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Summary: Thank you mr brust
Review: Out of all the other books in this series this one had to be the best i have read. Usually a brust book i move through fairly quickly, this one i savored. I enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you for starting and continuing such a interesting story in Vlad Taltos.
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Summary: Issola **EXCELLENT**
Review: Steven Brust is a fabulous author of great depth. His work with dialog is simply the best I have ever read in a book. Issola is about Vlad "The ex-assassin" and his adventures after his fall from the Jhereg. It has the unique twisting of mystery yet is truly science fantasy. It is a complex story with growth from the previous stories. This book was great!!!
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Summary: One of the best
Review: Steven Brust is one of the greatest fantasy writers I've read. His books are extremely humorous yet deeply compelling. This is another great book in the Vlad Taltos series and a must read for ALL fantasy lovers. I've read Issola twice in the past week and have started to read the series over again for the third time. The novels are light enough to read in a couple of days yet full of twists and intrigue as good as any Robert Jordan novel without all the fluff and drawn out storyline. The story picks up where the last one left off, yet circumstances propel Vlad and his pet jherg to once again meet his inevitable destiny with his Verra loving Dragon friends Aliera, Morrolan, along with Sethra, The Necromancer as they confront the Mysterious Jenoine. The Ending will knock your socks off. Issola is a book I just couldn't put down. While there are frequent references to past events, even new readers can understand the story and appreciate the depth of explanation without having to know what happened previously. This is a definite must own!
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Summary: The Continued Development of Vlad Taltos
Review: Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series is one of the gems of fantasy literature. Part of its charm is its depth; each of the principal characters is revealed in each successive book as having more complexity, history and motivation; The protagonist, Vlad Taltos, is both revealed and discovers more about himself and the society in which he lives. Dragaeran society, as I have noted in another review, is deeply dysfunctional. The world is populated by an extravagant number of species, and has equally extravagant amounts of sorcery. It's a world of many mysteries, ranging from the origins of Vlad himself to the origins of the world itself. A number of those myteries get cleared up in _Issola_. For long-time fans, if you think Vlad got himself in a jam in _Dragon_, fighting as a foot soldier, it's even worse here. Vlad is still on the lam, hiding from the Jhereg who are trying to kill him. He's still separated from his wife. And he doesn't even know he has a son yet. Lady Teldra, hostess of Castle Black, tracks him down to report that his friends Morrollan and Aleira, have vanished. He tracks them down, and discovers that they and he are prisoners of the semi-mythical Jenoine, the mysterious creatures who created Dragaerans, the race of elves, and not incidentally the Great Sea of Chaos that powers the sorcery of the world. As Vlad figures out the true relationships - or at least the relationships at this level - among the humans, Dragaerans, gods and Jenoine, and the role of sorcery and the Great Weapons his friends possess, he finds himself unavoidably drawn into an apocalyptic battle with his friends on one side, allied with the gods themselves, and the Jenoine on the other. This book is very much a sequel. It's filled with references to earlier stories and events. While I suppose a first-time reader might enjoy it, it will make a great deal more sense and be a lot more fun if you have read at least a few of the earlier 8 books in the series. I'd suggest _Jhereg_, _Taltos_ and _Dragon_ for starters. Brust has experimented in recent books in the Taltos series, trying different narrative voices and different styles. This book is a return to the straight ahead, first person narrative of the early books. While the experiments were interesting, I think Vlad is best understood by being in Vlad's head. It helps the story's flow immensely. There are still many mysteries to be explained, and enough plot threads lying around to support another eight stories. Keep up the excellent work, Mr. Brust. Existing fans of Vlad Taltos, this is book is a rare treat. New readers, you may be a bit bewildered until you catch up, but you'll have fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting stem-winder; solid addition to the series
Review: This is the ninth book in the continuing series of Vladimir Taltos adventures by Steven Brust. Taltos is all of the following: a sometime assassin, mobster, witch, philosopher, swordsman, noble, and detective who lives a stranger-in-a-strange-land scenario as what we would consider a normal human in a nation of 6.5 or 7-foot tall humanoids (Draegerans) who often have numerous magical abilities. The other books, other than "Taltos" are named for the houses of the 16 noble classes and one peasant class in the society Taltos lives in. The books(in chronological order, not publishing order) are: Taltos 4.5* -- very funny, well-paced, good resolution of the three plotlines Yendi 4* -- complex and satisfying for a short book, humorous Jhereg 5* -- the first and best of the bunch, gives useful background and is the real starting point of the series Teckla 2* -- maudlin and introspective without much context or reason for the tone Phoenix 4* -- picks up the pace after Teckla, but not quite as light-hearted as the earlier books Dragon 4* -- published 8th, returns to form of witty banter, smart introspection and twisty plotting of earlier books Athyra 1* -- meandering and depressing; only book not told from Vlad Taltos' point of view, actionless and largely themeless Orca 4* -- better plotting and pacing for this Athyra follow-up, plus intricate mob-financing issues explored by Taltos in unmasking Orca-house mob syndicate Therefore, Issola is not the place to start. The story in Issola is relatively simple (at the start) -- Taltos' friends (and benefactors) have been captured by the Jenoine, semi-mythical creators of the world. His task is to rescue them; then he learns of the plots and counterplots that the Jenoine have hatched in their desire to seize control of the world from the gods (who had previously been their servants). Issola features a number of the tell-tale signs of the Taltos series that are welcome comforts for the converted: Vlad's humorous introspections, snappy dialogue, intriguing plotline and the sardonic world view Brust puts forth. This volume contains a lot of extended philosophical meandering (mild negative) but also interesting background information regarding the creation of the "world," the myths of the gods, the genesis of the humans and Draegerans, and the history of Morrolan, the noble wizard who is one of Taltos' main benefactors. Most satisfying is the interplay between Taltos and Lady Teldra -- Morrolan's chamberlain who is a recurring and unexplored character in the rest of the series. Most shocking are the events near the end that change the landscape of the series for the future. Recommended for fans, recommended for non-fans after they get some of the background from previous books.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting stem-winder; solid addition to the series
Review: This is the ninth book in the continuing series of Vladimir Taltos adventures by Steven Brust. Taltos is all of the following: a sometime assassin, mobster, witch, philosopher, swordsman, noble, and detective who lives a stranger-in-a-strange-land scenario as what we would consider a normal human in a nation of 6.5 or 7-foot tall humanoids (Draegerans) who often have numerous magical abilities. The other books, other than "Taltos" are named for the houses of the 16 noble classes and one peasant class in the society Taltos lives in. The books(in chronological order, not publishing order) are: Taltos 4.5* -- very funny, well-paced, good resolution of the three plotlines Yendi 4* -- complex and satisfying for a short book, humorous Jhereg 5* -- the first and best of the bunch, gives useful background and is the real starting point of the series Teckla 2* -- maudlin and introspective without much context or reason for the tone Phoenix 4* -- picks up the pace after Teckla, but not quite as light-hearted as the earlier books Dragon 4* -- published 8th, returns to form of witty banter, smart introspection and twisty plotting of earlier books Athyra 1* -- meandering and depressing; only book not told from Vlad Taltos' point of view, actionless and largely themeless Orca 4* -- better plotting and pacing for this Athyra follow-up, plus intricate mob-financing issues explored by Taltos in unmasking Orca-house mob syndicate Therefore, Issola is not the place to start. The story in Issola is relatively simple (at the start) -- Taltos' friends (and benefactors) have been captured by the Jenoine, semi-mythical creators of the world. His task is to rescue them; then he learns of the plots and counterplots that the Jenoine have hatched in their desire to seize control of the world from the gods (who had previously been their servants). Issola features a number of the tell-tale signs of the Taltos series that are welcome comforts for the converted: Vlad's humorous introspections, snappy dialogue, intriguing plotline and the sardonic world view Brust puts forth. This volume contains a lot of extended philosophical meandering (mild negative) but also interesting background information regarding the creation of the "world," the myths of the gods, the genesis of the humans and Draegerans, and the history of Morrolan, the noble wizard who is one of Taltos' main benefactors. Most satisfying is the interplay between Taltos and Lady Teldra -- Morrolan's chamberlain who is a recurring and unexplored character in the rest of the series. Most shocking are the events near the end that change the landscape of the series for the future. Recommended for fans, recommended for non-fans after they get some of the background from previous books.
Rating:
Summary: Great combination of humor and action
Review: Vlad Taltos can't see why this is his problem. If two of the most powerful magicians in the world get kidnapped and they can't find their way out of the problem, what could he possibly do? The powers that be don't agree, however, and Vlad, along with the beautiful Lady Teldra (protocol expert) are off to find who can mess with people even the gods fear. Who is messing is the Jenoine, a strange group of entities that may be more powerful than the gods themselves (at least the Jenoine seem to think so), but who act in ways that can't always be explained or understood. Vlad is soon up to his eyeballs in dealing with the Jenoine, trying to decide whether to take their assignment in assassinating his patron god (he is an assassin, after all), and generally saving the universe. What makes ISSOLA superior to the usual save the world from evil is Vlad. His tongue-in-cheek observations of the world (helped by a running dialogue with his pet familiar--great device) show useful insights into his world, our world, and are a lot of fun as well. The Jenoine are an interesting group of characters who seem to live in a Platonic world (where each thing is the one ideal thing of that type). Their actions are not entirely explicable by human reasonings, yet they seem to have their own reasons. ISSOLA is a truly enjoyable read.
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Summary: Steven Brust baffles brilliantly to bewildered fans.
Review: Vlad Taltos is perhaps the most interesting character in fantasy writing, and reaches a scope beyond Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings. He is the wittiest, silliest, most skilled assasin ever, and Steven Brust dives deeper into this character every Taltos book he comes out with. If you love humor and mystery and fantastical adventures all at the same time, you might as well buy the entire Vlad Taltos set of novels. This one is just as delightful as any of the previous ones.
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Summary: A high-powered twist to the Taltos series
Review: With this book, Brust takes the Taltos series in yet another direction. Since I don't want to give the plot away, I'll say only that this is a more high-powered book than those that preceded it. No longer is Vlad dealing with crime investigations and political problems; here, he operates on a cosmic scale, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. It's an unexpected turn to the series, but perhaps it shouldn't be -- there's been plenty of foreshadowing and hinting throughout the series, and all of that had to come to some kind of fruition sooner or later. And, hey, it works: this is a fun book, and one that is certain to be of interest to fans of earlier Vlad books. The only question now is, where does Brust go from here? (And the answer, no doubt, is: wherever he wants.)
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