Customer Reviews

Iorich (Vlad)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In concept, Iorich is the perfect Vlad Taltos book for someone like me with a legal/military/libertarian background. It's tacked around the philosophy and activities of the House of Iorich, that faction of the Dragaeran Empire concerned with justice and usually employed as lawyers, judges, and prison guards. The seed of the plot is caused by the massacre of civilians during a counter-insurgency campaign/rebellion being put down by the empire. And the primary motivation of the bad guys is an attempt to outlaw or heavily regulate mind-altering drugs to earn profits selling them on the blackmarket.

Unfortunately, beyond the setting there's little here we haven't seen before, so I can't give it five stars. There are no important new characters, yet less interaction with the old favorites than you might expect. The actual operation of the plot is the usual slightly implausible motives and actions of shadowy factions that Vlad stumbles around for most of the book before unravelling it in a flash, followed by a quick planning session with supporting friends and (literal) execution that wraps everything up neatly at the end.

It's nothing you haven't seen before, and while it's just as much fun as it was the last five times, it's not more.

I will give special appreciation to the chapter intros, which here consist of depositions, memos, and minutes of an investigation into the civilian massacre. Almost all of them are interesting, a few are amusing, and one (Aliera's) is hilarious. Brust also continues to impress in how he's handled the huge Plot Device of Invincibility introduced at the end of Issola to avoid making Vlad boringly immune to real danger or difficulty.

I'd like to say that the events of this book and the especially the state of play at the end sets us up for a big change of story arc or at least gut punching development ala Phoenix or Issola, but we've been suckered by that before. I do have hope the next book will continue the chronological arc forward; the recent pattern is two steps forward, one step jumping back. Jhegaala was the most recent flashback, and Iorich only gave us a few hints at what happened the last four years since Dzur, so I think we'll get one more forward push of the story line before Brust jumps back to cover the Dzur-Iorich interval.

I'm a diehard Brust fan, in awe of what he can accomplish when he takes his time and works through a number of drafts to perfect a masterpiece of investigation, action, and lively wit. "Iorich" isn't one of those works, however. This latest installment reads like it was swiftly and sloppily cobbled together from pieces of Brust's previous novels -- much as happened all too frequently with the late Robert B. Parker (one of Brust's acknowledged influences), who likewise swung from excellence to mere self-plagiarism.

First let me make this clear: if you're a fan of Vlad, you'll like this book. It always fun to return to Vlad's world and hear him interacting with Loiosh and his old friends.

But....

While this book is better than Jhegaala, it simply isn't at the level of the earlier works of the series. The stakes don't seem very high for Vlad, there's little action and nearly no magic and much of the book is him grasping for clues that seem barely significant even after they're revealed. Instead of "holy cow, THAT's what they were hiding!?" it's more like "err, that's all?"

The end of the book clearly sets up the next volume and the stakes will be much higher for Vlad. Let's hope that reignites the series. Brust needs to give these excellent characters more to do!

Iorich is like a family reunion with relatives that you truly love to spend time with but leaving the reunion with no interesting anecdotes. A pleasant time but not memorable.

I've been reading a lot of mystery novels recently; Steig Larson, Tara French, Michael Cox and George Pelecanos for example. And so when I heard that one of my favorite Fantasy writers, Steven Brust, had a new book out called "Iorich" frankly I had some resoundingly high hopes. I must have read, somewhere, that the great Dragorean house Iorich had something to do with law and justice and in my feverish mind I began to envision plots lines.

What could be better than for "Iorich" to move along similar trajectories as those of a mystery novel, or even better, a courtroom drama. I could hypothetically see Vlad on trial, Jereg assassins trying to break into his cell (is there such a thing as a morganti shiv?), his friends doing the leg work for a change, and instead of a final battle, a legal argument revealing all that was corrupt in the Empire ("Easterners can't handle the TRUTH!"). In my mind I was hoping for a look at the Dragorean legal system, much in the same way that "Dragon" was a look at the Dragorean military system.

Which isn't to say that what "Iorich" turned out to be, wasn't good; it is similar in tone and quality to Yendi, which has always been one Steven Brust's better novels. But like several other reviewers have pointed out. As wonderful, refreshing and just plain good as this book is, we've seen it all before.

Steven Brust can be at both his best and his worst when he is playing with an idea, taking a risk and turning the genre on its head. This book isn't that... but, buy it and read it anyway, because any book by this author, even his bad stuff, is miles away better than most other authors in working in the genre.

Been following Vlad since Jhereg was initially published. Been with Brust for the whole ride, and his other books as well. I really like the Vlad series, I think he's created a universe of incredible richness, subtly, and depth. He does a fantastic job of fleshing out the characters, and they grow on you like family.

One of the funnest things with the Vlad series has always been the puzzle, the complexity of the problem, and the flash of brilliance and scope of the climax. This book lacks that, as others have already said. The end was almost a letdown, premature, before it even had a chance to start. Like a big firecracker that got wet.

The buildup was good though, answering a few more questions, introducing a few more (I love when Brust has the characters thinking of something briefly that may or may not be in context, and they think "But that's another story," since I always wonder then if that's a hint of a forthcoming book). This is another patch in the quilt he's been creating for years, some good insight that's worth reading definitely, but just not on par with some of the funner books in the series.

If you're a fan of the Vlad series there's no choice, you need to read it, but come into it knowing it's a lower key book.

In which Vlad Taltos meets his son, tries to clear a friend who has been arrested on capital charges, and encounters lawyers who, to his surprise, believe in Justice ...


This highly entertaining comic fantasy novel is the twelfth published book in the story of Vladimir Taltos. Currently (March 2010) it is also the twelfth in chronological sequence (The two things are not always congruent in this series as the author often jumps foward or back in time.)

Since Vlad's son is eight years old at the time of this book, it is set eight or nine years after Vlad goes on the run from the Jhereg "organisation" (Mafia) in the book "Phoenix". And as Vlad is carrying a very special sword called "Lady Teldra" we can deduce that it is set some time after the books "Issola" and "Dzur (Vlad)".

At the start of this book, Vlad Taltos learns that his friend Aliera has been arrested on capital charges. None of her other friends, from the Empress down, appear to be doing anything about it.

So despite the fact that "The Orgaisation" has put a huge price on his head, Vlad returns to the Imperial capital, Adrilankha city at the start of this book. As he mentions to one of the other characters, when you have survived being caught up in battles between Gods, it is difficult to be as scared as you should be of mortal gangsters. This may be a mistake ...

In trying to clear Aliera, Vlad meets some of the lawyers of the House of the Iorich, and to his surprise finds that some of them genuinely believe in justice. He also discovers a web of intrigue and corruption, and meets his young son. (This book contains a flashback to Vlad's first meeting with his young son, who was then four: during the main timeframe of the book they meet again, and the boy is now eight.)

The chronological sequence of these books jumps about all over the place, which can be a problem because there are all sorts of little nuggets buried in these stories which don't fully make sense if you have not read previously published books. I personally think it is best to read these stories in the order they were published. You can also make an argument for reading them in chronological sequence: this has never been published in any of the books but I am about to tell you what it is.

Here is a list of the books in publication order, with the chronological place of the main action of each book in brackets after:

1) Jhereg (4th)
2) Yendi (3rd)
3) Tecla (5th)
4) Taltos (1st)
5) Phoenix (6th)
6) Athyra (8th)
7) Orca (9th)
8) Dragon (2nd)
9) Issola (10th)
10) Dzur (11th)
11) Jhegaala (7th)
12) Iorich (12th).

So in other words, the chronological sequence is:

a) Taltos.
b) Dragon
c) Yendi
d) Jhereg
e) Tecla
f) Phoenix
g) Jhegaala
h) Athyra
i) Orca
j) Issola
k) Dzur
l) Iorich

To give an example of the sort of detail you will miss if you read these books out of sequence: two important characters in the series are actually the same person. One of Vlad's oldest friends is really a cover identity, complete with magically disguised appearance and a whole network of friends and contacts, used by one of the most powerful figures in the Empire when she wishes to go somewhere incognito. Vlad is one of the very few people who knows "both" identities and it took him years before he figured it out in the book "Orca".

In "Iorich", Vlad meets this person in both her identities, and respects her wish to be treated as if they were two separate people. When he starts to ask her a question about it, she quickly changes the subject: a few hours later he meets her in the other identity and she remarks that it's been years since they've met. In both cases Vlad goes along with the pretence, even though he knows both identities to be the same person, and she knows that Vlad knows.

If you have read "Orca" this little comedy of manners and similar events in other books such as "Dzur" can be hysterically funny. The reader who has not read "Orca" has almost no chance of following it.


If you have not previously read any of Steven Brust's "Vlad Taltos" novels or "Khaavren" romances, they are all set in a world of magic, where there are several intelligent species, including two types of men and women. Humans like ourselves are usually referred to as "Easterners," the other type of men and women call themselves humans but are usually referred to in the books as "Dragaerans" or occasionally as Elves. Dragaerans are taller than humans, live 2,000 or 3,000 years or so, and then after death are eligible for reincarnation provided they have not annoyed a God too much or had their soul destroyed by a "Morganti" weapon or a "Great Weapon" such as the sword "Lady Teldra" which Vlad now carries.

Morganti weapons are used between mortals when they are really angry with someone because they don't just kill you, but destroy your soul. "Great Weapons," are particularly deadly Morganti weapons which can even kill Gods.

All Dragaerans belong to one of seventeen "Great Houses" named after animals of the fantasy world in which the novels are set. Eleven of the twelve novels featuring Vlad Taltos, including "Iorich" are named after one of these great houses, usually also featuring a member of that house in a prominent role: if Steven Brust is planning to write a novel for each house we are about two-thirds of the way through the series.

Each of the animals for which the great houses are named epitomises two characteristics, and the houses tend to have a preferred occupation to which those characteristics are relevant. For examples Dragons symbolise war and conquest, Dzur (which look a bit like tigers) represent heroism and honor, hence Dragaeran members of House Dragon and House Dzur tend to be soldiers. "Tecla" look like mice and symbolise cowardice and fertility: members of House Tecla are peasants. "Chreotha" represent Forethought and ensnarement, and members of that house are merchants. The Orca (Killer Whale) represents Brutality and Mercantilism: members of that house are sailors, pirates or - wait for it - bankers, and "Jhereg" representing Greed and Corruption are gangsters or assassins. The house of the Iorich represent justice and retribution, and the members of that house in this story are all judges or lawyers.


The hero, Baronet Vladimir Taltos, is an assassin and minor sorcerer, who used to be a prominent member of House Jhereg, but is now on the run from them after developing an unfortunate case of principles, which he tries very hard to hide. He has two companions, Loiosh and Rocza who are actual Jhereg - that is to say, they are small intelligent flying reptiles.

Taltos narrates these stories with a wonderful dry wit which is one of the best aspects of the novels.


If you enjoy the Taltos novels, you might be interested in another sequence of books which Steven Brust has set in the same country, but quite a few centuries earlier. These are something between a parody and a homage to the novels of Alexandre Dumas. He's called them the "Khaavren Romances" after the central character of the first two novels, who corresponds very closely to D'Artagnan. Obviously none of the human characters overlap, but some of the Dragaerans do: Khaavren himself meets Vlad Taltos very briefly in "Tecla." Two of the major characters in the Taltos novels, Sethra Lavode and Lord Morrolan of Castle Black, are also important enough in the Khaavren series to have books named after them.

The five Khaavren romances, in sequence, are

1) "The Phoenix Guards" (equivalent to "The Three Musketeers")
2)"Five Hundred Years After" (equivalent to "Twenty years after")

Then a trilogy "The Viscount of Adrilankha" (e.g. "The Viscount of Bragelonne") which comprises

3) The Paths of the Dead
4) The Lord of Castle Black
5) Sethra Lavode

Overall I found both the "Taltos" novels and the "Khaavren Romances" very entertaining: I recommend both series and this book.

Steven Brust has been spinning tales about his laconic assassin for twenty-seven years. Vlad Taltos reads like a Robert B. Parker character, which is legitimate because Brust is a self-admitted fan of the author's work, and of the Spenser character. But he has also spent a lot of time developing the world Vlad and his friends hang out in. The streets, marketplaces, and official buildings all feel real, and the relationships grow and change.

In Brust's twelfth Vlad book, his friend Aliera has been arrested for practicing Elder Sorcery, something she has always done and hasn't taken any pains to hide. Everyone has always known it. However, the person prosecuting her is the Empress, who is actually one of Aliera's closest friends. It's all puzzling, which is how Brust has been working his books lately, and usually it works.

I loved the writing. The book just flows and the pages are easy to turn. I got lost in the world and the characters and the history I've picked up from reading the other novels in this series. I enjoyed the meetings Vlad had with all his friends and with his ex-wife, most of whom really weren't all that excited to see him and didn't want him poking around in what was going one.

But the reunion that was the most touching was the one with his son, young Vlad. His son is the one person that asks the questions that Vlad normally lies about or simply ignores. However, he can't do that with his son and he ends up having to face the real answers for why he does things. The sequences are very telling and well done.

Brust also has his game on when it comes to witty repartee in this one. The dialogue is fun to read and follow, and you can hear the voices in your head. (I really wish someone would do audiobooks in the series before long. Tantor Media would do a great job.) The ongoing interior conversation he has with Lioish is absolutely fantastic.

I have to admit that though I loved the writing, the constant circling of the plot got on my nerves. Vlad made the trip enjoyable, and there is the city and the world to look at, but the trip also became too repetitious. I grew tired of talking to the same people over and over again and not getting much back for my investment. And I wanted more action. One scene in particular, where Vlad intentionally takes a beating, is pared down to almost nothing except a brief overview of what it's like to take a beating painwise, but none of the real skill that would have to be employed.

I enjoyed the book though, and it was a pleasant few hours filled with fun characters, but I do hope next time out they do more than simply talk about things.

Vlad is the most snarky character in fantasy, except maybe for Loiosh. And that's always fun. But when he doesn't have enough to work against, his cynicism starts to seem bitter rather than sharp. And the problem with Iorich is that he doesn't have enough to work against.

Brust is at his best when he is commenting about people. He can really bring out the contradictory feelings we have for our friends, when they drive us crazy but we care for them anyway. And he is great at writing the swashbuckling, fun, scenery-chewing scenes. And his philosophical musings about gods and death and life and people are always interesting. But there just isn't enough of that going on here.

I think the problem is that Vlad really needs other people to play off of, and he doesn't do enough of that. The problem is the contract out on his life. He's always alone, always cautious about meeting people, afraid to hang out with his friends. That is reasonable, given the situation, but it isn't what makes Vlad fun.

Spoilers might be ahead...

Another fun adventure in the life of Vladimir Taltos. While the novel doesn't advance us into what's going to happen to Vlad, we do get him back into the city. He's trying to help friends left and right, dodge the Jhereg, see his (ex) wife, and learn about how politics and the law operate. And I can't forget, his biggest dilemma - keeping Loiosh and Rocza fed and happy!

It's always a pleasure reading about Vlad, but I was hoping for a bit more. This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, but there are a lot of questions still unanswered and I hope Mr. Brust will begin answering them in the next novel.

My biggest question, yet answered: What's going on with Lady Teldra?

If you love Vlad, then this is a must have. It's definitely a fun continuation of the Dragaera novels. There's plenty of time spent with classic characters we haven't seen in the last few novels, along with a couple of new distinct figures.

If you're new to this series of stories and want to know if you'd enjoy them, you will if you enjoy well written characters, intricate plots that'll sometimes leave your head spinning, and a bit of humor mixed with your adventure. These novels compliment my triumvirate of favorite characters: Harry Dresden, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, and Vladimir Taltos.

I've been just a little bit in love with Vlad Taltos for more than 20 years, when a coworker pressed a copy of Yendi in my hands and said, "Oh, you will *love* this novel." I immediately found myself under the spell of the sardonic, funny assassin/witch and his familiar in Steven Brust's world, where being an "Easterner" (what you and I would call human) means you are smaller, weaker, and shorter-lived than the Draegaerans. For decades now I have followed along as Vlad grew and changed (largely unwillingly)... and I have laughed. Out loud. In the middle of a doctor's waiting room, or on an airplane, or wherever I have taken his books. Because whenever I have a Vlad book, it goes with me wherever I am until I have read it from stem to stern.

Er, can you tell that I love this series? Because Vlad is a brilliant, bittersweet character, and Brust has the most devious sense of intrigue that I have ever encountered.

In Iorich, Vlad learns that the Empress has imprisoned a friend on a bizarre, sort-of-trumped up charge. Nobody else seems to be doing anything to help her, so naturally Vlad comes back to Adrilankha, where there's been a price on his head for several years. And just as naturally, the situation is far more complicated than it initially appears....

If you have followed Vlad on his journeys too, then you already know the major and minor mysteries that glue us to the series, such as "Will he ever get himself OUT of trouble with you-know-who?" and "Will true love ever be requited?" and "Is it possible to get a reservation at Valabar's?" If you are hoping for the answers, you may be disappointed, because this is only another installment in "Vlad gets in and out of trouble."

But that's like saying, "It's only great chocolate." Uh, like there's something wrong with that?

This is one of the best Vlad books that Steven Brust has written. And that's saying something.