Awod
11-08-2007, 10:50 PM
Sorry for pretty much completely quoting wikipedia but it says things so much better than me without spoiling anything.
Anyways to me each book fresh and fascinating so vastly different from other things I've read but in a good way. I've been told by every single one of my friends I'm utterly horrible at describing things so bear with me..
In a nutshell the Vald Taltos series is about an assassin named.. *drum roll* Vladimir Taltos, his poisonous reptilian Jhereg [pretty much a small dragon minus the fire] named Loiosh and their experiences of making a living in an extremely oppressive [to easterners (humans)] world.
Ahh, sorry can't say much more >< told you I'm bad at this but I just can't describe everything I like, feel free to help me by starting a discussion though. :D
The Vladimir Taltos series is set on another world (possibly another planet), in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are humanoid but have such differences as greatly extended lifespans and heights averaging about 7 feet. Referred to as "elfs" by some humans, they refer to themselves as "human". The Dragaeran Empire controls the majority of the landmass on the planet, and does not greatly concern itself with the rest. Vlad Taltos is one of the human minority, which exists as a lower class in the Empire (known by Dragaerans as "Easterners"). Vlad also practices the human art of witchcraft; "táltos" is Hungarian for a kind of supernatural person in folklore. Though human, he is a citizen of the Empire because his social-climbing father bought a title in one of the less reputable of the 17 Dragaeran Great Houses. The only Great House that sells memberships this way is, not coincidentally, also the one that maintains a criminal organization. Vlad proves surprisingly successful in this House. Despite being a human and a criminal, he has a number of high-ranking Dragaeran friends, and often gets caught up in important events.
Brust has written ten novels in the series, which is proposed to run to nineteen novels - one named for each of the Great Houses, one named for Vlad himself, and a final novel which Brust has said will be titled The Last Contract. The first three novels resemble private-eye detective stories, perhaps the closest being Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. The later novels are more varied than the first three. Though they read like fantasy, there are hints at science-fictional explanations for some things.
There is a certain amount of variation in the writing style amongst the Taltos novels as well. Brust uses a different narrative approach in almost every novel in the series. Some of these approaches are more purely stylistic and have minor effects on the actual story-telling; some are profound and involve the point of view of characters whom the reader never expected to get to know so well.
Further, as the writing of the Taltos novels has spanned over two decades, they have been influenced by events in Steven Brust's own life. A fascination with the Mafia — subsequently brought into a somewhat shocking perspective by the murder of a friend — profoundly influenced his storylines, as did the breakup of his marriage.
Lastly, it should be noted that Brust has a decided knack for slipping absorbing mysteries into the minor details of his stories; mysteries that tend to fascinate his readers, once they notice them, and often form the kernel around which later books coalesce, even though their resolution still springs upon the reader unexpectedly when it finally comes.
Books by Brust.
* The Vlad Taltos novels (19 are planned in this series)
1. Jhereg (1983)
2. Yendi (1984)
3. Teckla (1987)
4. Taltos (1988)
5. Phoenix (1990)
6. Athyra (1993)
7. Orca (1996)
8. Dragon (1998)
9. Issola (2001)
10. Dzur (2006)
11. Jhegaala (forthcoming 2008)
* The Khaavren Romances
1. The Phoenix Guards (1991)
2. Five Hundred Years After (1994)
3. The Viscount of Adrilankha, published in three volumes:
1. The Paths of the Dead (2002)
2. The Lord of Castle Black (2003)
3. Sethra Lavode (2004)
* Stand-alone
o Brokedown Palace (1986)
Other novels
* To Reign in Hell (1984)
* The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars (1987)
* Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille (1990)
* The Gypsy (1992) with Megan Lindholm
* Agyar (1993)
* Freedom & Necessity (1997) with Emma Bull
* My Own Kind of Freedom (written 2005, unpublished), a novel based on the Firefly television series
Anyways to me each book fresh and fascinating so vastly different from other things I've read but in a good way. I've been told by every single one of my friends I'm utterly horrible at describing things so bear with me..
In a nutshell the Vald Taltos series is about an assassin named.. *drum roll* Vladimir Taltos, his poisonous reptilian Jhereg [pretty much a small dragon minus the fire] named Loiosh and their experiences of making a living in an extremely oppressive [to easterners (humans)] world.
Ahh, sorry can't say much more >< told you I'm bad at this but I just can't describe everything I like, feel free to help me by starting a discussion though. :D
The Vladimir Taltos series is set on another world (possibly another planet), in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are humanoid but have such differences as greatly extended lifespans and heights averaging about 7 feet. Referred to as "elfs" by some humans, they refer to themselves as "human". The Dragaeran Empire controls the majority of the landmass on the planet, and does not greatly concern itself with the rest. Vlad Taltos is one of the human minority, which exists as a lower class in the Empire (known by Dragaerans as "Easterners"). Vlad also practices the human art of witchcraft; "táltos" is Hungarian for a kind of supernatural person in folklore. Though human, he is a citizen of the Empire because his social-climbing father bought a title in one of the less reputable of the 17 Dragaeran Great Houses. The only Great House that sells memberships this way is, not coincidentally, also the one that maintains a criminal organization. Vlad proves surprisingly successful in this House. Despite being a human and a criminal, he has a number of high-ranking Dragaeran friends, and often gets caught up in important events.
Brust has written ten novels in the series, which is proposed to run to nineteen novels - one named for each of the Great Houses, one named for Vlad himself, and a final novel which Brust has said will be titled The Last Contract. The first three novels resemble private-eye detective stories, perhaps the closest being Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. The later novels are more varied than the first three. Though they read like fantasy, there are hints at science-fictional explanations for some things.
There is a certain amount of variation in the writing style amongst the Taltos novels as well. Brust uses a different narrative approach in almost every novel in the series. Some of these approaches are more purely stylistic and have minor effects on the actual story-telling; some are profound and involve the point of view of characters whom the reader never expected to get to know so well.
Further, as the writing of the Taltos novels has spanned over two decades, they have been influenced by events in Steven Brust's own life. A fascination with the Mafia — subsequently brought into a somewhat shocking perspective by the murder of a friend — profoundly influenced his storylines, as did the breakup of his marriage.
Lastly, it should be noted that Brust has a decided knack for slipping absorbing mysteries into the minor details of his stories; mysteries that tend to fascinate his readers, once they notice them, and often form the kernel around which later books coalesce, even though their resolution still springs upon the reader unexpectedly when it finally comes.
Books by Brust.
* The Vlad Taltos novels (19 are planned in this series)
1. Jhereg (1983)
2. Yendi (1984)
3. Teckla (1987)
4. Taltos (1988)
5. Phoenix (1990)
6. Athyra (1993)
7. Orca (1996)
8. Dragon (1998)
9. Issola (2001)
10. Dzur (2006)
11. Jhegaala (forthcoming 2008)
* The Khaavren Romances
1. The Phoenix Guards (1991)
2. Five Hundred Years After (1994)
3. The Viscount of Adrilankha, published in three volumes:
1. The Paths of the Dead (2002)
2. The Lord of Castle Black (2003)
3. Sethra Lavode (2004)
* Stand-alone
o Brokedown Palace (1986)
Other novels
* To Reign in Hell (1984)
* The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars (1987)
* Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille (1990)
* The Gypsy (1992) with Megan Lindholm
* Agyar (1993)
* Freedom & Necessity (1997) with Emma Bull
* My Own Kind of Freedom (written 2005, unpublished), a novel based on the Firefly television series