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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overwritten and brilliant, November 10, 1998
By A Customer
Althogh a big Vlad Taltos fan, these fantasies are my favorite Brust novels, and rank among my favorite comic fantasies (including Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" and John Barnes' "One for the Morning Glory," but not including anything by Piers Anthony or Terry Pratchett.) The fictional author Paarfi is supposedly paid by the word (like his alter-ego, Alexandre Dumas) and it shows: this is one of the most verbose, long-winded and pompous novels I have ever read, yet Brust is obviously having such a good time with the language that I was drawn in inexorably and found myself munching through the long book at an incredible pace. Brust can spend ten pages saying absolutely nothing, yet it remains facinating. I dont want to give the impresion that nothing happens: there is lots of action, subterfuge, and plenty of weaves and twists. Longtime Taltos fans will be thrilled to finaly meet the elusive Mario. Yet the fictional author spends plent of time in the detials, in the characters, and in self-absobed preening. If you want a fast, bang-em-up hack and slasher, do not buy this book. If, however, you are a lover of rich, textured language and the ludicrous, then buy this book. Right now.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brust is brilliant, and I don't use that word loosely, November 29, 2000
As a fantasy buff, I can't believe I'd never heard of Steven Brust before stumbling across this book's predecessor, _The Phoenix Guards_ (with its striking cover) in the public library. If there were justice in the literary world, you'd think he'd have received more acclaim and notice than a certain Mr. J-----, also a TOR author, as Brust's writing is crisp and lively, his pacing excellent. As explained in an "interview" with the book's pompous narrator, Brust writes for those who love to read, i.e. those who enjoy a good vocabulary, good grammar, good phrasing, and (indeed) a good story. This is not some "page-turner" to be engulfed at one-sitting; if you did that with a box of Godiva chocolates, you'd become ill and lose the appreciation for each one. Just so with each of the book's chapters. The plot does slow a little too much in places--often due the musings of the intruding, over-erudite narrator--but there are worthy adages, tales and metaphors therein; don't miss them. This is a fine, fine work. The swashbuckling spirit of _The Phoenix Guards_ remains intact, but partially cloaked by ominous portents. Do not miss these two books if you enjoy a good tale (fantasy or otherwise). I'll eagerly await the third. (Postscript: Perhaps best of all, the story ends! Take note, Messrs. J----- and G-------.)
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining jaunt into Dragaeran society., October 26, 2002
What would the Three Musketeers have been like 500 years after they originally fought together, in say oh, on our timeline, April 2125. In The Phoenix Guard Brust introduced his three musketeers, and they had a similar parting of ways, but now forces are gathering to cause problems, Mario walks the world, and the friends get together again to save it. I enjoy the adventures of Vlad Taltos, but this book and it predecessor are perhaps the most entertaining of the lot. Taltos is an outsider in the Dragaeran Society, Khaavren, Aerich, Tazendra, and Pel are within it. Their adventures are no less enjoyable than those of Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan. Written with the same tongue and cheek perspective as the Taltos series, these books provide an intersting view of classical characters.
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