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Iorich, by Steven Brust
May. 28th, 2010 05:41 pmIorich, by Steven Brust
Though Vlad ought, by all rights, to be staying as far away from Adrilankha as possible, once again his personal entanglements draw him back into danger. This time it's his friend Aliera e'Kieron, who has been charged with using elder sorcery... a capital crime. She's guilty of it, of course, but the more important question is: when everyone has known for years, what's the political motivation for charging her now? And how is Vlad going to keep her from going to the Executioner's Star... especially when, for reasons that are unclear to him, both Aliera and all of their mutual friends are not exactly helping?
Here's a funny thing: I went into Jhegaala expecting to be a bit disappointed in it, because it was a backstory-book featuring only three characters we even knew (except for a brief cameo from Noish-Pa); I went into Iorich expecting to find it satisfying because it deals, once again, with Adrilankha, with Aliera and Kiera and Sethra and Morrolan and Kragar and Cawti and Lady Teldra and all the rest. And yet, while my understanding of what the books were about was dead-on, my responses were completely opposite.
Oh, it's not that I didn't like Iorich. I did. If it were anything but one of the Vlad Taltos series, I would say I enjoyed it very much indeed. It was clever and tense and interestingly political, and of course I enjoy Vlad's narrative voice and his interaction with Loiosh (Loiosh!), and Sethra and Kiera and Aliera and Kragar and all the rest. And I really, really, really liked a lot of the worldbuilding details, of how Imperial law and justice work, and so on. I was looking forward to Iorich for those details, and I wasn't disappointed—plus, the major Iorich character, Aliera's lawyer, I quite liked. We're used to seeing Dragaeran society from the POV of those who are above the law (the upper-crust Dragons, Sethra, the Empress, etc.), from those who are sort of beneath the notice of the law (Teckla and Easterners), and, well, from criminals (Jhereg). Seeing Dragaeran society from someone who is immersed in the middle-class position and whose whole life is within the law rather than above, below or around it was pretty cool.
But the problem is... between this and Dzur, I'm beginning to feel like Brust is stalling. It's not enough to really hamper my enjoyment of the books, but if we get a few more Vlad Taltos books that sidestep the major plot questions raised in Phoenix and especially Issola, I'm going to begin to get impatient.
( And I can't discuss any more without getting into spoilers, so assume spoilers for the whole series after this point. )
Anyway, I don't want to make it seem that I didn't enjoy this one. I did. And if you've read the Vlad books this far, you should read it, too. But probably in paperback.
(If you haven't read the Vlad series, be aware that this is one of those series that, IMHO, really has to be read in publication order. Start with Jhereg and work from there.)
Though Vlad ought, by all rights, to be staying as far away from Adrilankha as possible, once again his personal entanglements draw him back into danger. This time it's his friend Aliera e'Kieron, who has been charged with using elder sorcery... a capital crime. She's guilty of it, of course, but the more important question is: when everyone has known for years, what's the political motivation for charging her now? And how is Vlad going to keep her from going to the Executioner's Star... especially when, for reasons that are unclear to him, both Aliera and all of their mutual friends are not exactly helping?
Here's a funny thing: I went into Jhegaala expecting to be a bit disappointed in it, because it was a backstory-book featuring only three characters we even knew (except for a brief cameo from Noish-Pa); I went into Iorich expecting to find it satisfying because it deals, once again, with Adrilankha, with Aliera and Kiera and Sethra and Morrolan and Kragar and Cawti and Lady Teldra and all the rest. And yet, while my understanding of what the books were about was dead-on, my responses were completely opposite.
Oh, it's not that I didn't like Iorich. I did. If it were anything but one of the Vlad Taltos series, I would say I enjoyed it very much indeed. It was clever and tense and interestingly political, and of course I enjoy Vlad's narrative voice and his interaction with Loiosh (Loiosh!), and Sethra and Kiera and Aliera and Kragar and all the rest. And I really, really, really liked a lot of the worldbuilding details, of how Imperial law and justice work, and so on. I was looking forward to Iorich for those details, and I wasn't disappointed—plus, the major Iorich character, Aliera's lawyer, I quite liked. We're used to seeing Dragaeran society from the POV of those who are above the law (the upper-crust Dragons, Sethra, the Empress, etc.), from those who are sort of beneath the notice of the law (Teckla and Easterners), and, well, from criminals (Jhereg). Seeing Dragaeran society from someone who is immersed in the middle-class position and whose whole life is within the law rather than above, below or around it was pretty cool.
But the problem is... between this and Dzur, I'm beginning to feel like Brust is stalling. It's not enough to really hamper my enjoyment of the books, but if we get a few more Vlad Taltos books that sidestep the major plot questions raised in Phoenix and especially Issola, I'm going to begin to get impatient.
( And I can't discuss any more without getting into spoilers, so assume spoilers for the whole series after this point. )
Anyway, I don't want to make it seem that I didn't enjoy this one. I did. And if you've read the Vlad books this far, you should read it, too. But probably in paperback.
(If you haven't read the Vlad series, be aware that this is one of those series that, IMHO, really has to be read in publication order. Start with Jhereg and work from there.)
