Steven Brust

The Vlad Taltos novels — (1983-2011) These take place in the same universe as the The Khaavren Romances and have some overlapping characters. Nineteen novels are planned. Please note that the first three presented here are omnibus editions which contain novels 1-7. The Book of Jhereg contains Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla. The Book of Taltos contains Taltos and Phoenix. The Book of Athyra contains Athyra and Orca. Thus, Jhegaala is the eleventh novel. Publisher: Quick with both sword and wit, Vlad Taltos makes his way through the world of Dragaera as an assassin, aided by a small talent for magic and a lizard-like jhereg companion.

Jhegaala

Jhegaala is the 11th novel in the excellent VLAD TALTOS series by Steven Brust. In case you're not familiar with the series, Vlad Taltos is a human assassin living in the Dragaeran empire. Dragaerans are human-like, but live for 1000 years or more and have a complex society divided into 17 Great Houses which all bear some resemblance to a real or mythical animal. So we have the Houses of the Orca and the Hawk, but also the Houses of the Dzur, Dragon, and Jhegaala. Since humans are not part of the Empire, Vlad's father bought his son a title in the House of Jhereg — which is named after a reptilian scavenger and is basically the crime syndicate of the Empire.

Vlad is one of the most fascinating and entertaining protagonists in current fantasy: a smart-ass, bon-vivant assassin who enjoys good food and wine and has a great sarcastic sense of humor. A good part of the fun of reading this series is following the constant wise-cracks between Vlad and his reptilian familiar Loiosh ("You're pretty smart for a mammal, boss").
 
The series is incredibly complex in terms of plot, partly because the books aren't written according to the internal chronology, e.g. the first book in the series (Jhereg) is actually placed very late in the over-all plot, and amazingly contains all kinds of spoilers for the next books — not that this affects how much you'll enjoy reading and re-reading these books. (By the way, I recommend reading the series in order of publication, as we have them presented here.)

Steven Brust also has some interesting quirks when it comes to writing and structuring his books, not the least of which is his fixation on the number 17: not only are there 17 Great Houses in the Dragaeran Empire, but every book has 17 or 34 chapters, and 17 pops up literally all through the series. Every book barring one (Taltos) is named after one of the Great Houses, and in each of those books Vlad takes on the characteristics of the people in that House (e.g. in Issola, named after the courtly etiquette specialists, Vlad takes on some decidedly hyper-polite conversational quirks). Some of the books are structured according to odd little texts. One of them famously starts with the bill from Vlad's tailor ("Fix hole in shirt. Remove stain from trousers."). In every one of the 17 chapters, you'll see what caused one of those items to appear on the tailor's bill. Another novel's structure follows the menu of a 17-course dinner in Vlad's favorite restaurant. If all of this sounds overly contrived, you'll barely notice it when reading the novels, which are always funny and fast-moving. (For more Steven Brust trivia, check the excellent Cracks and Shards website.)

Jhegaala is a great example of Steven Brust playing fast and loose with the internal chronology of his series, because this eleventh novel is actually a sequel to Phoenix (book 5 in the series and first published almost 20 years ago). However, if you don't recall all the details of that novel, all you really need to know is that Vlad is on the run from... well, let's just say some people who want his head. He heads to Fenario, the human lands outside of the Dragaeran Empire, which unfortunately means that Jhegaala doesn't feature many of the recurring Dragaeran characters Kiera, Morrolan, Aliera, or Sethra. The book starts out fairly lighthearted but turns into what has to be one of the darkest installments in the series. I couldn't put it down and tore through it in one sitting. And now we finally know what happened in the gap between Phoenix and Athyra!

Jhegaala is absolutely excellent and wholeheartedly recommended to any fans of the VLAD TALTOS series. However, if you're new to the adventures of Vladimir Taltos, I recommend starting out with The Book of Jhereg, which bundles the first three books of the series (Jhereg, Yendi and Teckla) in one convenient omnibus. You'll be hooked in no time. The next book in the series, Iorich, will be released by Tor in January 2010. Since I have an advanced copy, I'll be reviewing it for you soon!
—Stefan Raets

Iorich

Remember those episodes of Matlock in which someone is arrested for a crime, but during the investigation it turns out that the arrest was really just a front for a much larger intrigue? Steven Brust's newest VLAD TALTOS novel Iorich is sort of like that — except the person who is arrested is Aliera e'Kieron, and the larger intrigue involves Empress Zerika of the Dragaeran Empire. Oh, and Matlock's role is played by Vlad Taltos, human assassin and bon-vivant, who is still on the run from the Jhereg but has returned to Adrilankha to help out his friend Aliera. (Disclaimer: I actually don't know if there are episodes of Matlock like that, but it seems likely. Also, I realize I should probably have used a more current legal show like Law & Order, but I know even less about those. So there you have it: Vlad as Matlock. That must be a first.)

After the detour of the previous book in the series, Jhegaala, which was set earlier in the internal chronology, Iorich thankfully moves the story forward again. It takes places after the events of Dzur — and as such, it's definitely not a book to pick up if you're not familiar with the VLAD TALTOS series yet. (Instead, start with the omnibus The Book of Jhereg, which contains the 3 books that were published first. I definitely recommend reading the series in order of publication, at least until it's completed.)

Another contrast with the previous book: Jhegaala didn't feature many of the regular cast of VLAD TALTOS books, because it still dealt with Vlad traveling alone, on the run from the Jhereg. In Iorich, it's almost as if Steven Brust decided to systematically throw in every single regular character to please the fans: early in the book, Vlad has a sit-down with Morrolan, Sethra, Aliera, Kiera, Zerika (!), Cawti, and later on his old employee Kragar even makes an appearance. It almost feels as if the author was checking names of a list — not that I'm complaining, because it's lots of fun to see those characters in action again. 

Fans of the VLAD TALTOS series will be aware that, in most of the books, Vlad takes on some of the characteristics of the noble house mentioned in the title, and Iorich is no exception. The Iorich attributes are "Justice and Retribution" (according to the handy new illustration of the Cycle, at the front of the book), and so we get to enjoy the delicious irony that career criminal Vlad Taltos is now working (more or less) inside the boundaries of the law to free his friend Aliera. Steven Brust also again uses the now-familiar device of chapter introductions that follow the theme of the novel — in this case, transcripts of court interviews and other legal documents. The transcript of Aliera's questioning at the start of chapter 12 is an easy highlight of Iorich.

There really isn't much to complain about in this solid new addition to one of my favorite fantasy series. I felt that, after the long set-up, the end was a bit rushed, but we can take that as an example of Vlad's "plan carefully and then strike quickly" style. There also aren't any really world-shaking revelations in this novel — it almost feels small-scale compared to some of the mind-bending earlier books. 

Nit-picking aside, Iorich is a lovely addition to the VLAD TALTOS series. To long-time fans, this will be like a comfort read: set almost entirely in Adrilankha, with most of the major characters in top form, and Vlad doing his thing, talking with relish about his meals, wise-cracking back and forth with Loiosh — just like the old days, almost. In addition, we also get some beautiful and poignant scenes with Cawti, and on the flip side, the book has an appendix with some truly hilarious "deleted scenes" (even including a brief return of the dreaded KHAAVREN ROMANCES narrator Paarfi). We also get some fascinating looks at life inside the Imperial Palace and the Iorich wing (which is so labyrinthine that it's hard not to interpret it as a symbol for the Kafka-esque intricacies of the law).

If you're already a fan of the VLAD TALTOS series, you'll have a blast with Iorich. And if you're not familiar with the series yet, do yourself a favor and go find a copy of The Book of Jhereg right now. You won't be disappointed. —Stefan Raets

Tiassa

Tiassa is the thirteenth Vlad Taltos novel by Steven Brust, and counting Brokedown Palace and The Khaavren Romances, the nineteenth book to date set in Dragaera. Over on tor.com (where this review was also published), Jo Walton has written an excellent series of blog posts about the series so far so I won’t waste your time trying to summarize this amazing series and instead direct you to Jo’s spoiler-free introduction just in case you’re new to Dragaera.

Speaking of newcomers: while I think Tiassa is a wonderful addition to the series, I disagree with the Publishers Weekly review when it calls the book “very accessible to new readers.” Tiassa is a wonderful novel, but I’d go as far as saying that it could be one of the worst places to start for a newcomer to the series, because anyone who isn’t familiar with several plot lines and characters from past books would miss most of what’s going on. So, if you’re new to the series, stop reading this now and go find a copy of The Book of Jhereg instead.

(The rest of this review contains spoilers for previous books in the Vlad Taltos series, but not for Tiassa.)

The first thing I usually do when getting a new VLAD TALTOS novel is page to the end to check if the book has seventeen chapters, as is often the case. Imagine my surprise finding “Chapter the Sixth” and a Paarfi-style How things unfolded summary as the header for the last chapter before the Epilogue. Hmm. Closer inspection reveals that Tiassa consists of three large segments: “Tag” and “Whitecrest” have five chapters each, while “Special Tasks” has six. Add one short section titled “The Silver Tiassa” and we have our seventeen chapters — not counting the Prologue, Interlude and Epilogue.

In some other books in the Vlad Taltos series Steven Brust performs the literary equivalent of flying trapeze work by doing things like dividing each chapter into three separate narratives and keeping them all ticking along, or structuring books around a laundry list or a meal and somehow making it all work beautifully. Tiassa does something very different but equally surprising and skillful: it offers several separate stories told from multiple points of view, which pull together threads from the other books in the series while still delivering a coherent plot centered on a mysterious object: the silver tiassa.

The House of Tiassa’s line in the Cycle poem is “Tiassa plots and dreams are born,” and the chapter heading of the Tiassa chapter in Jhereg is “Inspiration requires preparation.” As you’d expect from Steven Brust, both of these are meaningful for the novel Tiassa: every section of the novel deals with a carefully constructed plot or scam that eventually turns out to be something completely different from what you (and most of the characters) thought it would be.

The first large section (“Tag”) is narrated by Vlad and is set in the time he was still running his territory in Adrilankha. He’s engaged to Cawti, and both Kragar and Melestav are still his employees. The story focuses on a complicated scam that involves the silver tiassa object as a red herring. The Blue Fox and Ibronka play a large part in it. This was my favorite section of the book because it’s set in my favorite part of the overall chronology, and Vlad narrates it in his own inimitable way. (In my own personal dream universe, Steven Brust produces one new novel per month set in this period of Vlad’s life. After finishing the series as currently planned, of course.)

The second section (“Whitecrest”) takes place after Vlad has fled Adrilankha, on the run from the Jhereg. It deals with another scam, entirely different and on a much bigger scale, again involving the silver tiassa. The five chapters are told in the third person and each have a separate point of view, including Khaavren, Daro, Cawti and Norathar. I’m not sure who the internal writer or narrator is: it’s definitely not Vlad, and the style is much too straightforward for Paarfi.

The third big section (“Special Tasks”) is written by Paarfi, in much the same style as The Khaavren Romances, and is set a few years later than the second part of the novel. A random Teckla finds a battered and bloody Easterner floating in the river north of Adrilankha, and dutifully delivers him to the nearest Phoenix Guard. Khaavren gets involved with finding out why he was injured, which leads to, yes, another scam that involves a certain silver object shaped like a tiassa.

Completing the puzzle, the shorter segments offer some revelations that should get Dragaera fans really excited, including a dizzying look through the eyes of Devera the Wanderer, and some things it would just be cruel to spoil, as much as I want to talk about them here.

Put all of this together, and you have a complex episodic novel that will reward people who are very familiar with the series or have recently read the previous books, because it features several characters we haven’t seen in a while and doesn’t provide much background about them. Yes, you could read Tiassa without knowing who Piro or Ibronka or Sara or Savn are (just to pick a few), but you’d miss out on most of the subtext. As a fan of the series, I still ended up at the Dragaera Wiki to check at least one name I vaguely remembered but couldn’t quite place. While some books in the series are fairly self-contained and can be enjoyed (if probably not fully understood) on their own, Tiassa has too many lines leading to and from other novels to work as an entry point to the series. Why PW called it “very accessible for new readers” will never make sense to me.

In the end, Tiassa probably won’t rank very high in my personal list of Dragaera favorites, if only because one third of it is essentially a Paarfi novel featuring Vlad. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Paarfi novels, but I don’t love them quite as much as Vlad telling his own story. Regardless, this is another great installment in the series. It almost feels as if Steven Brust is showing off: he covers a decade in the life of his main character while writing in several different styles and keeping a bunch of subtly connected plots going, linking back to previous books while also throwing in some new revelations — and then finally emphasizing that this is really just another stop along the way when Vlad muses, “Any point in a process looks like the process was leading up to it if that’s as far as you’ve gotten.” Yep. If you’re not reading the Dragaera novels yet, you’re missing out on some of the smartest and most entertaining fantasy around.
—Stefan Raets