Finished Dzur last weekend, shortly after getting it. Margie reread Issola while waiting, and then I reread Issola, too (since I found I’d forgotten a … uh … key plot point).
So, without further ado … two book reviews.
Issola by Steven Brust (2002)
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One of bits of coolness about Brust’s Vlad tales is the extensive and intriguing backstory that he weaves in and out of the tales (often, it seems, more by hints than fully-developed concepts). The problem with that is, sooner or later, you have to pay the hints off, and that’s what this tale is — a payoff of various bits and pieces that Brust has discussed regarding the gods, the Jenoine, and the origins of Dragaera.
And the problem with that? It’s all way out of scale for Vlad Taltos, the erstwhile assassin, who’s been most worried about his safety, the Organization on his tail, and his evolving personal code of morality. Within the bounds of a witchcraft and sorcery and elves, Brust’s best stories are witty noir.
This isn’t. Instead, Vlad, though pulled into the story to help his friends, is out of his depth most of the time, present more as a narrator to events and conversationlist with the High and Mighty. That’s entertaining enough, and the chance for him to better get to know the mysterious Lady Teldra, Morrollan’s majordomo, is more than that, but ultimately it renders Vlad unusually passive and unnecessary to the action until the very (and somewhat contrived-feeling) end.
A mediocre Brust book is still fun, but Issola is, alas, still “just” a mediocre Brust book. And someone who’s never read any of the series really shouldn’t start here.
Dzur by Steven Brust (2006)
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Now this is what I’m talking about. Vlad’s back on the streets of Adrilankha, hours after the previous novel, and trying to help his estranged wife against a mysterious conspiracy by the distaff sorcerers of the Left Hand of the Jhereg. Vlad returns to his roots — mobs, magic, and lots of pointy objects (or the threat thereof) — with appropriate twists. He’s not the assassin we first met, and killing out of hand doesn’t sit well with him. He has a new weapon to draw on, too, and allies
both old and (stomach-lurching, in some cases) new to draw on.
Ultimately, Vlad does what Vlad does best — violence (and the threat thereof), courage, stirring the pot to see what happens, the digging up of conspiracies, and, most importantly, drawing on a network of friends and colleagues to prevail — at some cost — against his enemies.
Unlike Issola, Vlad is in his element here, and he’s intrinsic to the story and its resolution. And while Issola includes some emotional trauma and self-questioning, it’s nothing compared what happens here, as he finally comes face to face with —
— well, let’s just say I’m a lot more eager to read the next one. Hopefully it won’t be another four years.
First time readers of the series … well, really ought to start at the beginning. That said, while some of the dynamics here wouldn’t be clear to a newcomer, I think it stands up pretty well on its own.