n 1983, Steven Brust's novel Jhereg introduced Vlad Taltos, a smart-alecky, witchcraft-working assassin with a psionic flying lizard for a familiar. Vlad is a small, short-lived human in a world of tall, long-lived Dragaerans--an old, proud, stratified society divided into 17 Houses seemingly named after native Dragaeran animals--but he started out with more advantages than most. His father bought the family a title in House Jhereg and paid for him to learn sorcery and swordcraft, while his traditionalist grandfather taught him witchcraft and fencing. Between his diverse skills, his poisonous, psychically skilled, sentient familiar, his quick wit, his casual ruthlessness and his friendship with a number of incredibly powerful sorcerer/warriors, it seemed as if Vlad was
up to virtually any challenge.
As the series progressed, however, it became obvious that some problems were too much for any one man. After some principled but difficult decisions, Vlad ended up hiding in the wilderness with a massive price on his head. As Issola, the ninth book in the Jhereg series, begins, Vlad is camping in the forest when he's suddenly visited by Lady Teldra, chatelaine to Lord Morrolan of House Dragon, one of the few people about whom Vlad honestly seems to care. Teldra explains that Morrolan and his cousin Aliera--both of whom Vlad believed were indestructible--have disappeared without a trace, and Sethra Lavode, the world's most powerful sorcerer, is actually worried. Sethra, Morrolan, Aliera and Vlad have a long and debt-filled history together, which leaves Vlad to do what he's gradually become best at: Acting according to a perceived duty without spending too much effort considering the consequences or meanings of his actions.
Before long, Vlad and Teldra have heard a great deal of Dragaeran history that clears up some of the Jhereg series' many lingering questions, but that also makes the situation seem impossibly dangerous. Naturally, they press on anyway, and naturally, they end up in far more trouble. As the story progresses, Vlad falls into a trap and is asked to assassinate his own goddess. From there, things get complex.
Bewitched out of the doldrums
Over the past two decades, Vlad Taltos has been gradually morphing into a more complex but less satisfying character. In his early tales, he was a simple, decisive, creative man, not easily stumped by problems or weakened by hardships, and prone to elaborate solutions to knotty problems. In later books, he became maudlin, ineffectual and incapable of consciously making critical decisions before events overtook him and made those decisions for him. Issola is a return to form for both Brust and Vlad; the new book doesn't rewrite Vlad's history, but does finally require him to take action and move forward with his life.
And Issola certainly is a satisfying step forward. To newcomers, the book won't make a great deal of sense: Vlad's relationships have always depended heavily on unstated, instinctive understandings which even series veterans may find hard to follow, and Brust doesn't waste time explaining what those relationships are, or how they developed or anything else that's gone before. Issola instead offers copious rewards for longtime Jhereg fans. It builds on the earlier books' framework by launching into previously unknown territory, explaining a number of things that have been obscure until now, from the nature of the Necromancer to how and why the Great Weapons were first made. Issola addresses the Jenoine--the Dragaerans' mysterious creators--and their relationship to the gods, the undead and the reincarnated. And it does all this in the form of a smooth-moving adventure with a great deal of sardonic dialogue and clever, unexpected twists.
But most significantly, Issola snaps an enduring, memorable character out of a long-term funk, gets him back on his feet, and gives readers a host of reasons to keep paying attention. Like the best Jhereg books, it's instantly absorbing and repeatedly surprising, and it seems far too short once it's over. It's a pity Brust only puts a Jhereg book out every few years--this installment gives the series more life and verve than it's had in some time, and sets the stage for far more to come.
