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Jhereg - An Introduction and Prologue
Oct. 8th, 2022 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinaraI mentioned before, I think, that my preference when it comes to both reading and reviewing long series is to go in publication order. It just works best, in my opinion, when you can jump in with an author and watch their talents and the concept of their universe develop naturally.
Most of the time, this isn't too arduous or confusing. Some series, like the Drizzt books, might go back for an origin story, but once you're past that point, smooth out into something vaguely chronological. Other series, like L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Recluse novels or C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union, will just take place anywhere in the timeline, but each book (or subseries) tends to involve brand new characters and events, so there's no need to keep track of what did, or did not, come before.
But then there's Vlad fucking Taltos. This guy stars in a series that is, by this point in time, fifteen books long. Not counting the Alexandre Dumas parody prequel novels or Brokedown Palace. And none of these fucking books are in any kind of comprehensible order.
Actually, that's not true. There IS a fairly distinct narrative timeline going on, if you go through Jhereg-Teckla-Phoenix-Athyra-Orca-Issola...
The PROBLEM is that Jhereg is book 1 in the series, Teckla is book 3, Phoenix, Athyra and Orca are actually 5, 6 and 7, but book 11 (Jhegaala) actually takes place in between Phoenix and Athyra...
That's not even getting into how Dragon (book 8) takes place both before and after Yendi (book 2). Or Tiassa (book 13) has segments that take place at three different points of the timeline. Trying to read this series in chronological order is like trying to sort Highlander episodes by the date of their flashbacks. It's just not doable. (Though it might be hilarious to try.)
The thing is, IF you read this series in publication order, it does make sense. Book 2 takes place before Book 1, but it expands on something mentioned in that book, and thematically leads into Book 3. Vlad's character development is surprisingly consistent. Vlad in the early parts of Tiassa reads like the Vlad in Jhereg. And so on and so forth. It's quite elegant!
It's also really fucking hard to explain to anyone who hasn't read the series. And completely irrelevant for the moment, because I haven't signed on to review the entire series (...yet). I'm only reviewing the first one. Jhereg. Which came out in 1983, the year I was born.
So I probably should discuss what I remember of this series. It's fantasy, with a very involved, developed setting. But definitely more Leiber than Tolkien in tone. In style, it actually reminds me more of the Dresden Files or the Vampire Files. Though where Jack is a white knight with a dark side, and Harry often feels like his author is aiming for Jack but doesn't always hit exactly, Vlad is more of a work in progress. Dude's an assassin, after all. And a bit of a dick. I remember liking him though.
( As we all know by now, 'Asshole' is not a deal-breaker for me )
Most of the time, this isn't too arduous or confusing. Some series, like the Drizzt books, might go back for an origin story, but once you're past that point, smooth out into something vaguely chronological. Other series, like L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Recluse novels or C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union, will just take place anywhere in the timeline, but each book (or subseries) tends to involve brand new characters and events, so there's no need to keep track of what did, or did not, come before.
But then there's Vlad fucking Taltos. This guy stars in a series that is, by this point in time, fifteen books long. Not counting the Alexandre Dumas parody prequel novels or Brokedown Palace. And none of these fucking books are in any kind of comprehensible order.
Actually, that's not true. There IS a fairly distinct narrative timeline going on, if you go through Jhereg-Teckla-Phoenix-Athyra-Orca-Issola...
The PROBLEM is that Jhereg is book 1 in the series, Teckla is book 3, Phoenix, Athyra and Orca are actually 5, 6 and 7, but book 11 (Jhegaala) actually takes place in between Phoenix and Athyra...
That's not even getting into how Dragon (book 8) takes place both before and after Yendi (book 2). Or Tiassa (book 13) has segments that take place at three different points of the timeline. Trying to read this series in chronological order is like trying to sort Highlander episodes by the date of their flashbacks. It's just not doable. (Though it might be hilarious to try.)
The thing is, IF you read this series in publication order, it does make sense. Book 2 takes place before Book 1, but it expands on something mentioned in that book, and thematically leads into Book 3. Vlad's character development is surprisingly consistent. Vlad in the early parts of Tiassa reads like the Vlad in Jhereg. And so on and so forth. It's quite elegant!
It's also really fucking hard to explain to anyone who hasn't read the series. And completely irrelevant for the moment, because I haven't signed on to review the entire series (...yet). I'm only reviewing the first one. Jhereg. Which came out in 1983, the year I was born.
So I probably should discuss what I remember of this series. It's fantasy, with a very involved, developed setting. But definitely more Leiber than Tolkien in tone. In style, it actually reminds me more of the Dresden Files or the Vampire Files. Though where Jack is a white knight with a dark side, and Harry often feels like his author is aiming for Jack but doesn't always hit exactly, Vlad is more of a work in progress. Dude's an assassin, after all. And a bit of a dick. I remember liking him though.
( As we all know by now, 'Asshole' is not a deal-breaker for me )