Rating: 
Summary: Nice blending of three different themes
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot. Brust intertwines three separatestories to create this book. One story is the actualHungarian fairy tale "The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars". Another is the story of the main character's interactions with his friends. The third story is of the main character's creation of a painting.
In reading this book, I learned a lot about what makes a painting a masterwork. Because of this, I thought it was a great book. On the other hand, my friend who has two art professor parents thought it was a boring book. I guess he already knew the subject matter. Unless you are a total art guru, I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: I really liked this book. The folktale bit is interesting, even if it doesn't really tie in with the main plot. I rarely read any type of fiction that could be construed as mainstream, but this is very good. I think you should read it.
Rating:
Summary: good
Review: I really liked this book. The folktale bit is interesting, even if it doesn't really tie in with the main plot. I rarely read any type of fiction that could be construed as mainstream, but this is very good. I think you should read it.
Rating: 
Summary: ...but is it art
Review: Steve Brust's folktales are interesting. I like the gypsy stuff. It just doesn't tie into the main storyling all that well. Unfortunately I have already read THe Agony and Ecstacy and anyone else describing the artistic process is a rank amateur in comparison. However I still remember the bit about how once a work of art is finished the main character can't tell which portions were hard to come by and which were easy.Beyond that particular insight, I thought the narrators insights into art weren't much more than the hick in the art museum pronouncing "damn my three year old could do better than this" and is hopelessly trapped into the Renaissance style without any regard for any other artform that might have followed. Hence, he's not all that believable as a serious artist---who would at least credit other artists with innovations instead of disparaging them if their paintings don't look like Greek gods. Still it is an enjoyable read and if you can find it at bargain prices or if you are a Steve Brust fan, by all means get it
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Innovative
Review: Steven Brust once again refuses to be pigeonholed. The author of the Taltos series heads in a completely new direction in this book. He spins a double storyline of a Hungarian folktale which symbolically connects to the painting the main characters is creating, as well as the story of the group of artist as they struggle to be discovered.Brust touches on the dynamics of friendships in crisis, lives at a point of decision and the creative process itself in this brilliant story. This will strike a chord in any writer or artist. Buy it. Now.
Rating: 
Summary: Pitiful book in a stunning collection.
Review: This book convinced me to never read Mr. Brust's work. As a collector of Fairy tales and an avid fan of this particular Fairy tale series I bought this in hardback when it was first printed.
As of this date it is the ONLY book in the series I have never finished. I found it trite boring and having little to do with the fairy tale it was supposed to mirror. The main character was so insulting and unsypathetic that I just couldn't finish it.
It is truly a pity the a marvelous series as this should have this dud listed in its collection but as it is, so far, the only bad book of the bunch I count myself lucky!
Read the other fairy tale series books and forget this one, it doesn't have half the imagination, skill or creativity of the other books!
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: This book is as finely structured as a fugue, as passion-inducing as wine, as stunning as the night sky over the ocean. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps a little, but this Steven Brust fan was floored to find that he could produce a novel that was impossible to put down-- in which almost nothing "exciting" occurs. Having read and re-read the Vlad Taltos series, I picked this volume up when it was reissued in '96 or '97 with, I must admit, only slight curiosity for the contents; I was more interested in having a complete collection of Brust's work and decided to read it "whenever". While unexpectedly stuck at my parents' house for a couple of long summer days, I dragged it out of the bottom of my backpack and idly began to flip through it... The book did not leave my side for the duration of my stay. It is not a long book, but I went over certain passages dozens of times. I was surprised to find no similarity whatever with any other of the author's works. I'd known him to be an excellent wordsmith, but this is WRITING, kids, with each word lovingly chosen and each sentence perfectly balanced. The harmony he crafts between the story of the artists and the Hungarian legend of Csuzckari the Gypsy transcends the limitations one normally encounters in meldings of fiction and folklore. In short, this is Brust giving us a glimpse into the universal soul of creativity, and anyone who has ever attempted to paint, sing, sculpt, write, brew, or cook will benefit from reading this. It is a truly worthy book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad
Review: This wasn't my favorite book ever or anything, but it wasn't bad. Brust tells the traditional Hungarian tale of a young man on a quest to put the sun, moon, and stars in the sky, alongside the story of a modern artist painting Apollo, Artemis, and Uranus on a giant canvas. Highlights were the descriptions of the creative process and the ruminations about the bonds and stresses between a group of friends. I don't think this book changed my life or anything, but I don't regret reading it.
Rating:
Summary: But is is art?
Review: Yes. Categorically, yes. Steven Brust has one great gift and that is his ability to tell a tale in such a way that it almost feels like he is in fact, right there telling it to you. This comes through very well in his Taltos series, but it reaches a pinnacle in The sun, the Moon and the Stars. I read another review that talked about the artistic process and how Brust might not get it...well, I say poppycock. He does get it. He also explains it like I might explain it to you over a cup of coffee. There is no high blown rhetoric or agonizing pathos, yet you know it's there. You feel it behind the quiet words and simple explanations. You get it in the little examples he provides. My favorite is his analogy of the use of light in comparison to getting off a good front kick. That passage resonates with reality and simple humanity and the folksy way of relaying things that is the hallmark and strength of Brust. Bar none, this is my favorite work by my favorite author, eclipsing Vlad, Khaavren and even to Reign in Hell as the book I go back to at least once a year. Sit down, grab a mug of coffee and let him tell you a tale.
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