Words Like Coins
short fiction 2009 Realm of the Elderlings
Record
| First published | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | short fiction |
| Canon status | |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781596065277 |
Synopsis
"Words Like Coins" is a Robin Hobb short story set in Tilth, within the Realm of the Elderlings, during roughly the same period as Assassin's Apprentice and Royal Assassin. It follows Mirrifen, a former apprentice to a hedge-witch, and her sister-in-law Jami, whose household is thrown into crisis when a lingering drought drives pecksies, small magical creatures of Hobb's world, into contact with their lives. The story explores how the two women respond to this unexpected intrusion and what it demands of them, set against the everyday pressures of rural life during hard times. First published in the 2009 anthology A Fantasy Medley, it was later reissued as an illustrated standalone ebook, offering a smaller, more folkloric companion piece to the wider political and magical events unfolding in Hobb's main Farseer-era novels.
Where it sits
- Universe: Realm of the Elderlings
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Robin Hobb
Notes
- First published in A Fantasy Medley (Subterranean Press, 2009).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within Realm of the Elderlings (standalone work): position 13 of 24: previous Dragon Keeper (2009) · next Dragon Haven (2010)
Sources
← Realm of the Elderlings dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.