In which Vlad Taltos investigates the death of a banker: This highly entertaining comic fantasy novel is the seventh by publication order, and eighth in chronological sequence, in the story of Vladimir Taltos. It follows on shortly after the sixth book, "Athyra." Vlad's attempt to obtain a cure for a young man who was injured saving his life in "Athyra" leads him into the attempt to unravel the secrets around the mysterious death of an Orca financier. This book also contains important plot revelations affecting the rest of the series.

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.

All Dragaerans belong to one of seventeen "Great Houses" named after animals of the fantasy world in which the novels are set. Nine of the ten novels to date featuring Vlad Taltos, including "Orca" 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 half way through the series.

Most of the great houses also have a preferred occupation. For examples: "Dragons" and "Dzurlords" are soldiers, "Tecla" are peasants, "Chreotha" are merchants, "Orcas" are sailors, pirates or - wait for it - bankers, and "Jhereg" are gangsters or assassins.

Most members of House Jhereg are also involved in "the organization," which is the equivalent of the mafia. 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 the organisation after developing an unfortunate case of principles. Vlad has a companion and familiar, Loiosh, who is an actual Jhereg - that is to say, he is a small intelligent flying reptile - and Vlad is also accompanied by Loiosh's mate, Rocza.

Taltos narrates most of the stories with a wonderful dry wit which is one of their best aspects. In "Orca" the story is being told by Vlad's oldest friend, Kiera the Thief, to his separated wife Cawti. Sometimes the story is told from Kiera's own perspective, but for most of the book she is quoting Vlad.

The books are not written in a regular chronological sequence. For example the fourth published novel, "Taltos" is a prequel set before the main action of any of the others, while the eighth novel, "Dragon" is mostly set just after "Taltos" but jumps to a few weeks after "Yendi" for the conclusion.

Many of the Vlad Taltos novels contain either flashbacks to much earlier events, references to much later events, multiple timelines, or all three. "Orca" has one of the simpler timelines in the series, in that you get the story in rough chronological sequence as Kiera told it to Cawti.

This book includes a critical plot revelation for the series as a whole, as Vlad finds out the real identity of one of the most important characters in the series. Brust has obviously been setting this up from the start, because there are events in novels written a decade before "Orca" which make more sense when you have read this book. Further, Brust does not always remind you in later books about this real identity, so you need to read "Orca" beforehand to make sense of some events in later books such as "Issola" and "Dzur".

There is also a rather moving scene between Vlad and Loiosh: usually their relationship consists of a constant stream of insulting banter, but in "Orca" there is a scene in which Loiosh is badly injured and you get an insight into another side of the relationship.

Make sure you read to the end because another important revelation comes in the very last sentence of the book.

You will get most out of the Vlad Taltos books if you read them in something close to the "official" order. My recommendation would be to start with either the first book written, "Jhereg" or the chronologically first book, "Taltos."

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 (7th)
7) Orca (8th)
8) Dragon (2nd)
9) Issola (9th)
10) Dzur (10th).


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 (Junior). 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 the book "Tecla" and his current role in the Empire is described in a sort of offstage cameo in this book, "Orca." Two of the major characters in the Taltos novels, Sethra Lavode and Lord Morrolan of Castle Black, are also important enough in the Khaavren novels 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 Count of Monte Cristo") 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.

I really enjoyed reading from Kiera's perspective. She is definitely one of my favorite Brust characters. Why do like the assassin and thief so much more than anyone with a reasonable job? I think this finally explains why I dislike Sethra - she's like the antithesis of Kiera. I wonder though how she can deal with being separated from Iceflame? I am also still wondering what the background is between Sethra and Vlad in his past-life? I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed these books about Vlad that are written from other points of view. ( )

I almost quit reading at Athyra. I again almost quit reading here. Vlad is getting a little bit of a grip, but the plot isn't. The Agatha Christie-like plots of Jhereg and Yendi have given way to something that is plodding, at best.

If you find yourself bored, but are going to continue with the series, make sure you read the last 15 or so pages or you'll miss something major going forward. ( )

Another one told from not-Vlad's point of view, this time Kiera's. As soon as I figured that out, I was excited, as I've always liked her character and it was good to hear more from/about her. Vlad found a woman who can help Savn, but he gets caught up trying to save her house. He calls in Kiera for a burglary and she also gets drawn in. Lots of plots and misdirections and complications, I'm still not sure I follow it all, and there was something revealed that makes me want to go back and re-read all the previous books with the light of new knowledge shining on them. And, because Brust is like that, he makes that point, of looking at old situations without the old assumptions in place, to see new things in them ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2H6PJTI... ( )