I liked the main story of Morrolan and Vlad getting to know each other in the Paths of the Dead. It explained why Morrolan and Aliera are always ready to help Vlad without question. I had know idea how much he had helped them. I'm still not sure what made Vlad decide to help them in the first place. It was kind of weird throughout the book not knowing when or where the spell sequences were taking place. This book didn't really change my opinion about Sethra being strange. ( )

Fourth in the series. It's an odd series--it's all out of chronological order. In fact, this one, if I'm not mistaken, takes place before any of the previous books in the series. Yet, if I'd read it before the others, I probably wouldn't have liked it.

As it is, I liked it a little less, because the rapid bouncing back and forth between 3 timelines kept me from really getting involved in any of the stories. Still, since I'd already met Vlad and the other characters, I did find it interesting to find out how he met and hired his right-hand man, Kragar; how he met Morrolan and Aliera and Sethra Lavode; and what really happened in the Paths of the Dead. ( )

Though #4 in the series, this one takes place before Jhereg filling in some of the backstory of our characters. I found it a bit lacking in the any substance. If I didn't like Vlad, Morrolan, et al. so much, this would have been a 2½. ( )

Back to the Dragonlords in this book, and back into the past, where we get to hear the story that Vlad's been refering to throughout the other books that occur past this one in the time line. It's a titch confusing, as he's telling three stories at once, each chapter starting with the description of some magic working, then intercutting between the present quest and his start as an enforcer/assassin. But it's great to learn about his trip to the Paths of the Dead and to get to read about him doing major witchcraft. And keeping a secret from a Dragonlord. :) ( )

This book could never be a "book on tape" scenario. The story-telling methods are very obviously meant to be on paper. The way Brust organizes this story helps keep the boring parts from getting too boring and keeps the story flowing the entire time. ( )