Steven Brust’s JHEGAALA is yet another in the vaunted Vlad Taltos series, following 2006′s DZUR. Taltos is an assassin, currently on the run from the Jhereg, who seek to eliminate him for past activity. With some time on his hands, and a reason to leave his immediate area, Taltos finds out a bit about his long-dead mother, and travels to his homeland to see if he can reinstate contact with family remnants.
Taltos travels with Loiosh and Rocza, two reptilian familiars who are wont to ride on his shoulders. He communicates telepathically with Loiosh, and quite a bit of the fun of these books is the snarky interaction back and forth between the reptile and the human assassin.
Of course, as Taltos travels into new lands, he is met with great suspicion, not least because of his familiars, and the situation becomes very sticky very quickly. When the last few members of his ancient family are horribly murdered in an arson, Taltos vows revenge. But on whom?
This is classic Brust, short and snappy, with Taltos and his normal no-nonsense brusque mannerisms, flippant dialogue and a welcome attention to food (maybe we need a Vlad Taltos cookbook?). The ending gets quite convoluted, unfortunately, and for little discernible reason, but the bulk of the book will please any Brust/Taltos fan, or any reader who likes their fantasy on the less serious side. —Mark Rose
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• DZUR by Steven Brust
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Gets my vote for Most Likely to Be Misspelled.