Rating: 
Summary: Underrated
Review: I have gone back and read this book many times. The humor in this book is more of the subtle understated variety. There is also an excellent suprise ending with a few subtle clues. Brust at his best form.
Rating: 
Summary: We've seen this before
Review: I liked this story the first time when Vlad was called Drizzt, and he was a dark elf saving villages in the Forgotten Realms.
Brust can do better.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not too happy with this...
Review: I think the Vlad Taltos series is going downhill somewhat. I didn't much care for Athyra, and this one wasn't so great either. The return to first-person narration is a plus, even if it's only actually narrated by Vlad in bits, but overall the book REALLY dragged, with a horribly convoluted and dull plot that never really led anywhere. Only the most ardent Brust fans need check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Vlad and Kiera investigate a business scandal
Review: In this novel, Vlad (assisted by Kiera the Thief)tries to help an old lady so she won't get kicked off her lands; a financial scam artist named Fyres has just died and suddenly everyone is panicking to sell their land. Vlad suspects that the Imperial investigators only pretend to investigate Fyres's death, and he tries to find out why. Vlad and Kiera take turns at telling the story. Reading about this financial tangle isn't very exciting...until you get to the last few pages - the final revelation will make you jump, I promise !
Rating:
Summary: Vlad's Guide to Financial Swindles
Review: In this plodding tale of Vlad, much talking is done about a banking financial swindle happening. Like Vlad investigates Enron, but not that much fun. In order to help Savn, who saved Vlad previously Vlad must help out an old lady with the power to possibly heal Savn. This leads to the investigation of the financial swindle. Vlad and Kiera play Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew, except again, it really isn't that fun. The book is dialog heavy and as exciting as my accounting textbook, maybe less so. As others have said, the revelation in the last 10 pages is the only payoff for reading the book. Not worth it in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Very different from the rest
Review: In truth, I was tempted to give this one two stars. I have always enjoyed the fun in Brust, even when the subject matter wasn't light. This book lacked any sense of fun. Nor did I care for the story-in-a-story approach; it just made the telling awkward. If you can't get ahold of this book, you aren't missing much. The last 10 pages hold the only surprises. I refrained from giving it 2 stars cause a friend tells me it is a better book after you've read Issola, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Very different from the rest
Review: In truth, I was tempted to give this one two stars. I have always enjoyed the fun in Brust, even when the subject matter wasn't light. This book lacked any sense of fun. Nor did I care for the story-in-a-story approach; it just made the telling awkward. If you can't get ahold of this book, you aren't missing much. The last 10 pages hold the only surprises. I refrained from giving it 2 stars cause a friend tells me it is a better book after you've read Issola, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
Rating: 
Summary: More good stuff
Review: Not a masterpiece like Athyra, but thoroughly enjoyable. I had fun with the back-and-forth points of view (Kiera and Vlad), and there was a truly stunning revelation at the end. Now when is the NEXT Dragaeran novel coming out? (Naturally, you should start the series with Jhereg or with Taltos if you haven't already. Jhereg and Yendi might be a little callow, but still worth it. Even more worth it since in time you'll get to read Athyra.)
Rating:
Summary: Don't stop now
Review: Only a few words need be said about this book. The story just keeps getting better and better. Steven Brust has been and is a master storyteller. This is not light and airy fantasy but good old fashion fun.
Rating:
Summary: A good installment in the series
Review: Orca is definitely one of the better Vlad Taltos novels. The plot has less dramatic "oomph" then some of the other books in the series, but that's one of the things I like about the Taltos books -- Brust is one of the few fantasy authors who dares to write books that aren't epics. The prose is, as always, serviceable but not great, making this a well-rounded and worthy member of the long and ever increasing series of novels of Dragerea.
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