Taltos the Assassin

category: fantasy, author:

Steven Brust

a three novel omnibus of the Dragaera series:
book 5: Jhereg, original copyright 1983
book 3: Yendi, original copyright 1984
book 6: Teckla, original copyright 1987
read in March 2011 (and before, several times, from about 1999)

Agamedes' opinion: 9 out of 10

Nine out of ten -- "really, really good" -- for all three books? Let me explain.

I read Jhereg and thought, Wow! that was a lot of fun! With occasional touches of humour, likable characters, complex plot in a well-rounded world... Sure, the hero kills for gold. But he's a nice guy. Nine out of ten...

Then there's Yendi. All of the above, plus a plot which -- by its depth -- expands on the "reality" of the fantasy world of Dragaera. Yet there's something not quite right... Is it the casual way in which the hero kills one of his henchmen for doing something just a bit stupid? Sure, the henchman will be brought back to life. But still... the hero is just a bit less "fun"... Perhaps this is worth just eight out of ten, purely on the grounds of loss of gloss for the hero.

Finally, Teckla. Each book is based around one of the seventeen "classes" of Dragaeran society. (Well, eighteen. If you count the lowest class of "Easterner", or "human".) Teckla are the peasants. The ignorant, the uneducated. The downtrodden masses who -- in this book -- are yearning to be free.

In Teckla, Taltos the assassin -- the hero -- is forced to question all of his values. He begins to wonder if assassination is a worthwhile occupation. He fights with his wife.

This is an uncomfortable book. Entertaining but less so. Perhaps seven out of ten.

Nine, eight, seven... yet I give the three books an overall score of nine!? What's going on?!

Here's how I see it:

Brust wrote Jhereg. Solid fantasy, good action, great characters, touches of humour. A successful book -- so he wrote Yendi. More of the same. Then he realised that an assassin is not, really, the nicest of people. And the world of Dragaera offers a lot more scope for stories.

Brust wrote Teckla -- and began the major effort of providing an epic story of a culture and, perhaps, of its evolution from brutal to ... whatever. (With -- since I have actually read some of the later stories -- with some elements of science fiction, to bring Dragaera into our own universe. Perhaps.)

In the omnibus of Taltos the Assassin we have three early chapters of the "Dragaeran epic cycle". Jhereg was testing the market. Yendi provided one small part of the back-story. Teckla is the beginning of the realisation that all is not as well as it seems...

So yes, the three novels get various ratings. As part of an epic cycle, however... These books are really, really good.

A single novel may have a chapter or two which you would rather not read. Yet they are essential to the plot. You hurry on, hoping that all will be resolved by the end of the book.

A series of nineteen (yes, 19, according to Wikipedia!) books will have some uncomfortable books. You read on, hoping that all will be resolved by the end of the nineteenth book.

That said, each of these three books does have a satisfactory -- happy enough -- ending. Only Teckla leaves any doubt as to "happy ever after"... and that is good, as book number six of a long series.

Each book is an enjoyable novel on its own. But before you read Teckla -- make sure that you are committed to reading more of the Dragaera series. It promises to be an excellent epic.

..o0o..
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