mariocomputer's review against another edition
5.0
This was really, really interesting and well-done. It's also hard to write a review about this without getting spoilery, so spoilers follow.
This book is a pretty good antidote for all the vampire-romance lovers out there (yours truly included). Brust does the Hemingway thing where he refers to a lot of things obliquely and insinuates, and you have to piece it all together yourself. For instance, never once does he say the word vampire, nor does the narrator actually talk about drinking blood.
So when you take away some of the vampireness of the vampire, you start to really see how much the "seduction" of the vampire is like rape, and what sociopaths vampires really are. The romance disappears.
I also really love the theme in the book of the experience and process of writing, and how when you're reading it you feel like you're there with the narrator typing. You're present in the meta-narrative. And I love, love that when you go back to read the first passage of the book, it has a completely different significance and meaning than it did when you first read it.
Excellent plotting, excellent writing. I'm definitely going to read more Brust in the future.
This book is a pretty good antidote for all the vampire-romance lovers out there (yours truly included). Brust does the Hemingway thing where he refers to a lot of things obliquely and insinuates, and you have to piece it all together yourself. For instance, never once does he say the word vampire, nor does the narrator actually talk about drinking blood.
So when you take away some of the vampireness of the vampire, you start to really see how much the "seduction" of the vampire is like rape, and what sociopaths vampires really are. The romance disappears.
I also really love the theme in the book of the experience and process of writing, and how when you're reading it you feel like you're there with the narrator typing. You're present in the meta-narrative. And I love, love that when you go back to read the first passage of the book, it has a completely different significance and meaning than it did when you first read it.
Excellent plotting, excellent writing. I'm definitely going to read more Brust in the future.
duffypratt's review against another edition
3.0
I really like Brust. This one played down some of the more common Brust elements. It's hard to go on and on about food and cooking when your narrator has a purely liquid diet, and a single liquid at that. And there wasn't much on drumming, or the Grateful Dead, and the Hungarian allusions were at a minimum. It still had more than its share of cleverness, and the main character was quite likable, for a vampire.
The story kind of sneaks up on you. For a while, I felt as though nothing was happening, and yet it was. And it built to an ending that I thought was completely satisfying. I didn't like this one as well as many of Brust's other books, and it was not the best vampire book I've ever read. But I'm glad I read it, and I think its worth it for anyone who likes Brust's way of doing things.
The story kind of sneaks up on you. For a while, I felt as though nothing was happening, and yet it was. And it built to an ending that I thought was completely satisfying. I didn't like this one as well as many of Brust's other books, and it was not the best vampire book I've ever read. But I'm glad I read it, and I think its worth it for anyone who likes Brust's way of doing things.
ethan416's review against another edition
4.0
Agyar is such an interesting character, I found my feelings changing about him from chapter to chapter. Brust does a great job in this novel with snappy dialogue, but I did feel as though the parts with less dialogue maybe drug a bit. I also really enjoyed how there are small bits of vampire lore in the novel that can be easily overlooked if you don’t know much about the “rules” vampires must follow. All in all a very interesting read.
juliemhowe's review against another edition
5.0
I'm relatively sure that Agyar is the Frasier Crane of the undead, except better in the love department. I found this completely engrossing. The (unreliable) narration angle often grows old, but Brust manages to execute it in a way that becomes an essential tool for character development, rather than a pointless plot device. Agyar's character is complex, and introduces clues as to the truth very slowly and deliberately. It makes for a quick and engaging read. Well-paced, fun.
frogggirl2's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"But I am glad that it happened as it did for I think it is indecent for anyone to go through his entire life and never know shame," (p. 221).
This subtle book is a real page turner. My only criticism is a couple of things here are problematic when taken together: "semitic features" (p. 60) paired with the N word used several times (p. 25, amongst others).
This subtle book is a real page turner. My only criticism is a couple of things here are problematic when taken together: "semitic features" (p. 60) paired with the N word used several times (p. 25, amongst others).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
rigawiz's review against another edition
5.0
I've always liked the subtlety of this book. I really appreciate how much this books leaves unsaid. You're unsure about the main character. What exactly is his relationship with the other main players in the book? What exactly happens at the end? And a bit in an overall sense, what is going on? These seem like big, important questions, and they are! But the author leaves them to be implicitly answered if he answers them at all. Looking back at my review, I could see this as an annoying approach. It isn't though, some how. Altogether, the feel of Agyar comes across as unique and a fun read.
alicerose114's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
curgoth's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably the best vampire book I have ever read. And as a goth, I have read a fair number.
The word vampire doesn't appear anywhere in the book, nor does any euphemism.
This review is being written after listening to the audiobook, as narrated by the author, probably close to twenty years after reading it the first time. I think the experience of reading it the second time was pretty close to the first, even knowing what happens.
At first, I think "Gosh, this hasn't aged well! Is this what Brust thinks is charming?" Jack Agyar has that way about him of a man now in his 70s or 80s still using flirting techniques from an era when in some circles it was considered simply polite to hit on any unmarried woman you met.
Then it gets... worse. Jack's charm goes from awkward to unsettling and creepy. He's really an awful person. If the word "person" even still applies?
Brust has occasionally been compared to Roger Zelazny, and I think that comparison is very apt here. Brust pulls off that trick Zelazny had of presenting a protagonist who, based solely on his actions, is actually terrible, but somehow has such charisma that you fall into the narrative with them anyway. Corwin of Amber has this, especially in the early amber novels, and so does Brust's Vlad Taltos. With Agyar, Brust starts us off on that path, then pushes the reader off the edge as Agyar does increasingly terrible things.
The ending reminds me a fair bit of Neil Gaiman's Sandman - there's an examination of just how much a person can change in the course of a very long life.
One last observation; I know that the Dragaeran setting Brust spends most of his time writing in is based on a long ago D&D campaign. I cannot help but wonder if Agyar has old roots in a 90s World of Darkness game. I have to say, though, that Agyar delivers on the promise of "gothic punk personal horror" more fully than Vampire: the Masquerade generally did.
The word vampire doesn't appear anywhere in the book, nor does any euphemism.
This review is being written after listening to the audiobook, as narrated by the author, probably close to twenty years after reading it the first time. I think the experience of reading it the second time was pretty close to the first, even knowing what happens.
At first, I think "Gosh, this hasn't aged well! Is this what Brust thinks is charming?" Jack Agyar has that way about him of a man now in his 70s or 80s still using flirting techniques from an era when in some circles it was considered simply polite to hit on any unmarried woman you met.
Then it gets... worse. Jack's charm goes from awkward to unsettling and creepy. He's really an awful person. If the word "person" even still applies?
Brust has occasionally been compared to Roger Zelazny, and I think that comparison is very apt here. Brust pulls off that trick Zelazny had of presenting a protagonist who, based solely on his actions, is actually terrible, but somehow has such charisma that you fall into the narrative with them anyway. Corwin of Amber has this, especially in the early amber novels, and so does Brust's Vlad Taltos. With Agyar, Brust starts us off on that path, then pushes the reader off the edge as Agyar does increasingly terrible things.
The ending reminds me a fair bit of Neil Gaiman's Sandman - there's an examination of just how much a person can change in the course of a very long life.
One last observation; I know that the Dragaeran setting Brust spends most of his time writing in is based on a long ago D&D campaign. I cannot help but wonder if Agyar has old roots in a 90s World of Darkness game. I have to say, though, that Agyar delivers on the promise of "gothic punk personal horror" more fully than Vampire: the Masquerade generally did.
acknud's review against another edition
4.0
Strange from a couple of standpoints.
1. I am not used to the 1st person style of storytelling. It took some getting used to but in the end allowed a more in depth insight into the mind of the protagonist.
2. Yes...it is a vampire book but not like any I had read before. Little to know gore. It alluded to it but then backed off just when you would think, "here we go"!
3. Romance....I am not much on the gushy, in your face kind of romance. This was different. Love is only actually mentioned rarely.
Overall...I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others for addition to their vampire collection.
1. I am not used to the 1st person style of storytelling. It took some getting used to but in the end allowed a more in depth insight into the mind of the protagonist.
2. Yes...it is a vampire book but not like any I had read before. Little to know gore. It alluded to it but then backed off just when you would think, "here we go"!
3. Romance....I am not much on the gushy, in your face kind of romance. This was different. Love is only actually mentioned rarely.
Overall...I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others for addition to their vampire collection.