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chloefrizzle's review against another edition
4.0
It does Mafia turf war very well. It also does political intrigue wizards very well.
jensbrede's review against another edition
2.0
karrynnagel_author's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first of the series, mostly because of some serious dillydallying by Vlad. But the dry humor was as good.
I'm going to read the third one, if that tells you anything. :)
I'm going to read the third one, if that tells you anything. :)
avery_switch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jkherz25's review against another edition
4.0
Just as awesome as the first one -- the plot unfurls so slowly yet so elegantly. Definitely kept my attention. I liked that we got to meet Cawti, but wanted a little more depth to her character. (Also, she and Vlad announced their love to each other like 2 days after meeting?? And married very soon after?? That felt forced to me.)
gmvader's review against another edition
2.0
I find that my days of not taking Brust seriously are definitely coming to a middle. That is to say, the only thing I can do after reading this book is fall back on witty quips that were written by somebody much more clever than I.
This second book in the Vlad Taltos series actually takes place before the first one. While the first book was a fresh take on fantasy that brought some incredible newness into the genre in the nineties, the second one feels like it’s stuck in the same pattern. It loses all of it’s tension because we know how things turn out and the sometimes clever banter and sometimes painful puns have gotten old.
All of those things could be forgiven if this book was not so boring.
There is very little going on at any one time except a lot of talking heads. I still know almost nothing about what these characters look like, what their surroundings are, even their ages. There is a lot of talking, though. Vlad talks his way into a gang war, then talks until his enemy can’t help but hire assassins just to shut him up. Then there’s some kind of weird bit about who is the heir to the throne and it’s a good three chapters of talking before the reader is thoroughly confused enough for us to pretend that the characters must know what’s going on, at any rate. Then there’s some fighting with really vague descriptions and some goofy discussions about how powerful people are and how scary they are — without ever actually showing us the scary.
That’s pretty much it. Good dialogue can be very entertaining to read. Good dialogue has tension. This book has none.
I get the feeling this is kind of the MO for Brust’s work. The first book I kind of gave it a pass because his style was occasionally funny and kept me interested. With this second book I found it dull and unaffecting — which according to the spell-checker is not a word.
There are some people that just love Brust’s style and I understand that. It’s not for me. I acquired these books as an omnibus of three novels so he’s got one more chance to make me love his characters. As it is right now, I’m must not feeling it.
This second book in the Vlad Taltos series actually takes place before the first one. While the first book was a fresh take on fantasy that brought some incredible newness into the genre in the nineties, the second one feels like it’s stuck in the same pattern. It loses all of it’s tension because we know how things turn out and the sometimes clever banter and sometimes painful puns have gotten old.
All of those things could be forgiven if this book was not so boring.
There is very little going on at any one time except a lot of talking heads. I still know almost nothing about what these characters look like, what their surroundings are, even their ages. There is a lot of talking, though. Vlad talks his way into a gang war, then talks until his enemy can’t help but hire assassins just to shut him up. Then there’s some kind of weird bit about who is the heir to the throne and it’s a good three chapters of talking before the reader is thoroughly confused enough for us to pretend that the characters must know what’s going on, at any rate. Then there’s some fighting with really vague descriptions and some goofy discussions about how powerful people are and how scary they are — without ever actually showing us the scary.
That’s pretty much it. Good dialogue can be very entertaining to read. Good dialogue has tension. This book has none.
I get the feeling this is kind of the MO for Brust’s work. The first book I kind of gave it a pass because his style was occasionally funny and kept me interested. With this second book I found it dull and unaffecting — which according to the spell-checker is not a word.
There are some people that just love Brust’s style and I understand that. It’s not for me. I acquired these books as an omnibus of three novels so he’s got one more chance to make me love his characters. As it is right now, I’m must not feeling it.
cheezvshcrvst's review against another edition
5.0
Yendi is one of those exposition-heavy capers that really allows you to appreciate that a book is both stand-alone and sequel. Simultaneously a mob war novel and political intrigue novel, Yendi has tons of violence, gets-the-girl, friendship, and magic. It’s a worthy continuation of the Vlad Taltos tale, and it’s a prequel sequel. That’s pretty ballsy, huh? Brust establishes quickly and effectively that he’s got a lot of story and world he’s going to be showing off within by using a contained story that involves greater machinations and characters than you’d expect from the main plot. As I continue my reread of the Vlad novels, it’s important that I note that this remains one of my favorites of the series and that this book, Yendi, made me absolutely determined, when I first read it 15+ years ago, to never miss a Brust novel. 4.5/5 for being a quietly and powerfully intense novel with exposition that actually establishes characters rather than simply slogging through clunky story or plotlines that most writers wouldn’t figure out how to incorporate into the adventure.
csdaley's review against another edition
4.0
Continuing my reread. A fun book but not as strong as the first.
_wiz_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0