Brust returns to the world of Vlad for a swashbuckling tale that sheds long-delayed light on the very fundamentals of Dragaera and its origins. Vlad Taltos, a sometime assasin currently on the run from his former associates, is tracked down in his jungle hideout by a most improbably party: Lady Teldra, the infinitely charming chatelaine of Castle Black. Teldra has come to enlist Vlad's help. His friends Morrolan and Aliera have vanished. Vlad once rescued Morrolan and Aliera from the realm of the gods, but now it looks as if they are in the hands of the Jenoine: the powerful beings who long ago were the makers of Dragaera and the masters of its gods.
Issola (Vlad)
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No mere plot summary can describe accurately the fun and adventure that naturally seem to follow Vlad Taltos."-"Voya"
"As always, Brust invests Vlad with the panache of a Dumas musketeer and the colloquial voice of one of Zelazny's amber heroes."-"Publishers Weekly"
"As always, Brust invests Vlad with the panache of a Dumas musketeer and the colloquial voice of one of Zelazny's amber heroes."-"Publishers Weekly"
About the Author
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in a family of Hungarian labor organizers, Steven Brust worked as a musician and a computer programmer before coming to prominence as a writer in 1983 with "Jhereg," the first of his novels about Vlad Taltos, a human professional assassin in a world dominated by long-lived, magically-empowered human-like "Dragaerans."
Over the next several years, several more "Taltos" novels followed, interspersed with other work, including "To Reign in Hell," a fantasy re-working of Milton's war in Heaven; "The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars," a contemporary fantasy based on Hungarian folktales; and a science fiction novel, "Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille." The most recent "Taltos" novels are "Dragon" and" Issola." In 1991, with "The Phoenix Guards," Brust began another series, set a thousand years earlier than the Taltos books; its sequels are "Five Hundred Years After" and the three volumes of "The Viscount of Adrilankha": "The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, "and" Sethra Lavode."
While writing, Brust has continued to work as a musician, playing drums for the legendary band Cats Laughing and recording an album of his own work, A Rose for Iconoclastes. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he pursues an ongoing interest in stochastics.
Over the next several years, several more "Taltos" novels followed, interspersed with other work, including "To Reign in Hell," a fantasy re-working of Milton's war in Heaven; "The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars," a contemporary fantasy based on Hungarian folktales; and a science fiction novel, "Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille." The most recent "Taltos" novels are "Dragon" and" Issola." In 1991, with "The Phoenix Guards," Brust began another series, set a thousand years earlier than the Taltos books; its sequels are "Five Hundred Years After" and the three volumes of "The Viscount of Adrilankha": "The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, "and" Sethra Lavode."
While writing, Brust has continued to work as a musician, playing drums for the legendary band Cats Laughing and recording an album of his own work, A Rose for Iconoclastes. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he pursues an ongoing interest in stochastics.
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Just because they really are out to get you doesn't mean you aren't paranoid. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Just because they really are out to get you doesn't mean you aren't paranoid. Read the first page
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Issola has everything that I've come to love in the Taltos books: magic, fighting, intrigue, and Vlad's dry humor and whit. It continues where Orca left off, the continuation of Vlad's life sans Jhereg. The story is well told and we get to see Vlad join some old favorite characters. Momentous events occur in this latest installment, answering some questions whle leaving you with some new ones, as a good story should. Fans of Steven Brust should really enjoy this story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Marshall Lord
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In which Vlad gets caught up in a battle between Gods ...
This highly entertaining comic fantasy novel is number nine by publication order, or tenth in chronological sequence, in the story of Vladimir Taltos. It is set shortly after "Orca (Jhereg S.)" and is immediately followed by "DZUR (Vlad Taltos)."
If you have not previously read any of Steven Brust's "Vlad Taltos" novels or "Khaavren" romances, they are all set in a world of magic, where there are several intelligent species, including two types of men and women. Humans like ourselves are usually referred to as "Easterners," the other type of men and women call themselves humans but are usually referred to in the books as "Dragaerans" or occasionally as Elves. Dragaerans are much taller than humans, live 2,000 to 3,000 years or so, and then after death are eligible for reincarnation provided they have not annoyed a God too much or had their soul destroyed by a "Morganti" weapon or a "Great Weapon."
Morganti weapons are used between mortals when they are really angry with someone because they don't just kill you, but normally destroy your soul. "Great Weapons," are particularly deadly Morganti weapons which can even kill Gods. Tradition said that there are, or will be, exactly seventeen Great Weapons.
In one of the earlier books, a powerful magician makes an ambiguous remark to Vlad, suggesting that he both is and isn't carrying a Great Weapon. Baffled, Vlad asks if a particular item is a Great Weapon and gets the reply "Not Yet." In "Issola" we find out what this cryptic remark meant.... Read more ›
This highly entertaining comic fantasy novel is number nine by publication order, or tenth in chronological sequence, in the story of Vladimir Taltos. It is set shortly after "Orca (Jhereg S.)" and is immediately followed by "DZUR (Vlad Taltos)."
If you have not previously read any of Steven Brust's "Vlad Taltos" novels or "Khaavren" romances, they are all set in a world of magic, where there are several intelligent species, including two types of men and women. Humans like ourselves are usually referred to as "Easterners," the other type of men and women call themselves humans but are usually referred to in the books as "Dragaerans" or occasionally as Elves. Dragaerans are much taller than humans, live 2,000 to 3,000 years or so, and then after death are eligible for reincarnation provided they have not annoyed a God too much or had their soul destroyed by a "Morganti" weapon or a "Great Weapon."
Morganti weapons are used between mortals when they are really angry with someone because they don't just kill you, but normally destroy your soul. "Great Weapons," are particularly deadly Morganti weapons which can even kill Gods. Tradition said that there are, or will be, exactly seventeen Great Weapons.
In one of the earlier books, a powerful magician makes an ambiguous remark to Vlad, suggesting that he both is and isn't carrying a Great Weapon. Baffled, Vlad asks if a particular item is a Great Weapon and gets the reply "Not Yet." In "Issola" we find out what this cryptic remark meant.... Read more ›
By Sulkyblue
Format:Hardcover
Another great book in the series. It answers some questions, yet generates even more. Definitely a good thing. By reintroducing characters it is interesting to see how Vlad has been changed by recent events. The new characters that are introduced are fascinating and we learn more about some of the recurring ones as well. Brust once again falls into the trap of concentrating a lot of complex exposition into small amounts of space, one section I had to read 3 times and still not really grasp all the details.
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