Iorich

Iorich (2009) Steven Brust

Vlad is once again back in Dragaera City. Aliera has been arrested for practicing elder sorcery. Yes, she has been doing so for years, but so have many other people, none of whom has been arrested.

Although Aliera has friends–many powerful friends–their positions in court and the stability of the empire, combined with Aliera’s stubbornness, keep them from coming to her aid, so Vlad takes it upon himself to do so.

I’ve loved the Vlad books since I picked up my first years ago. I’ve read and reread them all for the world and the characters but more importantly for the dialog. I’m a tremendous fan of hard boiled mysteries, and that’s precisely how the Vlad books read, witty dialog and all.

And yet…

It felt like there was something missing from this book.

Vlad is witty as always. Liosh is fun and enjoyable. They both get into tremendous amounts of trouble, and yet…

Do I grow tired of Vlad? I suppose that could be it, yet the earlier books still draw me.

I think it is a combination of several things. Vlad is still on the run. We spent books and books hearing about how his life was forfeit and that’s why he has scrupulously avoided the city. Yet here we have an entire book where he not only spends time in the city but wanders around and even makes his presence known.

I really do not understand how he survived this book. By all rights he should not have, yet there were not even any serious attempts made upon him. And I think that got to me after awhile. All those years of Vlad wandering in the desert seemed unnecessary, since he can apparently wander at will around Dragaera City without (much in the way of) harm.

It just felt… wrong.

And to top it off, After waiting for more than a year, they canceled the mass market paperback printing and instead made a trade paperback edition. As I’ve said before, I like paperback books and will wait a year or more for a book rather than having to end up with a hardback. So now I have a book I don’t know how I feel about, in a format different from the rest of the books in the series.

Bah humbug.

If you’re a Vlad fan, you’ve almost certainly already read this, but finishing this book made me want to go back to the earlier books, to see if I have changed or if the series has.
Rating: 6/10

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