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Kage Baker
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The Anvil of the World Paperback – June 8, 2010

by Kage Baker (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 120 ratings
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The Anvil of the World is the tale of Smith and his feud-prone people, the Children of the Sun. Smith, formerly a successful assassin, is trying to retire, hoping to live an honest life in obscurity in spite of all those who have sworn to kill him. But when he agrees to be the master of a caravan from traveling from the inland city of Troon to Salesh by the sea, trouble follows.

As always, Baker's approach is charmingly distinctive. Smith's adventure is certainly the only fantasy featuring a white-uniformed nurse, gourmet cuisine, one hundred and forty-four glass butterflies, and a steamboat.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 8, 2010
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0765308193
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0765308191
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kage Baker (1951-2010) lived in Pismo Beach, California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; First Edition (June 8, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765308193
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765308191
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 120 ratings

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Kage Baker

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
120 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Todd Guthrie
5.0 out of 5 stars A spare fantasy tale of two odd families
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2011
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I picked this up cheap (free, if memory serves) for my Kindle, and it turned out to be one of the best low-cost pieces I've read. Baker creates an intriguing world with both fantasy and steampunk nuances, and populates it with a gaggle of interesting characters loosely organized into 2 unusual families. The book is really 3 individual but interconnected stories, and each is worth a read. The protagonist, known only as Smith, begins the tale as a man shrouded in mystery, and each subsequent tale adds pieces of information to his backstory, until in the end we discover his true heritage and he is faced with a monumental choice. Baker writes cleanly, with a nicely descriptive but spare style that fleshes out the story only as much as is necessary without bogging down the reader with unneeded clutter. I would definitely recommend this one - it's worth a read by anyone with a taste for good fantasy.
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Jessss
4.0 out of 5 stars gradually grows to a good story
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2010
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This was such an interesting book. You find yourself immersed in a world of adventure of not 1 but 3 great tales. It all begins when Smith has to lead a caravan from his cousins town to Salesh-by-the-Sea. All along the way, they are met with difficulties of attacks and wrecks. Though, they finally make it to find that they failed to protect some cargo which gets them all fired. So, the team buys a hotel in Salesh and begin the business there. The next adventure deals with Smith and friends trying to find out who murdered a client staying at the hotel during a festival. And finally, the next tale takes Willowspear, Smith, and the Lord on a sea faring adventure to the anvil of the world where Smith will have to make a crucial decision.

At first, I didn't quite get how all these different cultures and storylines could mesh together without making me go insane. But slowly and surely they did. There was no huge love story or big battle scene. It was an easy going page turner where you laughed, cringed, sighed, and laughed some more. By the end of it, I loved many of the characters and wished to know more of their adventures. I was vaguely disappointed that there really was no big climax. Still, it was a good story with likeable characters that had you guessing at times with plenty to keep you turning the pages.
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Paula S. Jordan
5.0 out of 5 stars One-of-a-kind Fantasy World
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2015
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I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The imaginative world and its appealing human characters, plus supernatural characters who move freely through the normal world, was an interesting revelation about the endless potential of the fantasy genre. The many varied characters and challenges to them, to say nothing of the surprises regarding them, were very well written. My favorite of the writer's many inventions for this very unusual world was the full-sized and functional clock-work train - actually a linked chain of passenger and baggage carts, each driven by a wind-up key! Wonderful, fun read.
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Mythadventures
3.0 out of 5 stars Actually more like 3 and a half stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2007
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Anvil of the World by Kage Baker was interesting. I didn't find it quite as engaging as her Company series, but it had it's moments. The book almost seems like three stories put together to make a novel. They all center around a character named Smith. The one problem with using Smith for a name is she had several characters all going by Smith. It was a bit confusing in the beginning until I got more familiar with the characters.

**Caution Possible Spoilers Ahead**

In the first segment Smith is the caravan master for a group heading from the farming town of Troon to the city of Salesh by the sea. He must safely shepherd the group through the wilderness fighting off assassination attempts as he goes.

In the second segment he's now a hotelier with the former cook from the caravan train as his chef in the restaurant potion. The various other workers for the caravan are now porters in his hotel. Smith must solve the mystery of a murder in his hotel before the end of the festival, or he'll have all sorts of trouble with the local authorities.

In the third segment Smith is wisked off to a monastery, by the lordling from the caravan, to rescue the lordling's sister.

Each story was interesting in it's own right, but as a whole the plot seemed disjointed. There didn't seem to be much of a connection from the beginning of the book to the end other than the use of the same characters. I suppose many find this sort of day in the life prose interesting. I prefer stories that are driven more by a single plot with various side plots adding depth to the characters. Ms. Baker's world building is sound, and each segment was enjoyable. I did find the end segment to be a bit preachy, but not so much as to detract from the book.
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Arleon
4.0 out of 5 stars An amusing diversion.
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2003
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Anvil of the World is a very pleasant, lightweight fantasy. Fans of Baker's Company series will enjoy her continued homages to cinema and her knack for humorous twists, although they may miss the bittersweet edge of the previous series. Her new protagonist, the aptly-named Smith, is hiding from a past he would prefer to forget when he is volunteered by his cousin to lead a caravan from Troon to Salesh. Adventures ensue, of course. Most of the world and fantasy elements (demons, planes, gods, green humans that strongly resemble grouchy elves) appear to have been expropriated from a tipsy late-night session of Dungeons and Dragons. The book's weakest section is the end, where Baker introduces a serious spin, and possibly an excuse for a sequel. Those who enjoy humorous fantasy will not be disappointed.
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Heather F Gaitonde
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read.
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2014
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It was one of those books that kept me thinking of the characters while going about my everyday tasks. I look forward to reading more of the authors books.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2014
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One of my favorite but long lost fantasy books. I read it one in high school but couldn't remember the name or author for a long time.
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Penguin
5.0 out of 5 stars Modern day Gulliver's Travels
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2019
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This book is a tour de force! It's about Smith's travels as he tries to leave behind a dodgy past but it's also about war and peace, saints and demons, and people's inherent bigoted idiocies - certainly a book for our time! And amazingly, it's also laugh out loud funny, especially the bit where Smith and Mrs Smith (no relation) set up a hotel and have to manage their demonic, but pathetic, patron.
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Jan-Niklas Bersenkowitsch
5.0 out of 5 stars Drei Geschichten über die Suche nach Frieden, in einer konfliktreichen Welt
Reviewed in Germany on April 11, 2012
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Der Assassine Smith musste nach einem bedauernswerten Vorfall aus seiner ehemaligen Heimatstadt fliehen und wagt nun im Auftrag seines Vetters (der namentlich nie näher benannt wird) den Versuch, sich als Karawanenführer zu verdingen. Eigentlich ist das dem betagten Auftragsmeuchler, der trotz seines enormen Talents nie Freude an dieser Tätigkeit fand, sogar ganz recht und insgeheim hofft er auch darauf, einen Neuanfang starten zu können. Die Reise beginnt auch recht ereignislos und Smith findet sogar Freunde in der Gestalt der Köchin des Trosses, Miss Smith, dem schnöseligen (aber unverschämt liebenswerten) Adeligen Lord Ermenwyr und seiner (SEHR kurvenreichen, SEHR verführerischen und glücklicherweise Smith auch nicht abgeneigten) Amme Balnshik. Das Leben könnte wunderschön sein, wenn einem die Welt nur in Ruhe lassen würde.

Doch man entkommt seiner Vergangenheit, wie auch seiner eigenen Herkunft nicht, wie Smith und seine Begleiter immer wieder feststellen werden...

Mit "The Anvil of the World" hat die vor zwei Jahren verstorbene Autorin Kage Baker, vielleicht einen der besten Fantasyromane der Welt geschrieben. Natürlich stellt sich da die Frage, woran das liegen könnte.

Ist es die Handlung, die das Buch unvergleichlich macht?

Kritisch gesehen wohl nicht, vor allem da eine Handlung im einheitlichen Sinne nicht besteht, sondern sich das Buch vielmehr in drei, nur lose durch die Figuren verbundenen, Geschichten einteilt, die zwar alle spannend, humorvoll, abwechslungsreich und mit einer Menge Tempo geschrieben sind, aber technisch gesehen keine Konventionen der Abenteuerliteratur brechen.

Sind es die Figuren?

Auch hier muss man eher mit "nein" antworten. Zwar dürfte man am Ende des Buches alle Figuren mögen (auch den eher blassen Smith, dessen Problem darin besteht, dass er sich im Herbst seines Lebens befindet und dessen charakterliche Entwicklung wohl schon vor dem Buch abgeschlossen war) und sie gewinnen alle an Tiefe und Facetten, aber am Ende bestechen sie alle (bis auf Smith) eher durch eine gewisse Ladung Exzentrik, die sie wirklich interessant macht (vor allem Ermenwyr stiehlt Smith die Show).

Ist es die Welt, in der das Buch spielt? Auch nicht, vor allem da man nur soviel erfährt, wie gerade nötig um der Handlung folgen zu können, der einzige, wirklich Kritikpunkte des Buches.

Nein, was "The Anvil of the world" wirklich auszeichnet, sind die Thematiken, die sich durch das Buch ziehen. Ohne viel verraten zu wollen, aber viele der Konflikte des Buches ergeben sich aus der Umwelt Schmieds, in der viele Ansichten aufeinander prallen und Gewalt als finales Lösungsmittel angesehen wird.

Baker verknüpft recht geschickt Themen, die aus unserer Welt bekannt sein dürften und vollbringt das Wunder, sie nicht gekünselt wirken zu lassen, ihnen eine gewisse Relevanz in der Welt Schmieds zu geben, sodass sie einfach passen. Sie geben dem Buch Tiefe und den eigentlichen Handlungsrahmen, der sich durch das ganze Buch zieht und ihm trotzdem nicht seine Leichtigkeit nehmen. Gibt man dann noch Humor jeder Art (von derberen Spielarten, bis hin zu Ironie ist wirklich alles vertreten) und den flüssigen Stil der Autorin hinzu, hat man eine einmalige Mischung, die erstaunlich gut aufgeht.

Am Ende hat man ein auf jeder Seite unterhaltsames, temporeiches und vielleicht auch zum nachdenken anregendes Buch gelesen, welches sich nie zu ernst nimmt und seine Hauptaufgabe, zu unterhalten, ausgezeichnet erfüllt und einen vielleicht auch mit etwas Wehmut das Buch zuschlagen lässt, da es nicht noch etwas länger gedauert hat.

So, wie es sein soll.
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Alison S. Coad
4.0 out of 5 stars An Entertaining Fantasy
Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2011
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"The Anvil of the World," by the late Kage Baker, appears to have started life as a novella; at least, the first long chapter was previously published in "Asimov's." The novel is made up of three sections, all dealing with the adventures of Smith, a former assassin who has fled that life and taken up a new role, first as a caravan master and then as the proprietor of a resort hotel. In the first section, he heads his cousin's caravan on its trek from inland Troon to seaside Salesh, and finds that his former skills are still very much needed as somebody seems to be interested in murdering a passenger, Lord Ermenwyr. Ermenwyr appears to be a decadent young man, but in fact he is a half-breed, the product of the marriage between a female Saint and a male Demon, and whenever he turns up, interesting times are likely to follow! This book is at once very very funny (a duel to the death between mages is carried out using that dread weapon, Fatally Verbal Abuse) and quite poignant (who Smith actually is, and why he is important, is not revealed until the end of the novel, and is quite surprising). Among many other reasons to mourn Baker, who died in 2010, is the fact that we will not have any more stories about Smith, Mrs. Smith, Ermenwyr and his minder Balnshik, Burnbright and Willowspear, and that is a very sad thing. Recommended.
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