Iorich

, #12

Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published Feb. 1, 2011 by Tor Books.

ISBN:
978-0-7653-2889-2
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4 stars (2 reviews)

House Jhereg, Dragaera's organized crime syndicate, is still hunting Vlad Taltos. There's a big price on his head on Draegara City. Then he hears disturbing news. Aliera—longtime friend, sometime ally—has been arrested by the Empire on a charge of practicing elder sorcery, a capital crime.

It doesn't make sense. Everybody knows Aliera's been dabbling in elder sorcery for ages. Why is the Empire down on her now? Why aren't her powerful friends—Morrolan, Sethra, the Empress Zerika—coming to her rescue? And most to the point, why has she utterly refused to do anything about her own defense?

It would be idiotic of Vlad to jump into this situation. He's a former Jhereg who betrayed the House. He's an Easterner—small, weak, short-lived. He's being searched for by the most remorseless killers in the world. Naturally, that's exactly why he's going to get completely involved...

In Iorich, Steven Brust has crafted a complex …

3 editions

reviewed Iorich by Steven Brust (Vlad Taltos, #12)

Legal shenanigans in the fantasy world.

4 stars

A friend gets into some legal trouble and this calls our protagonist back to the city. Of course, the fantasy mafia haven't given up on killing him. This book is largely a discourse on justice. On it's uneven application and how it is often subservient to politics. Brust spares no blushes here and it is hard for even the protagonist's armour of cynicism to insulate him from these things. Despite the weighty considerations this is a book that skips along. It has some deft plotting and some nice snarky humour about a variety of things (both trademarks of this series). I have always felt (this is a re-read, remember) that this is a 4.5 book and as such I am happy to recommend.

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3 stars