Tales of Talislanta

by Stephan Michael Sechi (editor), P.D. Breeding-Black (illustrator), Lawrence Watt-Evans

Welcome to Talislanta, a richly detailed world of colorful, exotic cultures with new opportunities for adventure down every road. Let authors such as Lawrence Watt-Evans, Ru Emerson, and Stephan Michael Sechi introduce you to the lavish, lively setting that has enthralled Talislanta gamers.

Contains the stories:

"Tamerlin's Odyssey", by Stephan Michael Sechi
"Tulki's Revenge", by Lawrence Watt-Evans
"Survival", by Deborah Millitello
"To Rest in the Sea", by M. C. Sumner
"Rogues", by Stephan Michael Sechi
"Of Women and Honor", by Ru Emerson
"The Ring", by Simon Shapiro
"Finding the Way", by Deborah Millitello
"Shadowmoon", by Stephan Michael Sechi

Genres: Fantasy

206 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Stephan Michael Sechi is best known for creating the Talislanta RPG, originally published by Bard Games. Along with contributing and producing many more books in the Talislanta Milieu (including a fiction anthology), Sechi also wrote Bard's Atlantis and Complete Adventurer series, recorded three CDs based on music from Talislanta, wrote the Pandemonium! RPG, and adventures for both Cyberpunk 2020, and Over The Edge RPGS.

His interests are eclectic and include the writings of William S. Boroughs, football, the music of Steely Dan, The Police, and Tom Scott, the art of Phillipe Druillet, Moebius, and Rodney Matthews. He plays saxophone and has worked/recorded in the studio.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the copyright page, buried after the ownership rights legalese: "Use of this book to prop up tippy tables is discouraged, and Wizards of the Coast, Inc., takes no responsibility for incidental consequences of such use, including such events as having the table slip and dumping spaghetti in your lap."

I was fascinated by the old advertisements for Talislanta products back in the old Dragon Magazine days, with their breathless "No Elves!" guarantee and the promise of exotic fantasy not tied to the traditional retread of Tolkein. But not so fascinated to expend my limited funds in procurement of such.

Having read this collection of short fiction, I'm not sure if the purpose was as an introduction or gateway drug to the Talislanta setting, or if it was a follow-on for people already hooked. I don't think it succeeds in either case. The editor took a shotgun approach to the material, with a variety in settings within the huge continent and a variety of style. As a result, you get an impression of diversity but not much regarding any unique flavor. It could simply be that two hundred pages is simply insufficient to the task.

Of the stories, I felt that Sechi's own contributions of "Rogues" and "Shadowmoon" were the best of the lot, along with Emerson's "Of Women and Honor". These had a common style approaching that of Jack Vance without the exuberance of language and had the interaction of several of the continent's races, highlighting the potpourri nature of the people, as seen on the covers of all the game books.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories set in the RPG world of Talislanta. Good selection of writers makes the stories different and interesting. Recommended