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Liked It “I really love this author and especially the Vlad Taltos series. Vlad is an Easterner, a short lived weakling human, fighting to live among the Dragaerians, all of them seven foot tall and thousands of years in lifespan. |
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“I really love this author and especially the Vlad Taltos series. Vlad is an Easterner, a short lived weakling human, fighting to live among the Dragaerians, all of them seven foot tall and thousands of years in lifespan.
Vicki M wrote this review Friday, February 11, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I like the part of this book that reminisces on Vlad setting the witch spell to obtain his jherig egg, which hatches, fed and trained and becomes Loiosh, the best small flying dragon sidekick in fiction with a scionic attachment to Vlad and a big sense/ of humor, and loyalty.
Vlad ia a crime/boss in the Jhereg clan/Organization, providing illegal pursuits in a wide territory and collecting the money.
Vlad gets greedy and accepts a huge fee to do some 'work' for the Council. Now whichever way he turned is disaster for the peace/that has held hundreds of years in the Empire. Vlad and special friends have to get imaginative and move fast, and try not to kill each other instead of the Tag marked for death.
I love the character interactions, wit and intelligence.. The book is smooth and enteetaining. I have read it before since 1999 a few times, its better everytime.
although there are blood thirsry characters, deaths and assassinations, there is NO element of splatter and gore. I would let my 14 year old read these.”
“Heist fantasy at its best.”
Misti S wrote this review Wednesday, November 10, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Jhereg is an entertaining, fast-paced fantasy that introduces Vlad Taltos and his constant companion, a leathery-winged jhereg.
Frank G wrote this review Tuesday, November 9, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I recently reread Jhereg, and though I hardly read any fantasy anymore, I was pleased that I still enjoy Brust, and his humorous, anti-epic, wry blend of fantasy. I'm looking forward to finally reading the rest of the series.”
“Its was good, fast-paced and interesting. There were points where I had to think to put myself in the shoes of the main character and imagine what was going through his mind. I loved it.”
McKenna "Kenny" 5 wrote this review Friday, September 3, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was awesome on so many levels.”
Elise F wrote this review Saturday, July 24, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is actually an omnibus--a collection of the first three Vlad Taltos novels. I'd read one--can't remember which one at the moment--years ago, on the recommendation of someone who'd told me it was a vampire series. Which confused the heck out of me, and I didn't really know what to think about the book. I liked the voice, but it really messes with your enjoyment of a book when you're expecting one thing and get another; when you're waiting for something to happen that never does. Say you're told that a book is a murder mystery: you're reading along, enjoying the story, but part of you is holding back, waiting for the murder, so the real story can begin. It was like that.
DKayeS wrote this review Wednesday, December 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
So I decided I really ought to start the series from the beginning, and bought the omnibus. It's been sitting in my TBR pile for quite a while, because I still had that vague dissatisfied feeling in my mind from the first one I'd read.
***** Jhereg by Steven Brust. Fantasy.
Wow. Why haven't I been reading these all along? It's one of those reactions. A book that just fits so well that it could have been written specifically for me. I love the voice, the style, the characters. Vlad Taltos is a human, living among people whose lifespans are 50 - 100 times his. But he holds his own because of his wits and the skills he's developed as an assassin. As a character, he's somewhat of a cross between Tavi and Harry Dresden, which pretty much guarantees I'll love him.
In Jhereg, he's hired to kill an embezzler. If Vlad doesn't kill him, the house of Jhereg will be destroyed. But if he does, he himself will be killed. It's even more complex when the embezzler takes refuge in a place where killing him would set off a war.
Like I said, it's as if it were written specifically for me. I love mental puzzles, and intrigue, and hidden motives... and characters who succeed by being smart and well-trained rather than just having lots of powers. The dry wit and sarcasm clinch the deal.
***** Yendi by Steven Brust. Fantasy.
This takes place before Jhereg, and is the story in which Vlad Taltos meets his wife Cawti, who's been hired to kill him as part of a war for territory. As in Jhereg, everything is not as it seems, and there are plots and hidden motives, and intrigue up the wazoo.
I also noticed yet another way in which this series was written specifically for me--in the negative reviews on Amazon, the thing most people who didn't like the book complained about was the lack of description and scenery. Bingo. Nine times out of ten, I couldn't care less about description, and if an author gives me too much of it, I just skim it.
***** Teckla by Steven Brust. Fantasy.
And the bar is raised. Not only is there intrigue and wit and clever solutions--now there's emotional depth, as Vlad's wife's involvement in a revolutionary group threatens both their lives and their relationship, and has Vlad questioning his profession.
There were no easy answers, no out-of-character changes in attitude. No infallible or super-wise characters, either.
My email signature quote yesterday was this:
Steven Brust's First Theory: "All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool."
I know I mentioned it before, when I'd been reading a book from his Phoenix Guards series, but I definitely agree with Steven Brust about what's cool.”
“In the wake of my mental destruction while scribing a review for The Summoner by Gail Martin, I find myself sufficiently calmed to present to you, my dear readers, an exemplary work of fantasy fiction. From the first page, the first sentence, to the final sentence, I was absolutely captivated. I am thankful for such talented writers in this world, for Steven Brust's introduction to his fantastic world is simply spectacular.
Lila S wrote this review Wednesday, August 6, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
"There is a similarity, if I may be permitted an excursion into tenuous metaphor, between the feel of a chilly breeze and the feel of a knife's blade, as either is laid across the back of the neck. I can call up memories of both, if I work at it. The chilly breeze is invariably going to be the more pleasant memory. For instance..."
-Prologue of Jhereg
Following the main character, an assassin, from his point of view (I absolutely adore first person narratives - and well done ones too!), the dialogue is humorous, action-filled, politically infused, and overall engaging. I feel a true part of Vlad Taltos' world, for his eyes are mine, and together there is much to be seen. The characters are real and unique.
And guess what?
There were turns in the plot that were unpredictable! *Thank goodness!* There is no sense of cliche-ness in the magic of the world. Sure, it was familiar in the sense that I could somewhat understand how the magic worked, but, it was different enough that I said, "wow" at times. For example, the source of their power is reachable via an orb. This orb can sustain major magical efforts, or for a more practical sense, allow people to know what time is it. ;p
I am so incredibly excited to continue reading his series. Brust says that he did not write the books in chronological order, therefore you really could start wherever you chose. (He did provide the information that Taltos, Yendi, Jhereg, Teckla, Phoenix, Athyra, and Orca follow a chronological sequence - so maybe someday, I shall read them in that order for fun!)
*grins* I have found a gem!
”
“My god! I've never read anything like this. Brust is a damn genius. No silly save the world plots, no superheroes, but the life and times of an ASSASSIN of all things. Characters are HIGHLY realistic and believeable. The world is complex but so different from anything you've ever read.
Charlie H wrote this review Saturday, May 17, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
What else can I say, brust's works are just too amazing. if you like any sort of fantasy novel, read Brust, I guarantee you won't be disaapointed.”
“These are fun books and sort of a Sci-Fi, Fantasy cross. I bought a huge lot of books at an estate sale and these were among them. After reading this one I was hooked. A word of warning however, this is a long series and I am not sure it is done. I happen to like long series but they aren't for everyone. Each book does have it's own story though.”
Lylah wrote this review Sunday, November 4, 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
