The Book of Dragon: Dragon and Issola (Vlad Taltos Collections 4)

A good book for lovers of fantasy. It's all about the underdog coming out on top-but Vlad Tatlos is a very poweful underdog, with formidable weapons!

Burst has been my go-to guy for clever assassins in a fantasy world. And one of my favorite clever assassins are Vlad Taltos and his Jhereg. Brust's words and recipes are fabulous. His creations, the Dragons and their domination of humans, the intricate web that the Demon Goddess weaves, the Vampire Sethra Lavode, 'you can't make up this stuff. Ugh, well, YOU can't, but Brust can. These two novels are a wonderful place to start getting to know the fertile mind of Steven Zoltan Brust. In Taltos, the first story, is all about being a grunt in the army, and Vlad's resignation and observations, will strike home to anyone who has ever served in the military. The second novel is about friends who have helped Taltos, as he has helped them. If you are in a bind and you've helped them, even against the Jenoine, a race of inter-diminsional aliens who created the planet, and hijacked humans to keep the experiment going.

This trade paperback contains the 8th and 9th books in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos cycle of books (currently at 15 books with a 16th in progress). Brust is a scary-good writer, and every one of the Vlad books is first-rate. I'm currently on my 2nd read-through of the series. Somehow, he manages to create very deep and thoughtful characters, complex plots, non-linear (but not confusing) timelines, complicated relationships, a well-developed system of magic, and a wry sense of humor, all while maintaining a fast pace. The only other writer I've read who could keep all of those balls in the air was Roger Zelazny (peace be upon him).Don't be intimidated by the number of books in the series. They don't have to be read in order (they certainly weren't written in order), and after you read one, you'll naturally want to read them all, unless you just don't like fantasy (but even then, if you read one of Brust's books, you just might change your mind about fantasy).Oh, and he's not a one-trick-pony. This series has been ongoing for over 30 years, and he's written as many books outside the series as within it.

My favorite of the Taltos novels. Full of good advice and action. Lady Teldra reminds me of a girl I went to high school with lo many years ago. I hope she married well and has had a pleasant life. Never heard a cross word out of her. She was truly a happy spirit deserving only the best of life as an example to all.

Brust has a wry wit and entertaining cadence set in an especially deep and profoundly broad universe. I spend less time considering what happens in any given Vlad book and far more time reeling from how it happened.Vlad, as a protagonist, is perpetually shell shocked and overwhelmed by the situations he finds himself in. He then identifies the insurmountable problem, breaks it down into surmountable issues, and sets himself up to settling things in such a way that they're settled. Not everything works out, but you try to deal with half the crap that's tossed in Vlad's lap. Period. End of sentence.Worth reading if you're secretly Dorothy Parker and you want to read a love letter written to you on the sly over dozens of books.

This is an omnibus volume containing both books 8 and 9 in the Dragaeran Empires series, featuring Vlad Taltos."Dragon" happens during the time Vlad is still part of the Jhereg guild, and covers his first visit to Castle Black's hidden portal tower. Vlad takes a job from Morrolan, regarding a hoard of Morganti weapons. In the process, he gets involved in the battle of Barritt Hill (referenced in other Vlad Taltos books), in the middle of a Dragonlord war. Loiosh comes with him."Issola" is one of the best stories in the Dragaeran chronicles, the Jenoine, an inscrutable race more powerful than gods, are attacking the Dragaeran Empire from across dimensions. Vlad is summoned from his 'on the run' location by Sethra Lavode via Lady Teldra. He is a key player in events. His first task is to rescue Morrolan and Aliera, who have been taken and imprisoned in another world. Loiosh provides humor in contrast with the serious events, making the story into something I enjoyed.

I believe there are 7 books in the Vlad Taltos series and they were all exceptionally well written and fun to read.

The title says it... simply the most entertaining stories in the Vlad series outside of the first book. The characters are well fleshed our and the stories are superb. The antagonists are appropriately dangerous, and the supporting cast are just perfect. LOL dialog is also a plus.

This is not a poor review of the text... it's a poor review of this edition. These are great books, but this edition is missing a huge chunk of text in Chapter 9 of Issola.

Dieser Autor ist ein insider tip juwel. alle bücher sind super. jedesmal wieder was neues! auf jeden fall 5 sterne.

Dragon is a great little glimpse of Vlads, forray into battle tactics and things that are much to far out of his control. As far as Issola, there is a treat that makes this one of my favorite books in the series!