Customer Reviews

Orca

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vlad Taltos, if nothing else, is a man who remembers and repays his debts, even it that means killing everyone in sight and destroying the Empire in the process. This book follows directly after Athyra (though it is not really necessary to have read that book before trying this one), a book which introduced the character of Savn, a Teckla lad who manages to save Vlad's life. This book is about how Vlad tries to repay that action. Savn was left with a severe case of 'battle fatigue' at the end of the prior book, and Vlad finds a healer who might be able to help Savn, but the healer is facing eviction as her property is involved in a holding company bankruptcy. Vlad and Kiera the Thief, in tracing back the financial paperwork, come across an apparent murder of a very high-flying scam artist who has built a financial pyramid that is threatening to come apart like the proverbial house of cards, and in the process possibly leading the Empire into civil war and anarchy.

The plot is convoluted and involves much of the House of Orca as the financial dealers of the Empire, with heavy involvement by the Jhereg and the Phoenix Guards, but there is little real action. Instead, we are treated to a rather tortured discourse on why moral compromise is sometimes necessary to preserve free trade, and a lesson in economics that might have been lifted right from an Economics 101 textbook. On the brighter side, this book sees a return to first person narration, by both Kiera and Vlad, as opposed to the third person voice of Athyra that so marred that book. Along with this first person style comes also Brust's typical ironic bursts of humor and sly satirical digs. Cawti, Vlad's estranged wife, is seen by indirection here, in letters from Kiera to her, and some of what she is feeling about her hunted husband comes through, and showing a possible indication of where this series might be headed in the future.

There is revelation in the last ten pages of this book about the real identity of a certain personage, that will obviously be necessary to know about before reading later books in this set, but I thought this revelation was not really set up properly. There just weren't enough clues planted earlier to where this revelation didn't come as a shock, and at least at first I had real difficulties believing it. But I think, upon reflection, that this item can be worked into something very major in later books, and bodes well for the continuation of this set.

Clearly a necessary book to read for continuity, with too little action and only a small amount of character rounding-out, but not the best of the series, which for my money is Teckla, the book where character and internal moral questions predominate.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

In this plodding tale of Vlad, much talking is done about a banking financial swindle happening. Like Vlad investigates Enron, but not that much fun. In order to help Savn, who saved Vlad previously Vlad must help out an old lady with the power to possibly heal Savn. This leads to the investigation of the financial swindle.

Vlad and Kiera play Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew, except again, it really isn't that fun. The book is dialog heavy and as exciting as my accounting textbook, maybe less so.

As others have said, the revelation in the last 10 pages is the only payoff for reading the book. Not worth it in my opinion.

Another excellent book in the Vlad series by Brust. Like Athyra, Brust writes in a voice other than Vlads, though he does throw in some 2nd hand Vlad told from another point of view. On a first read, I thought this was not as good as the first five books, but better than Athyra and overall a good work. THEN, after finishing the series I went back and re-read Taltos. I HIGHLY recommend anyone that reads the entire series do this, all I can say was Taltos is VERY COOL! after reading Orca and the rest of the series (but especially Orca and Issola), and that makes this book VERY COOL as well.

However, for anyone that might think it a good idea to start with this book, I would recommend reading the series from the beginning in publication order before reading this book or Athyra, or you'll just be lost.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the Vlad books, and all of them stand on their own merits, independent of the other books in the 'series.' But Orca so far is one that gives us further character development of our favorites. We get to step outside of Vlad some more, and see how others percieve him and Loiosh. We get to see the chain of events within Vlad's perception, and heave a sigh of relief at his specific voice. Brust is masterful in helping Vlad step off the pages, into reality. By far, my favorite Vlad novel to date because of the character development. While not as exciting as Jhereg, or Athyra, the background you gain really helps you grow to appreciate these characters. If you're into that sort of thing.

Only a few words need be said about this book. The story just keeps getting better and better. Steven Brust has been and is a master storyteller. This is not light and airy fantasy but good old fashion fun.

This is the first Taltos book that was a chore to read through. Brust experimented with a story-in-a-story technique (and didn't do that great a job, I'm afraid). Worse then that, there was no real reason to care about the story. The "surprises" were in the last 10 pages so save yourself some tedium and skip straight to the end. Then go get Issola and feel better.

In truth, I was tempted to give this one two stars. I have always enjoyed the fun in Brust, even when the subject matter wasn't light. This book lacked any sense of fun. Nor did I care for the story-in-a-story approach; it just made the telling awkward. If you can't get ahold of this book, you aren't missing much. The last 10 pages hold the only surprises. I refrained from giving it 2 stars cause a friend tells me it is a better book after you've read Issola, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

After years of reading everything Brust wrote, I didn't pick this book up at first. I held off until I needed a good dose of Vlad. While this wasn't off-putting enough to cure an addiction, it wasn't potent enough to make deepen the dependency, either.

Followers of Vlad Taltos, Jhereg assasin, human in a land of giants, sorceror and witch, will have to read this one. Too much was left hanging by Vlad's last adventure (in his-time, not publisher-time). Brust continues to emphasize Vlad's complexity as a cold-blooded killer who will do anything for friends or people he feels obligated to. The continuity and backstory for some of the supporting cast was useful too - it confirmed things I'd guessed when I read "Athyra," "Teckla," and "Dragon." New readers should NOT pick this one up first - go back and buy "Jhereg," the only true introduction to the series.

All in all - I enjoyed it, but it doesn't stand alone. In fact, a working knowledge of "The Phoenix Guard" and "Five Hundred Years After" helps explain the character of Lord Khaavren. If you're following Vlad's career, this is the next stop, and something tells me it's going to be a prerequisite for "Issola." The wit and humor are still there, as are the mannerisms of a complex, alien culture. The evolution of Vlad Taltos continues - and now I want the next book. The addiction's no deeper - but it hasn't gone away.

I have gone back and read this book many times. The humor in this book is more of the subtle understated variety. There is also an excellent suprise ending with a few subtle clues. Brust at his best form.

This book took a turn in the series with Vlad trying to cure Savn(The Teckla boy) by doing a favor for a healer. He investigates a murder of an Orca called Fyres to save her land. It is good, but went really downhill from Phoenix, Teckla, Jhereg, and Yendi. Most of the time it is Kiera's point of view which, is all well and good, but sometimes in the story it goes back to Vlad's point of view. When you listen to Vlad again it gets a better but in some points it really excells when he's thinking about all that happened. My personal favorite parts are the interlude with Cawti and Kiera and the REALLY twisted ending where a secret is revealed. Overall, it's well written but it's a bit of a let-down from the other amazing books (especially Phoenix, which is the best book in the series, though not my favorite) But it does open the door for a pending reconsiliation between Vlad and Cawti. So one thing you can be sure of is: the next book, Issola, will have a 94% chance of being the next great cornerstone in the series, if not the book after that. It will be enjoyable for readers of Steven Brust, but not newcomers to Vlad Taltos. If you're going to first buy a Taltos book, buy Taltos, Yendi, and Jhereg first. You don't have to, it's just suggested. But if you don't, you'll be really confused about the others. Then after reading those three go to Dragon, Teckla, Phoenix, Athyra, and Orca in that order. These books are really enjoyable but it gets weaker in this one. But don't be discouraged, the next book WILL be good. In anycase, if you haven't read these books yet, I and anyone else whose read these, would advise you to do so as soon as possilble. I do not lie so take this seriously. Thank You for taking the time to read this!