Jhereg

Jhereg is the first book in the "Vladimir Taltos" series, and introduces the character and his world. It is a highly entertaining comic fantasy. The first part of the book includes a brief account of Vlad's boyhood, and the story of how he acquires the live Jhereg egg which hatches into his familiar and constant companion Loiosh. That's Loiosh on the front cover of this book hatching from his egg, he's a small intelligent flying reptile something like a miniature dragon, and he also appears on the cover of the great majority of the other books of the series. He has a telepathic link to Vlad, and one of the hallmarks of the series is the constant mental exchange of banter and insults between Vlad and Loiosh. All the Vlad Taltos stories jump around in time a lot, and and after the introduction "Jhereg" jumps ahead approximately seven years to the main action of the book, leapfrogging three of the subsequently written books and making this first book in the series also the fourth in chronological sequence. The "Vlad Taltos" novels, and the same author's or "Khaavren" romances (see below), are all set in a world of magic, where there are several intelligent species, including two types of men and women. Humans like ourselves, and Vlad, are usually referred to as "Easterners," the other type of men and women call themselves humans but are usually referred to in the books as "Dragaerans" or occasionally as Elves. Dragaerans are taller than humans, live 2,000 years or so, and then after death are eligible for reincarnation provided they have not annoyed a God too much or had their soul destroyed by a "Morganti" weapon or a "Great Weapon." Morganti weapons are used between mortals when they are really angry with someone because they don't just kill you, but destroy your soul. "Great Weapons," are rare and especially powerful Morganti weapons, of which legend has it there are exactly seventeen, and which can even kill Gods. All Dragaerans and some humans/Easterners belong to one of seventeen "Great Houses" named after animals of the fantasy world in which the novels are set. Nine of the ten novels to date featuring Vlad Taltos, including "Jhereg" have the same name as one of these great houses, usually also featuring a member of that house in a prominent role: if Steven Brust is planning to write a novel for each house we are about half way through the series. Most of the great houses also have a preferred occupation. For examples: "Dragons" and "Dzurlords" are soldiers, "Tecla" are peasants, "Chreotha" are merchants, "Orcas" are sailors, pirates or bankers, and "Jhereg" are gangsters or assassins. Most members of House Jhereg are also involved in "the organisation" which controls organised crime. The hero, Baronet Vladimir Taltos, is an assassin and minor sorcerer, a member of House Jhereg, and at the time of this book, a crimelord running an area for "the organisation." Vlad's late father spent most of the family fortune buying a minor titl

Steven Brust's killer assassain series starring Vlad Taltos (pronounce it Tal-tosh, unless you want to get on Vlad's bad side) is truly an experiment in progress, which for Vlad-fans makes each book thouroughly enjoyable. Vlad is one of a minority of humans living in a world populated by long-living, powerful elves who tend to treat humans like dirt. So Vlad takes up work killing the elves for a living. Good premise, huh? Each book covers a different story from Vlad's life, but the stories are not revealed chronologically and the writing style for each book typically has a hook to distinguish it from the rest. For instance, one begins with a laundry list, and in each chapter Vlad ruins another item of clothing - a wine stain here, a tear there, next some blood -- you get the idea. The books do have some things in common -- like they all have 17 chapters and a little girl named Deverra always makes a cameo. Why? Who knows? But the author isn't afraid to challenge the reader in this series, and that's what Brust fans tend to enjoy. Jhereg and Yendi are funny, action and intrigue-packed reads, but unlike most reviewers here, I think Teckla is the best of the lot in this compendium. It's different from anything else I've read in the fantasy genre, and forces you to deal with the fact that Vlad has real problems like marital distress to go along with the fantastic problems like saving the empire or finding the magic sword. And Vlad, to the reader's delight, just refuses to do anything the world expects him to. Highly recommended.

_Jhereg_: From the very first passage, I was completely enchanted; it quickly & skillfully drew me in, heart and soul. Brust writes with wit, humor and charm, colorfully describing characters, scenes, thoughts, simply everything about the world he's created. It's obvious that a great deal of thought went into this creation; he passes along casual details that hint of greater stories to come, including histories, myths, and rumors.The central figure is Vlad Taltos, one of the top assassins in the land. The other important figures are his assistants, his wife, a few antagonists, assorted friends and colleagues, but most importantly, his familiar, Loiosh. In addition to being a highly-skilled assassin, Vlad is also a very powerful witch. Loiosh is perhaps his strongest ally, being able to communicate with Vlad telepathically. Several characters are able to communicate this way, and it's a handy method to advance the story more quickly, without intrusive time delays and journeys back and forth. Part of what makes this story so easy to read is Brust's use of common language - he doesn't try to take us back into Olde Tyme, using overly-flowery, excessively eloquent language; he makes use of language as many of us do today, with only a few quirks thrown in to keep things interesting. It takes a lot to charm me this thoroughly, and I can't think of the words to describe how happy I am with this book, and everything about it - the characters, the dialogue, the quick pace, the story line, the plot twists, the detail, the simple elegance, the vivacity of it all. It is, in other words, amazing. I'll bet you won't be disappointed._Yendi_:I was enthralled with _Jhereg,_ and eagerly began _Yendi_ immediately upon finishing it, looking forward to once again being thoroughly immersed in the world Brust adeptly weaves around the reader. I was definitely not disappointed. I was a bit confused for the first few paragraphs, until I realized that _Yendi_ is actually a prequel to _Jhereg_.Vlad's voice flows easily, and the words just kind of glide through the reader's head - as the pages turned, pictures and scenes formed in my head without my really being aware of having read the sentences. This is the mark of a truly gifted yarn-spinner. Brust doesn't go to extreme lengths to try to justify everything and explain all of the rules, holding our hands through his thought processes; rather, he drops hints, and uses context to convey items of import. Sometimes, he flat out tells us "it's none of your business," or "that is a story for another time." He gives small nods to current culture icons such as Monty Python in places, and uses modern language instead of pained, stilted "Hie thee hence, lass!" "Evermore, milady" and other such stuffs, making it a much easier, more believable story and setting.A conflict within the House of Jhereg has Vlad being tossed hither and yon, caught right up in the heart of things - would you expect anything less? In the process, he meets

It's like a comic book, without the pictures, and you've just been dropped into the middle of it. Or maybe a video game, and you'd better be able to reach your shurikens or poisoned dagger while your faithful reptile companion holds the other assasins off. But if you're killed, don't worry: you've got insurance that will bring you back. Vlad is a human in a city dominated by eight-foot Dragaerans, who never have to shave and live to be a thousand. It's their turf, and their rules, and they routinely conquer and abuse "Easterners" like Vlad. He's not the type to take this, so he becomes a "Jhereg" assassin, working up the ranks of a criminal syndicate until he comes to boss dozens of Dragaerans around, befriending some and terrorizing others. He adopts a new-hatched mini-dragon or jhereg, finding that the cat-sized beast has a humanlike intelligence and a nasty sense of humor, and wins a grudging respect from the dominant species. All his friends are 900 years old, or undead vampires, or legendary thieves; but don't hold it against them. Vlad solves mysteries and evades death, and cooks fiery fungus-laced omelets, in a bizarre semi-alien milieu. He finds love. He sharpens knives. He gloomily bandages his jhereg bites. He'd be right at home in a Zelazny novel, which is reason enough to buy this or any other Brust book.

Let me start by saying I like Steven Brust very much, and that I think the Vlad Taltos series is outstanding. The three stories in this volume are among the best of the early books, and show Brust's writing at its best. But any thoughtful reader needs to consider the subject.Here we have a hero in Vladimir Taltos who makes his living assassinating people, selling illicit - well, untaxed - drugs, running whorehouses and operating a numbers racket. He's not a nice guy. It's true that he had a rough childhood, lives as a member of minority in a culture that's even less nice, and tried work as a restaurateur first, but even so...How can we like this guy? How can we recommend books about this guy to anybody?The Dragarean culture is deeply dysfunctional. It is based on sorcery in fundamental ways, and upon the failure of sorcery a few hundred years before Taltos was born, the society essentially collapsed into chaos (sorry). Crime, including assassination, is an accepted line of work. The empress herself recognizes its necessity. Nor are all assassinations necessarily fatal, although a lamentable number of those that Taltos commits seem to be. Sorcery is very powerful, and revivification is often possible. And so many of the targets richly deserve it.And there is an afterlife. At least for Dragearans. And sometimes Taltos feels bad about it afterwards. After the torture and murder of one sorceress, who was guilty of nothing more than what Taltos does for a living, he tells us that years later it still bothers him. Brust is a good enough writer that he makes you like Vlad Taltos, and care about him, despite his vocation. Brust presents the picture of a deeply complex man who wants to deny those complexities, in the tradition of the best mystery writers. Characters are well-developed, plot lines imaginative and tight, and the dialog is very good. The novels are themselves are each very much pieces of the puzzle that is Vlad Taltos. While there are a few inconsistencies across the books, they are relatively minor. There is a sense that Vlad Taltos is much more important than he knows, and that he will have a critical, even indispensable, role in the society in which he finds himself. There are mysteries that span several books, some still unanswered. Who is Vlad's mother, for example? Why does the very oldest Dragearan foster and protect him? Why does a goddess take such a interest in him? The mysteries and shadows, some revealed in later books and some still dark, make Taltos more compelling.These are entertaining, even compelling yarns in a richly imagined world. In the end, you don't care that Vlad Taltos is a multiple-murderer; you just want Steven Brust to write another book.