Jhereg - Chapter Seventeen and Epilogue

[kalinara]

So last time, Vlad came up with a plan. We got to hear a lot about various moving parts, but there's still one open question: how do they get Mellar out of Castle Black to begin with.

( We're about to find out... )

Jhereg - Verdict

[kalinara]

So does Jhereg pass the test of time?

Well, I enjoyed it. It's a bit different from this blog's usual fare, but I had a lot of fun with it.

Plot:

I saw someone compare the plot to Jhereg to a backwards murder mystery. Instead of putting the clues together to try to figure out who committed a murder, we're watching someone put clues together in order to succeed in committing a murder. It's pretty funny when you think about it.

The world building is impressive, I think, because of how it generally avoids infodumps. We get the occasional Vlad-rambling about a topic or so, but we get most of the setting information fairly organically, which is impressive, especially given that Dragaera is a pretty weird place. There's a lot to know.

There are a few first novel foibles I think. The whole reincarnation bit, and accompanying nifty ability, felt a little abrupt. It made sense and added an interesting context to Vlad's dynamic with Aliera, who seems like the most unlikely of his friends otherwise. But I'm not sure it really flowed with everything else. That said, this is a long series, and this is a thread that will come up in a lot of interesting ways as the story continues.

There were a few deus ex machina elements in the solution that I thought could have been worked in a little better. But that's a pretty small complaint.

Characters:

So, this is Vlad's show, and whether or not you enjoy it will probably depend on how much you like Vlad. I like Vlad reasonably well. He definitely falls more into the anti-hero category, given that the entire plot revolves around him trying to figure out how to commit a murder. He's more of a thug than a traditional hero at this point in time, but he has his good traits too.

The friendship dynamics are pretty well done. I don't completely understand HOW Vlad has amassed the very unlikely friendships that he has, (there are many prequels that answer that question), but I can see from his and their actions, why the friendships continue.

Vlad has no real reason to take Morrolan's wellbeing into account, except for friendship. It would have been far easier on him personally, and maybe reduced the risk of war, if Vlad had been willing to ignore Morrolan's feelings and let Aliera have her way. The risk to Morrolan wasn't even his life, but his pride and reputation, which should be survivable...though I suppose one of the threads that extend through the story is how important pride and reputation actually for both Dragons and Jheregs. (And even Dzur, though there is less focus on them.)

But either way, Vlad cares about his friend and is willing to complicate his own life significantly in order to protect him. Vlad's other friends are willing to take significant risks to help. That's a nice note that helps me, at least, emotionally resonate with character who are individually kind of awful people.

The other characters are interesting too. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Cawti, as it's pretty rare, in my experience, for characters like Vlad to be happily married. I'm glad to remember that the next published book is about how they met and got together. Surprise! It involves violence.

Aliera and Kragar probably are the most prominent secondary character, and it's interesting how they seem to represent the two sides of Vlad's life. But at the same time, Kragar is the character who most mirrors Vlad's alleged past life, while Aliera is the one who takes center stage for Vlad's assassination scheme. There's probably a lot to be explored there.

So I liked the book. I'm not sure yet if I'll review of the others. That will remain to be seen. I should probably figure out what book I'll be tackling next.