Vlad Taltos return in Dzur in time for Hurricane Ernesto

Ah, before that damned almost-Hurricane Ernesto arrives, I shall bang out one last blog entry.

I've finished Steven Brust's latest entry in the Vlad Taltos series, Dzur, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Okay, I'm a Brust fan and this isn't exactly an entirely unbiased review.

However, a few special points to bring up: the ending is both a surprise and definitely setting up huge possibilities for the future. I won't be a shmuck and spoil it for you, though. Instead I will say, bravo.

Secondly, there is an introduction at each chapter describing a dining experience. I'm not sure how he did it, but this is probably the first time food has become a sensual, almost erotic, experience. I want to eat at this restaurant even though it doesn't exist. It's amazingly brilliant and fantastically done. Brust has clearly had one amazing meal because I'd buy a book to read about this meal. I kid you not. It's fantastic, so be sure to read it though it probably doesn't affect the plot much one way or another.

Like all reviewers, I have to find a nit to pick. As the cover blurb says: "In which Vlad Taltos confronts the Left Hand of the Jhereg....." I point this out because this is classic Brust talking. He writes in very interesting speech pattern. It's older English, but not Olde English. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about because this cover blurb is a flawless example. Only the book isn't written this way anymore. It's like Brust forgot his old speech patterns and just wrote the book. I'm not complaining but I had to adjust my mindset considerably to get into my Taltos frame-of-mind. Or is it that I've become so used to it, I didn't notice it -- no, I don't think so.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book a great deal. It kind of reminds me of an Oldsmobile commercial. "This is not your father's Vlad Taltos...."

Hurry up and read it!