2015 fantasy anthology: six stories of Ile-Rien and Cineth.
Most of these have been previously published in various
magazines, and all are designed to stand alone; I think short stories
tied to a series tend to be either enticements (easy to work out
what's going on, and if you like it you should buy the books, often in
a magazine) or rewards (more for the dedicated series reader, often in
an anthology with works by less popular authors but if you're a
completist you have to buy the whole anthology to get this story);
these are definitely enticements.
They're also precursor stories; all of them take place before the
books in which their protagonists become major characters.
"The Potter's Daughter" is a precursor to The Element of Fire: Kade
Carrion is working as a village potter, because the previous potter
was murdered, and this seems certain to be part of a power game among
the fay. She has also acquired, quite without wanting him, a fan.
Brutal, in the way that Kade's world is.
"Night at the Opera", the new piece in this anthology, comes some time
before The Death of the Necromancer, and it's the thing I often ask
for in caper stories but rarely get: the caper that basically goes
right, and shows you how our heroes do their thing when they aren't
in a desperate struggle. Here it's Nicholas and Reynard Morane, with
some other members of the crew off-stage, dealing with a case of
sorcerous blackmail. Very much of a feel with the gaslamp sensibility
of that book.
She sipped her drink and said, "You can't kill someone in the grand
foyer of the opera and get away with it."
Nicholas raised a brow. "If it comforts you to believe that."
The other four stories are set in Cineth before the events of The Wizard
Hunters, when its civilisation encountered that of Ile-Rien, and
specifically deal with the lives of Ilias and Giliead.
"Holy Places" describes how Ilias and Giliead met, and includes a
great deal of cultural background from an insider's viewpoint. This is
the most consequential of these stories; the rest are incidents in the
pair's career as chosen vessel and companion.
"Rites of Passage" covers Giliead's first wizard-hunt, and the
limitations of what even a Chosen Vessel can withstand.
"Houses of the Dead" is splendidly atmospheric, dealing with a city
built outside the territory of any god (they're surrounded by gods,
what could go wrong?) and how it all suddenly went very wrong.
"Reflections" ls lighter, dealing with a different sort of magical
threat.
I found all of these pieces highly enjoyable, with a fair range of
mood and always true to the characters I'd already met. I think it
might also be a reasonable introduction to the world (worlds, really,
for all they theoretically link together) if you prefer short fiction.