maddox22's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
ceskykure's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CAWPILE SCORE
C-8
A-7
W-9
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-10
TOTAL-8.57/10
CAWPILE
Characters
Sethra
Krager
Aliera
Morollan- villain
Mellar
Demon
Vlad
Loiosh
Confession: for some reason in my head I had Elric of Melnibone
Atmosphere
2-4 locations
Castle Black
Restaurant
His office
Writing
Great Writing. Holds up the test of time. Snarkiness
Very well thought out and paced perfectly. I never felt like I was too far behind or ahead of Vlad
Plot
A quick recap. Vlad Taltos is a human mafia boss living in an elven empire. His side gig is assassination. His companions include a smartass flying reptile called Loiosh, his wife/better half in almost every aspect, Cawti, an arrogant Elven noble, Morollan, Morollan’s creepy psychopathic cousin, Aliera, and others. Taltos is hired by his mafia bosses to kill a renegade member, Mellar. The case gets increasingly complicated when Taltos figures out that the renegade is trying to bring down two noble houses at one time through his death. Taltos figures out a way to kill Mellar, save his friends, not start a war, keep his skin intact, and make a lot of money.
Investment
The use of fantasy animals is astoundingly clear, but also intriging
Logic
Morganti weapons
Little (big) genetic history dump. Btw you’re also a very important reincarnated being. Just said and ignored
The house’s are more than just names for the houses. Its how they are
Enjoyment
Ends up killing Aliera with her great weapon. runs
Misc
Loiosh flying away with mate…. For honeymoon
The only time his hunches are accurate are when he ignores them
Who’s doing all the work
How to stop a revivication in 3 easy steps. Morganti blade. Put a sorcerous block/hide the body or burn it with fire.
My wife cooked something so bland I’d feel no compulsion to comment on it.
The First restaurant scene compared to the 2nd restaurant scene
I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/
C-8
A-7
W-9
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-10
TOTAL-8.57/10
Spoiler
CAWPILE
Characters
Sethra
Krager
Aliera
Morollan- villain
Mellar
Demon
Vlad
Loiosh
Confession: for some reason in my head I had Elric of Melnibone
Atmosphere
2-4 locations
Castle Black
Restaurant
His office
Writing
Great Writing. Holds up the test of time. Snarkiness
Very well thought out and paced perfectly. I never felt like I was too far behind or ahead of Vlad
Plot
A quick recap. Vlad Taltos is a human mafia boss living in an elven empire. His side gig is assassination. His companions include a smartass flying reptile called Loiosh, his wife/better half in almost every aspect, Cawti, an arrogant Elven noble, Morollan, Morollan’s creepy psychopathic cousin, Aliera, and others. Taltos is hired by his mafia bosses to kill a renegade member, Mellar. The case gets increasingly complicated when Taltos figures out that the renegade is trying to bring down two noble houses at one time through his death. Taltos figures out a way to kill Mellar, save his friends, not start a war, keep his skin intact, and make a lot of money.
Investment
The use of fantasy animals is astoundingly clear, but also intriging
Logic
Morganti weapons
Little (big) genetic history dump. Btw you’re also a very important reincarnated being. Just said and ignored
The house’s are more than just names for the houses. Its how they are
Enjoyment
Ends up killing Aliera with her great weapon. runs
Misc
Loiosh flying away with mate…. For honeymoon
The only time his hunches are accurate are when he ignores them
Who’s doing all the work
How to stop a revivication in 3 easy steps. Morganti blade. Put a sorcerous block/hide the body or burn it with fire.
My wife cooked something so bland I’d feel no compulsion to comment on it.
The First restaurant scene compared to the 2nd restaurant scene
I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/
avery_switch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? N/A
4.0
dlince's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
2.75
Started off shallow, picked up in the middle and got interesting/more involved, and ended trying too hard.
elusivity's review against another edition
1.0
This book is not what I expected. Another flippant "comedic" fantasy series, with cardboard characters, heavy exposition, and "snappy" dialogue. Its magic system is a messy gamut of everything and the kitchen sink. Assassin, magic, witchcraft, revivification. Sigh. Couldn't get pass page 40.
peapod_boston's review against another edition
4.0
Rereading this for the first time since I probably first read it thirty years ago. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well it held up. There are some cracks here that show it’s early Steven Brust work. The female characters are weak and the Vlad’s relationship with Cawti is a bit stilted (which makes sense given what comes later but I don’t think it’s deliberate). But all in all it is witty, wry, moves fast, features some lovely puzzle solving and an excellent heist at the end (well, assassination plan but basically it’s a heist). A delightful read.
binstonbirchill's review against another edition
4.0
While this novel is just a small introduction type story the world promises to be complex and filled with chaos. There promises to be lots of history to explore, houses to destroy in furture novels. In this the first book in the series, of which I plan to read more, we meet Vlad Taltos, an assassin. He's put in a position where he has to use his brain as much, probably more, than his steel. The plot is intriguing, the characters are enjoyable and looking forward to reading more of the series.
ostrava's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings. Mostly positive, but my rating feels like a favor more than anything else.
First of all, it was hard to figure out what kind of setting the novel had. Apparently, it's industrial... Renaissance? More specifically the Reformation period? But not really, because everything felt very modern, so I thought this was borderline sci-fi? And there are like, jungles around this planet, but it's more european in nature? I don't know, it's very weird. I guess it doesn't matter, but it was very distracting.
You know what's not confusing? Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Now, I will admit Jhereg is better than either of the two novels in Dresden I've read so far, but the clarity of both the plot and the worldbuilding is missing here, although I'm sure future installments could make up for it. Both series are also surprisingly similar. There is the insert-fantasy of the author, it's all pulpy and very straightforward... however, Vlad has more depth than Harry, and the originality of Brust is more remarkable.
Not everything was of my liking of course. The "fantasy" is barely present in the tale, the dragons may as well not have been a thing, so-so writing, shallow info-dumping, especially at the first half of the story...but oh well. It's a good book and I'm satisfied. Nonetheless, I feel neither a "call" to read more installments (right now at least), nor did I feel any special connection to the story. If nothing else, I've already found my 80s pulp fiction to kill the time in the future, now that Elric has proven to not be of my liking. Also, there weren't any weird mysoginy or poorly aged politics in the book, for an old series, that's always a plus.
First of all, it was hard to figure out what kind of setting the novel had. Apparently, it's industrial... Renaissance? More specifically the Reformation period? But not really, because everything felt very modern, so I thought this was borderline sci-fi? And there are like, jungles around this planet, but it's more european in nature? I don't know, it's very weird. I guess it doesn't matter, but it was very distracting.
You know what's not confusing? Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Now, I will admit Jhereg is better than either of the two novels in Dresden I've read so far, but the clarity of both the plot and the worldbuilding is missing here, although I'm sure future installments could make up for it. Both series are also surprisingly similar. There is the insert-fantasy of the author, it's all pulpy and very straightforward... however, Vlad has more depth than Harry, and the originality of Brust is more remarkable.
Not everything was of my liking of course. The "fantasy" is barely present in the tale, the dragons may as well not have been a thing, so-so writing, shallow info-dumping, especially at the first half of the story...but oh well. It's a good book and I'm satisfied. Nonetheless, I feel neither a "call" to read more installments (right now at least), nor did I feel any special connection to the story. If nothing else, I've already found my 80s pulp fiction to kill the time in the future, now that Elric has proven to not be of my liking. Also, there weren't any weird mysoginy or poorly aged politics in the book, for an old series, that's always a plus.
jkherz25's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely not what I was expecting (especially from high fantasy), but in the best way! Excellent comedic timing, interactions between characters, and world building. Also, such a clever plot, and I loved the way the mechanics of the world were revealed -- very slowly, but not so slow that I found myself confused past the point of understanding what going on. I cannot wait to start the next book!
basbleu_dans_labiblioteque's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0