Reviews

Jhereg by Steven Brust

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katieinca's review against another edition

4.0

ruhtrohraggy's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

bkmaze's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

posies23's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the first in the long-running VLAD TALTOS series. It's an interesting mix of politics, crime, and fantasy, all mixed in a blender and topped with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Vlad Taltos lives in a society where humans are basically second-class citizens. That's okay, though, because he's an assassin, and things are going pretty well for him, especially when he gets a high-paying contract to take out a politician who embezzled a substantial sum from political group. (I'm being very vague here, to try and avoid spoilers.) As you might suspect, it's not really that easy, and Vlad gets pulled into a conspiracy, making his job not just an assassination, but much more.

Brust obviously has a love of Roger Zelazny's AMBER series, and his protagonist has the same sarcastic qualities that made Zelazny's books so much fun to read. As a first-time writer, Brust stumbles occasionally, with some dialogue sections that drag on a bit, but overall this is a compelling story, and a very well-created and interesting world. I'll definitely continue the series!

witzelsucht's review against another edition

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4.0

A really snappy and fun sort of fantasy heist. Vlad Taltos - assassin, social climber, male witch, short king - is an enjoyable first-person POV character despite his career in murdering. He's clever, tongue-in-cheek and debonair, but fallible and mortal enough to not get annoying. The worldbuilding can be a bit confusing but is original and intriguing. The writing is pacey and modern, a little rough around the edges but already confident. I'm happy to see there's sixteen more of these.

karinlib's review against another edition

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4.0

This was fun. Vlad Taltos is an assassin with a dragon-like familiar. Vlad has been commissioned to assassinate a very ambitious thief, who has taken sanctuary where killing anyone who takes refuge is forbidden.

I plan on reading more of Brust's works.

themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition

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2.0

DNF 37% Honestly? It bored me to tears. The plot had no tension, the characters had no personality, the world had no depth or colour. It’s a badly transcribed RPG

muse2323's review

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medium-paced

3.0

I like the characters and the premise but the writing sometimes got in the way of the story, especially in the opening 40 pages or so—made it hard to really get into.

mihailb's review

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adventurous mysterious tense 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

emilykarinpeterson's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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