Sethra Lavode

Sethra Lavode (2004) Steven Brust

Sethra Lavode concludes The Viscount of Adrilankha trilogy. Morrolan is ensconced in Castle Black and learning Sorcery as well as more about Blackwand, Zerika is settled into Adrilankha and attempting to consolidate power and call a Meeting of Principalities to legitimize her reign, while Kana, who still retains a hold in about a third of the country, continues to attempt to gain power, despite Zerika’s possession of the Orb. Meanwhile, Khaavren and Piro are still at odds, an issue that comes to affect his job as Captain of the Imperial Guard, and Sethra Lavode guards against an attack of the Jenoine.

As I like Sethra almost as much as I like Morrolan, I found much to enjoy in this book. We spend time with Sethra, and learn a small bit about her, although many things about Dzur Mountain, including Tukko, remain an enigma. But there are little glimpses of her life.

“I believe, madam, that you have read that book before,” observed Tukko.
“Not above a hundred times, I believe. But then, it is the mark of a good book that it rewards many readings, is it not?”

Of course the fact that I feel that way about reading has nothing to do about how I feel about that exchange.

And as always there is Steven Brust’s excellent writing. Both in the small things that make me laugh:

On this occasion, it being Farmday, the village seemed to Piro to be all but deserted in fact, it might be observed that the arrival of the small company…caused the population of Six Horses to effectively double. Indeed, their arrival would have created something of a sensation had there been a sufficient populace for a sensation to have anything to work with.

As well as with the way he describes things, which, as I’ve mentioned before, I find nearly perfect.

When they made a move to attack him in a mass, he held out his left hand, all of his fingers stretched out, and, just barely aware of what he was doing, cast a spell which sent from each finger a furious red light, faster than a yendi’s strike, and far more deadly; there was a loud cry, and six or seven more of the enemy dropped, each straight down where he stood, not falling backwards or to the side, to lie utterly still, with not so much as a quiver coming from them, as if they had already been dead for some minutes when they fell.

My one complaint is with the cover. This book is Sethra Lavode, and so Sethra should be on the cover, however, excepting the hair, the woman looks like I imagine Aliera (who does not appear in these volumes) to look. And Iceflame is a dagger, not a sword, so that could be Pathfinder, which is described as a short sword. But not Iceflame. Here is the description of Iceflame from Yendi:

(A) long straight dagger, perhaps twelve inches of blade. The metal was light blue, and it emitted a faint glow of that color.

Sorry, but the weapon on the cover is not Iceflame.

And here is the description of Sethra Lavode from Paths of the Dead:

She appeared to be a slim woman, not exceptionally tall, rather gaunt of face, with long black hair that set off the pale skin which was her only remarkable feature. To look at her, one might at first think of her as a Dzurlord from the slant to her eyes and the point to her ears; yet a closer inspection would reveal the bridged nose and high cheekbones characteristic of the House of the Dragon. Further, she had the strong chin that denotes determination, and the close eyebrows which would indicate that she spent a great deal of time in her own company. Her countenance indicated a reserved warmth, if the reader will permit such a formulation.

Furthermore, she is always described as being dressed completely in black.

If Steven Brust didn’t do such a good job describing characters and objects, I would be so disturbed by the mistakes on the covers. But he does, and I am.

There were surprises (some unpleasant) even for those who have read the Vlad Taltos books, but as they are surprises, I won’t tell you anything about them, other than to mention them so that you know that even when the primary outcome is expected, the author can still provide unexpected events.

All in all, this is a prefect conclusion to the series, as well as to the Khaavren stories, for the final chapter seems to state that there won’t be any more Khaavren books (although there will be more Vlad books), so we have to be happy with what we have. Although one may have to hope that at least some of these characters will appear, from time to time, in other stories.
Rating: 9/10

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