IORICH is the 12th novel in Steven Brust’s fantasy series starring the ready-with-a-quip assassin Vlad Taltos. The author’s work is situated on the light and breezy side of fantasy, a sort of comic noir that features lots of killing, magic, ruthless politics and even some gods and demons, but does it in a heavily sarcastic and fun way.
In this installment, Taltos is disappointed to learn that one of his friends, a very powerful one, is being held in prison for the crime of practicing elder sorcery. What’s odd is that she’d been doing just that for years, and no one minded — not least of all the empress, who has now imprisoned her.
The empress is supposed to be one of her best friends, as well. Taltos is confused. And frequently, when he’s confused, things get sticky for a lot of different people.
This is an enjoyable romp through Brust’s strange world of the 17 houses of the cycle (each of the 12 novels is named after a house, so he has five more to go), complete with many of the characters we’ve come to enjoy over the run, including his Jhereg familiars, Loiosh and Rocza; his separated wife, Cawti; and his own son, now 8 years old, and turning into quite an interesting character in his own right. It’s a quick read, a worthy addition to the series, and should appeal to all who like his casual and flippant style. —Mark Rose
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• DZUR by Steven Brust
• JHEGAALA by Steven Brust
Related posts:
- Jhegaala
- Dzur
- Caine Black Knife
- Empress: Godspeaker — Book One
- The Riven Kingdom: Godspeaker — Book Two
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t think there’s a single title in this series I could spell/pronounce.
The first book of Brust’s that I read was his Firefly story, “My Own Kind of Freedom.” This freebie was awesome and opened me up to a great writer. Read most of his stuff by now, and I’ve never been disappointed.