the tile on the side of the pool.
I glanced at Dean.
“Black light,” he said, as if that were all the explanation I’d need.
I couldn’t help myself. I moved closer. I squatted to get a better look. And that was when I saw the glow-in-the-dark outline of a body at the bottom of the pool.
“Her name was Amanda,” Dean said.
I realized then what the smears and streaks of paint on the concrete and the side of the pool were supposed to be.
Blood.
The color had fooled me, even though the pattern was all too familiar.
“She was stabbed three times.” Dean wouldn’t look at me, wouldn’t even look at the pool. “She cracked her head on the cement when she slipped in her own blood. And then he wrapped her fingers around her throat. He forced her upper body over the side of the pool.”
I could see it happening, see the killer standing over a girl’s body. She would have kicked. She would have clawed at his hands, tried to use the side of the pool for leverage.
“He held her under.” Dean knelt next to the pool and demonstrated, acting out the motion. “He drowned her. And then he set her free.” He let go of his imaginary prey and sent her off toward the center of the pool.
“This is a crime scene,” I said finally. “One of the fake crime scenes that they use to test us, like the sets in the basement.”
Dean stared out at the center of the pool, where the victim’s body would have been. “It’s not fake,” he said finally. “It really happened. It just didn’t happen here.”
I reached out to touch Dean’s shoulder. He shrugged off my touch, turning to face me, his body close to mine. “Everything about this place—the house, the yard, the pool—was constructed with one thing in mind.”
“Full immersion,” I said, holding his gaze. “Like those schools where they only speak French.”
Dean jerked his head toward the pool. “This isn’t a language people should want to learn.”
Normal people—that was what Dean meant. But I wasn’t normal. I was a Natural. And this mock crime scene wasn’t the worst thing I’d seen.
I turned to walk back to the house. I heard Dean walk across the lawn. I heard him flip the switch. And when I glanced back over my shoulder, the pool was just a pool. The yard was just a yard. And the outline of the body was gone.
CHAPTER 13
I overslept the next morning and woke up to the feeling that I was being watched.
“Knock, knock.”
Based on the greeting—and the fact that the person speaking had opened my door, knocked on it, and said those words at the exact same time—I expected Lia. Instead, I opened my eyes to find Agent Locke standing in my doorway, a cup from Starbucks in one hand and car keys in the other.
Lyn 1.13 Full
I glanced over at Sloane’s bed, but it was empty.
“Late night?” my newly acquired mentor asked, eyebrows arched. I thought of Dean and the pool and decided that was not an area of discussion I wanted to pursue.
“Really?” Agent Locke said, eyeing the look on my face. “I was just kidding, but you’ve got I-was-up-late-with-a-boy-last-night face. Maybe we should have some girl talk.”
I didn’t know what was worse, the fact that Locke thought my late night had something to do with a stupid teenage crush or the fact that she sounded suspiciously like my female cousins.
“No girl talk,” I said. “As a general rule, ever.”
Agent Locke nodded. “So noted.” She eyed my pajamas, and then jerked her head toward the closet. “Get up. Get dressed.” She tossed me the car keys. “I’ll get Dean. You’re driving.”
— — —
I wasn’t exactly happy when Agent Locke’s directions ended up taking us right back to the mall—and specifically to Mrs. Fields cookies. After seeing the mocked-up blood spatter on the pool’s edge the night before, profiling shoppers seemed senseless. It seemed silly.
If she makes us guess what kind of cookies people are going to order …
“Three and a half years ago, Sandy Harrison was here with her husband and their three children. Her husband took their eight-year-old son to the bookstore, and she was left with the two younger girls.” Agent Locke said all of this in a perfectly normal voice. Not a single shopper turned to look at us, but her words froze me to the spot. “Sandy and the girls were in line for lemonade. Three-year-old Madelyn made a beeline for the cookies, and Sandy had to pull her back. It was Christmastime, and the mall was crammed full of people. Madelyn was desperately in need of a nap and on the verge of a meltdown. The line was moving. Sandy made it to the counter and turned to ask her older daughter, Annabelle, whether she wanted regular lemonade or pink.”
I knew what was coming.
“Annabelle was gone.”
It was easy to picture the mall at Christmastime, to see the young family splitting up, the father taking the son and the mother juggling two young girls. I saw the smaller one on the verge of a tantrum, saw the mother’s attention diverted. I imagined her looking down and realizing that even though she’d just looked away for a few seconds, even though she was always so careful …
Lyn 1.13 Fps
“Mall security was called immediately. Within half an hour, they’d alerted the police. They stopped traffic into and out of the mall. The FBI was called on board and we issued an AMBER Alert. If a child isn’t recovered in the first twenty-four hours, then chances are good that he or she will never be recovered alive.”
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