The Tales of Catt & Fisher: The Art of the Steal (After the War)

by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Freda Warrington, Juliet E McKenna, and K.T. Davies

Justina Robson (Editor)

Four new tales of Doctors Catt and Fisher…

Scholars, shopkeepers, collectors… aficionados. Obtainers of rare antiquities; relic hunters who can’t resist a lead, even when it takes them into terrible danger. There’s always an opportunity to be found amid the confusion, in the wake of the terrible Kinslayer War. There’s always a deal to be done, a tomb to open, a precious thing to… obtain.

From encounters with the monstrous Vathesk to exploring new worlds; from wielding great power to do great good, to unearthing dark things best left lost. If you need the experts, if you can find your way to their Cherivell shop, maybe you can hire Doctors Catt and Fisher.

“Robson writes a tense, fast-paced quest adventure... I hope to see more like it.” Liz Bourke

“If you’re looking for something that celebrates the genre, while working to interrogate and question how that genre works, look no further than Redemption’s Blade.” Martin Cahill, Tor.com

• ISBN10: 1781088039
• ISBN13: 9781781088036
• Publish Date: 3 December 2020 (first published 1 December 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Solaris
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

After The War: The Art of the Steal is an anthology of four new novella length works set in the fictional world of Redemption's Blade and After the Fire. Released 1st Dec 2020 by Rebellion on the Solaris imprint, it's 400 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

With shared worlds anthologies, the writing is often hit-or-miss. Authors have widely divergent styles, and collaborative settings don't translate to collaborative, cohesive results. Happily most of the snares seem to have been bypassed in this collection and all four stories are well written, entertaining, and work as standalones. They can be read in any order and don't get in the way of one another at all. The editor says in the foreword that there were some potential continuity pitfalls, but I didn't notice any glaring problems.

There really should be an official delineation for the fantasy subgenre with protagonists who are librarians/antiquarians/collectors/ with or without also being ruffians. This is another such and a delightfully diverting read. I read it without having read the previous "main" stories and had no trouble following along with enjoyment.

I recommend this anthology to fans of the genre as well as readers familiar with the series.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes