The Phoenix Guards

Rating:
Summary: This book is great, but only for devoted fantasy-lovers.
Review: While this book doesn't give the gunhoe and macho-manness of most fantasy novels, it is full of interweaving plots, schemes, and intrigues of the royal court in Dragaera. Even though, Khaavren and his companions may not be characters of depth, they are very easy to relate with, in that unknown forces act upon them for reasons unknown to themselves. Overall, this book is great for an avid and dedicated reader of science-fiction/fantasy books.

Rating:
Summary: Two steps away from fan fiction, but good for all that
Review: You know how after you read some beloved book of youth, filled with adventure, derring-do, and spectacular moments of courage, you sometimes sigh to yourself "if only this were longer! I love these characters!" Steven Brust has essentially taken that reaction and done something about it. Overtly based on The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, The Phoenix Guards tells a tale of swashbuckling and court intrigue, following a group of heroes of widely varied personalities, set within a fantasy world from Brust's earlier writings. Brust also borrows the conventions and descriptive language of Dumas' historical romances, so if you like Dumas' style as well as his charming content, this book will probably entertain you all the way to the end, just as it did me. What comes across most clearly is Brust's love as a reader for the works of writers like Dumas, Stevenson, and Sabatini, and it really catches your sympathy and affection to see a man writing back to his literary ancestors.