Vallista
Ratings13
Average rating4.1
Vlad Taltos is an Easterner-an underprivileged human in an Empire of tall, powerful, long-lived Dragaerans. He made a career for himself in House Jhereg, the Dragaeran clan in charge of the Empire's organized crime. But the day came when the Jhereg wanted Vlad dead, and he's been on the run ever since. He has plenty of friends among the Dragaeran highborn, including an undead wizard and a god or two. But as long as the Jhereg have a price on his head, Vlad's life is...messy. Meanwhile, for years, Vlad's path has been repeatedly crossed by Devera, a small Dragaeran girl of indeterminate powers who turns up at the oddest moments in his life. Now Devera has appeared again-to lead Vlad into a mysterious, seemingly empty manor overlooking the Great Sea. Inside this structure are corridors that double back on themselves, rooms that look out over other worlds, and-just maybe-answers to some of Vlad's long-asked questions about his world and his place in it. If only Devera can be persuaded to stop disappearing in the middle of his conversations with her.
Series
Series
8 primary books9 released books#15 in Vlad Taltos
Vlad Taltos is a 9-book series with 11 primary works first released in 1983 with contributions by Steven Brust.
Series
19 released booksDragaera
Dragaera is a 19-book series first released in 1983 with contributions by Steven Brust.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
This is also a 3.5 star book, but I am willingly giving it half a star more for the opening line and the chapter titles.
I enjoyed this book, despite it being annoying. Annoying only because the previous book ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, and I desperately want the continuation of the main series. This book, annoyingly, takes us to a time right before the previous book - Hawk. Explaining the manor at the end, and the very specific room they meet in.
I think this book blends a murder mystery with the haunted gothic home tropes really well. It brings back Devara, an absolutely delightful character introduced few books ago, and gives us more about her story. We also get more about vlad's past lives and about Verra.
This book does a fair job of adding few more puzzle pieces to the overall story. It only makes me want the next in the main series even more.
Yes, I know the next book takes place even further past in the timeline, and I'm annoyed at it already. But, I love Vlad Taltos so I will read it anyway.
This one is a lot different from the other Vlad books. Maybe that'll mark it as a turning point. Only Brust knows.
That said, for anyone reading this review, I'm going to assume you've read some previous Vlad Taltos novels. I mean, seriously, does anyone pick up a series with #15? With that assumption, you'll know that most Vlad books are extravagant tales of planning various capers on the part of Vlad, and then usually his various powerful friends coming together to pull him out of the midst of disaster in just the nick of time as all the careful planning falls apart. Only then do they all discover some piece of information that snaps things into perspective and Vlad ends up putting it all together and saving the day.
Vallista has some similar elements. It's essentially a mystery. Almost an existential mystery, at that. And this time, it's Devera who gets Vlad into the mess and Vlad who has to figure everything out and determine what needs to be done to save her. Along the way, he does reconnect with one powerful “friend,” the Goddess Verra. I won't spoil the ending, but it does ultimately make the very odd feel of this book worth it to stick through to the end.
The key take away from this book is you learn some more of Vlad and his role in the whole cycle. Remembering his “relationship” to Aliera revealed in an earlier book, this one brings a bit more to that table and also firms up Vlad's relationship to Verra.
