30 November, 2003
The Lord of Castle Black, Steven Brust, (397 pp, HC, 2003)
I whined a lot in my book log entry for The Paths of the Dead over how incomplete it was (it being only the first third of a novel called The Viscount of Adrilankha). The library finally got me the second third, and since it's due on Wednesday, I figured I'd better write it up.
First things first--this was much less annoying than its predecessor. I would go so far as to say, not annoying at all. It's still not complete, and it ends on a cliffhanger or two, but years of television-watching have inured me to cliffhangers. The thing that annoyed me about Paths is that nothing really happened. Well, one thing happened, but that was right at the very end. The Lord of Castle Black does not have that problem. Lots and lots of things happen, up to and including the Ninth (or Tenth) Battle of Dzur Mountain. (Which incidentally wasn't much of a battle, in the traditional sense, nor did it happen on Dzur Mountain.)
All the characters who were introduced in Paths continue their travels in this book, but their travels all lead them to meet up with one another. After this happens, the narrative proceeds at a steady pace; it's not fragmented like it seemed in the previous book. I really do think that, in the end, The Viscount of Adrilankha will be best read all in one go. Paarfi agrees with me (as he explains at length in the Preface), even if Brust doesn't.
Anyway, lots of good bits in here: the reunification of Khaavren's gang, the first meeting of Morollan and Sethra Lavode, scandalous revelations about Empress Zerika's love life, Morollan's backstory (or Paarfi's version of it, at any rate), the reappearance of old villains, and, last but not least, teenage rebellion. The final third ought to be lots of fun!