There are three kinds of medieval fantasy novels: those that are predictable hack-and-slash (I won’t name names), weighty trilogies of deep moral and philosophical meaning (J.R.R. Tolkien, Mervyn Peake) and brisk, witty, crazy-ass fun romps (Terry Pratchett, Alex Bledsoe). Steven Brust’s DZUR falls squarely into this latter camp.
This is my first Brust, but he’s written a ton of novels, 10 alone of which feature Vlad Taltos, a rogue swordsman/assassin/thug/whathaveyou. He is accompanied by two familiars, Loiosh and Rocza, who are apparently flying reptiles that adorn his shoulders. He also carries a mighty enchanted sword that is filled with the soul of Lady Teldra, the powers of which are as yet not completely defined.
Since I’ve missed the other nine Taltos novels, I’m not sure how well his world hangs together, and I wasn’t privy to a lot of the connections between the characters, but this was only a very minor flaw. Taltos is attempting to help out his ex-wife, whose illicit business is under a hostile takeover attack from competitors. The way Taltos handles the whole situation is wildly reckless, but always entertaining.
Much of the humor comes from Taltos’ psychic interactions with his familiars, as he and Loiosh banter back and forth sarcastically. There is also an interesting devotion to food, where each chapter is titled after a food or beverage, and the chapter begins with a description of that food being served at Taltos’ favorite restaurant. This endearing little character quirk is a nice change of pace from the hero’s usual monomaniacal attention to slaying dangerous beasts.
DZUR is an enjoyable read and if you’ve already started the series, you’ll want this one. I recommend giving it a try, and if you like it, get not just the Taltos novels, but look into his Dragaeran novels and the Khaavren Romances, all in the same universe. –Mark Rose
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I’ve read the first Taltos novel, I believe it was, and have Yendi and Teckla here, waiting for me. My first Brust was non-related to this world, but there’s something about his style I really dig.
Nice to see him getting some attention.