(10/1) Vlad!

[nessin]

It is good that Greg has found the writings of Brust and his character Vlad! Just had to throw that in there because I love those books, and I heartily recommend them to anyone and everyone. Although a couple of the latest installments were... less than fulfilling, most of them are great with a good story and lots of comedy.

P.S. Don't listen to them Greg, I've got 10 bucks that's yours if you off the first Convience Store clerk you see!

[mrchapel]

*frown*
Cliff and Liz made a pre-emptive strike against a story-arc

lol

[randomperson2]

Don't you hate it when your friends keep you from murderous rampages? Thats just not cool.

[mrchapel]

not so much "murderous rampages" as "viable career opportunities"

[randomperson2]

the two are not mutally exclusive

[Dr. Tower]

Just wait until he changes his name to Mario Greymist, or starts talking about Greymist Falls, then you have to be worried.

[Phyr]

Long live Vlad! heh... they are the best books ever. and Brust is an amazing writer. i love his wit.

::hugs a plushie Loiosh plushie::

[Arakeshi]

I dunno, Issola wasn't so bad... Although I wish <SPOILER> didn't die at the end... I liked him/her!

P.S. If you really have a Loiosh plushie, please let me know where you live so I can steal it! Must... get... Jhereg...

EDIT: The phoenix guard books are OK, but they make way too many contradictions.

[baeleth]

I loved Issola. The end just made me want the next book.... 'course that's not coming out 'till he finishes the whole Viscount of Adrilankha series...

Greg should maybe wait 'till he reads Five Hundred Years After before he changes his name to Mario tho... or maybe not. It would be funny to have him change his name first.

As far as contradictions go, the Phoenix Guards & Five Hundred Years After are supposed to be more of a retelling of historic events based on what texts could be found as well as any firsthand accounts that anyone would be willing to give. All of which are completely subject to Paarfi's interpretation as well as the source's own bias & opinion. That & if you look closely (and in most cases, we're talking in an uber fanboy geek kind of way ), you can find little errors and/or contradictions in a few of his books. This doesn't take any enjoyment out of them though. Still my favorite series & author.

That & Steven gets a kick out of reading peoples thoughts about his books & what, if anything something may mean. From his site:

If there are questions about the books, I probably won't answer them because I enjoy hearing the speculations.

Okay, Uber Fanboy Geek mode : OFF

[SevTiZ]

[quote="nessin";p="404270"]P.S. Don't listen to them Greg, I've got 10 bucks that's yours if you off the first Convience Store clerk you see![/quote]

DAMMIT!

*invests in police-grade riot armor* postcount++

[vspazv]

Read the whole series a few months ago. Vlad's response to Sethra Lavode during their first meeting is priceless.

"You do good work."


Almost forgot to mention, Steven Brust has a weblog.

http://dreamcafe.com/weblog.cgi

[Arakeshi]

Oh, admittedly so. In fact, it isn't just Paarfi, but also Brust who interperates it, as I believe you see after 500 Years After. The Jhereg series seems a bit less... dramatized, I guess it is, than Paarfis li'l historical novels. His sensationalistic tendencies get him into trouble in Dragaera as well.

P.S. Uber Fanboy Geekdom may not be a very good idea here...

A quote from Brusts site.

Dragon Tor Books, November 1998. ISBN: 0-312-86692-5
Another Vlad novel, and I'm one I'm pretty happy with. I have a lot of sympathy with people who want to read the books in chronological order, so I wrote this one to help them out: it falls before and after Yendi. Heh heh heh. It also provided me with an excuse to read Clauswitz, which was actually fairly entertaining. The character of Napper is loosely based on the late Bruce Beesman, a guy I played a lot of poker with, and whom I miss.

Brust likes messing with fanboys like us.

[BryanP]

I wonder how far in to the various Brust novels Greg has made it?

Am I the only one who really likes the Vlad Taltos novels but enjoys the Phoenix Guards novels even more?

[Arakeshi]

1)I'd guess only Jhereg thus far, or he'd already be gone.
2)Yes, yes, you are.

Kwik Kwiz Kwestion! In what book of the Jhereg series is lord Whitecrest mentioned?

[Devinoch]

Greg finished Issola tonight, having forced me to pull the entire collection out of the garage for him after stumbling across The Book of Jhereg I had laying out having reread it for the upteenth billion time. (He did, at my recommendation, skip Athyra, and I filled him in what happened in that book.)

The Viscount of Adrihlanka series wrapped up earlier this year and Brust is at work on the next Vlad book, which, last I heard, was targetted for a release probably the end of next year.

If you haven't read Brust's other stuff, like the spectacular Agyar or To Reign In Hell, be sure to pick them up. Also, you may want to follow the rest of the PJF (Pre-Joycian Fellowship) which includes people like Emma Bull (I recommend War For The Oaks and Bone Dance), or check out some of Brust's music with Boiled In Lead or Cats Laughing (if you're looking for BiL, I recommend either Alloy, which is their best of, or Antler Dance, which is their best album, as well as The Gypsy, which coincides with Brust's book he wrote with Megan Lindholm).

I think Greg's going to end up reading the Crossroads Jhereg book next (yes, I did manage to track down a copy of both that AND the graphic novel -- Brust is my favorite writer and I've swapped emails with him a couple of times) and if there is in fact a Loiosh plushie, I'd love to know where to get one.

~c.