Rating: 
Summary: Book 4 of the Khaavren series-the plot thickens!
Review: As others have mentioned, this may be Book 2 of the Viscount trilogy, but it's actually book 4 of a series, and you DO need to read the previous 3 in order to appreciate this one.
I have noticed, as time goes by, that there is a pattern to opinions about the Khaavren series: those who started reading Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series first, and bought one of the Khaavren books because it was by Brust, don't seem to appreciate the Khaavren books as much. Those of us, on the other hand, who started on Brust with this series, or with some of Brust's other fantasies entirely, seem to enjoy the Khaavren books more. I believe it's a question both of writing style, and of one's definition of action. Thus, if you really, really like the Vlad Taltos books, and you expect these to be similar, it may be that you will be less than enchanted with these.
I believe that those who have read a lot of older literature - Dumas, as many have mentioned, and definitely Shakespeare - will enjoy this book, and the Khaavren series, more than the Vlad Taltos fans will, on average. (Of course, every reader has a unique background and a unique perspective - don't let me stop you from reading!!) Certainly a background of the Three Musketeers (and not the movie, people!) helps one appreciate what's going on here - but a knowledge of, say, the battles in Shakespeare's Richard and Henry plays, does not come at all amiss. And a comfort level with the intricate language of Shakespeare, as well as the overwrought prose of Dumas, gives one the stamina to follow Paarfi's extensive perorations.
Let me also mention that there's a dash of Romeo and Juliet in here, with lovers from different houses and their disapproving families. Those who feel that there is not enough action in this book, apparently do not consider a good heartbreaking love story to be action. But it is! So is the evolution of the magic taking place - if moving hundreds of warriors via magic/mental powers, over hundreds of miles, which has never been done before in this world, is not action, then what is? There are no slow moments if one is interested in emotion and magic as well as in swords and battle; there is always something happening between people.
As with previous books in the series, if you do like it, it has an effect on you: you talk funny for days afterward, if not weeks! Hey, if you are planning on taking the GREs or GMATs, this series is a terrific vocabulary builder!! There will be nothing in the verbal section that you can't handle, if you enjoy and appreciate Paarfi!
In short - if you already like this series, this volume is a must; if you like Dumas and Shakespeare, you'll like this; if you like Vlad Taltos, then start in on this series in cautious, easy steps.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than volume 1
Review: I like this book. I am only halfway through, so this review may be a bit premature. But I am excited enough to want to write about it.I found Paths Of The Dead to be, well, "without substance". Not necessarily boring, but not very interesting either. And the writing style didn't help, because it simply emphasized how little was happening. But Lord Of Castle Black (at least, the first half) has more momentum. The main difference is the reuniting of the four heroes of Phoenix Guards and 500 Years. It is fun to see what time and experience has done to them. Brust starts off with a short introduction to the book which strongly makes the point that these three books should be considered a single novel. If so, things start making more sense. Both Phoenix Guards and 500 Years started off slowly, then built up to more action, and finally ended with a big finale and some strong character growth. That might explain why Paths was so ... "eh", and why Lord is more fun. The chapter where Morrolan visits Sethra to demand tribute from her as her liege lord is priceless, made more so because we know of their coming close relationship. Morrolan has no idea that he is talking to The Enchantress Of Dzur Mountain, and doesn't really realize what sort of a mistake he has made until ... well, read it for yourself. This is not the book with which to start reading the series, but fans of PG and 5Y should find this more to their liking than Paths Of The Dead. (Paths Of The Dead is required reading to understand Lord Of Castle Black, however.)
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing new happens, and Paarfi manages to be boring
Review: I loved The Phoenix Guards. I loved 500 Years After. I have been waiting *years* for The Viscount of Adrilankha. I liked Volume 1 (Paths of the Dead) pretty well, although I agree with many others' criticisms that there's not enough story for a 400-page book. I found The Lord of Castle Black dreadfully disappointing. Every one of the other books in the series introduced something new. New people, new situations, or new information about the origins of familiar characters. In 500 years, going back and seeing Aliera and Sethra in earlier times was wonderful. In Paths, learning a bit of Morrolan's origins was interesting. But in Lord, despite the fact that he is the title character and the omniscient narrator gives us direct insight into him, we learn nothing new---Paarfi manages to make Morrolan boring. Morrolan! I also found the plot unsatisfying. Starting from Paths, pretty much all the things that happen are things that have to happen to move the plot forward from the end of Paths on a direction that can lead to Vlad's Dragaera. The subplot among the young people (the Viscount and the Tiassa and Dzur girls) is thin, predictable, and fails to hold my attention. After a long wait, I am deeply disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing new happens, and Paarfi manages to be boring
Review: I loved The Phoenix Guards. I loved 500 Years After. I have been waiting *years* for The Viscount of Adrilankha. I liked Volume 1 (Paths of the Dead) pretty well, although I agree with many others' criticisms that there's not enough story for a 400-page book. I found The Lord of Castle Black dreadfully disappointing. Every one of the other books in the series introduced something new. New people, new situations, or new information about the origins of familiar characters. In 500 years, going back and seeing Aliera and Sethra in earlier times was wonderful. In Paths, learning a bit of Morrolan's origins was interesting. But in Lord, despite the fact that he is the title character and the omniscient narrator gives us direct insight into him, we learn nothing new---Paarfi manages to make Morrolan boring. Morrolan! I also found the plot unsatisfying. Starting from Paths, pretty much all the things that happen are things that have to happen to move the plot forward from the end of Paths on a direction that can lead to Vlad's Dragaera. The subplot among the young people (the Viscount and the Tiassa and Dzur girls) is thin, predictable, and fails to hold my attention. After a long wait, I am deeply disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback edition
Review: I'm a huge Brust fan, but this book disappoints. There really is no plot to speak of, and the stories (and characters) meander about. As for the narrator, Paarfi is boring at first, but as the plot fails to move along, his voice becomes more and more annoying. There are some interesting bits info about Morrolan and Sethra, but these small gems are not worth the price of a hardback.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback edition
Review: I'm a huge Brust fan, but this book disappoints. There really is no plot to speak of, and the stories (and characters) meander about. As for the narrator, Paarfi is boring at first, but as the plot fails to move along, his voice becomes more and more annoying. There are some interesting bits info about Morrolan and Sethra, but these small gems are not worth the price of a hardback.
Rating:
Summary: A true delight for fans of Paarfi
Review: Indeed, this is perhaps Paarfi's best one yet. The previous book, The Paths of the Dead, introduced the series, got us acquainted with the cast of characters, and pretty much stopped there. The Lord of Castle Black brings on the action and plot twists that many complained were lacking in the first book of the series. While I sympathize with these complaints, it must be kept in mind that Paths was merely the first act of this particular "play". I have been a huge fan of Brust since To Reign in Hell, and find his Paarfi novels as good as any of the Vlad series. I enjoy the sheer wordplay involved in the descriptions of both scene and action, and find the dialogue to be laugh-out-loud funny in parts. The Lord of Castle Black is a veritable feast of amusing asides, gripping action, and wonderful dialogue-all hallmarks of The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After. I do not wish to give any of the plot away, so I will merely say that it performs satisfactory twists throughout, and the end of the book finds the Viscount and the rest of the remarkable cast in situations that have me eagerly awaiting the next installment. I am sure that it would be a bit confusing to be thrown into the maelstrom of intrigues and power struggles contained in Lord without having read Paths. However, for those who wish to read a top-notch fantasy novelist at the top of his form, I can make no higher recommendation than The Lord of Castle Black.
Rating:
Summary: Dumas in Faerie
Review: Lord of Castle Black is the latest of Brust's Khaavren stories, specifically the second part of Viscount of Adrilankha. Brust does an amazing job of capturing the tone and feel of Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers stories, without the boring bits. Brust's writing is clearly improving from book to book. A very fun read, ending in what is becoming the typical Brust cliff hanger. If he follows the Dumas canon, there should be at least one more in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Predictable for Brust
Review: Maybe it's the problem that Paarfi describes in the Foreword, when he rants against the publisher for breaking his novel into three parts. Maybe it's the problem faced by any author in the second book of any trilogy: a bridge can only be so exciting. Or maybe it's because we know so much about how it will end; after all, it's Vlad Talos' workaday world. But whatever the reason, this is the weakest of the Dragaera books to date. Now a weak Brust novel is head and shoulders above most fantasy writers' work. This is a lot of fun to read. But compared to the Machiavellian plot twists of Jhereg and Yendi, or the brilliant writing in The Phoenix Guards, well, this is just slightly pedestrian. And that's for a Brust fan, familiar with previous (well, and subsequent) events. I think a reader new to Brust, or worse still, new to the Viscount Trilogy, would be completely bewildered. Who are all these people? Especially compared to the most recent Vlad Taltos novel, Lord of Castle Black is a little weak. The Vlad Taltos series is very nearly as tightly linked as the Khaavren books, of which this is the fourth. In each of the Vlad Taltos books, by contrast, Brust has brought a startling new twist, a new and stunning revelation about the world or about his protagonist. Perhaps Vlad is inherently more interesting than any of the characters in the Khaavren series. Perhaps it's just that I can relate to a human (well, Easterner) better. Still, as a setup for the third book this is a good read, and there is still a lot of ground to cover. Paarfi's writing is always good for a smile, and Mysteries continue to be Explained. Brust is far from the kind of self-indulgent piffle of, say, Robert Jordan. No, wait, that's too harsh. Brust is the polar opposite of Jordan. Whatever its limitations, it is very hard to put Lord of Castle Black down. Like all Brust books, it's a page turner and worth your time. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Now that the full series is published...
Review: The full VofA series (Paths of the Dead, Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode) has now been published. So I am submitting a new review. There is one thing you must know about this book: it is incomplete. If you buy this thinking it is one book of a trilogy, you will find it disappointing. Dozens of characters are brought in unintroduced and then left unresolved, and almost all of the plot threads are left hanging. But ... if you get the whole VofA series and read it as though it is one novel, you will probably not mind any of this. Because all the flaws have to do with this book being nothing but the middle section of a single story. And if you actually get the full story by reading the other books, that works. No one would read "The Two Towers" and attempt to treat it as a work in isolation from rest of The Lord Of The Rings. The same should be true of this book. This part of the full novel deals mainly with the the reunion of the four guardsmen and the backstory of Morrolan (who comes off as much more complex than the inscrutable and testy warrior-wizard of the Vlad books).
|
