Athyra (Vlad Taltos #6)

Title: Athyra

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #6

Savn is happy in his life as a physicker’s apprentice. But when a stranger—an Easterner, no less—comes to town, and someone turns up dead, his idyllic life becomes a morass of confusion. Savn rather likes the Easterner, Vlad. The rest of his village hates Vlad, and Savn finds he’s now in the middle. And although Savn’s vow is to save lives, he’s got some hard choices to make. One way or the other, someone’s going to die.

Those who like Vlad’s first-person narration will probably find this book a bit of a shock, as the point of view and focus shift to young Savn, who experiences Vlad from the outside. It was a shame to lose the witty commentary with Loiosh, but I liked how it shows Vlad from the outside. Particularly when Vlad’s city-bred violence conflicts with rural life. Vlad can’t help but be disruptive, but this is the first book that deeply looks at things from the perspective of the people being disrupted. Rozca, Loiosh’s mate, also handles parts of the narration.

As the title suggests, the deeper focus of the book is philosophical and mystical. Savn faces several challenges to his way of thinking. The world as he thought it is isn’t exactly true—but how much of a difference should that make to the way he lives his life? I like that not only was this a journey, but Vlad (and Savn) offer no pat answers. Savn does what he thinks is right, but he’s never settled about the hows or the whys. He’s mostly acting from simpler motives, like his vow to save life and not take it.

The only thing I think didn’t work so well was the ending. I get what happened only because I’d read Orca first, and therefore knew how it played out. It’s a confusing battle for Savn too, but it would’ve been nice if the prose was a bit more direct about what happened.

All in all, I liked this as an addition to the Vlad stories. It’s got a lot of differences from the usual style, but it’s still an engaging story with a compelling main character. I rate this book Recommended.

Five Hundred Years After (Khaavren Romances #2)

Title: Five Hundred Years After

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Khaavren Romances #2

Despite the promising beginnings of friendship, Khaavren is the only one of his four comrades left in the Phoenix Guard. He’s been alone for hundreds of years, growing quieter, but still strongly committed to his duty. The Empire has been suffering from the neglect (and foolishness) of the Emperor, but as conspiracies threaten to unravel the kingdom, Khaavren determines to do what he must to protect his king and his country. Even if it does set him at odds with old friends.

This was more interesting to me than The Phoenix Guards. Knowing the end from the beginning—that Adron’s Disaster is the focus of the book—lends a certain tragedy to the whole affair. This is echoed in Khaavren himself, who started The Phoenix Guards by stumbling into a set of fast friends, but who starts this one alone. He alone remained in the Phoenix Guards, he alone has found neither friend nor spouse nor obsession to replace them, and he has tempered his original enthusiasm with almost a melancholy devotion to his duty.

Even when the circumstances bring him back together with his old friends, his duties hold them apart. Khaavren’s job is to carry out the will of an Emperor whose decisions are increasingly worsening the situation instead of improving it. Although he’s also influential enough, in his own way, to push for better courses of actions when he can.

This is also funny on a number of levels. For one, the assassination attempts against Khaavren. It’s a continual source of frustration to the powers that want him dead, and an amusing experience for the reader, who can see how little Khaavren expects any of them, yet how perfectly the situations work out in his favor. I also thought it was fun how he meets Daro, and what attracts him to her (she gets fired).

All in all, this book covers an interesting period of history in the Dragaeran Empire, one referenced a number of times in the Vlad books, but would stand alone just fine. I rate this book Recommended.

Jhereg (Vlad Taltos #1)

Title: Jhereg

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #1

Vlad Taltos is a mobster and assassin, and he’s just landed a contract so lucrative he’ll be set for life. If, that is, he doesn’t botch the job. Because this time his target is also a Jhereg, who knows how the game is played. It won’t be an easy kill, but if he can’t pull it off, Vlad won’t be alive to worry about the consequences . . .

I FINALLY got my hands on a copy of Jhereg, which I immediately devoured. It’s hard to believe this is the first book, and that’s not just because Steven Brust went and wrote prequels filling in some of the history Vlad so casually tosses out. The worldbuilding is immense, but tight—and having already read most of the other books, I can catch a lot of Vlad’s references (and I was pleased this book filled in some of the holes). But we already have Vlad, happily married to the woman who once killed him; his Dragaeran friends Morrolan, Aliera, and Sethra, who are all unique and dangerous; Daymar the innocently terrifying Hawklord, and on, and on.

They’re a great cast of characters, and each one already showing some snippets of untold amazing stories about how Vlad got involved with them. If this had been the first book I’d read, I’d still have wanted to track down everything just to see how this wildly different group of people had gotten so enmeshed in each other’s friendships. Morrolan, for example, is an extremely honorable Dragonlord—who not only has Vlad on staff, but calls him a friend (and given the lengths Vlad is willing to go for him, the friendship is mutual). It’s a testament to how well the series as a whole hangs together that most of those little details do get expanded in some book or other.

And this is in some ways an origin story for Vlad himself. We see him as he witnesses his first assassination, and as he bonds with Loiosh, his jhereg familiar. But the story never lingers on the past, preferring to hurtle along with Vlad’s present task of dispatching a man who is very, very difficult to kill. In many ways, the target has thought everything out perfectly. But as Vlad likes to point out, anyone can be assassinated.

The humor is perhaps a touch less developed than some of the later books, but still very present and very funny. Each chapter starts with some pithy saying, like: “You can’t put it together again unless you’ve torn it apart first.”

All in all, this is a great read whether or not you’ve read any of the other books, or whether or not you intend to. Like most of the series it’s basically a stand alone story set within a complex universe, and it plays out some small piece of the life of a very interesting man. I rate this book Highly Recommended.

Hawk (Vlad Taltos #14)

Title: Hawk

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #14

Vlad’s slipping. He’s still in the city—he can’t tear himself away from the chance to see his wife, his son. And the Jhereg know it. Dodging the assassins is getting harder and harder, and sooner or later he’s not going to be lucky enough to make it. Which means it’s time to gamble, big time, on a scheme that has a chance to pull him out of this mess. But in order to earn Jhereg forgiveness, he’s going to have to offer something spectacular . . .

This is one of my favorite Vlad books. He’s so tired, desperate, cornered, but that doesn’t mean his scheming is any more straightforward. The action and tension ratchet up as he puts everything on the line for the merest chance he can call the entire Organization off his back. And after everything he’s been through on the run, it’s heartening to see a possible end in reach.

And the humor, as usual, is great. From Vlad’s amazingly funny explanation of cutting his own throat to him trying to figure out Daymar to his usual wry quips, there’s plenty of amusement to lighten the increasingly terrible situation he’s stuck in. At this point, Vlad’s not the only target, and he knows it.

All in all, this has me almost upset because I only have two more Vlad books before being caught up. I rate this book Highly Recommended.

Tiassa (Vlad Taltos #13)

Title: Tiassa

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #13

This is less of a novel and more like three novellas grouped together in a collection. They all feature a silver tiassa statue, but otherwise they’re very different stories.

The first follows Vlad as he attempts to collect from a bad debtor and becomes embroiled in his usual type of twisty, backstabbing scheme to get something far bigger.

The second is more about Cawti. Vlad is now on the run, and Cawti is trying to raise their son and keep out of trouble. She’s not sure how she feels about Vlad anymore, but when others start stirring up trouble, she’s willing to pitch in her efforts to handle things.

The third follows Khaavern, and is told in the same historical style as The Phoenix Guards (and sequels). Khaavren knows his duty, and when he finds Vlad victim of attempted murder, he’s determined to get to the bottom of things. Of course, Vlad is on the run and doesn’t want the help of the Phoenix Guards . . .

I enjoyed the stories well enough as separate tales, but I think it’s a mistake to try to treat them as a novel. The tiassa connection feels particularly forced in the third story, and the changing style of narration works against feeling like a cohesive whole. Add to that I’m just less fond of the overly wordy style of the Khaavren pieces, and for me the book got less enjoyable as I progressed.

Still, it was good to see some questions answered, and I liked seeing what Cawti’s been up to (her calling her son “Boulder” definitely got a laugh out of me).

Overall, this is probably my least favorite of the novels in the series, but most of that is due to the structure. If taken as a collection of shorter stories I think it works better. I rate this book Neutral.

Iorich (Vlad Taltos #12)

Title: Iorich

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #12

Vlad hadn’t intended to go back to Dragaera City, but when he hears Aliera has been arrested he can’t help getting involved. Puzzlingly, none of her powerful, influential friends (up to and including the Empress) appears willing to do anything about it. Vlad knows Aliera won’t appreciate it, but he has to do SOMETHING . . .

First: Read the epilogue. It’s a series of outtakes that had me in tears from laughing so hard. My favorites are the obligatory talking cat and the scene with Vlad walking outside the palace. I dearly hope this is going to be a tradition with the books going forward.

This was another fun one. Vlad is determined to get Aliera out of trouble that she and everyone else seems determined to leave her in. Not that it bothers him too much.

“And what do you think about the law?”
“Most of my thoughts about the law involve ways to circumvent it,” I said.

It’s a little sad to see how all of the people he loves are in their own small ways falling apart. But I like how honest the book is about not offering an easy happy ending, and instead going with the best way forward. Like how Vlad doesn’t dwell on the various troubles he picks up but instead looks for a way through. It’s a subtle progression of character for those friends Vlad has had for years, even now that being friends with him is not exactly a safe thing for those less powerful.

It’s also a very interesting look at laws and societies, how things are set up and why. I did like the lawyer Vlad ends up with. He has some good conversations about that.

All in all, this is one of the ones I liked better (although the outtakes are 10 stars out of 5), and I’m still eager to see where the series goes from here. I rate this book Recommended.

Jhegaala (Vlad Taltos #11)

Title: Jhegaala

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #11

Since being the Jhereg’s top Most Wanted hasn’t done much for his career prospects, Vlad Taltos has made a quick exit from Dragaera City. He figures he’ll try to hunt down his relatives back East, where Dragaerans stand out and hopefully Jhereg will too. Except that the little town of Burz and its paper mill are hiding secrets, and just his presence has started making some people very uncomfortable . . .

This is again more of a mystery, although a more frustrating one than Orca, because Vlad doesn’t even have Kiera to help him out. He’s stuck trying to break into a closed circuit of Easterners—and as he admits near the end, they can work against him a little too well. It’s also a little sad that he isn’t able to directly inflict much of the violence, as watching Vlad in action is one of the highlights of the books.

Still, watching him orchestrate the ending even given his position is rather fun.

Overall this wasn’t exactly what I had expected when Vlad went back East, but it’s still a good continuation of his story. I rate this book Recommended.

Dzur (Vlad Taltos #10)

Title: Dzur

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #10

Vlad has gone back to his old territory in Adrilankha. Things aren’t quite how he left them, or how he expected it to go. Cawti’s having trouble keeping the Jhereg out of her area, since she won’t run an organization like Vlad had. And she’s not one to ask for help, even if Vlad would drop everything for her, forgetting the price on his own head, to do it. He’s just going to have to take care of things himself, in his own way, like he always does . . .

Picking up only a few hours after Issola, this wastes no time dumping Vlad right back into trouble. I was amused at the extended metaphor in this book: cooking and murder. A perfect meal, compared and contrasted to those things needed to make a kill. And a several-course meal that sounds amazing, so have at least a snack on hand.

Vlad also has some of the best humor I’ve read so far in this book, and several quotes I like.

“It’s easy to consider everyone a sucker who cares about things you don’t care about. So who does that make the sucker?”

And of course Loish has several great conversations:

“Boss, you know you’re a bully.”
“Yeah.”
“And worse, you enjoy it.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve missed being a bully all these years.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m proud to know you.”

And several situations I refuse to spoil because they’re just too funny walking in blind. (In particular, a certain character who has been joked about previously has something of a role.)

I liked the Dzur, and the conversation Vlad has with one about heroics. It was amusing to find a people dedicated to the side of good—as long as the right side is heavily outnumbered, or hated by everyone, or otherwise has almost zero chance of winning. In other words, Vlad should probably partner up with one for the future.

All in all this series hasn’t flagged much, and I really like the direction it’s going. I rate this book Highly Recommended.

Orca (Vlad Taltos #7)

Title: Orca

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #7

All Vlad is trying to do is repay his debt to Savn, who was injured in the process of saving Vlad’s life. But the healer he finds doesn’t want money—she wants the right to continue living in her own home, which the failing bank is trying to foreclose. So Vlad reluctantly puts himself on the case. Murder is so much more his specialty . . .

I liked this a great deal. Kiera the Thief shares the narration with Vlad this time, and shows something of a different side to the sorts of activities Vlad usually gets himself into. Vlad finds himself, this time, not as the assassin but as the detective, trying to work backwards from a death. Trying to untangle the whole sordid story that led to one little old woman being kicked out of her home.

As a mystery, it flows differently than the other books in the series, but I liked it as a change of pace. That also made some of the revelations near the end both unexpected and satisfying. Vlad’s a different person after everything he’s gone through—though still a sarcastic, hard-bitten criminal in many ways. But in the little snippets of Kiera’s retelling Cawti’s side starts to open up some too. And maybe a little of why she’s been acting the way she has comes out.

All in all this is a good continuation. I’m both amused and impressed I’ve made it through this many books in the series without my enthusiasm flagging at all. And I can’t wait to finish collecting them all so I can reread them in the proper order next time. I rate this book Recommended.

Phoenix (Vlad Taltos #5)

Title: Phoenix

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #5

Vlad Taltos is an assassin, and used to taking jobs without knowing all the details—but he’s certainly wondering why his own goddess needs to hire him for a hit. And she isn’t aiming small, either. But a job’s a job, even if this one is bound to have consequences well beyond the usual.

Although Vlad does figure out much of the reasons why by the end, I still felt this one was a bit weaker than some of the other ones I’ve read. The Demon Goddess is either lying (which didn’t seem likely) or appears to be as manageable as a particularly powerful bit of sorcery, neither of which does her much credit as a goddess. And I was a bit irritated, too, at Cawti, for not attempting to save her marriage with the same intensity Vlad is, or at least acknowledging that Vlad has put everything on the line for her. Vlad knows she’s put her cause above her marriage, but even so can’t help getting himself into worse and worse trouble to try to get her out of danger. But her love seems less committed, and she only helps out when the circumstances have nothing to do with her revolution.

In other respects, though, this is still a lot of fun. Vlad’s desperation increases as he’s trapped in physical dangers and moral quandaries with no clear way out. Even his alliance with some of the most powerful Dragaerans in the kingdom can’t fix things. And his grim humor keeps things funny, even when he’s hard-pressed.

Overall, this is still a good read, although one of the few in the series I think shouldn’t be read without having read at least one other. I rate this book Recommended.