The main
reason I started The Blog Fantastic project was to integrate my desire to read
more fantasy books with my (then) new habit of blogging. Ever since reading Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy
Hickman I’ve been a fan of the genre. As it happens, I’m also a very distracted
reader, with bookshelves filled with various works, in many genres, and penned
by many different authors. Some are familiar, often revisited, and some are still
new to me. Because of this I tend to jump around, rather randomly, from series
to series and from one genre to the other. I have no clear pattern. The Blog
Fantastic was a way to give me a reason to focus my attention on fantasy
titles, at least more than I had since my university days. As a whole, the
project has been a success. Still, I’ve had a few disappointments, such as
discovering the Redwall series by Brian
Jacques no longer has any appeal to me and that while I can understand the
appeal of other series, such as the successful Forgotten Realms novels of R. A. Salvatore, they just don’t impress
me or entertain as well as I want them to (or as well as they used to).
It’s
sometimes a bit of a bummer to realize you don’t like something anymore, but
they’re good realization to make. Why continue reading a series of books you
know you probably won’t enjoy? Both of the
above examples are series I first tried out a decade or more ago and knowing
that they’re not my kind of thing anymore is helpful when I’m searching for
other series and writers to discover. Besides, I like variety enough that I’m
in no danger of reading through my entire pile of unread books.
That
element of discovery is what I like the most about this project. When I take
the time to look over the books I’ve read as part of the project it’s wonderful
to see how many great new series and authors I’ve discovered. Earthsea
is a notable favourite. Its author, Ursula K. LeGuin, has also become one
of my favourite writers in great part because of those books. I’ve also
rediscovered The Dragonriders of Pern
series by Anne McCaffrey. While I now notice the faults they have, something I
didn’t notice at a younger age, I’m a bigger now than I ever was. It remains
one of my favourite fictional settings of all time. Another great discovery is
the writing of Steven Brust, author of Jhereg
and its sequel, Yendi.
Jhereg was the best fantasy novel that I read in 2014. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. Not only did it make use
of a unique combination of ideas, it had well-defined world-building, genuinely
interesting characters, and played with genre conventions in a way that worked.
There are a lot of details packed into that little novel and I was shocked it
worked as effectively as it did. I had really big expectations for the second
volume which takes place before the events of Jhereg. I wasn’t disappointed because Brust proves he’s a skilled
storytelling but it’s pretty clear the book doesn’t reach the same heights as
its predecessor. Even so, Yendi is a
very good book.
The plot
is centered around a Jhereg turf war. As a member of house Jhereg, Vlad Taltos
oversees and administrates the gambling houses and other illicit goings-on of
his territory which is a few blocks in size. When a neighbouring boss sets up a
gambling room in one of Vlad’s buildings, a turf war begins. Since Vlad is new
to his position he’s pretty low on funds and as everyone knows wars, even
smalls wars, are expensive. It’s not long before Vlad asks his friends in the
house of Dragon to help him out. They do so secretly because of house politics,
but they have enough respect in Vlad to offer assistance. Even with additional
financial backing, Vlad is losing the war. It’s not long before attempts are
made on his life, one of which is by his future wife, Cawti, an Easterner like
Vlad. As the story progresses the plot thickens and Brust manages to weave a
pretty complicated plot surrounding the turf war and its true origins and
meaning.
One of
the things to be enjoyed in Yendi is
that Brust fleshes out characters from his first book by providing the back
story as to how they, mostly Vlad, got to be where he was at the beginning of Jhereg. He does so by focusing on the
turf war plot and its connected sub-plots. His meeting Cawti and their
relationship also adds depth of character, but the whole thing did feel pretty
forced. At least it does until you consider how few Easterners live in Adrilankha
and how even fewer of them are skilled in the arts of assassination as Vlad and
Cawti. What’s truly enjoyable though is Brust’s writing style. His wit is a
delight, and he crafts scenes that are a pleasure to read. I particularly
enjoyed all of the dinner conversation scenes. His plotting, even for the
simplest chapters, is tight. He’s also very good as peeling back the layers of
the mysteries tied to the real reasons for the turf war. I enjoyed the mystery
even if I think I wasn’t supposed to unravel it. The book is name after the
house of Yendi which is known for its subtlety and misdirection. The book is
filled with this very idea and even with the knowledge of the world I had from reading
Jhereg, I really don’t think I had a
fair chance of figuring out the true culprit at the heart of the turf war.
This is
a good book but it also feels like it’s missing something. Vlad is a proactive
main character and it’s great just to kick back and read about him working.
He’s a very interesting guy. I like that he’s the underdog because it’s not an
accident. All Dragaerans think of him as nothing but scum, but through hard
work and perseverance he’s manages to prove his worth to even some of the most
important members of house Dragon. This led to the development of some very
useful friendships. It works because the whole thing feels earns. At least, it
felt that way in Jhereg, less so in
this book. However, it still holds true that Brust manages to convince his
readers that Vlad is truly and exceptional person, even in the dangerous world
of Dragaera.
Compared
to the dense and complex plotting of the first novel, this one seems slight.
Brust has mentioned his displeasure with this book. I can understand it, up to
a point. The world and history of this series is still very, very fresh at the
time this second volume was published, and he writes about it in a way that is
very entertaining while also having a good amount of depth. His subtlety as a
writer is impressive. I think Brust might be a little hard on himself. It’s not
uncommon for writers or artists to look back on their previous work and find
fault where there might not be any to be found. Then again, maybe Brust is
right and this is his worst book. It’s only the second novel by him that I’ve
read and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s improved with his later work. Whether
his worst book or not, it still manages to impress me and prove that he is a
skilled storyteller. His writing is very stylish and makes for a satisfying
read. It might be a bit premature to call myself a Brust fan for life. I’m more
than willing to let the third book try and convince me that I am.
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