17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid, fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining, November 19, 2002
This review is from: The Book of Jhereg (Mass Market Paperback)
_Jhereg_:
From the very first passage, I was completely enchanted; it quickly & skillfully drew me in, heart and soul. Brust writes with wit, humor and charm, colorfully describing characters, scenes, thoughts, simply everything about the world he's created. It's obvious that a great deal of thought went into this creation; he passes along casual details that hint of greater stories to come, including histories, myths, and rumors.
The central figure is Vlad Taltos, one of the top assassins in the land. The other important figures are his assistants, his wife, a few antagonists, assorted friends and colleagues, but most importantly, his familiar, Loiosh. In addition to being a highly-skilled assassin, Vlad is also a very powerful witch. Loiosh is perhaps his strongest ally, being able to communicate with Vlad telepathically. Several characters are able to communicate this way, and it's a handy method to advance the story more quickly, without intrusive time delays and journeys back and forth.
Part of what makes this story so easy to read is Brust's use of common language - he doesn't try to take us back into Olde Tyme, using overly-flowery, excessively eloquent language; he makes use of language as many of us do today, with only a few quirks thrown in to keep things interesting.
It takes a lot to charm me this thoroughly, and I can't think of the words to describe how happy I am with this book, and everything about it - the characters, the dialogue, the quick pace, the story line, the plot twists, the detail, the simple elegance, the vivacity of it all. It is, in other words, amazing. I'll bet you won't be disappointed.
_Yendi_:
I was enthralled with _Jhereg,_ and eagerly began _Yendi_ immediately upon finishing it, looking forward to once again being thoroughly immersed in the world Brust adeptly weaves around the reader. I was definitely not disappointed. I was a bit confused for the first few paragraphs, until I realized that _Yendi_ is actually a prequel to _Jhereg_.
Vlad's voice flows easily, and the words just kind of glide through the reader's head - as the pages turned, pictures and scenes formed in my head without my really being aware of having read the sentences. This is the mark of a truly gifted yarn-spinner.
Brust doesn't go to extreme lengths to try to justify everything and explain all of the rules, holding our hands through his thought processes; rather, he drops hints, and uses context to convey items of import. Sometimes, he flat out tells us "it's none of your business," or "that is a story for another time." He gives small nods to current culture icons such as Monty Python in places, and uses modern language instead of pained, stilted "Hie thee hence, lass!" "Evermore, milady" and other such stuffs, making it a much easier, more believable story and setting.
A conflict within the House of Jhereg has Vlad being tossed hither and yon, caught right up in the heart of things - would you expect anything less? In the process, he meets two of the land's best assassins, is killed by one of them, falls wildly in love, and of course hatches a plot so clever you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel.
A very entertaining next step in what will hopefully prove to be a great series. I'm tackling "Teckla" immediately!
_Teckla_:
_Teckla_ is almost a complete 180-degree turn from the sort of books the first two in this series were; it is a dark, introspective, thoroughly angst-ridden journey through very personal areas of Vlad's soul. I was expecting a light-hearted romp much like the first two stories, and was thusly surprised and a bit disappointed by this book. My mind sometimes wandered as I plodded through the paragraphs, and I found myself thinking of other subjects; my attention just refused to be held by this story, until I came to terms with it being Different.
Vlad and Cawti are completely at odds through most of the book, and Vlad is forced to confront his deepest fears, insecurities, and questions, right down to whether or not he can live with himself and with Cawti. He must face the huge question of being an assassin, or doing what might be The Right Thing...or not.
There is quite a deep examination of social inequities, politics, and grass roots movement vs. The Way Things Have Always Been, which isn't my favorite sort of story, but if you like a political/social study, then you may love it. It's a very dark journey that's rather uncomfortable, and Brust puts us right there in the center of Vlad's soul, pressed up close to the discomfort itself - Vlad's inner turmoil is our constant companion, and it's not pleasant company. It's darned depressing, in fact, which is perhaps why I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two.
There are, of course, the usual intra-organizational intrigues, multiple assassination attemps, and Vlad is naturally right smack in the middle. Still, there is very little spark to this story, no inner glow, no feel-good bits to keep us going; it almost felt to me like Brust had lost his enthusiasm for the series, or had run out of steam, or perhaps he was just trying something new that I wasn't as wild about. One thing, however, is developed more thoroughly here, and that is the relationship between Loiosh and Vlad, which had been fairly superficial in the first two. They gain depth and dimension, and we understand the bond between them more clearly after reading _Teckla._
Still, honestly? I didn't enjoy this book a great deal. It's not a bad book, and it's well-written, but it was an uncomfortable, fidgety read. I looked forward to it ending, whereas with the first two, I wanted them to go on and on. Hopefully with the next installment (which I'll pick up straightaway,) Brust will take us back to a happier time for Vlad.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Assassination for Fun and Profit, June 2, 2000
This review is from: The Book of Jhereg (Mass Market Paperback)
Let me start by saying I like Steven Brust very much, and that I think the Vlad Taltos series is outstanding. The three stories in this volume are among the best of the early books, and show Brust's writing at its best. But any thoughtful reader needs to consider the subject.
Here we have a hero in Vladimir Taltos who makes his living assassinating people, selling illicit - well, untaxed - drugs, running whorehouses and operating a numbers racket. He's not a nice guy. It's true that he had a rough childhood, lives as a member of minority in a culture that's even less nice, and tried work as a restaurateur first, but even so...
How can we like this guy? How can we recommend books about this guy to anybody?
The Dragarean culture is deeply dysfunctional. It is based on sorcery in fundamental ways, and upon the failure of sorcery a few hundred years before Taltos was born, the society essentially collapsed into chaos (sorry). Crime, including assassination, is an accepted line of work. The empress herself recognizes its necessity.
Nor are all assassinations necessarily fatal, although a lamentable number of those that Taltos commits seem to be. Sorcery is very powerful, and revivification is often possible.
And so many of the targets richly deserve it.
And there is an afterlife. At least for Dragearans.
And sometimes Taltos feels bad about it afterwards. After the torture and murder of one sorceress, who was guilty of nothing more than what Taltos does for a living, he tells us that years later it still bothers him.
Brust is a good enough writer that he makes you like Vlad Taltos, and care about him, despite his vocation. Brust presents the picture of a deeply complex man who wants to deny those complexities, in the tradition of the best mystery writers. Characters are well-developed, plot lines imaginative and tight, and the dialog is very good.
The novels are themselves are each very much pieces of the puzzle that is Vlad Taltos. While there are a few inconsistencies across the books, they are relatively minor. There is a sense that Vlad Taltos is much more important than he knows, and that he will have a critical, even indispensable, role in the society in which he finds himself. There are mysteries that span several books, some still unanswered. Who is Vlad's mother, for example? Why does the very oldest Dragearan foster and protect him? Why does a goddess take such a interest in him? The mysteries and shadows, some revealed in later books and some still dark, make Taltos more compelling.
These are entertaining, even compelling yarns in a richly imagined world. In the end, you don't care that Vlad Taltos is a multiple-murderer; you just want Steven Brust to write another book.
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