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A review by mafiabadgers
Dzur by Steven Brust
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
First read 07/2024
The last book ended on a cliffhanger (Vlad decided to revisit his favourite restaurant), and I felt unfairly deprived of the opportunity to enjoy an excellent meal by proxy. Fortunately, this book picks up where the last leaves off, and the details of the meal form the opening of each chapter, structuring the book after the individual courses. Steven Brust, like Brian Jacques, understands that a good fantasy book marches on its stomach.
Almost as good as the food appreciation, the gods have (more or less) stopped meddling in Vlad's life, so he can go back to being fantasy's most divorced protagonist. Also crime, as he's back in Adrilankha. I enjoyed it tremendously to begin with, but it started to drag around two-thirds of the way through. The ending managed to be both satisfying and underwhelming.
The last book ended on a cliffhanger (Vlad decided to revisit his favourite restaurant), and I felt unfairly deprived of the opportunity to enjoy an excellent meal by proxy. Fortunately, this book picks up where the last leaves off, and the details of the meal form the opening of each chapter, structuring the book after the individual courses. Steven Brust, like Brian Jacques, understands that a good fantasy book marches on its stomach.
Almost as good as the food appreciation, the gods have (more or less) stopped meddling in Vlad's life, so he can go back to being fantasy's most divorced protagonist. Also crime, as he's back in Adrilankha. I enjoyed it tremendously to begin with, but it started to drag around two-thirds of the way through. The ending managed to be both satisfying and underwhelming.