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Vlad Taltos #1
Jhereg
The first to be published, this is actually the fourth novel in the timeline of the VLAD TALTOS series. The books recount the adventures of the wisecracking hired killer Vlad, a human on a planet mainly inhabited by the long-lived, extremely tall sorcerers known as the Dragaerans. One of the most powerful bosses in the Jhereg—Dragaera's premier criminal organization—hires Vlad, one of their guild members, to assassinate Mellar, who stole millions from the Jhereg leadership and fled. Unfortunately, this thief turns out to be protected in a way that makes it difficult for Vlad to do his job without gaining the permanent enmity of a friend. The reader also learns more about Vlad's past in this, and in other, lives.
307 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1983
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13193 people want to read
About the author
Steven Brust
97 books2,291 followersSteven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He was a member of the writers' group The Scribblies, which included Emma Bull, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, Nate Bucklin, Kara Dalkey, and Patricia Wrede, and also belongs to the Pre-Joycean Fellowship.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/steven...
(Photo by David Dyer-Bennet)
http://us.macmillan.com/author/steven...
(Photo by David Dyer-Bennet)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 724 reviews
October 27, 2015
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
I read this novel when it was initially published in the mid-80s. It was a favorite of mine at the time, and I have always recalled it fondly. However, after completing a re-read, it has become painfully obvious that the enjoyment I received from this book must have been one of those teenage fads because . . . it has disappeared right along with my desire to keep solving a Rubik’s Cube.
The tour guide in Jhereg is Vlad Taltos. The world he guides us through is a standard one from 80s fantasy. Here a huge Empire controls most of the world, inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are basically LoTR-like elves. Indeed, the few humans in this world often refer to the Dragaerans as “elves," though to “confuse” the reader a bit the author has the Dragaerans refer to themselves as “human.” Other than this one quirk, there is nothing to set it apart from other fantasy worlds from this period of the 80s.
Vlad is one of the human minority of the Dragaeran Empire, labeled by his “elvish” overlords as an "Easterner" and born into the lowest class of society. However, thanks to a social-climbing father, Vlad is actually a citizen of the Empire and a noble of one of the lesser Dragaeran houses. (There are 17 Great Houses in Dragaeran; each named after an animal of the world.) Of course, the house Vlad is a noble of just happens to be one huge criminal organization, which greatly resembles the modern day Mafia. Our protagonist’s role in this elvish “mafia” is as a minor crime lord, supervising certain criminal interests of the “house,” and as an accomplished assassin. To throw in a little “fantastical,” the author also makes him a minor sorcerer.
The novel itself starts out with Brust focusing on Vlad’s childhood, especially the story of how he acquires a live Jhereg egg, which later hatches out into his “familiar” Loiosh. (The golden reptile on the front cover of the paperback edition is Loiosh.) The two of them share a telepathic “link;” their constant bantering being the main comedic point of the book, though it does grow tiresome after a while.
After this boyhood tale, Brust time warps ahead approximately seven years to the main action of the novel. (This fast forward effectively leapfrogging three of the subsequently books in the series, making this the fourth in chronological sequence I believe.) Here another “mob” boss hires Vlad to kill one of the Jhereg's higher-ups, who has disappeared with some money that doesn’t belong to him. The job has to be done quickly before word of this theft can get out and make the Jhereg look “weak.”
Since Vlad is a skilled assassin, the job doesn’t seem like a big deal until he discovers that his target has taken refuge in Castle Black, as a guest of Morrolan the Dragon lord. Morrolan is a heavy-weight Dragon with bad mojo magic. Word is that this Dragon lord is such a tickler for honor that once he has taken someone into his home as a welcomed guest that they are under his protection, no matter what. Plus, Vlad has a professional relationship with Morrolan (a strange friendship even), which complicates everything.
So now, the easy job has gotten complicated, and Vlad spends many pages planning the perfect assassination scheme. Ultimately, the plan boils down to this convoluted scheme to get the target out of Morrolan's house without using magic and without actually killing him inside the actual castle. (It is much more complicated and cumbersome than that; I’m just trying to make it easier to understand here.) Naturally, things fall apart, people have to improvise, the incident turns into a full blown political situation between the Jhereg and the Dragon houses, and then things get cleared up at the end.
PROS:
There are several nice things about this book, which many reads will no doubt enjoy.
1) It is fast paced - mainly because it is very short - and is written in a flowing style that keeps the pace moving, never bogging down in descriptions or tiresome wordiness.
2) It is also very modern in tone. The magic and other “fantasy” elements here are very straight forward, accepted by everyone in the story as part of every day life and never really discussed. Indeed, Jhereg is so modern in tone that it can just as readily be enjoyed as a contemporary mafia story rather than a fantasy; if the “fantasy” elements bore you, all one must do is just imagine it is all taking place in New York City as opposed to another world.
3) Jhereg is a fantasy detective or mafia story during a time when Tolkien clones were all the rage. So, at least in the early 80s, it was different. Not so much now but still good variety I suppose.
4) The interaction between the men and women of the book is very business-like with a post-feminism flavor. No sexual discrimination here. Hell, no sex here. Lol! Nope, no sexist remarks about females in general or anything like that; everyone appears equal without any distinction between male or female.
CONS:
1) While this book is a fantasy, it has only a thin veneer of it. Sure, there is a bit of magic thrown around here or there, but if not for the strange names and “sorcery,” it is a contemporary story about a mafia hitman.
I read somewhere (I believe it was Ursula K. Le Guin’s book on writing) that in order for a novel to be a “fantasy” she felt it should have such a “fantastical” feel that a reader knew this could not take place down the street. Le Guin even gave an example of this, using an excerpt from a popular 80s fantasy novel. She quoted an entire passage from said “fantasy,” changed the kings to senators, holy priests to representatives and illustrated how this “fantasy” work read like a story about Washington, D.C.. I’m going to try to do the same, but I’m no Le Guin so bear with me.
We ate the meal in silence, enjoying each other’s company, feeling no need to talk. As we were finishing, Cathy said, “So, you get work, while I stay home and wither away from boredom.”
“You don’t look withered to me,” I said, checking. “And I don’t remember your asking me for help with that little matter last month.”
“Hmmmmph,” she said. “I didn’t need any help with that, but this looks like something big. I recognized the target. I hope you are getting a reasonable price for him.”
I told her what I was getting for him.
She raised her eyebrows. “Nice! Who wants him?”
I looked around the restaurant, which was almost deserted. I didn’t like taking chances, but Cathy deserved an answer. “The whole bloody Gambino family wants him, or will if and when they find out.”
“What did he do?” She asked. “He didn’t start talking, did he?”
I shuddered. “No, not that, thank the Virgin Mary. He ran off with nine million dollars in family operating funds.”
I changed only 5 words in that passage. Now, instead of Vlad Taltos the human assassin in an elvish empire, we have Vlad the local hitman, trying to take down a mob boss who has taken off with the family’s cash. And this is only one example and can basically be done throughout the whole book. Naturally, some spots take more than 5 words to transform the story, but you see the point.
This sort of thing doesn’t bother some people. If that is you, so be it. But if I wanted to read a novel about the mafia, I’d rather do so without the strange names and sorcery thrown in. Like I said however, it is a personal choice.
2) Jhereg is written in first-person narrative by the author. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself (Mark Lawrence pulled this off brilliantly in Prince of Thorns), but it does not seem to work here after a while. Quickly, Vlad’s constant descriptions of his actions like “I had my back to the door” or “I approached slowly, sizing him up, reaching for my daggers even though my palms were slick with sweat” began to read like a shopping list. It did not sound natural, and it really limited what I actually saw in the fight scenes, making me feel disconnected with everything else that was going on. Nope, instead of actually reading about Aliera doing something awesome, I have to wait for someone to describe it to Vlad.
Also, I felt that the first-person narrative made the scene transitions awkward throughout the book and slowed down the general pacing of the story.
Perhaps these complaints are merely personal preference, but as I alluded to, I've read other books that pulled off first-person narrative without making me complain. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that Brust doesn't do as good of a job with it as other authors - at least in this book.
3) No romance of any kind. I mean, even though Vlad and Cawti are married, they act like business acquaintances. Sure, they talk about work or make dinner for one another, but other than that sort of “friendly” type of relationship, nothing is going on here. Now, I know that might not bother some of you, but I mean relationships, sex, and all that sort of thing is part of normal human existence. The fact that it was totally ignored for the whole mafia hitman thing really struck me as odd.
Yet again, maybe it’s a personal preference. But I thought I’d mention it for those of you who like to see some romance or some hot sex, because you are not going to see either in Jhereg. And before anyone mentions it, I know this was written in the 80s, but my God, Tolkien wrote more smoldering, sexual tension in LoTR than Brust does here.
4) Lastly, if you are one of those people that loves reading about some grand, new world and its magic or history (What we now label world building) Jhereg is going to disappoint you: the world building is at the bare minimum. Brust only includes the details necessary to remind you this is not happening in New York City and Vlad is not really a hitman, but an assassin in another world. Sure, we have weapons that destroy souls and talk about ancient Dragaeran Houses or the Orb, but they are fleeting, can easily be omitted without impacting the “hitman” plot and leaves one intrigued, but unsatisfied, with his/her knowledge about the “world” Vlad exists in.
To sum up, Jhereg is a decent book. It is entertaining and quickly read, which is why I gave it a 2 star rating. When I was a teenager, I loved the book and would have rated it 3.5 or 4 stars. Unfortunately, some things do not age “well,” and this book is one of those things in my opinion. It just pales in comparison to the type of fantasy novels we have all grown accustom to these days. But if you are needing to waste a couple of hours and don’t want to read another “detective” novel, pick this one up. It might make you *YAWN* in its simplicity, but it probably will keep you awake long enough to finish it.
I read this novel when it was initially published in the mid-80s. It was a favorite of mine at the time, and I have always recalled it fondly. However, after completing a re-read, it has become painfully obvious that the enjoyment I received from this book must have been one of those teenage fads because . . . it has disappeared right along with my desire to keep solving a Rubik’s Cube.
The tour guide in Jhereg is Vlad Taltos. The world he guides us through is a standard one from 80s fantasy. Here a huge Empire controls most of the world, inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are basically LoTR-like elves. Indeed, the few humans in this world often refer to the Dragaerans as “elves," though to “confuse” the reader a bit the author has the Dragaerans refer to themselves as “human.” Other than this one quirk, there is nothing to set it apart from other fantasy worlds from this period of the 80s.
Vlad is one of the human minority of the Dragaeran Empire, labeled by his “elvish” overlords as an "Easterner" and born into the lowest class of society. However, thanks to a social-climbing father, Vlad is actually a citizen of the Empire and a noble of one of the lesser Dragaeran houses. (There are 17 Great Houses in Dragaeran; each named after an animal of the world.) Of course, the house Vlad is a noble of just happens to be one huge criminal organization, which greatly resembles the modern day Mafia. Our protagonist’s role in this elvish “mafia” is as a minor crime lord, supervising certain criminal interests of the “house,” and as an accomplished assassin. To throw in a little “fantastical,” the author also makes him a minor sorcerer.
The novel itself starts out with Brust focusing on Vlad’s childhood, especially the story of how he acquires a live Jhereg egg, which later hatches out into his “familiar” Loiosh. (The golden reptile on the front cover of the paperback edition is Loiosh.) The two of them share a telepathic “link;” their constant bantering being the main comedic point of the book, though it does grow tiresome after a while.
After this boyhood tale, Brust time warps ahead approximately seven years to the main action of the novel. (This fast forward effectively leapfrogging three of the subsequently books in the series, making this the fourth in chronological sequence I believe.) Here another “mob” boss hires Vlad to kill one of the Jhereg's higher-ups, who has disappeared with some money that doesn’t belong to him. The job has to be done quickly before word of this theft can get out and make the Jhereg look “weak.”
Since Vlad is a skilled assassin, the job doesn’t seem like a big deal until he discovers that his target has taken refuge in Castle Black, as a guest of Morrolan the Dragon lord. Morrolan is a heavy-weight Dragon with bad mojo magic. Word is that this Dragon lord is such a tickler for honor that once he has taken someone into his home as a welcomed guest that they are under his protection, no matter what. Plus, Vlad has a professional relationship with Morrolan (a strange friendship even), which complicates everything.
So now, the easy job has gotten complicated, and Vlad spends many pages planning the perfect assassination scheme. Ultimately, the plan boils down to this convoluted scheme to get the target out of Morrolan's house without using magic and without actually killing him inside the actual castle. (It is much more complicated and cumbersome than that; I’m just trying to make it easier to understand here.) Naturally, things fall apart, people have to improvise, the incident turns into a full blown political situation between the Jhereg and the Dragon houses, and then things get cleared up at the end.
PROS:
There are several nice things about this book, which many reads will no doubt enjoy.
1) It is fast paced - mainly because it is very short - and is written in a flowing style that keeps the pace moving, never bogging down in descriptions or tiresome wordiness.
2) It is also very modern in tone. The magic and other “fantasy” elements here are very straight forward, accepted by everyone in the story as part of every day life and never really discussed. Indeed, Jhereg is so modern in tone that it can just as readily be enjoyed as a contemporary mafia story rather than a fantasy; if the “fantasy” elements bore you, all one must do is just imagine it is all taking place in New York City as opposed to another world.
3) Jhereg is a fantasy detective or mafia story during a time when Tolkien clones were all the rage. So, at least in the early 80s, it was different. Not so much now but still good variety I suppose.
4) The interaction between the men and women of the book is very business-like with a post-feminism flavor. No sexual discrimination here. Hell, no sex here. Lol! Nope, no sexist remarks about females in general or anything like that; everyone appears equal without any distinction between male or female.
CONS:
1) While this book is a fantasy, it has only a thin veneer of it. Sure, there is a bit of magic thrown around here or there, but if not for the strange names and “sorcery,” it is a contemporary story about a mafia hitman.
I read somewhere (I believe it was Ursula K. Le Guin’s book on writing) that in order for a novel to be a “fantasy” she felt it should have such a “fantastical” feel that a reader knew this could not take place down the street. Le Guin even gave an example of this, using an excerpt from a popular 80s fantasy novel. She quoted an entire passage from said “fantasy,” changed the kings to senators, holy priests to representatives and illustrated how this “fantasy” work read like a story about Washington, D.C.. I’m going to try to do the same, but I’m no Le Guin so bear with me.
We ate the meal in silence, enjoying each other’s company, feeling no need to talk. As we were finishing, Cathy said, “So, you get work, while I stay home and wither away from boredom.”
“You don’t look withered to me,” I said, checking. “And I don’t remember your asking me for help with that little matter last month.”
“Hmmmmph,” she said. “I didn’t need any help with that, but this looks like something big. I recognized the target. I hope you are getting a reasonable price for him.”
I told her what I was getting for him.
She raised her eyebrows. “Nice! Who wants him?”
I looked around the restaurant, which was almost deserted. I didn’t like taking chances, but Cathy deserved an answer. “The whole bloody Gambino family wants him, or will if and when they find out.”
“What did he do?” She asked. “He didn’t start talking, did he?”
I shuddered. “No, not that, thank the Virgin Mary. He ran off with nine million dollars in family operating funds.”
I changed only 5 words in that passage. Now, instead of Vlad Taltos the human assassin in an elvish empire, we have Vlad the local hitman, trying to take down a mob boss who has taken off with the family’s cash. And this is only one example and can basically be done throughout the whole book. Naturally, some spots take more than 5 words to transform the story, but you see the point.
This sort of thing doesn’t bother some people. If that is you, so be it. But if I wanted to read a novel about the mafia, I’d rather do so without the strange names and sorcery thrown in. Like I said however, it is a personal choice.
2) Jhereg is written in first-person narrative by the author. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself (Mark Lawrence pulled this off brilliantly in Prince of Thorns), but it does not seem to work here after a while. Quickly, Vlad’s constant descriptions of his actions like “I had my back to the door” or “I approached slowly, sizing him up, reaching for my daggers even though my palms were slick with sweat” began to read like a shopping list. It did not sound natural, and it really limited what I actually saw in the fight scenes, making me feel disconnected with everything else that was going on. Nope, instead of actually reading about Aliera doing something awesome, I have to wait for someone to describe it to Vlad.
Also, I felt that the first-person narrative made the scene transitions awkward throughout the book and slowed down the general pacing of the story.
Perhaps these complaints are merely personal preference, but as I alluded to, I've read other books that pulled off first-person narrative without making me complain. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that Brust doesn't do as good of a job with it as other authors - at least in this book.
3) No romance of any kind. I mean, even though Vlad and Cawti are married, they act like business acquaintances. Sure, they talk about work or make dinner for one another, but other than that sort of “friendly” type of relationship, nothing is going on here. Now, I know that might not bother some of you, but I mean relationships, sex, and all that sort of thing is part of normal human existence. The fact that it was totally ignored for the whole mafia hitman thing really struck me as odd.
Yet again, maybe it’s a personal preference. But I thought I’d mention it for those of you who like to see some romance or some hot sex, because you are not going to see either in Jhereg. And before anyone mentions it, I know this was written in the 80s, but my God, Tolkien wrote more smoldering, sexual tension in LoTR than Brust does here.
4) Lastly, if you are one of those people that loves reading about some grand, new world and its magic or history (What we now label world building) Jhereg is going to disappoint you: the world building is at the bare minimum. Brust only includes the details necessary to remind you this is not happening in New York City and Vlad is not really a hitman, but an assassin in another world. Sure, we have weapons that destroy souls and talk about ancient Dragaeran Houses or the Orb, but they are fleeting, can easily be omitted without impacting the “hitman” plot and leaves one intrigued, but unsatisfied, with his/her knowledge about the “world” Vlad exists in.
To sum up, Jhereg is a decent book. It is entertaining and quickly read, which is why I gave it a 2 star rating. When I was a teenager, I loved the book and would have rated it 3.5 or 4 stars. Unfortunately, some things do not age “well,” and this book is one of those things in my opinion. It just pales in comparison to the type of fantasy novels we have all grown accustom to these days. But if you are needing to waste a couple of hours and don’t want to read another “detective” novel, pick this one up. It might make you *YAWN* in its simplicity, but it probably will keep you awake long enough to finish it.
September 14, 2023
The recent release of Iorich sent me down the path of re-reading the Taltos series. While Iorich was enjoyable and engrossing, memories sent me back to the inaugural Vlad. Sophisticated writing, interesting characters and one seriously convoluted plot. It's interesting, because this is the fourth book in the timeline of the series and Vlad's history, but actually the first published (echoes of Lucas). I'd recommend reading Jhereg first, as it's told in a largely linear fashion with only a few flashbacks, and as such is a decent introduction to the world's political and social structure. As the series continues, Brust starts playing in interesting ways with narrative, so it helps to already have a solid grip on the basics.
Characters are done well, with broad brushstrokes. We get some of Vlad's early years, and we are given the background on his initial connection with Loiosh. His friendships with Dragons Morrolan and Aliera, and his lieutenant Krager are well established in this book, with nice repartee and camaraderie. Loiosh is a smart sidekick, but not overly humanized. The plot is entirely plausible within the world setting, and although Vlad's antagonist has spent decades planning his revenge, his rationale is somewhat understandable and brings a sense of sympathy even as Vlad works to save the situation.
Characters are done well, with broad brushstrokes. We get some of Vlad's early years, and we are given the background on his initial connection with Loiosh. His friendships with Dragons Morrolan and Aliera, and his lieutenant Krager are well established in this book, with nice repartee and camaraderie. Loiosh is a smart sidekick, but not overly humanized. The plot is entirely plausible within the world setting, and although Vlad's antagonist has spent decades planning his revenge, his rationale is somewhat understandable and brings a sense of sympathy even as Vlad works to save the situation.
July 26, 2013
Ehr. Mah. Gerd.
Vlad Taltos. Oh what’s that? Is that a badass name for a badass main character? Why yes, yes it is. Look at that name. Look at it. It fits him perfectly. Clear. Concise. Ominous .
You know your MC is a badass when he’s in the middle of an internal monologue and subtly lets slip that he’s been before and then just keeps on talking like it’s no big deal. I was all “La-la-la, this story is neato!” but then "Wait. Wut?” I had to go back and read it again before demanding that someone shut the front door.
And it just keeps going like that. Right when you think that you can settle down and relax for a frigging minute he tells you how he met his wife. You know how people meet, fall in love and then wind up wanting to kill each other? Yeah, that…but backwards.
His wife is just one of many badass females in this story. There’s also a dragon, a master thief and…Sethra. I have no idea what she is. Actually, she sort of skeeves me out. Undead dragon? Necromatic nightmare? I dunno. Either way, I don’t recommend messing with her.
So here’s where I would normally go into detail about the plot and the world building and blah, blah, blah and I just tried to do that and not only can I not do it without confusing the hell out of all of you *cough* and myself *cough* but I don’t want to put it in here because I just…can’t. It’s too good and there’s no way in hell I’ll do it justice. Just know that the worldbuilding is strong without ever feeling like an info-dump, the descriptions of magic are detailed without ever being overwhelming and the plot is superb. I couldn’t even guess at the next twist because I. Never. Saw. Them. Coming.
HOW REFRESHING
Okay so what else? I suppose I should tell you not to go into this thinking High Fantasy. There isn’t paragraph after paragraph devoted to the painting of epic scenery, there aren’t highly detailed descriptions of clothing or customs, this is more of a head game. Most of the book is devoted to our MC and his support cast trying to figure out just what the hell is going on.
I’ll leave you with an example of why I had so much damn fun while reading this. You see, not only is the MC a badass but he has this dry sense of humor that pervades every single page. I pretty much had a shit eating grin on my face from the beginning to the end, so if you like some fantasy mixed with a good mystery and served up with a side of snark, then I urge you to try Jhereg. You won’t regret it.
“She smiled at me. We were all friends here. Morrolan carried Blackwand, which slew a thousand at the Wall of Barrit’s Tomb. Aliera carried Pathfinder, which they say served a power higher than the Empire. Sethra carried Iceflame, which embodied within it the power of the Dzur Mountain. I carried myself rather well, thank you.”
Buddy read with Anne and Kathie!
Vlad Taltos. Oh what’s that? Is that a badass name for a badass main character? Why yes, yes it is. Look at that name. Look at it. It fits him perfectly. Clear. Concise. Ominous .
You know your MC is a badass when he’s in the middle of an internal monologue and subtly lets slip that he’s been before and then just keeps on talking like it’s no big deal. I was all “La-la-la, this story is neato!” but then "Wait. Wut?” I had to go back and read it again before demanding that someone shut the front door.
And it just keeps going like that. Right when you think that you can settle down and relax for a frigging minute he tells you how he met his wife. You know how people meet, fall in love and then wind up wanting to kill each other? Yeah, that…but backwards.
His wife is just one of many badass females in this story. There’s also a dragon, a master thief and…Sethra. I have no idea what she is. Actually, she sort of skeeves me out. Undead dragon? Necromatic nightmare? I dunno. Either way, I don’t recommend messing with her.
So here’s where I would normally go into detail about the plot and the world building and blah, blah, blah and I just tried to do that and not only can I not do it without confusing the hell out of all of you *cough* and myself *cough* but I don’t want to put it in here because I just…can’t. It’s too good and there’s no way in hell I’ll do it justice. Just know that the worldbuilding is strong without ever feeling like an info-dump, the descriptions of magic are detailed without ever being overwhelming and the plot is superb. I couldn’t even guess at the next twist because I. Never. Saw. Them. Coming.
HOW REFRESHING
Okay so what else? I suppose I should tell you not to go into this thinking High Fantasy. There isn’t paragraph after paragraph devoted to the painting of epic scenery, there aren’t highly detailed descriptions of clothing or customs, this is more of a head game. Most of the book is devoted to our MC and his support cast trying to figure out just what the hell is going on.
I’ll leave you with an example of why I had so much damn fun while reading this. You see, not only is the MC a badass but he has this dry sense of humor that pervades every single page. I pretty much had a shit eating grin on my face from the beginning to the end, so if you like some fantasy mixed with a good mystery and served up with a side of snark, then I urge you to try Jhereg. You won’t regret it.
“She smiled at me. We were all friends here. Morrolan carried Blackwand, which slew a thousand at the Wall of Barrit’s Tomb. Aliera carried Pathfinder, which they say served a power higher than the Empire. Sethra carried Iceflame, which embodied within it the power of the Dzur Mountain. I carried myself rather well, thank you.”
Buddy read with Anne and Kathie!
January 20, 2015
Immediate Reaction: This was a blast. A little fantasy-noir fun for anyone who likes bad men behaving with honour. Vlad Taltos is an anti-hero extraordinaire, and all the minor characters and relationships he's surrounded with are equally cool.
Later: This is only the second book I've read by Steven Brust, and the first I've read that he wrote alone. I read his collaboration with Emma Bull, Freedom and Necessity a couple of months ago, and loved their book so much I knew I had to hunt down their other works and give them a go. What Jhereg delivered was totally unexpected.
F and N was a beautiful literary work that obviously suffers in its readership by being written by a pair of Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors. And I expected more of the same with Jhereg. But there is little "literary" in the first of the Vlad Taltos books, but that doesn't make it any less readable. In fact, it might actually make it much more of an addiction inducing habit.
Jhereg is a bit like a fantasy detective story, or a "fantasy noir" (as I called it earlier), with assassin/crime boss/information collector Vlad Taltos taking the role of obligatory hardbitte detective from the works of Dashiel Hammett or Mickey Spillane. And it's as good as the former and better than the latter.
Vlad is surrounded by an original and exotic fantasy world, killer allies (his pseudo-cousin Aliera is a personal favourite), a smart ass familiar named Loiosh, a seamy underworld, nasty enemies (including one who calls himself "Demon"), witchcraft and sorcery (which are nothing alike), genetic engineering (for the slightest touch of Sci-Fi) and the most mundane of domestic lives. Even better, he is one of the most likable antiheroes in all of Fantasy.
I understand from some of my goodreads friends that the depth of this series -- as it goes on, and it goes on for a long time -- is impressive. I've already started Yendi, so it's a good bet that I am going to experience this depth first hand. Having read F and N, I believe that depth is possible. Now I just need to track down War for the Oaks, so I can experience how the other half of F and N writes when out of collaboration.
Later: This is only the second book I've read by Steven Brust, and the first I've read that he wrote alone. I read his collaboration with Emma Bull, Freedom and Necessity a couple of months ago, and loved their book so much I knew I had to hunt down their other works and give them a go. What Jhereg delivered was totally unexpected.
F and N was a beautiful literary work that obviously suffers in its readership by being written by a pair of Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors. And I expected more of the same with Jhereg. But there is little "literary" in the first of the Vlad Taltos books, but that doesn't make it any less readable. In fact, it might actually make it much more of an addiction inducing habit.
Jhereg is a bit like a fantasy detective story, or a "fantasy noir" (as I called it earlier), with assassin/crime boss/information collector Vlad Taltos taking the role of obligatory hardbitte detective from the works of Dashiel Hammett or Mickey Spillane. And it's as good as the former and better than the latter.
Vlad is surrounded by an original and exotic fantasy world, killer allies (his pseudo-cousin Aliera is a personal favourite), a smart ass familiar named Loiosh, a seamy underworld, nasty enemies (including one who calls himself "Demon"), witchcraft and sorcery (which are nothing alike), genetic engineering (for the slightest touch of Sci-Fi) and the most mundane of domestic lives. Even better, he is one of the most likable antiheroes in all of Fantasy.
I understand from some of my goodreads friends that the depth of this series -- as it goes on, and it goes on for a long time -- is impressive. I've already started Yendi, so it's a good bet that I am going to experience this depth first hand. Having read F and N, I believe that depth is possible. Now I just need to track down War for the Oaks, so I can experience how the other half of F and N writes when out of collaboration.
February 17, 2020
I’m not typically fond of stories relying heavily on “rogue” class characters, such as thieves or assassins. These tales tend to be urban, i.e. confined to cities and towns. I, myself, prefer a more holistic approach to fantasy worlds in storytelling, because I tend to visualize a lot.
However, this book drew me in nicely. The world is actually presented by the author with a remarkable amount of confidence, given the lack of exposition / history. Information is provided piecemeal and in a matter-of-fact fashion. Some of these tidbits are truly tantalizing, and piqued my interest greatly. What is the enclouding? Is the empire really more than 1000 centuries old? Who is The Necromancer? What is the Imperial Orb… and the Greater Sea of Chaos? Who were the Jenoine? And the Serioli? Etc etc. Some of these questions are eventually (and fortunately) answered as the book progresses, but some aren’t. As such, while the world has a very established feel, some aspects are left to the imagination.
"There is no substitute for good manners - except fast reflexes."
The novel deals with one Vlad Taltos, an assassin of note, who accepts a contract that isn’t quite what it seems. That, by the way, is one hell of an understatement.
Did he bite off more than he could chew? Intrigue ensues as the protagonist sets off to negotiate the quagmire of Dragaerian Empire and Noble House politics, before he can get down to the task at hand.
Vlad Taltos is an interesting character though. He may not be all he appears to be, and he has a Jhereg familiar, which is basically a venomous pet dragon of diminutive size. He also surrounds himself with some gnarly, if somewhat unpredictable, folk. This is important in the larger scheme of things since Vlad Taltos is a human, and humans are at the bottom of the food chain.
I found myself filled with awe at the magnificence of [his] plan. It was tremendous!
At the time Jhereg was published, it was the first book in the Vlad Taltos series (it has subsequently been ousted, chronologically speaking) and as such there are no previous events that laid the groundwork for the world depicted here, and yet it feels like a setting fully fleshed. I particularly enjoyed the clear distinction between sorcery and witchcraft (which is, arguably, comparable to the differences between divine magic and arcane magic) and the study of genetics as it pertains to the narrative.
It’s also important to note the impact of time on the story at large. The Dragaerans are very, very long lived, and the author cleverly exploits this to affect the intrigue (as it should). Events that appear fairly innocuous on the face of it are unraveled to reveal complexities and intricacies initially unimagined, and spanning several human lifetimes.
Which brings me to one perceived shortcoming of the story: while some plot events are dazzling, others are fairly simplistic and, well, fall flat. I suppose I could put this down to first novel syndrome?
"True heroics must be carefully planned - and strenuously avoided."
I am a sucker for floating castles, demonic weapons, sorcery, teleporting assassins and little dragons. I went into this not wanting metaphor or analogy. Sometimes I crave the ridiculous and the fantastical. This book scratched that itch and read pretty quick as well. Double whammy.
“And, of course, we had the Necromancer standing by, just in case there were problems."
However, this book drew me in nicely. The world is actually presented by the author with a remarkable amount of confidence, given the lack of exposition / history. Information is provided piecemeal and in a matter-of-fact fashion. Some of these tidbits are truly tantalizing, and piqued my interest greatly. What is the enclouding? Is the empire really more than 1000 centuries old? Who is The Necromancer? What is the Imperial Orb… and the Greater Sea of Chaos? Who were the Jenoine? And the Serioli? Etc etc. Some of these questions are eventually (and fortunately) answered as the book progresses, but some aren’t. As such, while the world has a very established feel, some aspects are left to the imagination.
"There is no substitute for good manners - except fast reflexes."
The novel deals with one Vlad Taltos, an assassin of note, who accepts a contract that isn’t quite what it seems. That, by the way, is one hell of an understatement.
Did he bite off more than he could chew? Intrigue ensues as the protagonist sets off to negotiate the quagmire of Dragaerian Empire and Noble House politics, before he can get down to the task at hand.
Vlad Taltos is an interesting character though. He may not be all he appears to be, and he has a Jhereg familiar, which is basically a venomous pet dragon of diminutive size. He also surrounds himself with some gnarly, if somewhat unpredictable, folk. This is important in the larger scheme of things since Vlad Taltos is a human, and humans are at the bottom of the food chain.
I found myself filled with awe at the magnificence of [his] plan. It was tremendous!
At the time Jhereg was published, it was the first book in the Vlad Taltos series (it has subsequently been ousted, chronologically speaking) and as such there are no previous events that laid the groundwork for the world depicted here, and yet it feels like a setting fully fleshed. I particularly enjoyed the clear distinction between sorcery and witchcraft (which is, arguably, comparable to the differences between divine magic and arcane magic) and the study of genetics as it pertains to the narrative.
It’s also important to note the impact of time on the story at large. The Dragaerans are very, very long lived, and the author cleverly exploits this to affect the intrigue (as it should). Events that appear fairly innocuous on the face of it are unraveled to reveal complexities and intricacies initially unimagined, and spanning several human lifetimes.
Which brings me to one perceived shortcoming of the story: while some plot events are dazzling, others are fairly simplistic and, well, fall flat. I suppose I could put this down to first novel syndrome?
"True heroics must be carefully planned - and strenuously avoided."
I am a sucker for floating castles, demonic weapons, sorcery, teleporting assassins and little dragons. I went into this not wanting metaphor or analogy. Sometimes I crave the ridiculous and the fantastical. This book scratched that itch and read pretty quick as well. Double whammy.
“And, of course, we had the Necromancer standing by, just in case there were problems."
March 1, 2022
Via Book Reviews by Niki Hawkes at www.nikihawkes.com
Jhereg was nothing like I thought it would be… it was better! I was expecting a typical “boy gets a dragons and goes out on an epic adventure” book (I guess I need to stop judging by the cover alone). What I ended up with was a cheeky, magical, modern-day assassin mystery that blew my socks off.
Highly interesting characters and plot-lines, it was an extremely fast-paced novel that keeps you page-turning to the very end. And when I say fast-paced, I’m not joking around. The author has an incredible “no words wasted” writing style that makes for an exciting read. Trouble is, if you blink or get distracted for even a moment (as I am wont to do) you’ll likely miss something important and plot-advancing – so stay focused!
Initially, I thought a draw-back to this series was the lack of attention on setting. I couldn’t tell if the book was taking place in a complete fantasy world or just in a twist of our modern-day (and actually, I’m still not sure). I initially thought the author was lazy, but now I’m starting to suspect he’s a bit brilliant. His overall mastery over other elements of the craft is what clued me in. You see, the story is written in a strong first-person narrative – done well enough that I always felt totally immersed into the character. I now think the reason the reader doesn’t get to see the settings clearer is that the main character doesn’t pay much attention to such commonplace (for him) details. If this is truly the case, the Brust did an excellent job sticking to his chosen perspective, and I applaud him on it.
Overall, it was a unique read that I wish I’d picked up years ago. The author has a good fusion of fantasy and mystery that really maintained my attention. Though not the first book chronologically, it is the first book according to the publisher, and that’s good enough for me (especially since the author admitted he has no clue in what order his books should be read).
by Niki Hawkes
Other books you might like:
“Dragon Weather” by Lawrence Watt-Evans
“The Thief’s Gamble” by Juliet E. Mckenna
“Mistborn” by Brandon Sanderson
“Black Sun Rising” by C.S. Friedman
“Sword-Dancer” by Jennifer Roberson
Jhereg was nothing like I thought it would be… it was better! I was expecting a typical “boy gets a dragons and goes out on an epic adventure” book (I guess I need to stop judging by the cover alone). What I ended up with was a cheeky, magical, modern-day assassin mystery that blew my socks off.
Highly interesting characters and plot-lines, it was an extremely fast-paced novel that keeps you page-turning to the very end. And when I say fast-paced, I’m not joking around. The author has an incredible “no words wasted” writing style that makes for an exciting read. Trouble is, if you blink or get distracted for even a moment (as I am wont to do) you’ll likely miss something important and plot-advancing – so stay focused!
Initially, I thought a draw-back to this series was the lack of attention on setting. I couldn’t tell if the book was taking place in a complete fantasy world or just in a twist of our modern-day (and actually, I’m still not sure). I initially thought the author was lazy, but now I’m starting to suspect he’s a bit brilliant. His overall mastery over other elements of the craft is what clued me in. You see, the story is written in a strong first-person narrative – done well enough that I always felt totally immersed into the character. I now think the reason the reader doesn’t get to see the settings clearer is that the main character doesn’t pay much attention to such commonplace (for him) details. If this is truly the case, the Brust did an excellent job sticking to his chosen perspective, and I applaud him on it.
Overall, it was a unique read that I wish I’d picked up years ago. The author has a good fusion of fantasy and mystery that really maintained my attention. Though not the first book chronologically, it is the first book according to the publisher, and that’s good enough for me (especially since the author admitted he has no clue in what order his books should be read).
by Niki Hawkes
Other books you might like:
“Dragon Weather” by Lawrence Watt-Evans
“The Thief’s Gamble” by Juliet E. Mckenna
“Mistborn” by Brandon Sanderson
“Black Sun Rising” by C.S. Friedman
“Sword-Dancer” by Jennifer Roberson
July 25, 2015
While there was nothing absolutely mind-blowing about the plot or the fantasy, the one thing that really stood out in this book was the fantastic writing.
It was absolutely some of the easiest reading I've had for an obviously detailed and fleshed out world full of lots of magic, interesting races, very long lived people, and dragons. It flew by so quickly and easily, I was rather surprised at how much info-dump never came across as info-dump. I learned so much about the world, naturally, that I was giddy after the reading.
Is it because I've grown very used to the tropes involved, over so many years of enjoying fantasy? Possibly. But then, that's another reason I need to give this book props. From the mid-eighties, it still comes off as hugely superior in execution, characterization, big ideas, and joy. This is SUPERIOR fantasy.
I've read my fair share of SUPERIOR fantasy, of course, but this one feels so effortless.
Assassins? Check. Dragons? Check. Near immortals everywhere you look? Check. Tons and tons of magic? Absolutely.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to fly through all Brust's novels in no time whatsoever. They're pretty damn fantastic and smart.
It was absolutely some of the easiest reading I've had for an obviously detailed and fleshed out world full of lots of magic, interesting races, very long lived people, and dragons. It flew by so quickly and easily, I was rather surprised at how much info-dump never came across as info-dump. I learned so much about the world, naturally, that I was giddy after the reading.
Is it because I've grown very used to the tropes involved, over so many years of enjoying fantasy? Possibly. But then, that's another reason I need to give this book props. From the mid-eighties, it still comes off as hugely superior in execution, characterization, big ideas, and joy. This is SUPERIOR fantasy.
I've read my fair share of SUPERIOR fantasy, of course, but this one feels so effortless.
Assassins? Check. Dragons? Check. Near immortals everywhere you look? Check. Tons and tons of magic? Absolutely.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to fly through all Brust's novels in no time whatsoever. They're pretty damn fantastic and smart.
December 5, 2021
Satisfyingly good. The kind of good that makes you anxious to get to the next book. The kind of good that makes you glad there are over ten books in the series. The kind of good that makes me not care about book orders. Maybe it's a good thing these books are written out of order?--is a thing I never thought I'd say. But I have a good feeling about Steven Brust and I trust he'll deliver.
It's been awhile since high fantasy has been this good for me, and it's been even longer since I liked a POV main character in high fantasy enough to know that I'll like whatever trials and tribulations he's put through. And I like Vlad Taltos. Thus far, he's already shown himself to be a multifaceted character full of nuance, and I can only imagine he'll get more complex with each book.
Plus, there are dragons everywhere.
Full review to come... when I get through the series.
* * * * *
Trying to figure out the order of this series is giving me a serious case of involuntary twitching. So far from what I've gleaned on various forums and reviews, the publication order is completely different from the chronological order.
*more twitching*
But the order in which you read these books does not matter. At all. Because they were purposely written out of order.
*bangs head on desk*
Why.
(I have a thing for publication order)
* * * * *
Publication order goes like this:
Jhereg
Yendi
Teckla
Taltos
Phoenix
Athyra
Orca
Dragon
Issola
Dzur
Jhegaala
Iorich
Tiassa
Hawk
But chronological order goes like this:
Taltos
Dragon
Yendi
Jhereg
Teckla
Phoenix
Jhegaala
Athyra
Orca
Issola
Dzur
Iorich
Tiassa
Hawk
The only book I have is Jhereg, so I'm gonna start there.
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2...
It's been awhile since high fantasy has been this good for me, and it's been even longer since I liked a POV main character in high fantasy enough to know that I'll like whatever trials and tribulations he's put through. And I like Vlad Taltos. Thus far, he's already shown himself to be a multifaceted character full of nuance, and I can only imagine he'll get more complex with each book.
Plus, there are dragons everywhere.
Full review to come... when I get through the series.
* * * * *
Trying to figure out the order of this series is giving me a serious case of involuntary twitching. So far from what I've gleaned on various forums and reviews, the publication order is completely different from the chronological order.
*more twitching*
But the order in which you read these books does not matter. At all. Because they were purposely written out of order.
*bangs head on desk*
Why.
(I have a thing for publication order)
* * * * *
Publication order goes like this:
Jhereg
Yendi
Teckla
Taltos
Phoenix
Athyra
Orca
Dragon
Issola
Dzur
Jhegaala
Iorich
Tiassa
Hawk
But chronological order goes like this:
Taltos
Dragon
Yendi
Jhereg
Teckla
Phoenix
Jhegaala
Athyra
Orca
Issola
Dzur
Iorich
Tiassa
Hawk
The only book I have is Jhereg, so I'm gonna start there.
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2...
May 2, 2024
I think you have to be in the right mood to really enjoy this one, but for me, it hit just the right combination of humor, snark, adventure and action. Brust's prose really helps as well; the guy can really write!
Brust drops the reader into this story with little preamble, unfolding the world slowly as the story progresses. Our protagonist, Vald Taltos, has moved up from running a restaurant to being the head of something akin to a mafia, controlling several brothels, gambling dens and such. He also 'works' on the side akin to an assassin. While this might seem similar to any other organized crime story, the fantasy world set it apart. In Brust's universe, humans ('Easterners') live along side the Dragaera, a hominoid race, but much taller and longer lived than humans. In fact, the average Dragaera lives for thousands of years! Wars have been fought between the two races, but 'now', they exist in an uneasy peace.
The Dragaera are divided into 17 'houses', but Brust only gives us a taste of a few. The Jhereg house/clan is comprised of 'half-breeds' from other houses and even sells 'membership' to humans. So, in effect, Vald is a member of the Jhereg house, and he even has as a familiar a little Jhereg-- a 'dragon' about the size of a small chicken.
The entire set up reminded me of Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat books; with each installment featuring a 'caper' if you will. Here, Vald is approached by one of the council members of house Jhereg (e.g., the big brass) to offer him some 'work'; namely to take out permanently another council member who absconded with the house's treasury...
The fantasy element here Brust never develops systemically, but rather drops in stuff as the story progresses. We learn about the differences between sorcery and witchcraft (the later being more of a human thing), 'magic' weapons, how the dead can be 'revived', how teleportation works, floating castles, etc. Almost every page Brust drops something on the reader, fleshing out the story and the world simultaneously.
I really enjoyed the humor and snark here, and this propelled the story more than the 'serious' plot development. Really, this is a caper novel set in a bizarre fantasy world that does not endeavor to take itself too seriously. If you are in the mood for some light reading that (hopefully) will give you some smiles, you could do a lot worst. 4 stars!
Brust drops the reader into this story with little preamble, unfolding the world slowly as the story progresses. Our protagonist, Vald Taltos, has moved up from running a restaurant to being the head of something akin to a mafia, controlling several brothels, gambling dens and such. He also 'works' on the side akin to an assassin. While this might seem similar to any other organized crime story, the fantasy world set it apart. In Brust's universe, humans ('Easterners') live along side the Dragaera, a hominoid race, but much taller and longer lived than humans. In fact, the average Dragaera lives for thousands of years! Wars have been fought between the two races, but 'now', they exist in an uneasy peace.
The Dragaera are divided into 17 'houses', but Brust only gives us a taste of a few. The Jhereg house/clan is comprised of 'half-breeds' from other houses and even sells 'membership' to humans. So, in effect, Vald is a member of the Jhereg house, and he even has as a familiar a little Jhereg-- a 'dragon' about the size of a small chicken.
The entire set up reminded me of Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat books; with each installment featuring a 'caper' if you will. Here, Vald is approached by one of the council members of house Jhereg (e.g., the big brass) to offer him some 'work'; namely to take out permanently another council member who absconded with the house's treasury...
The fantasy element here Brust never develops systemically, but rather drops in stuff as the story progresses. We learn about the differences between sorcery and witchcraft (the later being more of a human thing), 'magic' weapons, how the dead can be 'revived', how teleportation works, floating castles, etc. Almost every page Brust drops something on the reader, fleshing out the story and the world simultaneously.
I really enjoyed the humor and snark here, and this propelled the story more than the 'serious' plot development. Really, this is a caper novel set in a bizarre fantasy world that does not endeavor to take itself too seriously. If you are in the mood for some light reading that (hopefully) will give you some smiles, you could do a lot worst. 4 stars!
September 2, 2013
This is the third in my list of books that inspired me to start writing fantasy and in many ways is the most influential. The hero of the series, Vlad Taltos, is an assassin, which is, you know, not an especially nice thing to be. The thing is, deep down Vlad really wants to be a nice guy. He just needs to kill a few shitbags first. Now it's true that the list of people Vlad needs to kill includes pretty much the entire Dragaeran Empire, but he's willing to leave a few off the list if they change their ways. Oh, and Vlad's sidekick a wise-talking miniature dragon who calls him 'Boss' all the time. Seriously - who wouldn't want to read that?
Brust blends heroic fantasy with a film noir, almost Raymond Chandler-esque voice. In fact, Jhereg was the book that taught me you could write fantasy without having your characters talk in fake British accents and spouting thee's and thou's every sentence. It's a short book by today's standards, and one that will fly by. Fortunately, there's a dozen more to keep you busy once you're done.
Brust blends heroic fantasy with a film noir, almost Raymond Chandler-esque voice. In fact, Jhereg was the book that taught me you could write fantasy without having your characters talk in fake British accents and spouting thee's and thou's every sentence. It's a short book by today's standards, and one that will fly by. Fortunately, there's a dozen more to keep you busy once you're done.
October 23, 2009
5.0 stars. The Vlad Taltos series is one thst I strongly recommend to anyone who likes good fantasy. I would classify it as "noir" fantasy with a good sense of humor. Great world-building, great characters and well-written, tight plots that do not drag and are never boring. As good as all that is, it is the main character of Vlad Taltos (assassin, witch and rogue) and his "jhereg" familiar that make the series so special. Highly recommended.
April 8, 2020
2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3, and that’s only because I feel bad giving it just two stars, when there isn’t actually anything wrong with the novel. I just didn’t find anything about it remotely interesting, from characters to plot to writing style. I’m sure others will. Oh well.
October 30, 2021
Some cool ideas. Hasn't aged well at all. There's something really off and careless about the "modern" language and worldbuilding. At one point, the elves have a talk about genetics.
October 23, 2014
Reread Feb2012, review added.
I originally gave this 4 stars, although I've read it numerous times & really enjoyed it. I just never thought it had any redeeming features beyond sheer enjoyment. Now that I've read most of the rest of the series, I see on a re-read that the craftsmanship of this story demands another star.
This is not the first book in the chronology of the series, but it is the first published. Why should you read it first? Because the author couldn't have picked a better way to introduce the reader to an entirely new world & mythology. The story demands our likable anti-hero, Vlad Taltos, look deeply into another character. His search uncovers more than expected & gives us an understanding of the world that we never would have had otherwise. Not only is it entirely entertaining & fast moving, but I had no trouble at all remembering odd names & characters. Each comes alive in a way that sticks in the memory, with a depth that is incredible for the terse wording. Not just the main characters either, although there were most of a dozen of those alone. It's truly an amazing feat.
Now I REALLY want to go on to the next book, Yendi, but I have other commitments - damn!
I originally gave this 4 stars, although I've read it numerous times & really enjoyed it. I just never thought it had any redeeming features beyond sheer enjoyment. Now that I've read most of the rest of the series, I see on a re-read that the craftsmanship of this story demands another star.
This is not the first book in the chronology of the series, but it is the first published. Why should you read it first? Because the author couldn't have picked a better way to introduce the reader to an entirely new world & mythology. The story demands our likable anti-hero, Vlad Taltos, look deeply into another character. His search uncovers more than expected & gives us an understanding of the world that we never would have had otherwise. Not only is it entirely entertaining & fast moving, but I had no trouble at all remembering odd names & characters. Each comes alive in a way that sticks in the memory, with a depth that is incredible for the terse wording. Not just the main characters either, although there were most of a dozen of those alone. It's truly an amazing feat.
Now I REALLY want to go on to the next book, Yendi, but I have other commitments - damn!
April 13, 2021
I picked this up in the mood for a quick, light read, and it delivered on that front. There’s a breeziness to the simple approach that never allows it to really amount to much more than a snack of a novel, but snacks can be pleasant enough to enjoy. And enjoy it I did, for the most part. A bit too much info dumping and some shallowness kept me from enjoying it more. A kind of relic of its time, I suppose.
May 12, 2021
🗡️ Potentially Scrumptious Assassins For the Win Buddy Read (PSAFtWBR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 🗡️
So. As I said in mymost fascinating pre-review, and contrary to all expectations, Vlad the Assassin, our hero, didn't quite make it to my High Security Harem. Which sucks big time, if you ask me. I mean, you'd think a “wisecraking hired killer” such as he would enter my Yummy Boyfriend Billboard directly at the #1 spot, right? Yeah well, that'll teach you to trust the crap publishers put in blurbs.
The thing is, dear Vlad might be a ruthless assassin—which is, I grant you, super extra titillating—but his supposed wit/humor/sarcasm/snark/choose all that apply is a bit tame and kinda sorta lacks bite. But I guess it's not the poor guy's fault. He was written in 1983 after all—when I was naught but a wee little shrimp, just so you know—and delightful characters such as my boyfriend Sandman Slim of the Slightly Screwed Up Sense of Humor weren't yet a thing back then.
You could say that, by today's standards, Vlad is the fluffy ruthless assassin type. Yes, it's true, he is an assassin and doesn't mind killing people somewhat dead in exchange for good old cash, but sometimes that's just not enough, you know? I mean, his moral compass is obviously a teensy little bit off, but it's not as gloriously fished up as my new boyfriend Gar the Pitiless', for example. (Granted, Gar is in the Evil Overlording Business, which might explain why his views are slightly more unethical than Vlad's.) So there's lots of room for improvement there and if Vlad intends for me tokidnap adopt him in the next installment, then he's got his work cut out for his little wiskecracking assassin self.
More or less, yes.
But. And this is a BIG BUT. (But not a BIG BUTT—I'm hilarious, I know.) I may have found an Alternate Harem candidate (AHC™) in this book. I kid you not. Okay, so his name—Morrolan—is kind of lame (I can't deny that being named after the Impaler works in Vlad's favor)but BUT he is the resident bloodthirsty bastard, ergo I am in 💕lurve💕. Well, I guess I should say I am semi in 💕lurve💕 because Morrolan has yet to show an ounce of bloodthirsty bastardliness. But I am cautiously optimistic. Because it is a truth universally acknowledged that any guy who worships a demon goddess and sacrifices whole villages to her is 💕insta-lurve💕 material.
Sorry, what? You're wondering if boyfriend hunting is the only reason why I read books? Well, yes, obviously. I mean, why else would I want to read books? 🙄 But anyway, moving on and stuff.
Let's see, what else? Well, the plot is okay. Nothing revolutionary here. Vlad gets hired to slightly murderize someone (surprise surprise) and then spoiler spoiler spoiler happens. There are some twists along the way that keep the plot interesting and the pace flowing, but nothing that will make you go all...
If the twists in this story do make you feel like that then you obviously need more excitement in your life.
The worldbuilding is...Okay, so there's some good stuff and some not-so-very-good-stuff here. The good stuff is that the world in itself is pretty cool. The characters evolve in a highly structured society, which pleases my OCD immensely. Also, there is sorcery. But also witchcraft. (And they are not one and the same, just so you know.) There are also wiseass winged reptile familiars . And institutionalized necromancing (my boyfriend Jojo Cabal would feel so at home in this world). And teleporting. And psionic stuff. And if you want to know more you'll have to read the book because things to do, puny humans to sacrifice and all that.
One thing I love about worldbuilding here is that it's minimalistic as fish. Brust isn't one of those authors who will bore you to death and back with neverending descriptions and lengthy expositions, which is a blessing for those who are slightly very allergic to the stuff . The problem here is that Brust gives you so little to go on that you feel as lost as an orphaned barnacle erring in the unfathomable depths of the Mariana Trench at first. (Well, more or less.) And just when you were thanking the Wiki Gods for their help in this confusing confusion, bam! Brust finally throws ALL the information at you at once, squeezing it in in one miserable little chapter 🙄. But hey, this book is the first the author ever wrote, so forgive him for the clumsy worldbuilding I guess I should.
Now now, don't be like that Rambo. Sorry, I mean Rocky. We all make mistakes in our youthful youth. Evenme you. Remember Woody Allen's Bananas? Yeah, thought so.
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): read the next book in the series for Vlad I won't. But for thepotentially bloodthirsty bastard in residence? You bet I will. HA.
· Book 2: Yendi ★★
· Book 3: Teckla · To be read. Or not.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Actual rating: either 3.499568955 or 3.51125469 stars. (Then again I might decide to go for 3.6589446589 stars after reviewing the book, who the fish knows? See we shall and stuff.)
The bad news is, dear old Vlad didn't qualify for the High Security Harem quarter finals as expected. The good news is, I may have found another yummy candidate (his name his Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler, if you must know).
Pretty subtle, huh? What can I say, I was born that way.
➽ Full review to come and stuff.
P.S. No, the yummy candidate isn't Loiosh. Give me some credit, will you? Besides, I might be desperate, but I am not quite that desperate. Yet.
So. As I said in my
The thing is, dear Vlad might be a ruthless assassin—which is, I grant you, super extra titillating—but his supposed wit/humor/sarcasm/snark/choose all that apply is a bit tame and kinda sorta lacks bite. But I guess it's not the poor guy's fault. He was written in 1983 after all—when I was naught but a wee little shrimp, just so you know—and delightful characters such as my boyfriend Sandman Slim of the Slightly Screwed Up Sense of Humor weren't yet a thing back then.
You could say that, by today's standards, Vlad is the fluffy ruthless assassin type. Yes, it's true, he is an assassin and doesn't mind killing people somewhat dead in exchange for good old cash, but sometimes that's just not enough, you know? I mean, his moral compass is obviously a teensy little bit off, but it's not as gloriously fished up as my new boyfriend Gar the Pitiless', for example. (Granted, Gar is in the Evil Overlording Business, which might explain why his views are slightly more unethical than Vlad's.) So there's lots of room for improvement there and if Vlad intends for me to
More or less, yes.
But. And this is a BIG BUT. (But not a BIG BUTT—I'm hilarious, I know.) I may have found an Alternate Harem candidate (AHC™) in this book. I kid you not. Okay, so his name—Morrolan—is kind of lame (I can't deny that being named after the Impaler works in Vlad's favor)
Sorry, what? You're wondering if boyfriend hunting is the only reason why I read books? Well, yes, obviously. I mean, why else would I want to read books? 🙄 But anyway, moving on and stuff.
Let's see, what else? Well, the plot is okay. Nothing revolutionary here. Vlad gets hired to slightly murderize someone (surprise surprise) and then spoiler spoiler spoiler happens. There are some twists along the way that keep the plot interesting and the pace flowing, but nothing that will make you go all...
If the twists in this story do make you feel like that then you obviously need more excitement in your life.
The worldbuilding is...Okay, so there's some good stuff and some not-so-very-good-stuff here. The good stuff is that the world in itself is pretty cool. The characters evolve in a highly structured society, which pleases my OCD immensely. Also, there is sorcery. But also witchcraft. (And they are not one and the same, just so you know.) There are also wiseass winged reptile familiars . And institutionalized necromancing (my boyfriend Jojo Cabal would feel so at home in this world). And teleporting. And psionic stuff. And if you want to know more you'll have to read the book because things to do, puny humans to sacrifice and all that.
One thing I love about worldbuilding here is that it's minimalistic as fish. Brust isn't one of those authors who will bore you to death and back with neverending descriptions and lengthy expositions, which is a blessing for those who are slightly very allergic to the stuff . The problem here is that Brust gives you so little to go on that you feel as lost as an orphaned barnacle erring in the unfathomable depths of the Mariana Trench at first. (Well, more or less.) And just when you were thanking the Wiki Gods for their help in this confusing confusion, bam! Brust finally throws ALL the information at you at once, squeezing it in in one miserable little chapter 🙄. But hey, this book is the first the author ever wrote, so forgive him for the clumsy worldbuilding I guess I should.
Now now, don't be like that Rambo. Sorry, I mean Rocky. We all make mistakes in our youthful youth. Even
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): read the next book in the series for Vlad I won't. But for the
· Book 2: Yendi ★★
· Book 3: Teckla · To be read. Or not.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Actual rating: either 3.499568955 or 3.51125469 stars. (Then again I might decide to go for 3.6589446589 stars after reviewing the book, who the fish knows? See we shall and stuff.)
The bad news is, dear old Vlad didn't qualify for the High Security Harem quarter finals as expected. The good news is, I may have found another yummy candidate (his name his Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler, if you must know).
Pretty subtle, huh? What can I say, I was born that way.
➽ Full review to come and stuff.
P.S. No, the yummy candidate isn't Loiosh. Give me some credit, will you? Besides, I might be desperate, but I am not quite that desperate. Yet.
December 7, 2022
I refuse to look at what I said about this book the last time I read it for fear of influencing what I have to say this time around, but I will certainly do so once I have posted my thoughts.
My thoughts: total bafflement that my second time through Jhereg was like the first time through. The only two things I remembered about the story were Vlad Taltos, our first-person narrating criminal mastermind/assassin and his Lockheed-like dragon, Loiosh. Other than that I didn't remember a thing. It was like reading it for the first time, and I have to say the experience was a touch off-putting.
It is rare for me to reread a book without the entire plot, most of the characterization and even some of the dialogue flooding back, but so little of Jhereg stuck with me that it all felt new. It makes me wonder about the authorial skill of Steven Brust. I have introduced countless friends to his work, specifically his collaboration Freedom and Necessity, but to the Taltos books too, yet I found myself wondering all the way through this if he is as sustaining as a bowl of fried rice at an MSG-laden Chinese Food restaurant. Is he just hollow calories? Perhaps.
But I can't help thinking, "Who cares?" I love fried rice at bad Chinese food restaurants. Sure it isn't real Chinese food. It doesn't stick with me. But I fucking love it while I am eating it, and I find myself craving it again and again. The same holds true for me with Vlad Taltos and his machinations in Adrilankha.
I am going to go out on a limb here, though, and say something potentially inciting to super-Brust-fans: I get a feeling good old Steve writes his Taltos books as hollow reading calories on purpose. I think he wants us to forget what happened beyond our fondness for the books so we can read them fresh every time. I think his hack-i-ness, for want of a better term, is absolutely intentional. So he isn't an author of hollow calories, but a Chef who knows when to make an airy special for the night in the hopes of packing the booths with bums.
Be offended if you like, but keep this in mind: if what I have said is true I love him for it even more than I already did. And if you read Freedom and Necessity you'll see where that true love comes from.
My thoughts: total bafflement that my second time through Jhereg was like the first time through. The only two things I remembered about the story were Vlad Taltos, our first-person narrating criminal mastermind/assassin and his Lockheed-like dragon, Loiosh. Other than that I didn't remember a thing. It was like reading it for the first time, and I have to say the experience was a touch off-putting.
It is rare for me to reread a book without the entire plot, most of the characterization and even some of the dialogue flooding back, but so little of Jhereg stuck with me that it all felt new. It makes me wonder about the authorial skill of Steven Brust. I have introduced countless friends to his work, specifically his collaboration Freedom and Necessity, but to the Taltos books too, yet I found myself wondering all the way through this if he is as sustaining as a bowl of fried rice at an MSG-laden Chinese Food restaurant. Is he just hollow calories? Perhaps.
But I can't help thinking, "Who cares?" I love fried rice at bad Chinese food restaurants. Sure it isn't real Chinese food. It doesn't stick with me. But I fucking love it while I am eating it, and I find myself craving it again and again. The same holds true for me with Vlad Taltos and his machinations in Adrilankha.
I am going to go out on a limb here, though, and say something potentially inciting to super-Brust-fans: I get a feeling good old Steve writes his Taltos books as hollow reading calories on purpose. I think he wants us to forget what happened beyond our fondness for the books so we can read them fresh every time. I think his hack-i-ness, for want of a better term, is absolutely intentional. So he isn't an author of hollow calories, but a Chef who knows when to make an airy special for the night in the hopes of packing the booths with bums.
Be offended if you like, but keep this in mind: if what I have said is true I love him for it even more than I already did. And if you read Freedom and Necessity you'll see where that true love comes from.
November 23, 2015
This was a delightful beginning to a series that I am sure to be addicted to very soon. In fact, I've already jumped into the second volume.
But on this. Jhereg is a first person narrative of an assassin and a particular job he undertook. A huge amount of money offered showed that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was.
Mischief and mayhem ensue. What I thought of as a combination of a crime caper and an epic fantasy turned out to be a quickly paced and often humorous adventure. Vlad Taltos has a familiar which happens to be a jhereg, a miniature dragon-like creature. And, no surprise with Brust characters, Loiosh is quite the smartass. Witty banter between familiar and master, along with a great cast of hirelings and allies makes this a book to keep the reader guessing, on the edge of his/her seat, and occasionally laughing.
The fight scenes were great, I wasn't surprised to later read that Brust took lessons in fencing, as he was able to describe the swordfights in quite a vivid manner. Add a touch of The Three Musketeers to that adventure/heist/fantasy description.
On to more Vlad adventures!
But on this. Jhereg is a first person narrative of an assassin and a particular job he undertook. A huge amount of money offered showed that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was.
Mischief and mayhem ensue. What I thought of as a combination of a crime caper and an epic fantasy turned out to be a quickly paced and often humorous adventure. Vlad Taltos has a familiar which happens to be a jhereg, a miniature dragon-like creature. And, no surprise with Brust characters, Loiosh is quite the smartass. Witty banter between familiar and master, along with a great cast of hirelings and allies makes this a book to keep the reader guessing, on the edge of his/her seat, and occasionally laughing.
The fight scenes were great, I wasn't surprised to later read that Brust took lessons in fencing, as he was able to describe the swordfights in quite a vivid manner. Add a touch of The Three Musketeers to that adventure/heist/fantasy description.
On to more Vlad adventures!
December 31, 2024
3.5 stars
This was a different one for me as it’s a kind of fantasy noir, but also because of the narrative style itself, where it’s told almost as a collection of reminisces, but not quite short stories. The story starts with the narrator comparing a breath of cold wind to a knife on the back of the neck, and then he goes on to tell a couple of stories from his past where he has experienced this.
We then progress through the early parts of the life of Vlad Taltos, following him as he grows up to be a master assassin-slash-restauranteur (yep), and as he develops some magical abilities to help him with that darker profession. He has a little office that he works out of and he has the restaurant as well, all while undertaking assassinations, and thievery, and all sorts, so it’s a little bit odd in a sense.
The way these stories are told, and the urban environment, definitely lend themselves to that noir vibe that is quite unusual and distinctive in this setting. It was an interesting story, although I did find that it felt a little disjointed just because of the way it was all stitched together.
There was one major storyline towards the end where there would be a big heist and the theme shifted to match the objective. There was a period of forming a team, giving everyone their role, undergoing test runs to make sure they could all pull off what they needed to pull off, etc., and this was interesting to me, however it felt a little out of the blue just because of the slightly jumpy nature of the rest of the book.
Overall I think this wasn’t quite what I was looking for, and not quite what I’d been expecting from reading the synopsis. It’s one that I’ve seen crop up multiple times and always wanted to try out, so I’m glad to have now done that, but I don’t feel compelled to continue with more from the series.
This was a different one for me as it’s a kind of fantasy noir, but also because of the narrative style itself, where it’s told almost as a collection of reminisces, but not quite short stories. The story starts with the narrator comparing a breath of cold wind to a knife on the back of the neck, and then he goes on to tell a couple of stories from his past where he has experienced this.
We then progress through the early parts of the life of Vlad Taltos, following him as he grows up to be a master assassin-slash-restauranteur (yep), and as he develops some magical abilities to help him with that darker profession. He has a little office that he works out of and he has the restaurant as well, all while undertaking assassinations, and thievery, and all sorts, so it’s a little bit odd in a sense.
The way these stories are told, and the urban environment, definitely lend themselves to that noir vibe that is quite unusual and distinctive in this setting. It was an interesting story, although I did find that it felt a little disjointed just because of the way it was all stitched together.
There was one major storyline towards the end where there would be a big heist and the theme shifted to match the objective. There was a period of forming a team, giving everyone their role, undergoing test runs to make sure they could all pull off what they needed to pull off, etc., and this was interesting to me, however it felt a little out of the blue just because of the slightly jumpy nature of the rest of the book.
Overall I think this wasn’t quite what I was looking for, and not quite what I’d been expecting from reading the synopsis. It’s one that I’ve seen crop up multiple times and always wanted to try out, so I’m glad to have now done that, but I don’t feel compelled to continue with more from the series.
August 23, 2011
4 Stars
This was a really good beginning to the first book in the Vlad Taltos series. This was my first time reading a Steven Brust novel even though he has been in my queue for as long as I can remember. This is a novel that was first published nearly 30 years ago. It is written in a fashion that keeps it fresh and relative to todays fantasy scene.
The combination of magic(sorcery)and witchcraft is very unique. The book gives some creative back story that explains the difference between the two schools of magic. The interaction of the Eastern humans and the western Dragaera(a large reptilian race)adds to the depth of the society and colors our story. Like many current fantasy novels, the Dragaera are organized into different houses, each named after an animal. The Jhereg house, the house of the mongrels is named after the snake like serpent called the Jhereg.
Our protagonist name is Vladamir Taltos. He is a human that belongs to the Dragaera house of Jhereg because his father bought them their title with all of his earnings.
Vlad is very likable and his diverse background of being raised in the west in the house Jhereg, while also being trained in the Eastern ways by his grandfather, make him a formidable force. Vlad is an assassin, plain and simple...Does that make him a bad guy...well.
Vlad practices his witchcraft and has a jhereg familiar named Looish. They communicate with each other telepathically. There is a lot of humor and clever banter between the two. Their relationship is really a center piece that make this book special.
This short story in the end, is a story about revenge. There is a mystery to unravel, and the sides are not always clear. It takes a while for the pieces of the story to come together, but when they do the payoff is great.
I really enjoyed this first book and now am a fan of Steven Brust...Bring on more Vlad... Highly recommended.
This was a really good beginning to the first book in the Vlad Taltos series. This was my first time reading a Steven Brust novel even though he has been in my queue for as long as I can remember. This is a novel that was first published nearly 30 years ago. It is written in a fashion that keeps it fresh and relative to todays fantasy scene.
The combination of magic(sorcery)and witchcraft is very unique. The book gives some creative back story that explains the difference between the two schools of magic. The interaction of the Eastern humans and the western Dragaera(a large reptilian race)adds to the depth of the society and colors our story. Like many current fantasy novels, the Dragaera are organized into different houses, each named after an animal. The Jhereg house, the house of the mongrels is named after the snake like serpent called the Jhereg.
Our protagonist name is Vladamir Taltos. He is a human that belongs to the Dragaera house of Jhereg because his father bought them their title with all of his earnings.
Vlad is very likable and his diverse background of being raised in the west in the house Jhereg, while also being trained in the Eastern ways by his grandfather, make him a formidable force. Vlad is an assassin, plain and simple...Does that make him a bad guy...well.
Vlad practices his witchcraft and has a jhereg familiar named Looish. They communicate with each other telepathically. There is a lot of humor and clever banter between the two. Their relationship is really a center piece that make this book special.
This short story in the end, is a story about revenge. There is a mystery to unravel, and the sides are not always clear. It takes a while for the pieces of the story to come together, but when they do the payoff is great.
I really enjoyed this first book and now am a fan of Steven Brust...Bring on more Vlad... Highly recommended.
July 21, 2017
This is a very well written book with nice action and magic. A sort of cheeky modern story in a fantasy world.
It's just not my particular cup of tea!
It's just not my particular cup of tea!
June 7, 2013
Guess this is what you'd call an oldie but a goodie. I can't believe I hadn't heard of Steven Brust until a few weeks ago, but he was recommended to me by a gaming friend of mine, and then another good friend jumped into the Twitter conversation to second the recommendation. So, that's two shoutouts from a couple of people whose opinions I highly value, and that's when I knew I had to get my hands on this book, posthaste!
Jhereg is the beginning of a whole bunch of books set in Brust's Dragaera world. It is the first novel to be published in the Vlad Taltos series, even though its place is actually fourth or so in its timeline. It introduces us to Vladimir Taltos, an Easterner (human) working as a killer-for-hire in the House of Jhereg in a setting where his kind are barely tolerated by a race of long-lived, statuesque sorcerers called the Dragaerans (or, as my friend told me, just think of them as "elves"!) Being a Jhereg doesn't help either, since their faction is like the mafia of the Dragaeran world.
One day, a powerful Jhereg boss offers Vlad a lucrative contract to track down and assassinate a council member who stole millions of gold from the house. It is discovered, unfortunately, that this thief has fled to Castle Black, home of the Dragonlord Morrolan who is also Vlad's good friend. Now Vlad has to try and figure out a way to fulfill his contract without royally pissing off Morrolan, whose strict rule against the killing of anyone on his premises while they are under his protection is proving to be more than just a minor inconvenience.
At just 200-something pages, this was a very quick read. Despite the volume's relative thinness, however, there is a lot information crammed in here. You'll immediately get the sense of hugeness from the world of Dragaera, and I admit I spent much of the first half of this book feeling like I was missing something, because not everything about the setting is explained right away. There will be names of people, animals, factions, cultural traditions, events in history, etc. that are alluded to, but won't mean anything to you until you get further into the book (or even the series). Even now, I wish I had more room in this review to give examples of all the strange magical spells, weapons, creatures, lore and customs that are in this book, but there's just too damn much. The good news is, everything you need know in order to understand and follow the story will be there, and it will come in time.
I also really liked the writing style, the fast pace and the lightness of it. Normally when you get high fantasy featuring a world full of magic and so much history, along with noble sorcerers and lords and ladies and such and such, you'd expect the writing style and dialogue to be somewhat serious and austere. Not so much with this book, which includes instances of modern day habits or colloquialisms, and that played a part in making Jhereg easy to get into and reading it so much fun.
It's got a great story overall, involving a plot about an assassination, but which almost reads more like story about a heist. It has elements of mystery in it too, as Vlad likes to conduct investigations and figure out the solutions from the clues he finds. He as much as admits that he prefers the process of planning an assassination to the actual assassinating, and events in the story reflect that. It just struck me as interesting especially when compared to more recent fantasy novels about assassins, which tend to be darker and more action-oriented, and Jhereg was published before I was even born.
The series is still going on today, with book 14 expected to come out later this year. So glad I discovered these books, thanks to my friends. I've got a lot of books in my to-be-read pile, but since all the Vlad novels seem to be such quick reads, there might actually be hope of me finishing up to Tiassa before Hawk comes out. Maybe.
Jhereg is the beginning of a whole bunch of books set in Brust's Dragaera world. It is the first novel to be published in the Vlad Taltos series, even though its place is actually fourth or so in its timeline. It introduces us to Vladimir Taltos, an Easterner (human) working as a killer-for-hire in the House of Jhereg in a setting where his kind are barely tolerated by a race of long-lived, statuesque sorcerers called the Dragaerans (or, as my friend told me, just think of them as "elves"!) Being a Jhereg doesn't help either, since their faction is like the mafia of the Dragaeran world.
One day, a powerful Jhereg boss offers Vlad a lucrative contract to track down and assassinate a council member who stole millions of gold from the house. It is discovered, unfortunately, that this thief has fled to Castle Black, home of the Dragonlord Morrolan who is also Vlad's good friend. Now Vlad has to try and figure out a way to fulfill his contract without royally pissing off Morrolan, whose strict rule against the killing of anyone on his premises while they are under his protection is proving to be more than just a minor inconvenience.
At just 200-something pages, this was a very quick read. Despite the volume's relative thinness, however, there is a lot information crammed in here. You'll immediately get the sense of hugeness from the world of Dragaera, and I admit I spent much of the first half of this book feeling like I was missing something, because not everything about the setting is explained right away. There will be names of people, animals, factions, cultural traditions, events in history, etc. that are alluded to, but won't mean anything to you until you get further into the book (or even the series). Even now, I wish I had more room in this review to give examples of all the strange magical spells, weapons, creatures, lore and customs that are in this book, but there's just too damn much. The good news is, everything you need know in order to understand and follow the story will be there, and it will come in time.
I also really liked the writing style, the fast pace and the lightness of it. Normally when you get high fantasy featuring a world full of magic and so much history, along with noble sorcerers and lords and ladies and such and such, you'd expect the writing style and dialogue to be somewhat serious and austere. Not so much with this book, which includes instances of modern day habits or colloquialisms, and that played a part in making Jhereg easy to get into and reading it so much fun.
It's got a great story overall, involving a plot about an assassination, but which almost reads more like story about a heist. It has elements of mystery in it too, as Vlad likes to conduct investigations and figure out the solutions from the clues he finds. He as much as admits that he prefers the process of planning an assassination to the actual assassinating, and events in the story reflect that. It just struck me as interesting especially when compared to more recent fantasy novels about assassins, which tend to be darker and more action-oriented, and Jhereg was published before I was even born.
The series is still going on today, with book 14 expected to come out later this year. So glad I discovered these books, thanks to my friends. I've got a lot of books in my to-be-read pile, but since all the Vlad novels seem to be such quick reads, there might actually be hope of me finishing up to Tiassa before Hawk comes out. Maybe.
October 19, 2017
Re-read 9/18/17, as audiobook. The year I was thirteen, I read and re-read obsessively the same, perhaps, thirty books. Keep in mind I had almost nothing but free time and I read three to four books a day. That is a lot of times to re-read anything. I've since learned that this is not an uncommon phenomenon among children and young teens, and it does not indicate any problems with their overall reading habit. For me, it was a matter of falling into comfortable grooves, revisiting powerful experiences, like going to a restaurant and repeatedly ordering some signature dish even when other foods are available. Yes, there are good foods, and yes, someday you'll try them, but why not eat the thing that you love best, particularly when it is perfectly prepared every time?
Jhereg was one of those thirty books. It was recommended to me by a friend who no longer loves fantasy literature, so re-reading it is bittersweet, as it brings back memories of the imaginative worlds we used to build that centered on these masterpieces of fantasy. And Jhereg is definitely one of those. Looking at it from the perspective of far too many years' distance from my thirteen-year-old self, I can see how deceptively simple it is, and yet how skilled Brust was, even that early in his career. The characterization is deftly handled, the worldbuilding is subtle and yet suggests depths he would later plumb in the rest of the series, and Vlad's rage at being human in a world of elves--and at being accepted neither by the humans nor the Dragaerans--is hidden in plain sight. I know I didn't get the complexity of his relationship with his Dragaeran friends; I only saw that they were friends, something that this most recent re-read in internal chronological order makes even more complex.
And reading in that order blows my mind. I have no idea how Brust managed to build whole novels around the hints and throwaway lines he tosses out and still keep everything straight. The closest he comes to making a mistake is in the references to the events that eight books later would become Dragon, and even then it's a "mistake" within acceptable parameters for the book he ultimately wrote. Brilliant.
Having read it out of order, I was startled when Loiosh didn't sound like Peter Lorre. Apparently the narrator's performance evolved over time, which is nice. Now it's on to Teckla, which I dread.
Read 10/6/14: How many times have I read this book? I have no idea. I love Vlad's voice and the world he lives in, and I love all the other characters, especially Loiosh, and the puzzle Vlad has to figure out is both clever and serves as an excellent introduction to Dragaeran society and the Houses that define it. Fun, exciting, and a great beginning to the series (despite not being chronologically the first, but Brust is better than just about anyone at prequels).
Jhereg was one of those thirty books. It was recommended to me by a friend who no longer loves fantasy literature, so re-reading it is bittersweet, as it brings back memories of the imaginative worlds we used to build that centered on these masterpieces of fantasy. And Jhereg is definitely one of those. Looking at it from the perspective of far too many years' distance from my thirteen-year-old self, I can see how deceptively simple it is, and yet how skilled Brust was, even that early in his career. The characterization is deftly handled, the worldbuilding is subtle and yet suggests depths he would later plumb in the rest of the series, and Vlad's rage at being human in a world of elves--and at being accepted neither by the humans nor the Dragaerans--is hidden in plain sight. I know I didn't get the complexity of his relationship with his Dragaeran friends; I only saw that they were friends, something that this most recent re-read in internal chronological order makes even more complex.
And reading in that order blows my mind. I have no idea how Brust managed to build whole novels around the hints and throwaway lines he tosses out and still keep everything straight. The closest he comes to making a mistake is in the references to the events that eight books later would become Dragon, and even then it's a "mistake" within acceptable parameters for the book he ultimately wrote. Brilliant.
Having read it out of order, I was startled when Loiosh didn't sound like Peter Lorre. Apparently the narrator's performance evolved over time, which is nice. Now it's on to Teckla, which I dread.
Read 10/6/14: How many times have I read this book? I have no idea. I love Vlad's voice and the world he lives in, and I love all the other characters, especially Loiosh, and the puzzle Vlad has to figure out is both clever and serves as an excellent introduction to Dragaeran society and the Houses that define it. Fun, exciting, and a great beginning to the series (despite not being chronologically the first, but Brust is better than just about anyone at prequels).
July 19, 2016
I often make jokes in these reviews that I enjoy "nothing" books. Books where nothing happens. Slow paced books, introspective books, books with a slow build. Reading Jhereg, I have come to learn that things to happen in those books. Interesting things, things that move the story forward.
Jhereg is a book where nothing happens, and is incredibly dull about the whole thing.
Damn near every scene in this book features the main character slowly, and bored soundingly narrating (it was an audio version so maybe that changes it) some menial thing about world building, or a more interesting story, or a future plan, and then he speaks to someone. Two or more people sit in a blank room and spout exposition about the history of the world, making sure to occasionally slip in a "well that's impossible", or "impressive, whoever came up with that idea must be a genius", or some other such auto-fellatioesque diatribe. Then the main character goes off to find the next character to speak to.
And by god, what a dull main character he is. First person fantasy books have the advantage that the prose and exposition can be looked at in-character, or with a sense of difference to it. Vlad's dialogue makes him seem to be a smart-ass guy with impressive skills, but nearly all of the prose is drab, boring, ludicrously high-magic antics that remove any and all of the tension. Look at Dresden, or Fitz, or Jorg. That's how you do first person with a character.
Not just that, but the world building that it so frequently leans on is just... boring. There are not-elves, descended from not-dragons, who use not-plot devices to do anything they want. Death is the most easily avoidable thing in the world and magic can, with enough thought and effort, do basically anything.
It's just dull. Dull and bland and feels more like a first draft of every idea hurled at the wall to see what sticks, but the thing about a massive mess is that generally, lots of it is very sticky.
Jhereg is a book where nothing happens, and is incredibly dull about the whole thing.
Damn near every scene in this book features the main character slowly, and bored soundingly narrating (it was an audio version so maybe that changes it) some menial thing about world building, or a more interesting story, or a future plan, and then he speaks to someone. Two or more people sit in a blank room and spout exposition about the history of the world, making sure to occasionally slip in a "well that's impossible", or "impressive, whoever came up with that idea must be a genius", or some other such auto-fellatioesque diatribe. Then the main character goes off to find the next character to speak to.
And by god, what a dull main character he is. First person fantasy books have the advantage that the prose and exposition can be looked at in-character, or with a sense of difference to it. Vlad's dialogue makes him seem to be a smart-ass guy with impressive skills, but nearly all of the prose is drab, boring, ludicrously high-magic antics that remove any and all of the tension. Look at Dresden, or Fitz, or Jorg. That's how you do first person with a character.
Not just that, but the world building that it so frequently leans on is just... boring. There are not-elves, descended from not-dragons, who use not-plot devices to do anything they want. Death is the most easily avoidable thing in the world and magic can, with enough thought and effort, do basically anything.
It's just dull. Dull and bland and feels more like a first draft of every idea hurled at the wall to see what sticks, but the thing about a massive mess is that generally, lots of it is very sticky.
May 18, 2022
This is such a good series! I haven't read it in a while and there's a new one coming out next year. I need to get up to speed with the whos, whats, whys and wherefors.
The story is about Vlad the Jhereg assassin and his familiar, the jhereg Loiosh. Jheregs are referenced two ways in this story, so what I typed was intentional. Jhereg with a capital J is a House in the Empire. This particular House is the Mafia of the fantasy world. On the other hand, jhereg with a lower case j is a small dragonish scavenger reptile with a slew of intelligence. Vlad and Loiosh are Frick & Frack and pretty much inseparable.
The basic story line is that Vlad has been hired to take out one of the head honchos in the organization. The task is nigh on impossible, and nothing wants to go as planned. There is also a core of mystery surrounding the assigned hit.
It has always astounded me that Steven Brust was able to make what amounts to reprehensible bottom-feeding characters into those that are extremely likeable. It was nice reading along with these two, as well as Kragar his underling, Cawti his wife, Kiera the thief, Sethra Lavode, Morrolan and the rest of the cast. Most likely I'll be binging on this series re-read.
The story is about Vlad the Jhereg assassin and his familiar, the jhereg Loiosh. Jheregs are referenced two ways in this story, so what I typed was intentional. Jhereg with a capital J is a House in the Empire. This particular House is the Mafia of the fantasy world. On the other hand, jhereg with a lower case j is a small dragonish scavenger reptile with a slew of intelligence. Vlad and Loiosh are Frick & Frack and pretty much inseparable.
The basic story line is that Vlad has been hired to take out one of the head honchos in the organization. The task is nigh on impossible, and nothing wants to go as planned. There is also a core of mystery surrounding the assigned hit.
It has always astounded me that Steven Brust was able to make what amounts to reprehensible bottom-feeding characters into those that are extremely likeable. It was nice reading along with these two, as well as Kragar his underling, Cawti his wife, Kiera the thief, Sethra Lavode, Morrolan and the rest of the cast. Most likely I'll be binging on this series re-read.
December 13, 2012
3.5 s stars
Originally posted (with links) at FanLit.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Audio readers, rejoice! Finally, Steven Brust’s VLAD TALTOS novels have been produced in audio by Audible Frontiers. For years I’ve been planning to read this long series and have only been waiting for this moment.
The VLAD TALTOS novels follow Vlad Taltos, a well-known and highly successful human assassin living on the planet Dragaera. The native species, the Dragaerans, are a tall long-lived race created by sorcerers who cross-bred humans and certain animals. The characteristics of the animals give each clan, or “House,” its name, physical features, and personality traits. The exception is the house of Jhereg (named after a small dragon-like creature) which is a low-class conglomerate of outcasts from other clans and also any true humans who can buy their way in, which is what Vlad Taltos’ father did. Each of Brusts’ novels in this series is named after one of the Dragaeran houses.
In this first installment, Jhereg, we meet Vlad Taltos and his familiar, Loiosh, the jhereg who can communicate with him through mind-speech. Vlad has been hired to kill a councilman named Mellar who has embezzled a huge sum of money from the Jhereg council. When Vlad catches up with Mellar, he discovers him hiding out in Castle Black, the floating mansion of Vlad’s friend, the Dragonlord Morrolan. Castle Black’s rule of hospitality is that anyone who has been invited to stay at the castle cannot be touched and nobody wants to violate this law because it would ignite another Dragon-Jhereg war. The last war devastated both houses. Vlad and Loiosh must flush out Mellar without offending a Dragonlord or starting a war. This is not an easy task and Vlad will need to solve a mystery and get a little help from his friends.
Jhereg is appealing for several reasons. Vlad Taltos is a great character — the sort of honorable criminal that you can’t help but like. It helps that in Brust’s world, an assassination isn’t necessarily permanent. People can be revivified if their body is still mostly intact and they haven’t had their soul destroyed by a Morganti weapon (somewhat like Elric’s sword). Vlad is clever and must use his brain, not just his weapons or witchcraft, to solve his dilemma (though I thought he solved the convoluted mystery a little too easily). Vlad’s friends are also likeable, especially Loiosh the familiar, Vlad’s wife (who he met when she tried to kill him), and a female Dragonlord. Brust’s female characters are strong, smart, and competent.
Steven Brust’s writing style, sense of humor, and dialogue are also pleasant, and the story moves quickly. There’s a lot to learn in the first novel of a huge epic, but Brust does this so well. We learn a little about Vlad’s childhood, the planet of Dragaera, the origin and structure of the houses (this was fascinating), and anything else we need to know. Brust gives us just enough extra to make us curious about his world, but not enough to make the plot slow down while we learn the entire history of Dragaera and its residents. (Yet, Brust’s world is so complex and detailed that some readers may wish for an online resource such as this helpful Wikipedia entry, and several fan-made Dragaera sites that you can easily find with a Google search.)
Audible Frontiers’ version was narrated by Bernard Setaro Clark. He was terrific, speaking with a lively manner and giving each character a pleasant and distinct voice. As usual, I had to speed up the narration a bit (I’m beginning to suspect that Audible has purposely slowed down their narrators). I’m pleased to see that Bernard Setaro Clark has also narrated the sequels and I’ll be picking up book 2, Yendi, which is actually a prequel to Jhereg, very soon. I look forward to spending more time with Vlad Taltos.
Originally posted (with links) at FanLit.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Audio readers, rejoice! Finally, Steven Brust’s VLAD TALTOS novels have been produced in audio by Audible Frontiers. For years I’ve been planning to read this long series and have only been waiting for this moment.
The VLAD TALTOS novels follow Vlad Taltos, a well-known and highly successful human assassin living on the planet Dragaera. The native species, the Dragaerans, are a tall long-lived race created by sorcerers who cross-bred humans and certain animals. The characteristics of the animals give each clan, or “House,” its name, physical features, and personality traits. The exception is the house of Jhereg (named after a small dragon-like creature) which is a low-class conglomerate of outcasts from other clans and also any true humans who can buy their way in, which is what Vlad Taltos’ father did. Each of Brusts’ novels in this series is named after one of the Dragaeran houses.
In this first installment, Jhereg, we meet Vlad Taltos and his familiar, Loiosh, the jhereg who can communicate with him through mind-speech. Vlad has been hired to kill a councilman named Mellar who has embezzled a huge sum of money from the Jhereg council. When Vlad catches up with Mellar, he discovers him hiding out in Castle Black, the floating mansion of Vlad’s friend, the Dragonlord Morrolan. Castle Black’s rule of hospitality is that anyone who has been invited to stay at the castle cannot be touched and nobody wants to violate this law because it would ignite another Dragon-Jhereg war. The last war devastated both houses. Vlad and Loiosh must flush out Mellar without offending a Dragonlord or starting a war. This is not an easy task and Vlad will need to solve a mystery and get a little help from his friends.
Jhereg is appealing for several reasons. Vlad Taltos is a great character — the sort of honorable criminal that you can’t help but like. It helps that in Brust’s world, an assassination isn’t necessarily permanent. People can be revivified if their body is still mostly intact and they haven’t had their soul destroyed by a Morganti weapon (somewhat like Elric’s sword). Vlad is clever and must use his brain, not just his weapons or witchcraft, to solve his dilemma (though I thought he solved the convoluted mystery a little too easily). Vlad’s friends are also likeable, especially Loiosh the familiar, Vlad’s wife (who he met when she tried to kill him), and a female Dragonlord. Brust’s female characters are strong, smart, and competent.
Steven Brust’s writing style, sense of humor, and dialogue are also pleasant, and the story moves quickly. There’s a lot to learn in the first novel of a huge epic, but Brust does this so well. We learn a little about Vlad’s childhood, the planet of Dragaera, the origin and structure of the houses (this was fascinating), and anything else we need to know. Brust gives us just enough extra to make us curious about his world, but not enough to make the plot slow down while we learn the entire history of Dragaera and its residents. (Yet, Brust’s world is so complex and detailed that some readers may wish for an online resource such as this helpful Wikipedia entry, and several fan-made Dragaera sites that you can easily find with a Google search.)
Audible Frontiers’ version was narrated by Bernard Setaro Clark. He was terrific, speaking with a lively manner and giving each character a pleasant and distinct voice. As usual, I had to speed up the narration a bit (I’m beginning to suspect that Audible has purposely slowed down their narrators). I’m pleased to see that Bernard Setaro Clark has also narrated the sequels and I’ll be picking up book 2, Yendi, which is actually a prequel to Jhereg, very soon. I look forward to spending more time with Vlad Taltos.
November 17, 2017
-En su momento, una mezcla propia que con el tiempo usaron otros escritores.-
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Jhereg. Intriga en el castillo negro (publicación original: Jhereg, 1983) conocemos a Vlad Taltos, delincuente y asesino (hombre de negocios para él y los suyos, por supuesto) de la ciudad de Adrilankha, es tentado por una oferta para terminar con la vida de un miembro del consejo jhereg que acaba de abandonarlo, pero detrás hay un complot muy complejo que puede ser más peligroso de lo que Vlad pensó y que incluso podría afectar a la estructura de poder del propio Imperio Dragaerano. Primer libro de la serie de Vlad Taltos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Jhereg. Intriga en el castillo negro (publicación original: Jhereg, 1983) conocemos a Vlad Taltos, delincuente y asesino (hombre de negocios para él y los suyos, por supuesto) de la ciudad de Adrilankha, es tentado por una oferta para terminar con la vida de un miembro del consejo jhereg que acaba de abandonarlo, pero detrás hay un complot muy complejo que puede ser más peligroso de lo que Vlad pensó y que incluso podría afectar a la estructura de poder del propio Imperio Dragaerano. Primer libro de la serie de Vlad Taltos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
August 10, 2023
Utterly delightful. It's got the feeling of an Urban Fantasy novel while still with the setting of high fantasy.
It just drops you into the world, but not because it doesn't want to explain it, but because the book is too busy establishing the fun plot and characters to take time for the irrelevant political factions.
It just drops you into the world, but not because it doesn't want to explain it, but because the book is too busy establishing the fun plot and characters to take time for the irrelevant political factions.
October 5, 2015
An old school type fantasy that I enjoyed, but it didn't convince me that I need to read any more of the series.
October 7, 2016
4.5 stars. Full review to come on my channel. I will say this is a really promising start to what I think will be a great fantasy series.
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