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Jhereg Steven Brust 9783608932645 Books

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Jhereg Steven Brust 9783608932645 Books

This is book One in the adventures of Vlad Taltos, an unlikely of heroes. The book begins with: "There is a similarity, if I may be permitted an excursion into the tenuous metaphor, between the feel of a chilly breeze and the feel of a knife's blade, as either is laid across the back of your neck. I can call up memories of both, if I work at it. The chilly breeze is invariably going to be the more pleasant memory."

The world in this series started much like ours. But long long ago the Jenoine, powerful aliens, came to this planet. They split the population in two; the Easterners were much like us, lived to 50 or 60 years and used witchcraft. Then there were the Dragaera Empire, with people much taller and much longer-lived. Yet we find out that these people were altered by the Jenoine mixing their genetic material with those of the animals native to the planet: seventeen animals to be specific. These people broke into houses named after the animals. And each house takes a turn in ruling the empire.

Vlad, our lonely easterner, is living in the Dragaera Empire. But he has become muscle for the mob, the house Jhereg. Now he is getting paid to beat up and eventually kill those who always picked on him and put him down.

The book is humorous, witty and fun, reminiscent of Neil Gaiman or Roger Zelazny. Vlad zings one-liners at us that will make you laugh and smile and cheer for the underdog: "Success leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to failure." Or "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style."

If you want some light, fun, humorous reading, this is the series for you.

(First published in Imprint 2005-11-11 as `Aliens and Inspiration')


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Jhereg Steven Brust 9783608932645 Books Reviews

This is the first in a series of fantasy books. It introduces the hero, Vlad Taltos, a professional assassin and enforcer in town. He doesn't really fit in, because of his race and his small size, but he is respected now that he is an adult and has some power. Other powerful people in the royal houses of the government come to him to help him solve their problems, and he is as successful at solving problems as he is at being an assassin.

This book explains how Vlad grew into his adulthood. As a youngster he was an outcast. His grandfather taught him fencing and witchcraft, and from his father he received a bought title of nobility and training in sorcery. When he had enough magic to protect himself from the poisonous jhereg dragons, he called one to him and asked her for one of her eggs. From this egg hatched a jhereg Vlad named Loiosh. This dragon rides on his shoulder, flies around to scout for trouble, and makes sarcastic comments directly into Vlad's mind through telepathy.

After this history of Vlad, the book goes on to tell the story of a theif who stole a great deal of money from one of the royal houses and now claimed sanctuary in one of the other houses, where politics forbids his host from turning him in. Vlad is hired to get this man out of hiding so he can be killed for stealing the money. Vlad and Loiosh are on the job, trying to solve the problem without getting themselves killed in the process.

This is a good bit of fantasy, full of likable characters and a well developed political structure. I liked the banter between Vlad and Loiosh and the ways they managed to get themselves out of trouble.
This is book One in the adventures of Vlad Taltos, an unlikely of heroes. The book begins with "There is a similarity, if I may be permitted an excursion into the tenuous metaphor, between the feel of a chilly breeze and the feel of a knife's blade, as either is laid across the back of your neck. I can call up memories of both, if I work at it. The chilly breeze is invariably going to be the more pleasant memory."

The world in this series started much like ours. But long long ago the Jenoine, powerful aliens, came to this planet. They split the population in two; the Easterners were much like us, lived to 50 or 60 years and used witchcraft. Then there were the Dragaera Empire, with people much taller and much longer-lived. Yet we find out that these people were altered by the Jenoine mixing their genetic material with those of the animals native to the planet seventeen animals to be specific. These people broke into houses named after the animals. And each house takes a turn in ruling the empire.

Vlad, our lonely easterner, is living in the Dragaera Empire. But he has become muscle for the mob, the house Jhereg. Now he is getting paid to beat up and eventually kill those who always picked on him and put him down.

The book is humorous, witty and fun, reminiscent of Neil Gaiman or Roger Zelazny. Vlad zings one-liners at us that will make you laugh and smile and cheer for the underdog "Success leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to failure." Or "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style."

If you want some light, fun, humorous reading, this is the series for you.

(First published in Imprint 2005-11-11 as `Aliens and Inspiration')