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katieinca's review against another edition
3.0
I've given up on following, let alone trying to predict, the finer details of the plot in these. Which means the writing, style, or characters would have to be appealing enough to keep me reading them... and they're not. Thank you, Steven Brust, for an enjoyable weekend of airplane reading, but I think I'm done.
brerfrog's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what it was about this one, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two. Still worth reading, but I couldn't quite give it 4 stars. Hopefully the next book in the series will be better.
posies23's review
4.0
The third book in the Vlad Taltos series continues the trend from the first two books. Vlad gets himself in trouble, then spends the rest of the novel working his way out of it. I'm told the pattern doesn't hold true for the remaining books in the series, by the way.
The writing is sharp, and the characters are interesting. The world continues to develop in interesting ways, as do the character relationships. This book clearly shows Brust working out some of his political beliefs, as various characters discuss society and the roles of workers and leaders. Still, there's not too much preaching, and the story is solid.
I'm really enjoying the series, and will continue to work my way through them. Good stuff!
The writing is sharp, and the characters are interesting. The world continues to develop in interesting ways, as do the character relationships. This book clearly shows Brust working out some of his political beliefs, as various characters discuss society and the roles of workers and leaders. Still, there's not too much preaching, and the story is solid.
I'm really enjoying the series, and will continue to work my way through them. Good stuff!
mihailb's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mary_soon_lee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Going by publication order, this is the third book in the Vlad Taltos fantasy series. I've read the first three books in the past week, so it will come as little surprise to learn that I've been enjoying them very much. Vlad, the narrator, is a young human assassin in a society run by far longer-lived Dragaerans. I find Vlad very likable and appreciate the moments of humor that pepper his narration.
For me, books 1 and 2 approached pure fun. Yes, Vlad's an assassin and there was the requisite mayhem, but it had that slight remove from reality that allowed me to take it less seriously than real-world mayhem. "Teckla," on the other hand, is less purely escapist fun. I liked it just as much, if anything more, but the sensibility of the book is different. Among other things, a content warning is in order for both torture and suicidal thoughts. Significant spoilers ahead....
SpoilerSo, yes, there is a torture scene in chapter six. It's neither very lengthy, nor very specific, but it has an intensity to it and leads to suicidal thoughts. In addition, Vlad is at odds with Cawti (his wife) for much of the book. This, too, gets closer to realism than I would have expected based on books one and two in particular, and this sub-genre of fantasy in general. Though unexpected, I ended up liking how the book handled Vlad and Cawti's relationship. I don't mind a series shifting tone if it does so well. Not that this reads like a literary exploration of difficulties in human relationships. It just gets closer to that than I'd anticipated.
Likewise, during the course of the book, Vlad is driven to think about the choices he's made: being an assassin, killing people, whether those were immoral choices, whether he ought to have loftier ethics or a larger goal. Again, I thought this well done, but unexpected.
Three more remarks and I'm done. Firstly, there was one moment in chapter eleven where I found Vlad's behavior unsympathetic. (Others might well take exception to more than this one moment, but it was the only one that crossed the line for me.) Secondly, I continue to love Vlad's familiar, Loiosh. Thirdly, I also love Vlad's grandfather.
Four out of five unanticipated stars.
4/22/2024 update: just finished re-reading this -- I'm letting myself re-read the series at a rate of one book a month. I liked it even better the second time around. Four and a half stars out of five. Very
good. Unexpected and much more downbeat than the first two books, yet still entertaining.... [N.B. I couldn't work out how to show both the original read and the re-read here on StoryGraph.]
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
For me, books 1 and 2 approached pure fun. Yes, Vlad's an assassin and there was the requisite mayhem, but it had that slight remove from reality that allowed me to take it less seriously than real-world mayhem. "Teckla," on the other hand, is less purely escapist fun. I liked it just as much, if anything more, but the sensibility of the book is different. Among other things, a content warning is in order for both torture and suicidal thoughts. Significant spoilers ahead....
SpoilerSo, yes, there is a torture scene in chapter six. It's neither very lengthy, nor very specific, but it has an intensity to it and leads to suicidal thoughts. In addition, Vlad is at odds with Cawti (his wife) for much of the book. This, too, gets closer to realism than I would have expected based on books one and two in particular, and this sub-genre of fantasy in general. Though unexpected, I ended up liking how the book handled Vlad and Cawti's relationship. I don't mind a series shifting tone if it does so well. Not that this reads like a literary exploration of difficulties in human relationships. It just gets closer to that than I'd anticipated.
Likewise, during the course of the book, Vlad is driven to think about the choices he's made: being an assassin, killing people, whether those were immoral choices, whether he ought to have loftier ethics or a larger goal. Again, I thought this well done, but unexpected.
Three more remarks and I'm done. Firstly, there was one moment in chapter eleven where I found Vlad's behavior unsympathetic. (Others might well take exception to more than this one moment, but it was the only one that crossed the line for me.) Secondly, I continue to love Vlad's familiar, Loiosh. Thirdly, I also love Vlad's grandfather.
Four out of five unanticipated stars.
4/22/2024 update: just finished re-reading this -- I'm letting myself re-read the series at a rate of one book a month. I liked it even better the second time around. Four and a half stars out of five. Very
good. Unexpected and much more downbeat than the first two books, yet still entertaining.... [N.B. I couldn't work out how to show both the original read and the re-read here on StoryGraph.]
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
suzemo's review
3.0
Teckla & Easterners are organizing in South Adrilankha to protest their treatment and the organization of the Empire in general, and while I'm all in for those sensibilities, the pacing in this novel felt really off to me. I still like it well enough, but I am not (and haven't been) the biggest fan of this entry in the series.
tessisreading2's review
3.0
Perhaps I'm showing my romance-reader tendencies here: a big part of my issue with the book was Vlad's total and enduring cluelessness as to Cawti's unhappiness. Cawti is miserable, Vlad doesn't understand why, and Cawti is getting caught up in movements and activities that Vlad doesn't understand - and rather than trying to understand, or working with her, he simply rescues her, again and again, in ways that he knows she doesn't want and will not appreciate. It's like watching someone bang his head against a wall repeatedly: he knows he's doing something wrong, he doesn't understand why it's wrong, and he knows it's going to have the opposite effect of what he wants, but he feels compelled to do it anyway. By the end Vlad still hasn't come any closer to understanding what precisely went wrong in their relationship, and his perspective is so limited that I didn't feel as a reader like I really understood it either, save that Cawti changed and Vlad couldn't grasp how or why or how to work with it; Vlad's total confusion as to what happened left me confused as well, and it didn't feel narratively satisfying.
hagbard_celine's review
3.0
Neat to see class consciousness and solidarity in a fantasy book. A nice change.