Steven Brust

The Vlad Taltos books are a comfort read for me. They fill a spot very similar to the early Dresden books, when they were still serialized monster of the week stories before the main plot truly developed. There is a chronology to these books, but the author says they can be read in mostly any order, so I've been reading them in publication order.

In one word, the Taltos novels are fun. They're consistently high-quality, not high literature but not amateurish, they don't overstay their show more welcome, they're mostly self-contained, and they're effortlessly funny. Humor in books often doesn't hit for me, but Taltos is always funny in a dry, sarcastic, witty-but-not-millennial-Marvel witty.

Phoenix in particular is a nice entry. To be honest, the whole subplot with Taltos' wife is a bit of a drag, and I feel like the author realized that as he seems to have wrapped that plot point up nicely here. There are the ever-present assassinations, scheming, a colorful cast of characters, and worldbuilding that's not terribly deep but is functional enough to get you immersed in the world. I like the fact that not every single aspect of the world is explained. Sometimes it's better to let things be a little mysterious. show less

Steven Brust will drive you crazy.

Then you'll beg him to do it again and again.

Each book in the Jhereg series is told much as one would expect to hear a story from the narrator, sitting quietly by the fair in his comfortable armchair, brandy in hand, and a watchful jhereg curled around his throat. All his characters will quickly seem friends, people (or not) you respect and love, despite of and because of their brilliance and their flaws.

When I was handed the first book, Jhereg, I called the show more friend who gave it to me part of the way through the reading of it. "Is this the first book? I keep seeing references to events I haven't heard of. Were there books before this one?" She laughed, "He does that. This is the first book, trust me."

I hate him for it. I really do. Yet I own all of them, have sought him out for signings, and have a second copy of Jhereg to loan to friends.

Misery loves company after all.

If you love a thought provoking, mystery, science-fiction-that-is-fantasy, with swashbuckling, theft, magic, and dragon-like pets thrown in, pick up Jhereg. Then prepare to be hooked like the rest of us. show less

What a book.

I have to admit I approached the book with great worry, but I have to say this is a book that does what great fantasy/SF is supposed to do - resonate with our everyday life (unfortunately).

While some might say this is book that looks at big S and his band of rebels with full understanding and sympathy I beg to differ. While it shows how rebellion came on in the first place it also shows how forces of good and evil are part of the same equation and to achieve balance they need to show more become more destructive to each other until the very grand finale (no matter how you call it). In the end rebels end up as militarized and violent as Heaven and get involved in never-ending cycle of violence (which also gives parallels to another universe with similar topic - W40K).

Story starts in the beginning, literally. Out of the shapeless chaos (primordial soup if you want) intelligence comes about, something able to think and to be aware of itself. Soon another intelligence comes out (I liked how discussion on whether all other intelligence originates from the first one or they are just a coincidence is never completely closed) and they form an alliance and soon more and more various beings come to existence - so called Firstborn. These are almost all of the stronger creatures of the Old Testament - big G, big S, big L (cannot help it, I just like naming them like this :)), Michael (so similar to Corleone namesake, men tasked with protecting the Heaven but ashamed of what Heaven's hosts turned to), Raphael the healer and Lilith, love interest of many of angel. Then we have Leviathan, The Great Dragon and few more high ranking angels.

Their ultimate goal is to fight the entropy and prevent chaos from destroying everything created so united they create the base, Heaven, and split it into areas where each Firstborn is tasked with protection of their land against the chaos. And so three waves pass by, and hosts grow (and many million fall to chaos) but there is always lurking danger of yet another wave that will break through the walls of Heaven and wreak havoc.

So Plan is made to create the world where entropy will be put under control and chaos rendered harmless. But there is a catch - it will take sacrifice of a thousand of angels to build it. It will save the lives of millions but this thousand. So discussion is started are the lives of thousand price Heaven is willing to pay? So when an ambitious (albeit very disturbed) angel decides that Plan needs to move on (for this angel's own glory), events are put to motion that will drive the wedge between angels [that at this point see each other as equals in every way] and soon deaths, suspicions and lies will cause the great rift and destruction, not to mention establishment of the authoritarian regime (which to be honest, every religion and devotion is) and destruction of Heaven as it originally was.

Following events from last two years and after reading comment from the reader from 2009 I cannot but laugh. Were it not for last two years I would also be amused how these mighty creatures could not figure out what is happening.

As is case with all the best myths and legends author portrays all these creatures with human characteristics. And unfortunately humans are not, repeat are not, bright when it matters and are more then capable of moon walking into the disaster.

Everything echoes our world (modern and ages past, unfortunately nobody learns from history): from the crazy angel sowing discord, big G's unwillingness to doubt anyone around him to the point when he starts doubting everyone and starts surrounding himself with the armed angels lead by zealots no longer using old views of the world but devoting everything to their master (think of them as today's activists), to rebels who are as dysfunctional as any political party that is first seen as a possible opposition and ends up being considered The Danger to everyone, steps they take trying to figure out what is happening and then ending up in armed revolt with emotions stirring ever more destruction (big G's cynical comment that Heaven did atrocities and lost some of it support will trigger rebels to do the same and lose their own support is ...... so bloody and unbelievably contemporary).

Rise of authority and division of once equal world to those for the Plan and those against the Plan, lack of communication and trust in the communication intermediaries (net news anyone?) that cause more misunderstandings and lack of actual communication, rise of violence in the world where there were no weapons because of second guessing and rising mistrust, and destruction caused by rise of violence - from burning the yesterday friend's and neighbors homesteads to outright killing them for their stances on Plan or because they just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (poor Herut) - is so soul crushing and so reminiscent of these crazy years we live in...... incredible....... I have to say author (as Zelazny did with his Lord of Light) managed to make the story and conflict in his book contemporary forever.

Hope remains that generations will read it and learn something from it.

Author's style is truly captivating, there is no padding, no unnecessary parts. As we follow the main story line, discussions between everyday angels that get caught in the conflict are beautifully written, starting from what is happening and ending with old friendships lost over politics and burst of emotions due their own insecurities on how to proceed.

Excellent book. Highly recommended. show less

A re-read, while healing from a broken wrist so only managing a chapter or two at a time. This meant I didn't tear through it at nearly the same pace as when I first read it some 10-20(??) years ago but I still loved just as much the lengthy portions of dialogue along the lines of
"I have been wondering."
"What have you been wondering?"
"You would like to know what I have been wondering?"
"I almost think I have been asking for it for an hour!"
"Well, then I will tell you."
"And I shall listen show more attentively."
It's just delightfully mannered and utterly ridiculous, especially when it happens in the heat of an ambush in which there cannot possibly be time for all that and you have to wonder how much else our Very Reliable and Unimpeachably Historical Narrator is completely making up. I adore it. show less