Customer Reviews

The Book of Jhereg

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's like a comic book, without the pictures, and you've just been dropped into the middle of it. Or maybe a video game, and you'd better be able to reach your shurikens or poisoned dagger while your faithful reptile companion holds the other assasins off. But if you're killed, don't worry: you've got insurance that will bring you back. Vlad is a human in a city dominated by eight-foot Dragaerans, who never have to shave and live to be a thousand. It's their turf, and their rules, and they routinely conquer and abuse "Easterners" like Vlad. He's not the type to take this, so he becomes a "Jhereg" assassin, working up the ranks of a criminal syndicate until he comes to boss dozens of Dragaerans around, befriending some and terrorizing others. He adopts a new-hatched mini-dragon or jhereg, finding that the cat-sized beast has a humanlike intelligence and a nasty sense of humor, and wins a grudging respect from the dominant species. All his friends are 900 years old, or undead vampires, or legendary thieves; but don't hold it against them. Vlad solves mysteries and evades death, and cooks fiery fungus-laced omelets, in a bizarre semi-alien milieu. He finds love. He sharpens knives. He gloomily bandages his jhereg bites. He'd be right at home in a Zelazny novel, which is reason enough to buy this or any other Brust book.

_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.

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.

Steven Brust, with the world of Draegera, has created a fantasy tapestry of rich adventure. One of the best sci-fi/fantasy authors I have come across in quite some time, his characters and plots are tight and well written. The Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla trilogy was a set of stories that paradoxically left me satisfied with the read, yet hungering for more. Vlad, the main character, is quite believeable. Unlike many other authors, Brust allows his characters to grow and change throughout the series. He makes the characters live. Subplots, twists, and surprises abound. I have read all of the Jhereg series, each one is complete in itself. Vlad takes on whatever challenges are before him, and always seems to scrape by, often with a little help from his friends. He goes through many trials and tribulations, pain and auguish, but finds and (sorta) loses love, wins friends and influences people. I could easily write a book about the books, but will refrain. This work, and all of Brust's work, I heartily recommend.

Steven Brust's killer assassain series starring Vlad Taltos (pronounce it Tal-tosh, unless you want to get on Vlad's bad side) is truly an experiment in progress, which for Vlad-fans makes each book thouroughly enjoyable.

Vlad is one of a minority of humans living in a world populated by long-living, powerful elves who tend to treat humans like dirt. So Vlad takes up work killing the elves for a living. Good premise, huh?

Each book covers a different story from Vlad's life, but the stories are not revealed chronologically and the writing style for each book typically has a hook to distinguish it from the rest. For instance, one begins with a laundry list, and in each chapter Vlad ruins another item of clothing - a wine stain here, a tear there, next some blood -- you get the idea.

The books do have some things in common -- like they all have 17 chapters and a little girl named Deverra always makes a cameo. Why? Who knows? But the author isn't afraid to challenge the reader in this series, and that's what Brust fans tend to enjoy.

Jhereg and Yendi are funny, action and intrigue-packed reads, but unlike most reviewers here, I think Teckla is the best of the lot in this compendium. It's different from anything else I've read in the fantasy genre, and forces you to deal with the fact that Vlad has real problems like marital distress to go along with the fantastic problems like saving the empire or finding the magic sword. And Vlad, to the reader's delight, just refuses to do anything the world expects him to. Highly recommended.

This book contains the first 3 installments in the Vlad Taltos series ("Jhereg", "Yendi" and "Teckla"). The main character, Vlad, is a human assassin living in a society dominated by Dragaerans (a magic-wielding race, divided into 17 noble houses that are constantly scheming and plotting against each other). The stories are told from Vlad's point-of-view, so you will get to know this smart, witty and deadly character and his jhereg familiar quite well. These books are simply a pleasure to read! Since Yendi and Teckla are both out of print at this moment, this is a great opportunity to get into this wonderful series. Highly recommended!

I love Steven Brust's work! I've been reading this series for about 8 years, and cannot put them down. If you see Brust's name on a book, you can rest asured, it's fantastic. I've never seen a writer get the reader so deep into a character, or a world set, for that matter. He makes you believe in his world, his characters, everything. Even people who aren't die-hard fantasy readers will enjoy this set. I for one, would love to go charging into battle, knowing Sethra Lavode was at my side!

Steven Brust is one of the few writers today really writing interesting work. His creations remind me of Michael Moorcock and his characters and humor remind me of Fritz Lieber. It is very refreshing to see someone working in a different direction than the Tolkien rip-offs.

There are not enough descriptive words or terms to fully encompass Steven Brust's work with the Taltos Cycle. Not only is it a brilliant work of high fantasy, it is also a treatise on socio-political maneuvering in a world with a fixed class system that (strangely enough, seeing as how these are beings that live for 3K years on average) seems extremely similar to our own. On top of those two aspects, the fantasy and the intrige, Brust's main character/alter ego Vlad is a brilliant roving narrator through whose eyes we see the world in an utterly realistic light. Vlad, while an assassin and a crimelord and an all around badass, is at his core a nearly perfect example of the human experience: non sequiter thoughts, inane ramblings to oneself and ones pet, and utter insolence in the face of higher authorities. We all feel these things, Vlad lives them. His is a voice you CANNOT afford to miss, and once heard it is a voice you will not forget.

This book was my first introduction to Vlad Taltos. And now I'm hooked. The character development and interaction is incredibly detailed, and Brust makes you actually care for an otherwise despicable person. Vlad is an Easterner, living in the Draegaeran Empire. He faces prejudice, yet always manages to get even with those he hates. His relationships with his friends, wife, and associates are the hingepin to everything that happens. I just hope the rest of the series is collected in similar books.