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allyndraFirst? ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dancinbutterfly gave me a cheat sheet on how to add a banner. Yay! My journal isn't naked anymore!
Second, book rec! A bunch of people from my flist have been posting about books, making me fall in love with old favorites all over again, and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. I give you the Taltos series by Steven Brust.
Vladimir Taltos is a skilled assassin, a mediocre sorceror, and a decent witch. He also cooks a mean goulash. A human living among the bigger, stronger, longer-lived Dragaerans, Vlad is always looking for a way to even the playing field. He's got a wicked sense of humor and an engaging wit, which is important, because these books are 1st person POV.
One of the things I love about these books is the plotting. Re-reading Yendi, I just noticed groundwork for a plotpoint that doesn't pay off until five books later. Considering how often I want to bash my head against walls because authors have contradicted themselves, this is a major selling point. (Not that there are no inconsistencies, but most of these are a result of different character perspectives, not of a lazy writer.) I'm also a fan of the non-chronological ordering. Brust has been writing these books for 15 years now (and if predictions hold true, he's got at least 7 left), and they still feel fresh and interesting to me, and I think his decision to not be chronological has a lot to do with that.
I also love how real these stories feel. Now, part of the draw of fantasy is obviously the escapism, but just because the setting is unreal doesn't mean the reactions, the emotions, the heart of it should be. The Taltos series delivers a gritty realism in the form of interpersonal relationships, even while Vlad's flying reptile is psionically talking to him. That's good fantasy, right there! (Although, I should point out, events in the 9th book, Issola, reveal that there are major scifi elements to the world.)
If you haven't ever read these books, I highly recommend them. The 11th book, Jhegaala, is due out this summer, and I can't wait!
dancinbutterfly gave me a cheat sheet on how to add a banner. Yay! My journal isn't naked anymore!Second, book rec! A bunch of people from my flist have been posting about books, making me fall in love with old favorites all over again, and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. I give you the Taltos series by Steven Brust.
Vladimir Taltos is a skilled assassin, a mediocre sorceror, and a decent witch. He also cooks a mean goulash. A human living among the bigger, stronger, longer-lived Dragaerans, Vlad is always looking for a way to even the playing field. He's got a wicked sense of humor and an engaging wit, which is important, because these books are 1st person POV.
One of the things I love about these books is the plotting. Re-reading Yendi, I just noticed groundwork for a plotpoint that doesn't pay off until five books later. Considering how often I want to bash my head against walls because authors have contradicted themselves, this is a major selling point. (Not that there are no inconsistencies, but most of these are a result of different character perspectives, not of a lazy writer.) I'm also a fan of the non-chronological ordering. Brust has been writing these books for 15 years now (and if predictions hold true, he's got at least 7 left), and they still feel fresh and interesting to me, and I think his decision to not be chronological has a lot to do with that.
I also love how real these stories feel. Now, part of the draw of fantasy is obviously the escapism, but just because the setting is unreal doesn't mean the reactions, the emotions, the heart of it should be. The Taltos series delivers a gritty realism in the form of interpersonal relationships, even while Vlad's flying reptile is psionically talking to him. That's good fantasy, right there! (Although, I should point out, events in the 9th book, Issola, reveal that there are major scifi elements to the world.)
If you haven't ever read these books, I highly recommend them. The 11th book, Jhegaala, is due out this summer, and I can't wait!
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Date: 2008-03-11 11:08 pm (UTC)that book sounds intriguing, might have to check it out!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 11:20 pm (UTC)I really love these books. They're ones that I keep re-reading. If you ever do pick up the first one, let me know what you think of it.