Rating: 
Summary: A Dragon A Day
Review: While Yendi examines Vlad's life shortly following the time when he had begun to establish himself as a serious player in the Jehreg mini-Empire, Taltos reaches even further back, weaving three separate plots - the beginning of his come to power, his expedition with Morrolan, and one mysterious spellweaving heading each chapter - into the fullest picture yet of his early life.
Beginning innoculously with a delivery theft by one of Vlad's henchmen, the story quickly involves Dzur Mountain - and its infamous undead inhabitant Sethra Lavode - along with Morrolan in Castle Black. It shortly becomes apparent this was a setup to get him to Sethra's quarters, to ask him to steal a very important crystal from a high wizard. Insane as it sounds, he has little choice, and when things go wrong at the last second, only a serendipitous find and Morrolan's quick entrance save him. But the ordeal is far from over, when an even more important ordeal awaits Vlad: A perilous journey with Morrolan into the Paths of the Dead to wake the soul trapped in the staff he took.
This is undoubtedly Burst's most mature work in the series to this point, giving up some of the manic energy and cockiness of the first in exchange for a much deeper look into the lives and souls of his heroes. Vlad never loses his snide sarcasm, but he does start to tone it down and put more thought into his dealings with powerful Dragaerans. Most of all, he finally begins to grudginly respect a few. The transition is both bumpy and natural, never plainly stated but obvious again his otherwise cavalier attitudes.
The book is also his finest technically, for while Yendi was an editorial mess, this continues Teckla's themes of emotional confict and redevelopment, in a more subtle way, while simultaneously mixing in a complicated and potentially disastrous device of interleaving two distinct yet connected stories, and a third above them all. And the last is how he succeeds, by leaving them independant yet somehow with relevance to each other; many passages will serve to shed an otherwise unseen corner of light on the other story immediately behind or following, and sometimes farther back, leading the reader to page back or ponder some old assumptions, some deliberately encouraged by the author.
The layers are what make the book memorable after its pages have been turned, thoughtful and roundaboutly organic just as Vlad's witchcraft is. As each chapter opens, a few paragraphs are excepted from the meticulously chaotic preparation casting of one final spell, the final climax that pulls threads from throughout the book into a single whole. The portions of the backstory that handle ground already trod in another book are often skimmed to concentrate on exposing more relevant details.
The book is most certainly a worthwhile read as long as a character-driven story with smooth pacing and imaginative action appeals to you.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is AWESOMe!!!!!!
Review: After a depressing romp through the woods in _Teckla_, Brust returns to a younger
Vlad and sends him to Hell. Literally. This book shows how Vlad meets Morrolan and Sethra
and the quest he had to go on to save Aliera from a stick. Maybe the best written of the lot, this one is a book you can read again and again and again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable addition to the Vlad series.
Review: As I re-read the Brust books I still get excited and have trouble putting them down. Taltos is no different. We learn, in this book, of how Vlad meets some of the main characters in the series and we journey with him to the paths of the dead. This book is attention grabbing and I still am enthralled the third time that I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Vlad walks the Paths of the Dead in the first of the series.
Review: First chronologically speaking, that is. You will find that the Taltos series has much more dramatic impact when read in the proper order, as opposed to the publication order. Trust me on this one. In the volume in question, Vlad accepts a commission from the Dragon Heir to the Throne, Lord Morrolan e'Drien, to steal a staff containing a soul. Along the way, Vlad happens to run into the most powerful wizard living and goes to the land of the dead. Does this sound like typical fantasy fare? 'Cuz it's not. Brust's Dragaera is a carefully and convincingly realized world, with a cultural feel much closer to our 17th century than the muddled medievalism of most of what you've read. Magic is taken in stride, since it is a part of daily life, and this mercifully frees the characters up from talking about it as though they had wandered in from a B-movie. The characters are endowed with the doubts, foibles, and sheer petty-mindedness of actual people, and they never behave in the two-dimensional, moralizing way one finds so often in the heroes and villains of this genre. In short, this is thinking man's fantasy. And it's a lot of fun, too, especially for fans of wit and the one-liner. You'd be a fool to miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Taltos: assassin plus.
Review: I was amazed to discover that Taltos was only published in 1988 - I had it down as a thoroughly modern fantasy, from start to finish. I loved this book. The dual plot's great, the characters are bursting with - well - character, the conversation is almost too real and the witchcraft, sorcery and religion are refreshingly original.
This novel centres on the recollections of a hired assassin and witch with more authority on both counts than is frankly comforting. I read the closing chapters of Taltos in a coffee bar and I'm sure I was followed home. Brust also ties in themes of racism, calculated violence and the nature/nurture debate, and provides a disarmingly cynical view of the afterlife. What distinguishes Taltos from the run-of-the-mill urban fantasy is its unrelenting first person truthfulness, its anti-hero stance and its level of psychic awareness. Brust deals with extreme themes as if they were yesterday's dishes, but he does it with style, tons of humour and unnerving realism. If you love urban fantasy, you'll kill for Taltos. This book appears to be the third in a series. You may wish to try Jhereg first.
Rating:
Summary: Taltos: assassin plus.
Review: I was amazed to discover that Taltos was only published in 1988 - I had it down as a thoroughly modern fantasy, from start to finish. I loved this book. The dual plot's great, the characters are bursting with - well - character, the conversation is almost too real and the witchcraft, sorcery and religion are refreshingly original.
This novel centres on the recollections of a hired assassin and witch with more authority on both counts than is frankly comforting. I read the closing chapters of Taltos in a coffee bar and I'm sure I was followed home. Brust also ties in themes of racism, calculated violence and the nature/nurture debate, and provides a disarmingly cynical view of the afterlife. What distinguishes Taltos from the run-of-the-mill urban fantasy is its unrelenting first person truthfulness, its anti-hero stance and its level of psychic awareness. Brust deals with extreme themes as if they were yesterday's dishes, but he does it with style, tons of humour and unnerving realism. If you love urban fantasy, you'll kill for Taltos. This book appears to be the third in a series. You may wish to try Jhereg first.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic prequel to _Jhereg_
Review: In _Taltos_, Brust takes us farther back into Vlad Taltos's history, before he met Morrolan, and before Aliera came back from the dead. We learn a great deal of Vlad's past, and witness how he came to be the person he is in the following books. Brust uses flashbacks interspersed with current action both to build suspense, and to keep the reader's attention, and it works; so often, authors use this method unskillfully, and it just sucks all of the life out of a plot. Here, though, it served its purpose brilliantly. The book gets underway as Vlad is preparing for some unknown magical ritual, and each chapter begins with a short paragraph about that spell; however, we don't learn what the spell is or why he's performing it until the very end of the book. It does keep the reader's curiosity piqued, though, wondering in the backs of our minds what he is doing, and why he would have to attempt it. The main plot moves quickly and easily; one of Vlad's buttonmen has stolen a large sum of money from him, and Vlad must get it back. Sounds simple enough, but the thief has retreated to Dzur Mountain, a place of much rumor and mystery, alleged home of Sethra Lavode - an undead woman thousands upon thousands of years old, and by all accounts, not terribly friendly. Still, Vlad is determined to find the man and get his money back. Thus, he appeals to Morrolan for assistance, and finds out that both Morrolan and Sethra knew more about the theft than he could have guessed. He ends up accompanying Morrolan (who holds him in utter contempt at this point) to the Paths of the Dead - the place where Dragaerans' souls spend the afterlife, and where the gods reside. Brust does a wonderful job depicting the surreal, otherworldly Paths, as well as the ever-morphing Hall of Judgment. Inside its walls, our party meets several gods, the founder of the Empire,and manages to have Aliera brought back to life (who promptly relieves the founder of the Empire of his Great Weapon.) But at what cost has all of this come? No living Dragaeran may enter the Paths of the Dead and leave alive; therefore, Morrolan must stay behind eternally, never to return. Needless to say, Vlad and Aliera aren't terribly happy with this idea, and try to figure out how to save their companion. This is a very quick, entertaining read, and brings back a lot of the cynicism and energy the books before _Teckla_ had. I had hoped this would be the case, as I found _Teckla_ somewhat tedious. This is a funny, interesting tale, though, and I'm looking forward to _Phoenix_.
Rating:
Summary: Well-developed story-line, an overall excellent book.
Review: Mr. Brust skillfully links this prequel to Jhereg, Yendi and Teckla into his tapestry of stories about Vlad Taltos. His ability to go back to a younger version of the character is amazing, and the way he ties everything in to events that happen in the three later books was very well done. This is a book that you read in one sitting
Rating:
Summary: A doomed soul pursued by a relentless enemy seeks to survive
Review: Pursued by the government and the underworld, the protaganist knows the result of being discovered will be the destruction of his soul. Set in an enchanting world of magic and elves, this lone human, himself consumed by the remorse of his past deeds and the loss of his beloved wife, uses his dark skills to survive. Taught by his grandfather the art of demon-craft and taught by a lich-vampire the art of assassination, his formidable abilities are put to the test because of his repentance of his previous profession. This unlikely setting engages the reader, challenging them to address their own dark choices when temptation strikes.
Rating:
Summary: Vlad Taltos's Early Mistakes.
Review: Steven Brust appears to be a man with an addiction to bad one-liners and a whimsical sense of humour. This book contains plenty of both. I've always enjoyed stories with chapter titles or smaller tales to begin each chapter with, and this book surprised and delighted me by catering to that small pleasure. The characters are almost always easy enough to like and understand and the authors style gives them a slightly mad but sincere quality. Vlad Taltos's business difficulties are always amusing, often touching and well worth reading about.
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