Vlad Taltos is a human on a world dominated by dragaerans. Human in appearance, dragaerans are different from humans in a few ways -- most notably, dragaerans are much taller and live for centuries rather than decades. While there's a fair amount of prejudice towards members of different dragaeran Houses, most are united in their disdain for humans. And yet, Vlad has managed to thrive. There's a good deal of criminal activity in the Jhereg and when you need someone taken out, he's one of the best assassins money can buy. Which is why a leading member of the council of House Jhereg, known as the Demon, approaches him to assassinate a former council member, Lord Mellar. For reasons known only to himself, Mellar has placed the house in a precarious position and to prevent further damage he must be taken out.
Wow. This is one of the most intricately plotted mysteries I've read -- and, genre-wise, the book is somewhere between fantasy and science fiction. I loved every page of this book. I'm amazed at the amount of world-building, mystery, humor, and character development Brust managed to blend into a such a slim volume. And who knew that I would enjoy a story in which the protagonist is an assassin? It helps that his target in this story is not an innocent. It also helps that death isn't always a permanent condition in this world -- resurrection is quite common -- sometimes assassination is merely meant as a warning. That said, the Demon wants Mellar taken out permanently and Vlad is determined to make it happen.
Vlad is likeable, despite being an assassin -- he's sharp, he's honorable, and he's an entertaining narrator. In addition to being an assassin, Vlad is also a witch and he has a small flying lizard-like creature as a familiar. Loiosh is wonderfully snarky and the two spend a fair bit of time exchanging good-natured insults (psionically, of course, because that's how they roll).
Vlad's target, Mellar, is an intriguing character as well. As I said, he's not an innocent -- far from it. A dragaeran, he's had centuries to plan the events now in play -- and he's every bit as good a planner as Vlad. To figure out how to carry out the assassination in a way that won't result in another war among the Houses, Vlad first has to figure out what Mellar's end game is.
This may be one of the more complex fictional worlds I've encountered. It's definitely one of the most tightly written. I've already checked out the second book in the series, Yendi. Do yourself a favor and check out Jhereg for yourself -- I've barely given you a hint of just how awesome it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment