Brokedown Palace

I bought a new book and read it. It was "Brokedown Palace". My initial interest was because it had a really cool cover, the back was intriguing with a very encouraging quote from Tad Williams (author of the Memory, Sorry, Thorn trilogy) and a brief blurb about the characters. The book was difficult to read at first as it was written very carefree. Almost as if intended to be read in discourse and not silently. After the introduction however, which was 1/3 of the book, it began to transition into a normal story. Included between chapters were interludes that didn't seem to make sense, but upon completing the book, you realize that everything is building into a climax of understanding on why the book is called "Brokedown Palace". An odd book, yet very good I think. It's worthy of some discussion. It reminded me of "The Light Princess" by MacDonald for some reason. Perhaps because it seems to be speaking on a few levels.

That is not a misspelling of dedication, the book is Deadicated to the members and lyric writers of the Grateful Dead in the mid-80's. All the "legends" are created from various Grateful Dead songs. For example, the boy trying to win the Princess meets the Demon Goddess in three guises, one twice his age, one twice his height, and one twice his weight. That's a reference to the song "I Need a Miracle". The wolf sleeping by the stream where the woodcutter's son finds the silver mine is a reference to the song "Cassidy". There is no Dead album called "Brokedown Palace" it's a song from the "American Beauty" album. "River gonna take me, sing me sweet and sleepy..."

Brokedown Palace fits into the Taltos tales, some how, some way. IT's from the other side of the coin, the mortal rather than faerie side, at least in some ways, and it's written in an offbeat, quietly friendly way that gives even the bad guy an almost benign feeling.I think it's Brust's second best. (His best would be To Reign in Hell, no doubt.)

This is my favorite Brust book (and I like Brust). This book clearly fits into the Vlad series, SOMEHOW, but also has a great deal to do with the album containing its namesake song... You can find nearly all (if not all) of the songs alluded to, and yes, it pretty much starts "on its hands and knees by the riverside".

Steven Brust had outdone himself. Brokedown Palace is a book written in the style of a Hungarian folk tale, with all of the dark, gothic mystery, and none of the Disney-esque cuteness. This is not a children's fairy tale. The characters are complex, and the plot is both powerful and subtle. Devoted readers of Brust may notice the veiled references to the world of his Taltos series; the connection makes a fantastic book even more enjoyable.