Originally read this years ago and loved it.
Re-reading along with whichever else of the series I have collected.

Great book. Easy reading, plenty of humour.
Feels a bit like an old time private eye story, such as The Maltese Falcon.
Plenty of characters and situations, and stickier and stickier situations feeling harder and harder to get out of.

I just hope the rest of the Taltos books are as good. ( )

This is a reread for me. Read it when it first came out. I don't remember why I ever stopped reading the series. Decided to give it a go. Glad I did. Still wonderful. ( )

I'm going through these the complete Dragaera novels, including the romances, in publication order. Previously, I read them as I came across used copies. This is the first book in publication order and its one I read a long time ago, probably in the 90's or 2000's. So, the details of these books are sketchy, but I have very fond memories of them, and surprising, that memory has help on a reread.

The bit that most surprised me about this novel is just how complete the world is - Morrolan, Aliera, Sethra, and Daymar are part of this from the start, and there is no explanation to why they are their, why are they interested in Vlad. I actually had to go and check I was reading the first published book.

As for the story itself, its complicated, intricate, and full of house rules that makes it difficult for Vlad to do his job - that is, find the person who stole from the House of Jhereg. The part I missed when reading this earlier, is just how tied Dragaeron's are tied to their house, personality and life wise. It means that a human (eg Easterner) is a lot more flexible in thought, meaning they are able to get around exacting moral standards without breaking them.

One thing, my copy of the book is a first edition paperback from 1983. If you read the the description on the back, it steers you into thinking this is more of a traditional sword and sorcery book with mind linked familiar. But its not - the book feels modern (in some ways, more in line with 2023 standards than 1983) and its while sorcery and swords are part of this, this isn't that type of book. ( )

I don't read much straight-up fantasy as authors tend to ape Tolkien or self-indulgence like Martin. But Brust's writing is refreshingly different and a happy discovery. ( )

Un joven decidido y hábil con la espada dispone de muchos métodos para abrirse camino en la vida. Vlad Taltos escogió el camino del asesino. En Adrilankha, capital del imperio dragaerano, nunca falta trabajo para un asesino. Incluso si es humano.
Vlad Taltos, además, cuenta con armas poco comunes. Aparte de ciertos conocimientos de brujería, un arte que la mayoría desprecia, tiene la ayuda de un pequeño jhereg, cuyas alas correosas y venenosas mordeduras responde siempre a sus órdenes.