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frogggirl2's review against another edition
4.0
A return to humorous form for the series. Although you wouldn't think his time as a soldier would be amusing, the backwards time jump to happier times allows for more amusing tone throughout.
mayastone's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I’m reading these books in publication order not chronological order. The events of this book take place before Vlad and Cawti were married. The strange timeline that I’m reading these books on is reflected in the book as well. We are following Vlad during, before, after battle and at random intervals in his life. This format is disorienting, I’m not sure the effect that Brust was originally going for.
“I’m used to cold, but battle is hot; I’m used to precision, but war is chaos; I’m used to trying to kill, but this kind of fighting involved trying to stay alive.”
A war between Dragonlords over the theft of a Morganti blade. Vlad’s involvement turns personal when one of the Dragonlords decide to try to kill him at his home. What is the secret behind the seemingly plain blade (plain for a Morganti)? Will Vlad bugg out as planned or will he stick to battle?
“Proving once again that happiness is minor misery where before was extreme misery”
After a while the battles ran into each other. The extra stuff is extra stuff. I liked Daymar the most. He is the super powerful but vague character that’s fun to read about.
carolined314's review
4.0
Wisecracking assassin with mini-dragon is back! Brust weaves very complicated political and ethnographic info around a hardboiled doofus character, and it's great fun to read. I recommend this whole series, and thank you to my housemate for getting me started.
mrsjenniferwheeler's review
4.0
The seamless switch between past recollections and present timeline was a bit hard for my medicated brain to catch up with at times. My new migraine medication (started the end of September and slowly increasing the dose) causes “brain fog” and comprehension delay at times. So I found myself having to go back and reread paragraphs to find where I lost track of what was happening sometimes
absconder's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hawkeyegonzalez's review against another edition
4.0
Dragon doesn't really do much to progress the overall series, but it is a great read nonetheless. It is interesting to see Vlad in the role of a soldier rather than an assassin as he helps Morrolan fight against a rival Dragonlord.
For me, the most interesting part was the introduction of the Serioli, a strange and ancient race whose msagic not only surpasses that of the Dragaerans, but they also created the Morganti and Great Weapons. I hope we see more of them in the future.
For me, the most interesting part was the introduction of the Serioli, a strange and ancient race whose msagic not only surpasses that of the Dragaerans, but they also created the Morganti and Great Weapons. I hope we see more of them in the future.
irusu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
whalleyrulz's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a while. It was nice to get back into this series.
Dragon, by Steven Brust, is (as always) an exploration as to what makes up the house the book is titled after. Dragons, in the Taltos series, are military minded, follow their own honor codes, and believe nothing is better than obeying orders. They're essentially Klingons, but without the anger issues. In this book, Vlad winds up fighting inside a squadron of Morollan's army, against an incredibly dangerous wizard, in a battle he has no idea why he's fighting. Worse, he's been given a special mission and it has been made abundantly clear - he is not to assassinate. What's an assassin to do?
I'll tell you what he's to do: explore war. Explore what it is to be a soldier. Have a terrifying time writing about what it's like to be shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of people who are completely comfortable with dying for someone else's cause.
And oh god, the timeline. I would kill to have that level of control over my own writing. Dragon bounces seamlessly through Vlad's experiences in the Battle of Baritt's Tomb, the aftermath, and years later, with no confusion whatsoever. You know what's happening at any point. You know who the people are. You get giddy little moments of glee, knowing how Vlad will be closer friends with some of these characters later.
If you like the Taltos series, this is (as usual) a fantastic book. There's nothing new here; Brust is a fantastic writer. If you haven't read any books in the Vlad Taltos series, this would be a good "first book" despite being book number 8 - Brust writes his books completely out of sequence, and he experiments with how he tells stories each time. This isn't the best one I've read, but each and every one is fantastic.
Dragon, by Steven Brust, is (as always) an exploration as to what makes up the house the book is titled after. Dragons, in the Taltos series, are military minded, follow their own honor codes, and believe nothing is better than obeying orders. They're essentially Klingons, but without the anger issues. In this book, Vlad winds up fighting inside a squadron of Morollan's army, against an incredibly dangerous wizard, in a battle he has no idea why he's fighting. Worse, he's been given a special mission and it has been made abundantly clear - he is not to assassinate. What's an assassin to do?
I'll tell you what he's to do: explore war. Explore what it is to be a soldier. Have a terrifying time writing about what it's like to be shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of people who are completely comfortable with dying for someone else's cause.
And oh god, the timeline. I would kill to have that level of control over my own writing. Dragon bounces seamlessly through Vlad's experiences in the Battle of Baritt's Tomb, the aftermath, and years later, with no confusion whatsoever. You know what's happening at any point. You know who the people are. You get giddy little moments of glee, knowing how Vlad will be closer friends with some of these characters later.
If you like the Taltos series, this is (as usual) a fantastic book. There's nothing new here; Brust is a fantastic writer. If you haven't read any books in the Vlad Taltos series, this would be a good "first book" despite being book number 8 - Brust writes his books completely out of sequence, and he experiments with how he tells stories each time. This isn't the best one I've read, but each and every one is fantastic.