When we first saw Vlad, Morrolan, Sethra, and Aliera together in Jhereg, they were friendly, despite the fact that Vlad was both an Easterner and a member of the House of Jhereg, and the other three were Dragaerans of the House of Dragon. Well, Morrolan and Aliera at least -- I'm not sure which House Sethra was born into, but she's two hundred thousand years old and a force to be reckoned with. Dragaerans typically look down upon members of other Houses; Dragaerans also typically despise Easterners so it's a toss-up as to what they'll find most offensive about Vlad. Having been regularly beaten by Dragaerans since he was a young child, Vlad generally hates all of them on principle. So, how did this foursome become so friendly?
It all began when Morrolan and Sethra needed an Easterner who could handle a difficult task. Why an Easterner? Because Dragaerans rely a great deal on sorcery for protection and they don't think to include Easterners among the things they need to protect themselves against. That difficult task led to another, this one likely impossible, a journey to and return from the Paths of the Dead. The journey there was merely tricky -- it was the journey back that was the problem. And it was the journey back that forged the bonds among them.
I've been curious about Vlad and Morrolan's trip to the Paths of the Dead since catching the mention of it in Jhereg and I wasn't disappointed. It's an eerie place. Vlad offers description of it, of course, but his, Loiosh's, and Morrolan's reactions to it bring it to life. As creepy as this place is, there's still humor -- Vlad is simply an entertaining narrator, even when he's scared out of his wits.
A second storyline gives us more details about Vlad's relationship with both his father and his grandfather (love Noish-pa!). Noish-pa refers to the Dragaerans as elfs and creatures of Faerie; he also remembers his home in the East as having a blue sky, white clouds, and a yellow sun (the Empire has an oppressive orange-red sky). So many questions! One -- what happened to the sky in the Empire? Two -- why are Easterners leaving the East, with its pretty skies, to live in a dreary land where they are despised for being Easterners? Three -- the specific mention of elves and faerie makes me think of our mythology -- is this fictional world set on Earth in the future? Or, are the Easterners transplants from Earth? *Jhereg informs us that aliens were up to all sorts of shenanigans, way back when. Perhaps Dragaerans and Easterners began as the same race? They both refer to themselves as human but there are clear genetic differences between them.
So many questions! But back to a general overview of the book -- there's a reason why this book takes its name from its protagonist rather than one of the Great Houses of the Dragaeran Empire -- not only does it offer more detail about Vlad's childhood, but it also offers more detail about Vlad's transition from working in his dad's restaurant, to becoming an enforcer, to becoming an assassin. We're given given insight into the first time Vlad *knew* he killed someone, as well as the first time he accepted work as an assassin -- and his reactions to both events. And we're left with questions about Vlad's mother and Kiera. Who was Vlad's mother and what happened to her? Can Kiera see the future? I suspect she can. What is Vlad's ultimate role in the Empire? There must be a reason Kiera looks out for him.
A third storyline, and the only one that bothered me as such, was the extended scene of Vlad working a spell. Each chapter begins with a snippet of that scene, which actually takes place at the end of the book. I imagine the glimpses of Vlad working a spell were meant to foreshadow the gravity of the situation at the end but I personally think it would have worked better in one piece, at the end. I re-read those bits, all together, after finishing the book, and I stand by that opinion.
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