Dragon

I've always more or less loved this fantasy series and I'm finally getting back to it, and even though all the novels are good, the last few weren't quite as great as the young Vlad I'd grown to love.

That's why this one is such a treat. We've got a young kid in his prime doing stupid things for powers he only vaguely understands. Just because these powers happen to later become his closest friends doesn't diminish the sheer foolhardiness of his actions, though. :)

Vlad Goes To War. Hilarity ensues. Well, sort of. The hilarity is all on his dragon' part, I'm sure, and Vlad is all straight-man.

I vaguely remember these events being spoken of in passing during some future reminiscence in an older novel, so it's *again* a treat to drill down show more into his past and have him surrounded by all the things he grew up with, even if he goes off to enlist in the next moment. Does hindsight make things easier for us? No, not really. The events and the horror of war is still pretty graphic and immediate, and besides, things will always seem to go wrong when we're dealing with the legendary weapons.

Right? Oh yeah. Definitely right.

I'm stoked about this book and I'm ready to just go ahead an plow through the rest immediately. It's been way too long and I'm completely in the mood. :) show less

Back on Track: Depending on how you look at it, this is either the second, or the third, or the eighth book on Brust's Vlad Taltos Adventures. (I like to go by publishing order, which means this is the Eighth book.)
The first few books in the series were fascinating little facets of a complex world, told through Vlad's eyes and with his smarmy wit and sharp humor apparent in every tale. The tales told in 'Phoenix', 'Athyra', and 'Orca', however, took on a dark, brooding, introspective bent, and much of the protagonist's charm is missing as he wrestles with personal demons.
Dragon, however, brings back the fun-loving style that fans of earlier books will like, as the hero, Vlad Taltos, recounts a tale of what it's like to be a soldier, show more which, in his words, is 'the last place a self respecting assasin should be.' The story details many of the early aspects of Vlad's life, filling in details of how he developed many of the relationships with the recurring characters that readers have come to know.
I really liked this one, and could fill up pages discussing it, but you will enjoy it more if I shut up and let you read it for yourself. Definitely worth it. show less

9/10
Although this book is the 8th in the Vlad Taltos series, it does not follow chronologically, which was disconcerting for me. But if I set that issue aside, the book is excellent. Vlad learns that life as a common soldier in the light infantry, although still related to killing, is not at all like being an assassin. Brust's narrative style, his voice as Vlad, remains one of my favorites to read.

Dragon doesn't really do much to progress the overall series, but it is a great read nonetheless. It is interesting to see Vlad in the role of a soldier rather than an assassin as he helps Morrolan fight against a rival Dragonlord.

For me, the most interesting part was the introduction of the Serioli, a strange and ancient race whose msagic not only surpasses that of the Dragaerans, but they also created the Morganti and Great Weapons. I hope we see more of them in the future.

One of my favorite Vlad Taltos novels so far. A perfect combo of Vlad's wisecracking narration and a plot with more serious tones to it. The plot structure is really cool and very well done. Overall a fantastic read.

Not my favourite so far, but still closer to 5 stars than 4 stars.
I actually like the way every book is written in a different style. This one kept jumping between "present" and "past" storylines, along with the occasional "future" storyline.
Last one I read, Orca, was narrated by Keira the thief for most of it rather than Vlad.

Only one left in my collection, but seriously contemplating checking out a library or bookshops to find more of these.

In publication order - that's what I'm reading these books in - this comes after Orca. But the main events take place before Yendi but are narrated by Vlad just after Yendi, making it either the second or the third book, chronologically speaking.

Vlad spends Dragon in the army, which I did not find as interesting or as enjoyable as some of his other adventures. But I didn't mind - it'd been a while since some of Vlad's friends had appeared and after certain revelations in Orca, I especially wanted to see them (If Dragon hadn't featured certain characters, I would have chosen to reread one of the earlier books next instead). I also enjoyed the benefits of knowing more about certain things than Vlad presently does and being able to pick up show more on the significance of other things. For these reasons, Dragon felt like a logical follow-on from Orca - and it is clearly an important piece of backstory to cover before we get to Issola.

"I still don't like it," said Aliera, evidently continuing a discussion I'd missed the beginning of. "If we're going to do that, why not go all the way? Hire a thief and just be done with it."
"For one thing," said Sethra, "we don't know any thieves."
"Vlad can put us in touch with one." show less