A review by susanatwestofmars
Phoenix by Steven Brust
4.0
I heard a whisper that Steven Brust has been outed as one of those problematic personalities in the SFF world. That's not a surprise when you read his books.
But I like the books, and Phoenix shows why. There's real (and surprising) sensitivity from Vald toward Cawti, including a few sentiments that really linger with me. I love how their relationship is handled in these pages. I love the images of their past love and how it contrasts against where they are as a couple.
As far as the story goes, it's kind of typical Vlad, and of course it's fun. That's what we come for, after all. The rollicking adventures of Vlad Taltos, and to see how far he can push things. This time? Maybe too far.
Unfortunately, my library does not have book six. I put in a request that they buy it and I'll keep checking, but I might wind up needing to skip it and ugh. It's going to be a pivotal book in the series and I don't want to miss it.
But I like the books, and Phoenix shows why. There's real (and surprising) sensitivity from Vald toward Cawti, including a few sentiments that really linger with me. I love how their relationship is handled in these pages. I love the images of their past love and how it contrasts against where they are as a couple.
As far as the story goes, it's kind of typical Vlad, and of course it's fun. That's what we come for, after all. The rollicking adventures of Vlad Taltos, and to see how far he can push things. This time? Maybe too far.
Unfortunately, my library does not have book six. I put in a request that they buy it and I'll keep checking, but I might wind up needing to skip it and ugh. It's going to be a pivotal book in the series and I don't want to miss it.