Orca

Rating:
Summary: Return to Dragaera in an excellent Taltos novel
Review: A wonderful installment in the Vlad Taltos saga, as everyone's favourite ex-assassin tries to help a tragically injured lad (less than 100 years old) from the previous novel, Athyra. A couple of _mind-numbing_ secrets are revealed, about one of the most mysterious characters in the series (not Mario, but close...). As always, Brust writes an engaging tale, where the enemy isn't who you think, and isn't as dumb as you fear. I'm still trying to figure out how Vlad acts like an Orca in this one, but regardless: Buy it! Brust is one of the best authors around, and conveys more in a couple hundred pages through insinuation, imagery and the reader's intelligence, than most can manage in a 1000 pages of plodding detail. Witty, sarcastic, intriguing and above all, satisfying

Rating:
Summary: Necessary Continuity, Enjoyable but not Special
Review: After years of reading everything Brust wrote, I didn't pick this book up at first. I held off until I needed a good dose of Vlad. While this wasn't off-putting enough to cure an addiction, it wasn't potent enough to make deepen the dependency, either.

Followers of Vlad Taltos, Jhereg assasin, human in a land of giants, sorceror and witch, will have to read this one. Too much was left hanging by Vlad's last adventure (in his-time, not publisher-time). Brust continues to emphasize Vlad's complexity as a cold-blooded killer who will do anything for friends or people he feels obligated to. The continuity and backstory for some of the supporting cast was useful too - it confirmed things I'd guessed when I read "Athyra," "Teckla," and "Dragon." New readers should NOT pick this one up first - go back and buy "Jhereg," the only true introduction to the series.

All in all - I enjoyed it, but it doesn't stand alone. In fact, a working knowledge of "The Phoenix Guard" and "Five Hundred Years After" helps explain the character of Lord Khaavren. If you're following Vlad's career, this is the next stop, and something tells me it's going to be a prerequisite for "Issola." The wit and humor are still there, as are the mannerisms of a complex, alien culture. The evolution of Vlad Taltos continues - and now I want the next book. The addiction's no deeper - but it hasn't gone away.

Rating:
Summary: Necessary Continuity, Enjoyable but not Special
Review: After years of reading everything Brust wrote, I didn't pick this book up at first. I held off until I needed a good dose of Vlad. While this wasn't off-putting enough to cure an addiction, it wasn't potent enough to make deepen the dependency, either.

Followers of Vlad Taltos, Jhereg assasin, human in a land of giants, sorceror and witch, will have to read this one. Too much was left hanging by Vlad's last adventure (in his-time, not publisher-time). Brust continues to emphasize Vlad's complexity as a cold-blooded killer who will do anything for friends or people he feels obligated to. The continuity and backstory for some of the supporting cast was useful too - it confirmed things I'd guessed when I read "Athyra," "Teckla," and "Dragon." New readers should NOT pick this one up first - go back and buy "Jhereg," the only true introduction to the series.

All in all - I enjoyed it, but it doesn't stand alone. In fact, a working knowledge of "The Phoenix Guard" and "Five Hundred Years After" helps explain the character of Lord Khaavren. If you're following Vlad's career, this is the next stop, and something tells me it's going to be a prerequisite for "Issola." The wit and humor are still there, as are the mannerisms of a complex, alien culture. The evolution of Vlad Taltos continues - and now I want the next book. The addiction's no deeper - but it hasn't gone away.

Rating:
Summary: Vlad journeys to Northport and unmasks a huge conspiracy
Review: And he takes a huge amount of time to do so, and makes a huge mess of this novel. Brust has publicly said that this book made the impression he was trying to evoke with Yendi. I think he may need to review his notes on this matter; Yendi is skillful, fast-paced, fun, and intelligent, while Orca takes a lot of time to reveal a set of events that are somehow not invested with enough impact to make them seem as earth-shattering as we are led to believe they are. With that caveat, it is (of course) still head & shoulders above the puerile dross that passes for fantasy these days. The scene where Kiera breaks into Fyres' mansion is a terrific description of the way Dragaeran magic works, and the book's last chapter makes the enterprise of slogging through the bloody thing well worth it. However, this reviewer cannot wait for Vlad to get back to Adrilankha where he belongs--the teaser title for the next volume, Issola, indicates to me that he'll be up to his swordbelt in court politics again soon enough. Until then, keep yourself satisfied with the Khaavren romances, and be well.

Rating:
Summary: Another good book by Brust
Review: Another excellent book in the Vlad series by Brust. Like Athyra, Brust writes in a voice other than Vlads, though he does throw in some 2nd hand Vlad told from another point of view. On a first read, I thought this was not as good as the first five books, but better than Athyra and overall a good work. THEN, after finishing the series I went back and re-read Taltos. I HIGHLY recommend anyone that reads the entire series do this, all I can say was Taltos is VERY COOL! after reading Orca and the rest of the series (but especially Orca and Issola), and that makes this book VERY COOL as well.

However, for anyone that might think it a good idea to start with this book, I would recommend reading the series from the beginning in publication order before reading this book or Athyra, or you'll just be lost.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Another good book by Steven B rust. Good characterizing and a major surprise at the end. I can not wait until the next one comes out.

Rating:
Summary: A whole lot better than Athyra
Review: Brust returns to Vlad Taltos after the tragedy of 3rd person Athyra. He doesn't quite return to 1st person Vlad though, instead the story is told by Kiera the Thief as she tells of the events to Vlad's wife(or ex-wife I'm not exactly sure yet). There are sections of Vlad 1st person along with Loiosh, but they are told as if Kiera was dictating what Vlad told her. It's really bizarre. The book as a whole is very well written, just like all the other Brust Vlad novels except for Athyra(I don't like referring to that one as a Vlad novel). It has a fast moving plot and good characters. If you like Vlad, so for it.

Rating:
Summary: A whole lot better than Athyra
Review: Brust returns to Vlad Taltos after the tragedy of 3rd personAthyra. He doesn't quite return to 1st person Vlad though,instead the story is told by Kiera the Thief as she tells of the events to Vlad's wife(or ex-wife I'm not exactly sure yet). There are sections of Vlad 1st person along with Loiosh, but they are told as if Kiera was dictating what Vlad told her. It's really bizarre. The book as a whole is very well written, just like all the other Brust Vlad novels except for Athyra(I don't like referring to that one as a Vlad novel). It has a fast moving plot and good characters. If you like Vlad, so for it.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific expansion of characterization.
Review: Don't get me wrong, I love all the Vlad books, and all of them stand on their own merits, independent of the other books in the 'series.' But Orca so far is one that gives us further character development of our favorites. We get to step outside of Vlad some more, and see how others percieve him and Loiosh. We get to see the chain of events within Vlad's perception, and heave a sigh of relief at his specific voice. Brust is masterful in helping Vlad step off the pages, into reality. By far, my favorite Vlad novel to date because of the character development. While not as exciting as Jhereg, or Athyra, the background you gain really helps you grow to appreciate these characters. If you're into that sort of thing.

Rating:
Summary: Another good Vlad novel
Review: I always enjoy reading Steven Brust, especially his Vlad Taltos stories. Orca is no exception, being a fairly basic straightforward story. However, I enjoyed the earlier Vlad stories better. I look forward to him finally rejoining his wife and resolving his many problems. It's a mistake to send him off basically alone against the entire Jhereg organisation, especially in such a multi-book setting. That said, this is still a good story and worth anyone's time to read.