Athyra – Steven BrustAce, Copyright 1993, 243 pages.
Read: May 2010 (at age 32)
First time read
If you haven’t read it:
This is book 6 of a series in progress. It isn’t necessary to read all of the previous books, but I would recommend it, as there is not a lot of back story given. The tight first-person writing style doesn’t allow for much exposition, but if you don’t know the back story, you’ll miss out on a few things in the story.
If you’ve read it (spoilers!)
Characterization:
Good. There are only a few characters in this story, and there is very little time spent developing them. However, as is typical in the Vlad series of books, less is more. While there isn’t a lot of time spent on the characters, they feel real, and are sympathetic. It’s odd to be in the head of a character other than Vlad, but it’s certainly not bad.
Premise:
Good. There’s not a lot to comment on here – the book follows the other five and flows organically from them. I think that’s all you can ask for in this department.
Setting:
Excellent. Dragaera is a lot of fun. I’ve now read 12 books set in this world, and it’s not getting old yet. This has a lot to do with the author revealing only enough of the world to tell his story. You get the feeling that the whole world is fully developed, and is consistent, and there are all kinds of things to wonder about that keep you coming back, just in case that reveal happens to be in the next book.
Plot:
Good. This plot is really quite simple, in the macro sense – Vlad gets mad at an old enemy, and kills him. More or less. Beyond that, it’s a coming of age story for our viewpoint character. I tend to enjoy those stories on general principles, and this one is well done. My main complaint is how short it is. This book feels a bit like the beginning of a James Bond movie – we see who the characters are, we get to see them do something cool, and now the real story is going to start.
Readability:
Excellent. This is a fast-paced read and, like most Brust books, there are delightful little turns of phrases sprinkled throughout the crisp writing.
Overall:
Steven Brust is not afraid to change things up in his books. That’s one of the reasons that I enjoy his books – stylistically, they’re often very different, even from other books in the same series. I never know what exactly I’m going to get in the book. Usually, I quite like them (but not always). This one, I did. In a series where the first 5 books were all first-person through the same character, this one contains that same character in a starring role, but changes the viewpoint to the real hero of the book. It’s a neat twist, and gives us another view of the main character and the world he lives in. It’s a quick read, but feels almost like an introduction to the next book in the series, Orca.
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