posted
TomD has said in the past that he's worth reading. I can't remember which ones he recommended to start with, but I didn't think it was the Taltos series. I've made several attempts to read Brust, but have failed utterly every time. The furthest I've gotten through any of them is To Reign in Hell, which I hated and quit three quarters through. It's my brother's favorite novel, which is the only reason I made it as far as I did.
I've come to the conclusion it's a matter of personal taste. I really wanted to read the book he wrote with Emma Bull (her War for the Oaks is one of my favorites), and couldn't get past the first chapter. But as I said, he's one of my brother's favorite authors.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I absolutely think he's worth the commitment. I also loved the book he wrote with Emma Bull, but that might have been partially because I was studying the philosophers that the characters were reading at the same time I was reading the book. To Reign in Hell is the only book of his I don't much like, but that's because I don't tend to care for books that use the terminology/mythology/characters of my religion but mean such different things by them that they have nothing in common with the way I use the same terms. It's like reading fanfic that totally missed the point and messed up the characters of the original. I stopped reading OSC's Women of Genesis books for the same reason. (Note -- not saying the WoG books are badly written, saying that the LDS-specific take on several aspects of the story was too distracting for me to willingly suspend disbelief.)
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Go for it. Kharven and Taltos are cross-referentially in the same series. I'd recommend reading them in the order that they were written
Jhereg , Yendi , Teckla , Taltos , Phoenix , The Phoenix Guards , Athyra , Five Hundred Years After Orca , Dragon , Issola , Paths of the Dead , Lord of Castle Black , Sethra Lavode , Dzur
aspectre: Why do you recommend that? I took the timeline approach with Pratchett and it served me well. Although I admit that I read The Colour of Magic very late in the process, and it did seem a little underdeveloped and immature in comparison to the others.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Hmmm. I agree with aspectre. Because the Khaavren books are written as prequels to the books that were already out when they were written -- you'll understand the world better and enjoy coming to understand it more if you read them in that order. (IMO, of course.)
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Hmm...I found the Taltos books (I've only read three of them) to be okay, not earth shattering. I'd definitely say Brust is a library read, not books I'd spend money on. But, of course, that's me. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I rewrote my posting. As for why I recommend reading by order of publication: if the books are read by internal timeline, there are cross-references between books which either will blow the series plotline or the reader won't catch significance of.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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aspectre's right. Brust should be read in the order written, although I'd consider reading Brokedown Palace right after Jhereg.
His non-Dragaera books, including To Reign in Hell and others, aren't nearly as compelling -- although they are more "arty."
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Yep. While not quite in the same series, Brokedown Palace does add to ones understanding of the feel of Dragaera, especially its relationship to Easterners.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Ah. I will read them in the order they were written. Thank you. Hatrack has dictated my speculative fiction reading for the past 5 years and I don't see any reason to stop -- your recommendations have served me well.
Belle: All my books are library books . My entertainment budget is limited to the cheapest Netflix plan and.. . Well, that's about it. My wife and I do buy a CD once or twice a year, but usually as gifts for each other so that doesn't really count.
Oh, and I did see Serenity on the Imax at the Metreon. The previous movie that I saw on the big screen was The Two Towers.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I read Jhereg years ago and was decidedly unimpressed by it. I actually just came across my copy of it a week or two ago, and have added it to my pile of books to reread. If I don't care for it, will it be worth my while to read on in the series, or is Jhereg fairly representative of the series as a whole?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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That's hard to say. Jhereg bears somewhat the same relationship to Dragaera as Colour of Magic does to Discworld*. The Dragaera series wasn't started with any intent of becoming more than "JamesBond meets sword&sorcery". But authors change with age, and sometimes become wiser. So now, its a bit more like "Smiley meets sword&sorcery" with some drops back into his earlier style. I suspect those drops are mostly to please that ?majority? of fans who complain whenever the storyline wanders very far from "JamesBond..." and the storytelling method becomes more complex. Personally, I prefer the novels and writing styles that those fans seem most displeased with.
Thing is that the Dragaera series has never been and may never become a classic at the "You've gotta read this or ya can't call yourself an sf/fantasy fan." level of a Dune or an LotR, etc. It's a way of wiling away the hours for readers who want a short vacation from the real world; like reading AlistairMaclean, JohnD.MacDonald, AgathaChristie, etc. Only your personal taste will tell ya whether spending time with Brust is worthwhile. All I can say is that Dragaera fits well enough to my taste that I always purchase a new novel in the series immediately after it comes out in paperback**.
* I personally feel that Pratchett has had far more growth as an author.
** Not meant to indicate any lesser desire to read a new Dragaeran novel. Waiting for the paperback is my standard practice for any book that I feel will eventually be published that way. I have a very strong preference for one-handed reading and being comfortable with taking a book anywhere I want. The only times I've ever bought fiction in hardback has been in airports, out of desperation to have something/anything to read inflight. And the selection in airports tends to contain either paperbacks&magazines I've already read, or paperback "best sellers" by authors that I find to be boringly bad craftsmanship-wise. Even then, I will leave behind any hardback fiction that I've purchased-then-finished for a random passerby to find. If I liked the book enough, I'll buy another copy in paperback when it comes out.
posted
I check 'em out at the library when they come out in hardcover and then buy them as soon as they come out in paperback.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Brust is astoundingly good. His Taltos series is fun (and I shamelessly keep the Book of Jhereg on my bookshelf), but his real masterpiece is a minimalist work called Agyar. I highly, highly recommend it -- though you may want to begin with the Taltos series first, as an introduction to his style.
Posts: 3293 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Right. Thanks for the recommendations everybody.
I have read through Athyra (well half-way into Orca to be exact) plus the Phoenix Guards.
I understand now why by date of publication.
As I imagined would be the case, I like The Phoenix Guards more than many readers probably do.
And I'm enjoying the series and how the style of writing and the main character have changed over the books.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Just started reading these myself, am currently right there with you in Orca.
He reads to me like a cross between Zelazny and Robert B. Parker -- tough people surviving in a fantasy world, with some funny interplay here and there. I like him.
Started reading him because eventually his Firefly novel -- written entirely on spec and submitted to Pocket Books back when they were going to be publishing new Serenity books -- will be available, either officially or as fan fiction, and I wanted to see what he was like.
He'll be at Oasis 19 in Orlando the end of this month.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Not bad. It's told mostly from the POV of Kiera, with some chapters composed of descriptions of events told to her by Vlad.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I like Orca so far. It's fun having more Kiera/Vlad interaction.
It's not quite as heavy as Athyra was (partly because Kiera is the man POV character), but it's still a progression. One of the things I like about the series is that although each is basically a "mystery/thriller" plot, the plots of the past novels ripple their repercussions into the subsequent novel. It means Vlad has to be more circumspect about his actions and has more conflicted feelings about using his skills (and his motivations for doing so), and that really rachets up what's at stake -- for both him and the reader.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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There are things in his Taltos series that LOOK like mistakes, but really aren't, and if you don't read the books in the order they were WRITTEN you lose out on some of the really cool plot lines as well as the resolution of those hanging threads. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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. My entertainment budget is limited to the cheapest Netflix plan and.. . Well, that's about it. My wife and I do buy a CD once or twice a year, but usually as gifts for each other so that doesn't really count.
