Sounds like Steve is comparing Valabar's to witchcraft. On 6/20/06, Kate Nepveu <kate.nepveu at gmail.com> wrote: > > I've reviewed an ARC of _Dzur_ here: > > http://www.steelypips.org/weblog/2006/06/brust_dzur.php > > It's fairly short, so I'll also paste in the text here: > > * * * * > > Fans of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series: do not read any review of > _Dzur_ (out in August) other than this one. There are two surprises in > the Prologue, one small and one big, and while it's hard to call them > *spoilers* since they're in the Prologue, it's so much fun to > experience them as surprises. (The jacket copy is safe.) > > Fortunately, the basic plot can be sketched without revealing these > surprises. After the series-changing events of _Issola_, Vlad has gone > for a meal at Valabar's in Adrilankha. There, he finds that his > estranged wife Cawti is having problems: they were both in the > Organization (think Mafia); he'd left her the Organization's interests > in South Adrilankha when he left town several books back; and now the > Left Hand of the Jhereg, a sorcerous organization, is moving in. (As > the Organization is also known as the Right Hand, this allows the > utterly deadpan statement, "It's unfortunate, how little the Right > Hand knows what the Left Hand is doing.") For various reasons, Vlad > agrees to help Cawti, despite the personal danger to himself (he > didn't leave town for a vacation, several books back). > > Actually, if you need that backstory, you shouldn't be reading this > book. Start with _Jhereg_ and go forward in publication order. > > If you don't need that backstory, just go buy the book when it comes > out in August. It has all the stuff you read a Vlad novel for: old > friends; enjoyable new characters; loving descriptions of food (the > meal at Valabar's is spread out over the remaining chapters as the > opening section); snark; and using one's wits to get out of desparate > situations. And it's really good to see how Vlad is growing and > changing; this book is a very interesting contrast to _Dragon_, the > book before _Issola_ and also named after a very war-inclined House. > (It's killing me that I can't say more about it than that. But, > interesting contrast; watch for it.) > > At this point in the series, there are a number of long-term plot > issues waiting to be resolved. I suspect that some people will want > more movement on these than they're going to get; but I think enough > happens in this book to be a book, and I'm willing to trust Brust on > the pacing of the series overall. And I very much enjoyed and > appreciated what happens here--all I really want is for August to > hurry up and get here so I can discuss it! > > Many thanks to Patrick Nielsen Hayden for the Advance Uncorrected Proof. > > * * * * > > I really do look forward to the list's reactions. I know, I know, so > do you all . . . > > -- > Kate Nepveu > kate.nepveu at gmail.com >