The Lord of Castle Black

The Lord of Castle Black (2003) Steven Brust

The second volume in the Viscount of Adrilankha series takes up where the first left off, even going back a bit to cover events that occurred towards the end of Paths of the Dead

Zerika is now Empress in name, but has yet to become Empress in fact, and to do so must defeat the forces of Lord Kana, the Dragonlord who had, during the Interregnum, declared himself Emperor, and had no interest in renouncing that claim now that Zerika had returned with the Orb. Additional, Grita has allied herself with Kana in order to extract her revenge upon her enemies.

Additionally, for Vlad fans, this book describes the first meeting between Morrolan and Sethra Lavode, and answers the question of whether Morrolan, as Lord of Southmoor, asked Sethra for tribute.

Although I am not normally a fan of introductions, which usually do little more than summarize the events of the previous book, so that readers can (for some unknown reason) start at book two, skipping book one, because this is Steven Burst, I read the introduction. And was not disappointed, as it almost immediately made me laugh out loud.

We have been informed by those to whom we have entrusted our manuscript for publication that it would be appropriate to explain to the reader some of the events of the story we have the honor to relate…(W)e believe that were there any events in the previous volume of such a nature that they could be omitted without severe damage to the narrative, we should have omitted them to begin with.

And so the introduction goes, so even though I had just read the first book, I made sure not to skip the introduction, because it did far more than summarize the book I had just completed.

As for The Lord of Castle Black, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Morrolan come into his power.

And above all of this, Morrolan was aware that, more than ever before, he would very much like to find something to kill. by preference, many things, all of them eager to fight back.

If that doesn’t just describe a Dragonlord, I don’t know what does.

And of course there was the marvelous storytelling. Although anyone who has read the Vlad Taltos books knows quite well how things are going to end up, still I was drawn into the story, and even on a re-reading, unable to easily put down the book. Partially because I find it so easy to become immersed into these books, and partially for the joy of rereading paragraphs like these:

In only a few minutes, thanks to the training through which Fentor had put them, the companies and battalions were arranged across the field. Upon learning that all was ready, Morrolan, who had not yet learned the importance of ceremony, grandiloquence, and inspirational utterances in convincing the desperate to do the impossible, gave the order to advance, and himself led the way. (It should be added that none of the events which followed did anything to show Morrolan why he ought to use brave words to inspire his army, and so, as far as this historian can determine, he has never learned.)

There is also something about the way that Steven Brust writes that even I, who almost never see images in my head as I read, am able to vividly picture the scene he is describing. No small feat that.

I do, however, have to take some umbrage with the cover of this book. Why on earth does Morrolan look like John Travolta?

Additionally, I am still bothered by the actions of Piro at the end of this book. Zerika is a childhood friend for whom he still seems to have some affection. Although not directly affecting her, his actions seem to go against that friendship, and that bothers me a good deal. Enough that this single issue drops my rating for this book from a nine to an eight. Teenagers may be rash, but they are also loyal.

Although this is not a good place to start reading Steven Brust this is an excellent second book, and I love learning more about Morrolan and Sethra.
Rating: 8/10

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