Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vlad walks the Paths of the Dead in the first of the series., September 4, 1999
By A Customer
First chronologically speaking, that is. You will find that the Taltos series has much more dramatic impact when read in the proper order, as opposed to the publication order. Trust me on this one. In the volume in question, Vlad accepts a commission from the Dragon Heir to the Throne, Lord Morrolan e'Drien, to steal a staff containing a soul. Along the way, Vlad happens to run into the most powerful wizard living and goes to the land of the dead. Does this sound like typical fantasy fare? 'Cuz it's not. Brust's Dragaera is a carefully and convincingly realized world, with a cultural feel much closer to our 17th century than the muddled medievalism of most of what you've read. Magic is taken in stride, since it is a part of daily life, and this mercifully frees the characters up from talking about it as though they had wandered in from a B-movie. The characters are endowed with the doubts, foibles, and sheer petty-mindedness of actual people, and they never behave in the two-dimensional, moralizing way one finds so often in the heroes and villains of this genre. In short, this is thinking man's fantasy. And it's a lot of fun, too, especially for fans of wit and the one-liner. You'd be a fool to miss it.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's good. See., July 18, 2000
The thing is, I got sick of fantasy because I got sick of Tall Beautiful Elves and Short Grumpy Dwarves and Nasty Old Ogres and Absolute Good and Evil. Get rid of it all, keep the magic, rub the entire story with ashes to get that nice grey look, and add a whole lot of very funny lines, and you get something I can really get into. If it sounds like something you could really get into, too, than definitely pick this book up, and introduce yourself to this series. Oh, one thing? I was lying a bit about the Elves. But only a bit.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taltos: assassin plus., March 14, 2001
I was amazed to discover that Taltos was only published in 1988 - I had it down as a thoroughly modern fantasy, from start to finish. I loved this book. The dual plot's great, the characters are bursting with - well - character, the conversation is almost too real and the witchcraft, sorcery and religion are refreshingly original.
This novel centres on the recollections of a hired assassin and witch with more authority on both counts than is frankly comforting. I read the closing chapters of Taltos in a coffee bar and I'm sure I was followed home. Brust also ties in themes of racism, calculated violence and the nature/nurture debate, and provides a disarmingly cynical view of the afterlife. What distinguishes Taltos from the run-of-the-mill urban fantasy is its unrelenting first person truthfulness, its anti-hero stance and its level of psychic awareness. Brust deals with extreme themes as if they were yesterday's dishes, but he does it with style, tons of humour and unnerving realism. If you love urban fantasy, you'll kill for Taltos. This book appears to be the third in a series. You may wish to try Jhereg first.
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