Well, let me see. I pretty much read them in order of publication, although the Gypsy and a few of his non-Vlad books I DID read a little bit askew. As to which I didn't like, I hate to sound so unashamedly fawning, but ... I didn't dislike any of them. Brust, to me, really is a master storyteller, and though his wordcount has gone down (witness the length of 'Issola' as compared to his original, 'Jhereg') his quality has remained the same. Steven is what I consider an excellent storyteller, what Susan Sarandon would look for in a screenplay writer -- 'if there's nothing there that either advances the plot or explains something about one of the characters, I'd rather not have it there.' Steve (please note how I become more and more familiar with his name, neh?) is someone who, for the most part, takes the quality and conciseness one looks for in a short story and uses it to write novels. People I know (the SO, for one) don't like this style; I do. I like David Drake for exactly the same reasons, though Drake's novels are more akin to several short stories one after the other (and can be read as such). I may like Steve's works for mainly this reason; I'm not certain. I -do- know that I've enjoyed such volumes as the Khaavren romances and 'Freedom and Necessity' 'despite' the lack of conciseness, so certainly his spare style is not the only reason I like him. Intricate plots and an ability to grasp the personality of even the most unlikely character are two others. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I think I like him as an author -also- because of his willingness to break his own mold -- to go into other people's stylistic playgrounds. Bram Stoker and Alexandre Dumas are the two I know of offhand, but I have to admit that Agyar's style was one all his own, and simply fascinating to watch being constructed. In any case -- I've read everything but the Liavek stuff, and I've found it all very good. That being my $0.02 worth, and having exposed myself as a fanboy of the basest sort, hey Steve, do you ever read manuscripts and, thinking them good, send back a letter for the author to send into your publisher to include with his submission so that he can jump higher in the 'to read' queue and thus hopefully become published, in a manner such as you yourself experienced? Knightmarshall Felix Surnamed Eisen, or "Iron Felix" Hand of Morr, The Order of Bones