As should be apparent by now, my ratings don't exactly correspond with what is considered top literature. Instead, I give high ratings for any book that happens to involve me, whether it does so by appealing to my emotions or just to my desire for entertainment. Jhereg ranks highly purely for its entertainment value. Few books I have read recently have been such nonstop fun, and I highly recommend any fantasy lover to try reading this first book of Vlad Taltos life.

What most contributes to Jhereg's sense of fun is Brust's easygoing, almost flippant style. This style captures the character of Vlad Taltos perfectly--although Vlad is a calculating and matter-of-fact assassin, he is also quite humorous. For instance, while thinking about the terms of a job offer, Vlad says, "If I turned it down, I was suddenly a big risk and, shortly thereafter, I suspected, a small corpse." At another point, when Vlad hears about a sorceress who is spreading rumors he would rather keep quiet, this conversation takes place between Vlad and his associate, Kragar.

"Kragar, do you know who this fellow's girl friend is?"
He nodded. "A sorceress. Left Hand. Competent."
"Good," I said. "Kill her."
He nodded again.

And life goes on. Brust's style is witty and easy to read, a perfect complement to the character of Vlad that he wants to portray.

Brust also does a wonderful job of providing the exposition for his universe, which is not overly complicated but which has enough strange bits to be interesting. For instance, on the third page he says, "Girl? I really couldn't judge her age at all, but, being Dragaeran, she could be anywhere from a hundred to a thousand years old." And then he just goes on. Even Brust's longer expository passages are fun to read, partially because Vlad has so many biases regarding a lot of history. And finally, Brust knows exactly when to hold back on information: although he never really says anything about Morrolan's tower (and the single window in it), I still get shivers thinking about what happened to the sorceress who was caught by Morrolan.

The plot of Jhereg is patterned after a mystery novel, with Vlad trying to figure out what the hell is going on for much of the novel. Brust does an excellent job with the pacing; also, he lays down all the clues that the reader would need, but the revelations that he (and Vlad) go through are still surprising.

The result of all of Brust's talents is a tightly plotted but not overly complicated novel that I read in two days with little effort. If you're looking for some mindless, exciting, and funny entertainment, read Jhereg.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu