Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Tor Books (2008), Edition: First Edition, 304 pages
Description
Fresh from the collapse of his marriage, and with the criminal Jhereg organization out to eliminate him, Vlad Taltos decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario. All he knows about them is that their family name is Merss and that they live in a papermaking industrial town called Burz. At first Burz isn't such a bad place, though the paper mill reeks to high heaven. But the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. No one will tell him where to find his relatives. Even stranger, when he mentions the name Merss, people think he's threatening them. The witches' coven that every Fenarian town and city should have is nowhere in evidence. And the Guild, which should be protecting the city's craftsmen and traders, is an oppressive, all-powerful organization, into which no tradesman would ever be admitted. Then a terrible thing happens. In its wake, far from Draegara, without his usual organization working for him, Vlad is going to have to do his sleuthing amidst an alien people: his own. Steven Brust delivers another thrilling entry in his Vlad Taltos fantasy epic.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Shrike58
If you haven't been reading the saga of Vlad Taltos, there's nothing for you to see here; do not pass go, do not collect $200, go to the start of the series and start reading.
If you have been reading the series this is actually one of the more significant backfiller books, as early in his exile
If you have been reading the series this is actually one of the more significant backfiller books, as early in his exile
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from Drageran lands Vlad tries to visit the ancestral homeland and blunders into a war of all against him; thus beginning his transformation from crime lord to the paladin that we see in "Issola." Show Less
LibraryThing member lewispike
An early book - Vlad is on the run from the Jhereg, still very sore about Cawti - and he decides to hide out in The East among his own species. In fact, after chatting to Noish-pa he decides to find out more about his mother's side of the family.
Things, naturally, don't go entirely smoothly - the
Things, naturally, don't go entirely smoothly - the
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town is controlled by three interdependent factions, they're all worried about Vlad's intentions and things escalate, really quite quickly. Vlad then tries to work out what's going on, eventually successfully and brings some of his kind of justice to the area, despite being bed-ridden. Show Less
LibraryThing member kd9
You don't read Stven Brust for cutting edge science or epic fantasy. He has found his niche in a detailed and believable fantasy world of long-lived sorcerers (elves) and humans with some different powers (witches). The series started off with a human, Vlad Taltos, owner of a telepathic jhereg
This novel finds Vlad leaving Dragaera (home of the elves) for his ancestral home of Fenario (home of the humans). He is being chased by a series of assassins from his former guild who want him permanently dead. Thinking that it would be easier to hide among humans, Vlad travels to Burz; home of a paper mill, the Count who runs it, the Guild of Merchants that opposes the Count, and the Coven, witches who are just trying to keep a low profile and not be burned by the peasants who fear them. Although his situation is dire, especially since everyone in Burz feels terribly threatened by his presence, this is mostly a novel of of interior witty dialogues between Vlad and his jhereg, Loiosh. As long as you are not expecting any grand ideas, this is a quick and pleasant read.
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(dragonette), who just happens to be an assassin living among the Dragaerans.This novel finds Vlad leaving Dragaera (home of the elves) for his ancestral home of Fenario (home of the humans). He is being chased by a series of assassins from his former guild who want him permanently dead. Thinking that it would be easier to hide among humans, Vlad travels to Burz; home of a paper mill, the Count who runs it, the Guild of Merchants that opposes the Count, and the Coven, witches who are just trying to keep a low profile and not be burned by the peasants who fear them. Although his situation is dire, especially since everyone in Burz feels terribly threatened by his presence, this is mostly a novel of of interior witty dialogues between Vlad and his jhereg, Loiosh. As long as you are not expecting any grand ideas, this is a quick and pleasant read.
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LibraryThing member hannah.aviva
I've finally finished all of the Vlad series. This last one was a bit disappointing, it just wasn't as fun as some of the other books. It seems like Vlad usually heals pretty quick, I don't understand why it would take him 2 whole years to recover from this ordeal (even without the help of
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sorcery). I think he must have been doing some other things during that time in Fenario. I wonder what? Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This book again goes back into the past, during the time when Vlad briefly disappeared from the empire and went back East. Things don't go so well, but in his usual fashion, they go worse for those that cross him. Typical Vlad, sometimes frustrating as he blunders about, but still good stuff.
11
11
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books in a series seems like a lot, but as these are fairly short (this one is a bit longer) all 11 books really just add up to 1 or 2 Jordan-sized sagas. Show Less
LibraryThing member FicusFan
This is a book in the Vlad Taltos fantasy series. It is book #7 in the story order, and #11 in the publication order, and that is the major problem with the book. The previous book chronologically (#6) was published in 1990 - so I am a bit rusty with all the connecting details in the overall
Vlad is an Easterner, a human, on an alien world. It is a land of 7 foot Elves, who are bigger and stronger. Vlad has the human ability of magic, and it helps him survive. He is an assassin and has a small dragon (Jhereg) familiar, Loiosh, with whom he is mind linked. Loiosh has a mate - and Vlad has a singing or talking sword. Its been a while so the details are vague, and the sword wasn't used in this book.
Vlad doesn't live in the East with the humans but in the Dragaeran Empire. Humans are poorly regarded and have no rights or standing. Except Vlad is almost a pet to several of the members of the Royal Family, so he gets away with a lot. On his own he was the head of a human crime syndicate, until he turns his own group against him. They are trying to kill him, and his wife Cawti has left him. She too is an assassin, but has different politics. For the life of me, I can't remember what he did exactly to piss all the humans off.
In this book Vlad decides to hide out from the assassins his crime syndicate is sending after him, in the East. Since he is originally from there, he decides to look up his lost and forgotten family. They make paper in some small out of the way place.
The story is of his journey, and his attempts to find his family, and fit in with the other humans. Of course he doesn't fit in. He manages to rile everyone up because he doesn't understand the local power structure and the politics between the merchants' guild, the witches' coven, and the local lord and his paper mill. Mayhem and death ensue. Vlad is incapacitated and has to rely on the Jhereg and the kindness of strangers.
It wasn't a bad book at all, but as I said I couldn't remember his crime, and Vlad only alluded to it. It also seemed like characters in search of a story. Vlad just wanders around and spends time eating and drinking at an inn and the story develops from his presence and the questions he asks. Almost as though Brust had the Eastern idea, but couldn't come up with an actual story to set there.
The writing was good, though much of it is wisecracks: Vlad and those he meets, Vlad and Loiosh, Vlad and himself. He is cynical, and a smart mouth, and sometimes it gets tiring. This time it was OK. I enjoyed my time with Vlad and Loiosh, it was a nice cozy time catching up with an old friend. His books are short and a fast read. I missed the Dragaerans though, and didn't like not really knowing what was going on.
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story arc.Vlad is an Easterner, a human, on an alien world. It is a land of 7 foot Elves, who are bigger and stronger. Vlad has the human ability of magic, and it helps him survive. He is an assassin and has a small dragon (Jhereg) familiar, Loiosh, with whom he is mind linked. Loiosh has a mate - and Vlad has a singing or talking sword. Its been a while so the details are vague, and the sword wasn't used in this book.
Vlad doesn't live in the East with the humans but in the Dragaeran Empire. Humans are poorly regarded and have no rights or standing. Except Vlad is almost a pet to several of the members of the Royal Family, so he gets away with a lot. On his own he was the head of a human crime syndicate, until he turns his own group against him. They are trying to kill him, and his wife Cawti has left him. She too is an assassin, but has different politics. For the life of me, I can't remember what he did exactly to piss all the humans off.
In this book Vlad decides to hide out from the assassins his crime syndicate is sending after him, in the East. Since he is originally from there, he decides to look up his lost and forgotten family. They make paper in some small out of the way place.
The story is of his journey, and his attempts to find his family, and fit in with the other humans. Of course he doesn't fit in. He manages to rile everyone up because he doesn't understand the local power structure and the politics between the merchants' guild, the witches' coven, and the local lord and his paper mill. Mayhem and death ensue. Vlad is incapacitated and has to rely on the Jhereg and the kindness of strangers.
It wasn't a bad book at all, but as I said I couldn't remember his crime, and Vlad only alluded to it. It also seemed like characters in search of a story. Vlad just wanders around and spends time eating and drinking at an inn and the story develops from his presence and the questions he asks. Almost as though Brust had the Eastern idea, but couldn't come up with an actual story to set there.
The writing was good, though much of it is wisecracks: Vlad and those he meets, Vlad and Loiosh, Vlad and himself. He is cynical, and a smart mouth, and sometimes it gets tiring. This time it was OK. I enjoyed my time with Vlad and Loiosh, it was a nice cozy time catching up with an old friend. His books are short and a fast read. I missed the Dragaerans though, and didn't like not really knowing what was going on.
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LibraryThing member SaintBrevity
Vlad, avoiding consequences from events that take place prior to this book, heads for his homeland. When attempting to pass the time by trying to learn about his family's history leads to some unfortunate events, the consequences lead to adventure and excitement of the kind Vlad manages as usual to
A pretty good read, though it felt a lot more dialog dependent than other Vlad novels. Regardless, I liked it, and it's by far from the worst in the series.
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barely scrape through. A pretty good read, though it felt a lot more dialog dependent than other Vlad novels. Regardless, I liked it, and it's by far from the worst in the series.
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LibraryThing member meersan
Vlad travels east to rediscover his roots; most of the work consists of him loitering around a village looking for trouble (and finding it).
LibraryThing member Chlytor
Not his best work, but a decent read. Confusing, even for a Vlad novel. For serious fans only.
LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
I tend to fall behind with the Taltos books because they're so complex, and each book may or may not fall next in the timeline after the last one, that I have to reread all of them before a new one makes sense. So this is long overdue, but it was worth it - it's grim, but it cleared up a lot of
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character development that previous books (that took place later in the timeline) had taken for granted. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
I only read half the book because I had very hard time empathizing with the characters - the book is negative, black, and depressing. I might give it a try sometime in the future.
LibraryThing member Herenya
Jhegaala (In which Vlad must survive amongst an alien race: his own) is the 11th book - going in publication order - but is set between the fifth and sixth books, Phoenix and Athyra. Vlad has gone East, looking for his mother's family. He spends much of the book in one town, trying to get answers.
This could easily be boring, but it isn't. For one thing, it's interesting to see Vlad navigating a wholly-human community - Vlad has a few significant fellow-humans in his life, but like him, they're humans living in Dragaeran society. Culturally, Vlad is more Dragaeran than he perhaps realises.
For another, not having any friends at hand means Vlad's conversations with his jhereg familiar, Loiosh, become extra important. Vlad and Loiosh's banter and teamwork a lot of fun.
And because this series doesn't unfold chronologically, I knew Vlad's isn't unscathed by his time in the East. Therefore something was going to happen.
Which it does. It's bigger and darker than I expected, but I appreciated the way Vlad talked about it. And knowing that Vlad gets out okay - not entirely unscathed, but comparatively speaking okay - meant it wasn't unbearably tense.
Usually I'm a fan of reading things in order, but it's fascinating to have a series that doesn't lend itself to that. It helps that Vlad assumes his audience might not have heard about his other adventures and so frames his stories like standalone episodes - and rather than being contrived, what Vlad might chose to leave out is just in keeping with his character.
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It's obvious that something is going on beneath the surface, but it's less obvious to Vlad - and not at all obvious to the reader - what that is.This could easily be boring, but it isn't. For one thing, it's interesting to see Vlad navigating a wholly-human community - Vlad has a few significant fellow-humans in his life, but like him, they're humans living in Dragaeran society. Culturally, Vlad is more Dragaeran than he perhaps realises.
For another, not having any friends at hand means Vlad's conversations with his jhereg familiar, Loiosh, become extra important. Vlad and Loiosh's banter and teamwork a lot of fun.
And because this series doesn't unfold chronologically, I knew Vlad's isn't unscathed by his time in the East. Therefore something was going to happen.
Which it does. It's bigger and darker than I expected, but I appreciated the way Vlad talked about it. And knowing that Vlad gets out okay - not entirely unscathed, but comparatively speaking okay - meant it wasn't unbearably tense.
Usually I'm a fan of reading things in order, but it's fascinating to have a series that doesn't lend itself to that. It helps that Vlad assumes his audience might not have heard about his other adventures and so frames his stories like standalone episodes - and rather than being contrived, what Vlad might chose to leave out is just in keeping with his character.
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LibraryThing member jrg1316
This is one of the weaker books in the series. What should have been an interesting look into Vlad's past by revealing his mother's family and homeland turned into a political incident between Vlad and the ruling organizations of the town. Slightly disappointing.
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-07
Physical description
301 p.; 6.11 inches
ISBN
0765301474 / 9780765301475