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A review by mafiabadgers
Tiassa by Steven Brust
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First read 10/2024
Perhaps my second favourite in the series thus far (Phoenix was just that good). Brust is on fine form, flexing his authorial talent across a book divided roughly into thirds, spanning about a decade of Vlad's life. We also get a bit more insight into Devera's life, a child who's had the temerity to pop up in a number of books now, and hasn't been born yet. She acquires a small piece of silverwork made by one of the gods, with unknown powers, and gives it to Vlad. Vlad promptly sells it as part of a confidence game. Incidentally, this is the funniest book in the series so far, because not only does the first third have Vlad's distinctive wry narration, there's also a thread of lovely, subtle humour running through it that doesn't intrude into the story at all.
The second third takes place some time after Vlad's separation from his wife (and may I once again commend Brust on making his hyper-competent fantasy protagonist a divorcé). It introduces properly some new characters and explores Cawti's feelings about the situation, while still giving her a chance to kill someone. Tremendous.
The last third revolves around Khaavren, of The Khaavren Romances, Brust's other series in the setting, which takes place about a thousand years earlier. (It's the same guy. Fucking elves.) It is therefore narrated by Paarfi, whose name I only knew at this point from reviews. I must say, he lived up to his reputation.
Perhaps my second favourite in the series thus far (Phoenix was just that good). Brust is on fine form, flexing his authorial talent across a book divided roughly into thirds, spanning about a decade of Vlad's life. We also get a bit more insight into Devera's life, a child who's had the temerity to pop up in a number of books now, and hasn't been born yet. She acquires a small piece of silverwork made by one of the gods, with unknown powers, and gives it to Vlad. Vlad promptly sells it as part of a confidence game. Incidentally, this is the funniest book in the series so far, because not only does the first third have Vlad's distinctive wry narration, there's also a thread of lovely, subtle humour running through it that doesn't intrude into the story at all.
The second third takes place some time after Vlad's separation from his wife (and may I once again commend Brust on making his hyper-competent fantasy protagonist a divorcé). It introduces properly some new characters and explores Cawti's feelings about the situation, while still giving her a chance to kill someone. Tremendous.
The last third revolves around Khaavren, of The Khaavren Romances, Brust's other series in the setting, which takes place about a thousand years earlier. (It's the same guy. Fucking elves.) It is therefore narrated by Paarfi, whose name I only knew at this point from reviews. I must say, he lived up to his reputation.
“You are Lord Khaavren, are you not? Brigadier of the Phoenix Guards?”
“Captain,” said Khaavren, both by way of affirmation and correction, thus conveying the maximum amount of information in the fewest possible words; a custom of his, and one that this historian has, in fact, adopted for himself, holding efficiency of language to be a high virtue in all written works without exception.
Many was the time I found myself muttering 'get on with it, you pillock,' but never without a smile; as adverts go, I think this may have been the most effective I've ever seen. The final third was certainly enjoyable, and frankly, getting to see powerful people within the Empire investigate Vlad's past shenanigans and be baffled at the number of scrapes he got himself into is pure fanservice. Not the sexy kind, the other kind. I particularly enjoyed seeing the dialogue of characters—familiar from previous books, and even previous sections of this book—rendered into a much more flowery form by Paarfi's narration. One wonders what alterations Vlad may have made in his previous accounts. Delightful book. Just what I was after. It may be the thirteenth book in the series, but it feels fresh and exciting; certainly not an unlucky number for Steven Brust.