The author of such successful fantasy novels as The Phoenix Guards (Tor, 1991), Five Hundred Years After (Tor, 1994), and Freedom and Necessity (with Emma Bull, Tor, 1997), Steven Brust has established himself as a solid hardcover presence in swashbuckling, colorful fantasy.
But before these hardcovers, Brust had already established himself as a bestselling author of mass-market originals from Ace Books, with the seven novels of the wildly popular Vlad Taltos series. Now Tor Books is pleased to bring Brust's most popular series to hardcover, with a new novel of Vlad Taltos ... even better, a novel covering a mysterious episode in Vlad's life story which the series' innumerable fans have long been eagerly awaiting.
Vlad knows his trade: he kills people for a living. That skill got him his foothold in House Jhereg, running the rackets for a chunk of Adrilankha. You'd think that killing people would be excellent preparation for full-scale war, and Vlad thinks so, too. But on the spot, when he finds himself in the real trenches of a real war between rival Dragonlords, Vlad learns just how wrong he is.
Here are all the favorite characters of the popular Vlad Taltos series: Vlad's wisecracking reptile familiar Loiosh, the inscrutable Dragonlord Morrolan, and of course the ever-fascinating Sethra Lavode. Here are politics, treachery, sorcery, and -- always important in a Vlad Taltos novel -- food. Here are crackling wit, action, and storytelling zest. The publication of Dragon will be a fantasy event.
Industry Reviews
First hardcover appearance for Brust's established paperback fantasy series featuring the assassin Vlad Taltos, although several of his other yams are set in the same fantasy world (Five Hundred Years After, 1994, etc.). Assassin Vlad works for House Jhereg, where he runs rackets and brothels and walks to the office every morning; his companion and familiar is Loiosh, a small dragon-like jhereg with whom he shares a telepathic bond. Vlad is an Easterner, one of a few clans of humans in a world dominated by all-but-immortal "elfs"; he commands some magic, but his chief advantage is his ability to become invisible. One of his business associates is the Dragonlord Morrolan of Castle Black; Vlad must be teleported there since the castle hangs high in the air. It seems that a certain sword of great magical power has gone missing from Morrolan's treasury; the chief suspect is another Dragonlord, Count Fornia, who, becoming aware of Vlad's involvement, immediately threatens him. Vlad takes this personally and goes along with Morrolan's intricate plot to recover the sword and teach Fornia a lesson by invading his territory - especially when Vlad learns that Morrolan has hired Sethra Lavode, the freest general alive. So Vlad finds himself serving in Morrolan's army as a foot soldier (despite his assassin's skills, he has little idea of practical soldiering) with no clear idea of what's really going on (Morrolan is deliberately closemouthed), while awaiting an opportunity to revenge himself upon Fornia, or grab the sword, or do something useful without getting himself killed in the process. Structured on several interlocking levels so as to keep the reader both fascinated and off-balance, full of wit and wisecracks, with a self-deprecating hero who manages to come out on top: a splendid caper that welcomes newcomers, while existing fans will pounce. (Kirkus Reviews)
