Brokedown Palace

I'm doing a reread of all the books Steven Brust's Dragaera Universe, and this one is an oddball one - set in an Easterner Kingdom of Fenario, it follows the story of Miklos, the youngest brother of four Princes, who questions everything, much to his oldest brothers dismay. This leads to a fight, where Miklos leaves the kingdom to spend time in the Elf Kingdom, learning a few things about magic, and life.

This book is entirely different than the other books set in this world. Set in a falling down castle, with ties of tradition vs change, It is melancholy personified. On a reread as an adult, I found that I missed most of the theme, its not a simple book, although it is written simply.

One last thing, If you do read this with any other show more of the Dragaeron Novels, I'd suggest pairing it with "The Phoenix Guards", since one of the founding events of Fenario is written in Phoenix Guards. The difference between a myth in one story, and fact in another is interesting. show less

This was the first book by Steven Brust that I read, and it's still one of my favorites. I loved the disjointed, almost dreamy style of the narrative, and loved the characters and the way they interacted with each other, mostly based on how they regarded the old castle. I really enjoy stories where the characters come into conflict not because they are "bad" or "evil," but because they simply have different motivations, motivations that aren't necessarily in themselves wrong or misguided.

[b:Brokedown Palace|133455|Brokedown Palace|Steven Brust|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172020578s/133455.jpg|1423] is the first book I've read by [a:Steven Brust|27704|Steven Brust|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198549712p2/27704.jpg], and I know I will read more, but I have to say I had a hard time getting into this book.

What I liked: the characters, especially Prince Vilmos, Countess Mariska, and Brigitta. While they didn't feel like "main" characters, each was a key in the story.

What I didn't like: the Interludes--for the most part, they felt incongruous, especially the ones that were "legends" of past kings, princes, or other Fenarians. I tried to figure out what they had to do with the main story, but most of the time, I show more was clueless. I also didn't like how many things were just unexplained--the various animals, for example--there was very little description and I was unable to picture them.

I will admit to being a not very careful reader--I usually read too fast and, in this book, I read it in fits and starts and didn't get into a "flow" with it. At the end of the book, I couldn't recall where Miklos had previously met Devera. And although I understand that Brigitta had Power from Faerie, I don't understand the oblique reference to who her father was. Nor do I understand what happened to Mariska before she came to Fenario.

So--I enjoyed the book enough to want to read more of Brust's work, but I hope I won't always be so frustrated and feel so confused at the end of his books. show less

Four brothers rule the crumbling kingdom of Fenario, their magical, internal, and external struggles, featuring a goddess, a talking horse, a dragon, and the youngest brother Miklós's journey between his home and the land of Faerie.

King Laszlò: The eldest brother, trying to maintain the status quo
Prince Andor: Seeking meaning in his life
Prince Vilmos: A physically strong but intellectually limited giant
Prince Miklòs: The youngest brother and central figure, who survives a jump into a river and travels to Faerie before returning

Oddly compelling: Brokedown Palace is, like all compelling stories, many tales woven together into something bigger. If you eat words as I do then you'll appreciate Brokedown Palace for the odd yet somehow enticing flavor of the characters, the setting and the sudden abrupt about faces the author uses to get his readers thinking harder than they otherwise might.

Brokedown Palace is not the best fairy tale I've ever read, but it did keep me turning the pages until the very end.

Brokedown Palace combines my two favorite things about Brust's writing (other than Dumas pastiche) - Hungarian fables and Dragaera. The only reason it took me so long to get to it was that I was under the totally mistaken impression that it must be somehow related to the Claire Danes/Kate Beckinsdale movie of the same name.

It's an odd little book, and raises more questions than it answers in terms of the Dragaera mythos, but it's definitely worth reading.

I really enjoyed this book. It is nominally set in Fenario, the land of the Easterners in his Dragaeran novels. Whether or not it is the same Fenario, or just an alternate earth setting for this fairy tale type story isn't important. Its still a fun story to read, but don't expect it to add any information to what we know about Dragaera.