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Tor, copyright 2008, 300 pages
ISBN 978-0-7653-4155-6
Edited by Teresa Nielsen Hayden
January 2014 (age 35)
This is book #11 by publication order of
the Vlad Taltos series of novels. Most
of the early ones could be read out-of-order, but by this point, it’s worth reading the prior books. This one
fills in some gaps before Athyra.
From the back cover:
I
thought I knew my people. I thought I
knew who I was. I thought a little trip
to the East would simplify things. I had
no idea…
Fresh
from the collapse of his marriage, and with the criminal Jhereg organization
out to eliminate him, Vlad decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway
Fenario. All he knows about them is that
their family nam is Merss and that they live in a papermaking town called Burz.
At
first, Burz isn’t such a bad place, though the mill reeks to high heaven. But
the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. Then a ghastly murder takes place. And in its wake, far from Dragaera, without
his usual organization working for him, Vlad has to do his sleuthing amidst an
alien people… his own.
Reactions, and probably some spoilers,
after the break:
Backing up a few steps from Dzur, we learn what happened during
Vlad’s road trip back to the old country.
It was an all-right whodunit that was a bit obscure for me. It was good, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t
always follow it. I suspect that at
least some of my difficulty with following and predicting the story is due to
my comparative lack of experience reading mystery novels. I tend to read a book to see how it turns
out, instead of hanging on looking for clues and predicting outcomes.
Rating: 4
Premise:
Vlad tries to go to his mom’s hometown and
meet the family. Misunderstandings
ensue, and many people die.
As ever, each book focuses on a particular
noble house with particular tendencies.
In this one, Vlad’s working with the Jhegaala, some sort of creature
that goes through many changes throughout its lifespan. There was a bit less direct tie-in between
the noble house and the story than sometimes.
Characters:
Vlad, Loiosh, and Rocza. Enemies.
A few allies. Other than our hero
and his alter ego, most of the characters are sketched in. That’s fine.
They felt round, but if you try to look for details, you find that you’ve made them up
yourself. It was wonderful efficient
characterization.
Setting:
A human town. Burz.
I think it’s a pun, but it might be a Hungarian one. I missed it.
It was fun to watch Vlad experiencing the sun for the first time. I got tired of hearing about the stink, but
that was the point. It was a real
viper’s nest of a small town. I enjoyed
it.
Plot:
For most of the series, Mr. Brust has done a
marvelous job of giving the reader just enough to get through the story and
learn a bit about the world. In the past
few (Issola, Dzur, Jhegaala), to me, he’s started not telling the reader enough
for it to be completely satisfying. I
get that our hero’s a brilliant criminal mind, and he sees things that are
tenuously linked that I might have missed.
It just seems like he’s too chintzy with the details along the way, so I
have to be told all the things that I’ve missed in some expository passage
where I can marvel at Vlad’s acuity. It
just doesn’t work as well for me.
Readability:
Readability was fine. I enjoyed some of the turns of phrases
employed, and the banter is really well-done.
Other Opinions:
This is also pretty heavily-reviewed
book. Here are a couple I liked:
He liked it.
As ever, I quite enjoy Russ’ reviews.
I love Jo Walton’s reviews. There may be a conflict of interest, as it’s
published on Tor’s (the publisher’s) website.
But still. Nice review. Not particularly positive, but pretty much
how I read the book.
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