{"id":194,"date":"2006-02-12T15:33:35","date_gmt":"2006-02-12T22:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=194"},"modified":"2021-12-16T18:52:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T23:52:40","slug":"the-phoenix-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/194","title":{"rendered":"The Phoenix Guards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Guards<\/a><\/em> (1991) Steven Brust<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As is typically the case, once I finished reading the Vlad Taltos<\/a> books, I felt myself consumed by an overwhelming desire to go back and re-read the other Dragaeran books. That is to say, mention of characters and events in the Vlad Taltos books whetted my appetite for re-reading about events of The Phoenix Guards<\/em> and the following books.<\/p>\n

Let me just say: I love Steven Brust’s writing.<\/p>\n

(S)omeone once asked, in all seriousness<\/a>, which was the best translation of Dumas’ The Three Musketeers into English. The two fastest answers she got were “Learn French, as nobody’s managed to make a translation that’s half as good as the original”, and “The Phoenix Guards.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These books read as if he had an awful lot of fun writing them. Which is good, because I had an awful lot of fun reading The Phoenix Guards<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Khaavren, a young Tiassa from an impoverished house, has decided that with the changing of the cycle, joining the Phoenix Guards is a good way to distinguish himself and make his name. He meets Tazendra and Aerich who see this as a good plan and join him on his trip to the capital where they meet Pel, and new member of the guard, and the four become fast friends.<\/p>\n

I love the characters. Khaarven the Tiassa, Tazendra the Dzurlord, Aerich the Lyron, and Pel the Yendi seem as real to me when I read these books as any people I see. And the dialog–I love the dialog.<\/p>\n

Consider passages like this:<\/p>\n

Tazendra, who had been watching the one called Uttrik as he removed his doublet, drew his sword, and began taking practice thrusts with it, said, “Good Khaavren.”
\n“Well?”
\n“I do not think this gentleman will give you much sport.”
\n“You think not?”
\n“Well, you perceive how, in practicing, he strikes only at the air.”
\n“That is not unusual, when preparing for a contest.”
\n“No, and yet he seems to miss with every third stroke.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How can you read that and not smile, or even laugh to yourself? Which is, of course, the reason I can read this book over and over again. Because it makes me laugh while I enjoy a marvelous story.<\/p>\n

Yes, the book is full of long descriptions and details. But those details are fun. Consider the passage on Bengloarafurd, which I won’t relate here and thus spoil the fun for you, but although you realize where he’s going with it almost immediately, it’s still funny, since it’s real. <\/p>\n

It’s also interesting to read about characters who are going to cause the Interregnum, as well as the destruction of Dragaera City. If you’ve read the Vlad Taltos books, you know about Aliera e’Kieron, but you know nothing about Adron e’Kieron. What kind of man could wreak such havoc, and what reasons could he possibly have had for doing so? <\/p>\n

Through Khaavren we come to know Adron, but that’s not the reason to read this book. The reason to read this book is the adventures that Khaavren and Tazendra and Aerich and Pel have.<\/p>\n

I do have a small complaint about the cover, which is, who is that supposed to be ON the cover? Khaavren is described as having long, curly hair, and wearing the pale blue and white of the house of Tiassa, Aerich always wears copper or brass vambraces, it’s not Tazendra for obvious reasons, and although at the start of the book Pel’s eyes are described as blue, and at the end they are described as black, it doesn’t really look like Pel either. And whoever this man is, he’s not wearing the gold cloak of the Phoenix Guard. So although it’s an interesting cover, it doesn’t seem to portray any of the characters.<\/p>\n

If you are not familiar with Dragaera through the Vlad Taltos books, this would be a perfect introduction. If you have read the Vlad books, you’ll get to spend more time in a place you have probably come to love, and learn about the Empire before the Interregnum, which is a far different place than the Empire inhabited by Vlad and Morrolan.<\/p>\n

The only bad thing is that you’ll spend days trying to get Paarfi’s writing style out of your head.<\/p>\n

If you haven’t read Phoenix Guards<\/em>, then I highly encourage you to do so, and envy you the experience of reading this book for the first time.
\nRating: 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Guards (1991) Steven Brust As is typically the case, once I finished reading the Vlad Taltos books, I felt myself consumed by an overwhelming desire to go back and re-read the other Dragaeran books. That is to say, mention of characters and events in the Vlad Taltos books whetted my appetite for re-reading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,2,291,41],"tags":[544,129],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-10","category-fantasy","category-paper","category-reread","tag-mm","tag-steven-brust"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-38","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1260,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1260","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":0},"title":"Jhegaala","author":"Michelle","date":"July 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Jhegaala (2008) Steven Brust First things first, I love Steven Brust, and I love the Vlad Taltos books. That said, this is not anywhere close to being one of my favorite books in the series. Jhegalla is set between the events of Phoenix and Athyra. We learn some of what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Jhegaala.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":1},"title":"Lord of Castle Black","author":"Michelle","date":"January 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord of Castle Black, Book Two of The Viscount of Adrilankha, by Steven Brust Tor (2003) I knew that it was going to be a good book when I was laughing out loud reading the first page of the introduction. \"We have been informed by those to whom we have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":2},"title":"The Vlad Taltos Novels","author":"Michelle","date":"April 27, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The Vlad Taltos Novels by Steven Brust Longer reviews for individual books can be found on my Steven Brust page. When I recommend fantasy books, this series is at the top of my list. The books are relatively quick to read, and is written in the tone is that of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Jhereg.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":3},"title":"Paths of the Dead","author":"Michelle","date":"January 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Paths of the Dead by Steven Brust Tor (2002) I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am considering buying the next book in the series in hardback, just so I don't have to wait. (I hate waiting.) Still undecided on that, though, because as I have said once or twice before,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":208,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/208","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":4},"title":"Brokedown Palace","author":"Michelle","date":"March 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Brokedown Palace (1986) Steven Brust I don't know how long it's been since I read Brokedown Palace, but it was long enough ago that I didn't remember any of the story, and I don't think I'd yet read many of his books other than the first couple Vlad Taltos books.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Brokedown-Palace.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19","url_meta":{"origin":194,"position":5},"title":"Sethra Lavode","author":"Michelle","date":"April 27, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Sethra Lavode: Book Three of the Viscount of Adrilankha by Steven Brust Tor (2004) The conclusion to the Viscount of Adrilankha series finishes the story of Empress Zerika\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s restoration of the Empire and the final end of the Interregnum. It also continues the story of Piro (the actual Viscount for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}