I'd have to agree with what I've so far, pertaining to "Teckla." I rather enjoyed it myself, even though (and perhaps even because) it was so different from the winding, whirlwind excitement-adventure of "Jhereg" and "Yendi." It did, however, make me want to strangle Cawti, as well. Vlad's a nice guy and he doesn't deserve to be treated like Cawti treated him, just because he wasn't a born-again Teckla/Easterner sympathizer. Her evolution from assassin to horribly irritating pissed me off and I was actually happy when Vlad left South Adrilahnka (I think I spelled that wrong - it looks really weird) at the end of "Phoenix."
I think the book covers are just wonderful, especially cute l'il Loiosh. One thing bothers me, though. Why does Vlad have such light hair on the covers, and no whiskers? It gets me kind of confused, but then, I confuse easily.
And finally, we come to a question I doubt will (or can, maybe, at this point) be answered. What happened to Vlad in the two years between "Phoenix" and "Athyra?" How did his pinky get missing? (Oh, the suspense!)
~ Steph