Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Started off shallow, picked up in the middle and got interesting/more involved, and ended trying too hard.
This book is not what I expected. Another flippant "comedic" fantasy series, with cardboard characters, heavy exposition, and "snappy" dialogue. Its magic system is a messy gamut of everything and the kitchen sink. Assassin, magic, witchcraft, revivification. Sigh. Couldn't get pass page 40.
Rereading this for the first time since I probably first read it thirty years ago. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well it held up. There are some cracks here that show it’s early Steven Brust work. The female characters are weak and the Vlad’s relationship with Cawti is a bit stilted (which makes sense given what comes later but I don’t think it’s deliberate). But all in all it is witty, wry, moves fast, features some lovely puzzle solving and an excellent heist at the end (well, assassination plan but basically it’s a heist). A delightful read.
While this novel is just a small introduction type story the world promises to be complex and filled with chaos. There promises to be lots of history to explore, houses to destroy in furture novels. In this the first book in the series, of which I plan to read more, we meet Vlad Taltos, an assassin. He's put in a position where he has to use his brain as much, probably more, than his steel. The plot is intriguing, the characters are enjoyable and looking forward to reading more of the series.
Mixed feelings. Mostly positive, but my rating feels like a favor more than anything else.
First of all, it was hard to figure out what kind of setting the novel had. Apparently, it's industrial... Renaissance? More specifically the Reformation period? But not really, because everything felt very modern, so I thought this was borderline sci-fi? And there are like, jungles around this planet, but it's more european in nature? I don't know, it's very weird. I guess it doesn't matter, but it was very distracting.
You know what's not confusing? Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Now, I will admit Jhereg is better than either of the two novels in Dresden I've read so far, but the clarity of both the plot and the worldbuilding is missing here, although I'm sure future installments could make up for it. Both series are also surprisingly similar. There is the insert-fantasy of the author, it's all pulpy and very straightforward... however, Vlad has more depth than Harry, and the originality of Brust is more remarkable.
Not everything was of my liking of course. The "fantasy" is barely present in the tale, the dragons may as well not have been a thing, so-so writing, shallow info-dumping, especially at the first half of the story...but oh well. It's a good book and I'm satisfied. Nonetheless, I feel neither a "call" to read more installments (right now at least), nor did I feel any special connection to the story. If nothing else, I've already found my 80s pulp fiction to kill the time in the future, now that Elric has proven to not be of my liking. Also, there weren't any weird mysoginy or poorly aged politics in the book, for an old series, that's always a plus.
First of all, it was hard to figure out what kind of setting the novel had. Apparently, it's industrial... Renaissance? More specifically the Reformation period? But not really, because everything felt very modern, so I thought this was borderline sci-fi? And there are like, jungles around this planet, but it's more european in nature? I don't know, it's very weird. I guess it doesn't matter, but it was very distracting.
You know what's not confusing? Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Now, I will admit Jhereg is better than either of the two novels in Dresden I've read so far, but the clarity of both the plot and the worldbuilding is missing here, although I'm sure future installments could make up for it. Both series are also surprisingly similar. There is the insert-fantasy of the author, it's all pulpy and very straightforward... however, Vlad has more depth than Harry, and the originality of Brust is more remarkable.
Not everything was of my liking of course. The "fantasy" is barely present in the tale, the dragons may as well not have been a thing, so-so writing, shallow info-dumping, especially at the first half of the story...but oh well. It's a good book and I'm satisfied. Nonetheless, I feel neither a "call" to read more installments (right now at least), nor did I feel any special connection to the story. If nothing else, I've already found my 80s pulp fiction to kill the time in the future, now that Elric has proven to not be of my liking. Also, there weren't any weird mysoginy or poorly aged politics in the book, for an old series, that's always a plus.
Definitely not what I was expecting (especially from high fantasy), but in the best way! Excellent comedic timing, interactions between characters, and world building. Also, such a clever plot, and I loved the way the mechanics of the world were revealed -- very slowly, but not so slow that I found myself confused past the point of understanding what going on. I cannot wait to start the next book!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I honestly tried to finish this book. The story and the world have a lot of potential, but the fact we are given ZERO descriptions on anything - from what a damn Teckla looks like (or any of the creatures), to what the difference is visually in a Draegeran to a human outside of their height - just frustrated me too much. Also, I wish Vlad communicated with Noiosh more. And that Noiosh wouldn't call Vlad "boss" - that really bothers me. The friendship between a dragon and his rider/master is suppose to be just that, a FRIENDSHIP. I don't call my friends boss. Ugh.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No