IlyaP Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 At @Ran's suggesting, creating a new thread to enquire about this: I am at present reading The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust, which includes three books: Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla. As this is a rather long series, I want to avoid spoilers, and so am avoiding fansites/wikis. So hopefully someone here can provide an answer: In Jhereg, Vlad had a wife. In Yendi, he's suddenly single and there's no mention of Cawti. What's going on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) Yendi takes place before Jhereg. It's essentially a prequel. Edited September 4, 2023 by Ran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 ...why is there no mention of it being a prequel? Is this something his publisher (Ace) decided on? Or does Brust like to wantonly jump around in time with his books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, IlyaP said: ...why is there no mention of it being a prequel? Is this something his publisher (Ace) decided on? Or does Brust like to wantonly jump around in time with his books? Yes. To both. Some of the future books will have bits that take place in between prior books and things like that. In fact, there are four books that take place in part or in whole before Jhereg (Yendi being one of them). The one named Taltos, for example, is basically Vlad's origin story. Edited September 4, 2023 by Ran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) The books were not written in the chronological order. The most recent one is partially set at at time when Cawti is still his fiancé. The 17 book should come out next year and the original plan was 19 books I believe. 17 books named for the Great Houses, Taltos and a final one with a different name. His writing speed is pretty decent I feel and I think the series will be finished before 2030. There are also books set in the same universe inspired by The d'Artagnan Romances which I enjoyed even more than the main book series. I really enjoyed the The Baron of Magister Valley too which is based on The Count of Monte Cristo. If you like Dumas and like the setting I recommend them wholeheartedly. Edited September 4, 2023 by Luzifer's right hand formatting Ran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorshach Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 So, with the history of the board in mind, and thus mindful of the danger of spin-off threads with debates about reading order ... Should I try to read these, where do I start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Rorschach - 2 said: So, with the history of the board in mind, and thus mindful of the danger of spin-off threads with debates about reading order ... Should I try to read these, where do I start? I read them in the puplished order and I feel it worked well. Apart from Brokedown Palace which is the one non-Dumas style spin-off book. That one I only discovered after the Dumas style books came out. Edited September 4, 2023 by Luzifer's right hand Ran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) Yeah, published order is best, IMO. There is a deliberateness to how he did things. Edited September 4, 2023 by Ran Luzifer's right hand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 21 minutes ago, Ran said: Yeah, published order is best, IMO. There is a deliberateness to hire he did things. I read to books spread out over more than 20 years but if I remember things correctly a chronological order would indeed spoil some surprises. Ran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I agree with the published order. At first, it is confusing as to what is revealed by the author as the books (or sections of books) slowly uncover various aspects of Vlad's life. But I thought / think that that layers of understanding the reader uncovers help with the emotional impact that the revelations create for the reader. The explicit stories in the books are well-written and interesting, and they by themselves would be sufficient to hold my attention. The underlying emotional depths and relationships that the books slowly build by the revelations really push these books to the higher echelons of Fantasy. Ran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 2 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said: I read them in the puplished order and I feel it worked well. Yes. One the many advantages to reading the titles in this series as they were published rather than attempting to tie oneself down to a possible Vlad world chronology -- is that one isn't tied down, and one doesn't slog, since the narrative doesn't either. This also provides a view into the author's own development in how he thinks about and see his characters, their relationships and the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 7 hours ago, Rorschach - 2 said: Should I try to read these, where do I start? For whatever it's worth, this is what I'm reading - as it seems (and maybe @Ran can reveal more) that his books are being being put into collections rather than released as individual novels. I can't speak to how his books are released in the rest of the world, but am happy to investigate after I've flooded my veins with coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 8 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said: There are also books set in the same universe inspired by The d'Artagnan Romances which I enjoyed even more than the main book series. I really enjoyed the The Baron of Magister Valley too which is based on The Count of Monte Cristo. If you like Dumas and like the setting I recommend them wholeheartedly. Is that the Paarfi's historical romances books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 17 minutes ago, IlyaP said: Is that the Paarfi's historical romances books? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 24 minutes ago, Luzifer's right hand said: Yes. Can they be read at any time in relation to the core Taltos books? How strongly do they overlap, if at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 7 minutes ago, IlyaP said: Can they be read at any time in relation to the core Taltos books? How strongly do they overlap, if at all? I would say that you can read them at any time. You might enjoy them more if you already have a decent grasp of the setting though. The first one was puplished after the 5th Taltos book I believe. IlyaP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 And those books, the Khaavren Romances, should also be read in the order in which they were published, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 4 minutes ago, IlyaP said: And those books, the Khaavren Romances, should also be read in the order in which they were published, correct? Definitely. Those are in chronological order unlike the Taltos books. IlyaP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 46 minutes ago, Luzifer's right hand said: Definitely. Those are in chronological order unlike the Taltos books. Do all these books, as a whole, result in Brust telling one giant, unified story across all these novels? Also, thank you for answering all these questions, I really do appreciate it. I'm really enjoying his books, as they fill the Stover- and Lynch-sized holes in my life, and remind me very much of both writers' works, as well as that of Leiber's Lankhmar books, as well as Dumas, as was mentioned earlier. It's just, like "Damn Brust, where have ya been all my life dude?" Which is why I'm actively trying to avoid websites about it, as I don't want to be spoiled, in case there are big plot twists, or some kind of earth-shattering change along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 5 hours ago, IlyaP said: Do all these books, as a whole, result in Brust telling one giant, unified story across all these novels? I would say it makes a giant web of interconnected stories, rather than one giant unified story where everything is there to feed into some big finale. I'm guessing that when the series ends, Dragaera will continue rolling on. But there's certain threads that connect up to things centuries, even millennia, in the past, that you get extra perspective on by reading them all together. I guess it's fair to say that the Taltos books on their own all tell the story of Vlad Taltos. Luzifer's right hand, Wilbur and IlyaP 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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