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In which Vlad Taltos confronts the Left Hand of the Jhereg…and discovers the game has more players than he thought
Vlad Taltos, short-statured, short-lived human in an Empire of tall, long-lived Dragaerans, has always had to keep his wits about him. Long ago, he made a place for himself as a captain of the Jhereg, the noble house that runs the rackets in the great imperial city of Adrilankha. But love, revolution, betrayal, and revenge ensued, and for years now Vlad has been a man on the run, struggling to stay a step ahead of the Jhereg who would kill him without hesitation.
Now Vlad’s back in Adrilankha. The rackets he used to run are now under the control of the mysterious “Left Hand of the Jhereg”—a secretive cabal of women who report to no man. His ex-wife needs his help. His old enemies aren’t sure whether they want to kill him, or talk to him and then kill him. A goddess may be playing tricks with his memory. And the Great Weapon he’s carrying seems to have plans of its own…
Picking up directly where Issola left off, Dzur gives us Vlad Taltos at his best—swashbuckling storytelling with a wry and gritty edge.
A more mature Vlad....
| Customer Rating:  | All characters have to change. Change is good. Vlad Taltos has had a lot happen to him which is not good. His marriage has been destroyed, the Jhereg are out to get him, and most of his friends can't help him because they would be dead by nightfall. Isn't life grand? But it seems that the Left Hand of the Jhereg, women who are ten times more dangerous than the rest of the Jhereg, are moving into his ex-wife's area. And on top of that the Demon Goddess seems to be messing with his memories. But he has three things on his side. A couple of real Jhereg, lots of money and a Godslayer. Oh, and did I mention he is also a ruthless son of a bitch?
Enjoy, used or new.
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Not the worst, but far from the best
| Customer Rating:  | I feel like Brust really phoned this one in (or maybe psychically communicated it in). I've read this entire series several times, including the Phoenix Guards series, so I know Adrilankha well. Dzur was probably the most boring of the series.
Brust has used framing devices to great effect in his previous books - the cycle poem in Jhereg, the witchcraft spell in Taltos, the cleaning bill in... was it Yendi or Teckla? And now the dinner at Valabar's in Dzur. Each course of the fabulous meal frames a chapter. But it's getting a bit old, and this iteration feels like Brust is showing us how much he enjoys food, a proclivity he adequately broadcast in his previous books without overdoing it the way he did this time around. I almost could have seen this coming.
Mr. Brust, we get it. You like food. If you'd like, we can arrange for you to get a show on the Food Network. But right now, you write fantasy novels. By all means, have a little fun with the meals your characters eat. Make them gourmands - it fleshes them out nicely (it was well done in The Phoenix Guards books). But I almost wanted to skip the introduction to each chapter, and this was only the first time I've read it. (Only on the 4th or 5th time on Taltos did I even begin to contemplate skipping the witchcraft spell.)
The other bit of laziness that stands out is the character Telnan. Was he anything more than an exposition device, and a reason to call the book Dzur? A literal deus ex machina? Unless he plays a major role in future books, I think we can chalk him up to Brust needing a Dzur in this book, a crutch I would have more readily forgiven him for if he used it in Chreotha, a House far less full of possibility than Dzur. I mean, seriously. This is the best he could come up with for Dzur? What a waste of a very complex House.
Other than those two specific complaints, I also felt let down at the end. "That's it?" is not my usual reaction at the end of a Brust novel. "Yeah, and?" was a popular one at the end of each chapter. Why is the Left Hand trying to move in? What difficulties, precisely, is Cawti having to face here? What further maneuvering was required for the Demon to reach his goal (trying not to spoil anything here)?
Dzur had its moments (a couple of neat surprises), and reading a new Vlad Taltos novel is like slipping into a comfortable bath after years of showers, but Brust seems to have forgotten to bring the rubber ducky. I wouldn't steer away faithful fans of the series, but this one could have been much better. Brust really dropped the ball. |
Ah! Hello Vlad, my old friend, glad to see you again.
| Customer Rating: | The story: This is the 10th book in the series, so there is a lot of setup which goes into getting to this point in the story, so, to avoid giving anything good away, I am going to be a bit confusing which is just as well because the books do not follow any chronological order: this story start exactly where the prior book, Issola, left off with Vlad walking into Valabar's to enjoy a meal the likes of which he had not had in a few years. Of course, doing so was a pretty stupid thing to do consider the size of the price that is on his head, but he would have time to enjoy his meal and leave with little to no chance of someone killing him, but of course, something else comes up; he has to bail out his wife from the mess he left behind from the last time he bailed her out which was why he was on the run to begin with.
His wife left him for, well, let's just say, he didn't listen very well, but at the same time, in order to save her that time, well, he got the price put on his head. So the results of this book, he saves her again, and gets a lot more people pissed off at him which will no doubt increase the price on his head but he has along the way in the past picked up some toys, one of which he can use to threaten gods into helping him, so finding or killing him will not be easy.
I just cannot wait for the next book in the series.
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Liked it, Didn't Love it
| Customer Rating: | Brust is at his old tricks in Dzur, meaning he used another little bit of fancy authorship to keep you recalling a specific character so he could use said character later in the book. I haven't always cared for what he's done in that regard, but this one wasn't too annoying.
A warning, though. Several of the Taltos series of books can be read out of sequence without too much concern. Dzur, however, speaks back to previous events more directly and frequently than most. I've read all the early books, but clearly not at least one of the later ones. I won't say I was lost, but the reading experience would definitely have been helped knowing the full back story.
In terms of the plot of this book, it was decent. All the classic Vlad banter and whatnot that endears one to the character is present. The storyline was interesting, but do I do feel a little wanting having reached the end. None of the Taltos books is long, but they are generally meaty, if you take my meaning. This one wasn't so much.
Overall, I did enjoy the read, but wouldn't rate this as one of the better books in the series. |
Don't waste your money...
| Customer Rating: | That's right, this latest book is just what the title says...A waste of money. If you want to follow the series, then go to your local library and waste that small portion of your life that this book will fill...I've been a loyal fan, I tolerated the poor character development, the deviation from Vlad's normal territory for the sake of following the story and waiting for it to come full circle, I was disappointed.
I'll try not to spoil much for those of you who plan to read this book, but lets just say that one of the biggest secrets that has been hinted at since Vlad left town is barely covered in the last chapter with very little fanfare.
Can the author write? Without a doubt...Do I care to have THAT much detail over one meal that occurs during the book? Not really. I'd prefer more plot, some time spent with characters we haven't experienced in a while...Dare I say? A little more effort on the author's part to entertain with actual characters? A unique idea, I know, but one with merit. |
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