A bit of lag on the reading here, since I was carpooling to work for the past month and so got a lot less reading done…
I stepped over the body as carefully as I could because it would have been embarassing to slip. The Dark Lady of Dzur Mountain indicated a chair for me. I sat in another one only partly to be contrary — the one I chose wasn’t as soft, and thus easier to get out of quickly. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I was, like, scared.
The Book Of Taltos contains the 4th and 5th Vlad Taltos novels. Taltos, thus far the only volume not named after one of the official noble houses, is a prequel covering Vlad’s origins, both as a criminal and assassin (which was touched upon in the first volume), and as a friend to lords, the undead, and the occasional deity. Phoenix picks up where Teckla left off, as social tensions rise among the populace, marital tensions rise between Vlad and Cawti, and a bit more divine intervention brings Vlad to a key turning point in his life.
Taltos is the first book that really breaks with the traditional feel of the series. The previous three all revolved around a fantasy take on what were basically crime stories/mysteries. This volume is more of a take on a traditional fantasy quest story. It also ramps up the supernatural elements somewhat, which sounds like a stupid observation to make when you’re talking about a fantasy novel, but what I mean is that there are more appearances of ghosts and Gods and such.
Structurally the novel is somewhat distinct within the series up to this point. There are 3 plot threads (well, 2.5). The framing thread, which features a paragraph or two to open each chapter, is a slow narration of Vlad attempting to cast some sort of difficult and unique bit of witchcraft. The “primary” thread is of Vlad’s first meeting with Morrolan, who recruits Vlad to steal a gem that houses an old friend’s soul, then take this gem to the Paths of the Dead which is the actual physical afterlife for Dragaerans in order to resurrect this old friend. This culminates in the spell being cast in the framing thread. Interspersed with this is the final thread, which is a more detailed recounting of how Vlad went from busboy son of a restauranteur to budding assassin and turf boss for the Jhereg.
I remember not really caring for this novel’s change of pace the first time, but this time around it didn’t really bother me. It’s got a real back-and-forth feel between the two main plotlines, as it switches between them almost on a page by page basis. This has the odd effect of making the entire book feel high-tension even when people are just sitting around talking and reminiscing. This book also marks a bigger shift toward some kind of overarching continuity, and (at least in what I’ve read so far) this continues in later volumes. It’s a bit of an odd duck in the series in many respects, but in some ways it’s nice as a way to shake up the “formula” established by the first three volumes.
Phoenix picks up following the conclusion of Teckla, where it seemed that Vlad and Cawti could come to an accommodation with one another. Phoenix begins with things still in a bit of a strained state between them, and things don’t get much better. The plot is kicked off when Verra, a goddess of ambiguous motives about whom we’ve heard plenty but only first encountered in Taltos, “hires” Vlad to kill a political figure in a neighbouring kingdom for undisclosed reasons. Vlad reluctantly goes along with this — after all, she is a goddess and all, and so presumably there is a reason to it all and the consequences of refusing are likely high. This assassination, predictably, has Consequences of its own, among them war. War leads to conscription, and conscription precipitates another bit of social upheaval amongst Cawti’s revolutionary brethren, which lands her in prison and Vlad desperate to get her out whether she wants to go or not.
Where I found Teckla to be a bit of a downer, Phoenix is a bit more hopeful in my mind, despite the fact that it really marks the point where a bridge too far has been crossed between Vlad and Cawti. I think it’s because it’s a bit easier to sympathize with Vlad’s position this time around and the actions he takes to resolve it, whereas Teckla was a frustrating mess of non-communication. Basically, while Teckla had Vlad pretty much asking for trouble the entire time, I think he comes across as a bit more sympathetic this time and the points he is making are more fair. Of course, Vlad himself has changed, and it is here where he finally turns a corner with respect where his loyalties and personal guilt lie when it comes to his criminal lifestyle. It concludes with a dramatic shift in Vlad’s situation that will carry on to the (chronologically) subsequent novels.
Phoenix is an interesting story but somehow it fell flat for me at the end of the day. Vlad spends most of the novel reacting to events, and events occur at a very rapid pace, unlike prior volumes where the action is more sort of a build-up around some central mystery or conspiracy. It’s an important book in the grander scheme, and appropriate to its title it represents a rebirth for Vlad that drives the future novels.
But I was not helpless. At just such times as these, a witch may always take comfort in his familiar. Mine is a jhereg — a small, poisonous reptile whose mind is psychically linked to my own, and who is, moreover, brave, loyal, trustworthy–
“If you think I’m going out there, boss, you’re crazy.”
Okay, next idea.
