Reading roundup: more Vlad Taltos + Sisters Red, finally

[hamsterwoman]

19. Jackson Pearce, Sisters Red -- this was a very interesting read. I liked the book, though I certainly didn't ~love~ it, and there was a lot about it that I thought was not as good as the central core.

Comments

for <lj user = "ikel89"> -- porting over from text

[hamsterwoman]

A lot of my responses are inevitably flavored by the rest of the series, which builds from the foundation more interestingly and effectively than just about any series I know(which is the other reason, besides Morrolan, that I'm a big fan) -- that build-up is highly non-linear, and some parts of it work better for me than others, but it does a very interesting thing, from within a first person POV (and this is why the Prince Jerk books reminded me of Vlad).

re: Vlad seeming complacent and old-man -- that's really interesting, and a very true observation! I'm surprised it's clear so early on, or maybe it wasn't intentional at first and then Brust ran with it -- there's a lot of stuff like that, and he's sort of a mix of pre-planned and organic -- he says he's had the full arc planned out from the start, but if something unexpected crops up, he likes playing with it.

Anyway, it makes a lot of sense to me for him to be "old-man" at 21, because he's spent most of his life interacting with people who are centuries old and trying to come off as their equal or best them -- which probably does a number on the psyche. Taltos also shows him fending for himself from a young age (not in a 'plucky street urchin' sort of way that's pretty common, but in a way I find rarer and more interesting), which contributes to it, I'm sure. As for complacency, I think that's basically a Vlad character flaw, and an unusual one for a protagonist. There might be a good reason for that -- it's kind of an odd character flaw! -- but I actually kind of love it that, living within a flawed system, Vlad's response is not "let us rise up in righteous rebellion" but "this sucks, but imma gonna make some money at least by killing these assholes".

This, I think, is one of the differences to Locke, too. Locke & co are criminals for fun (and as a kind of sacred experience, I guess, with the Crooked Warden). Vlad is a criminal because it's a societally-sanctioned outlet for his desire to beat up Dragaerans and also it pays the bills. I definitely agree that this is less fun -- and I don't really read the Vlad books for the capers, although a few of them *are* really fun in that regard. I love the idea of Vlad-and-Locke crossovers (you may find this meme answer for lunasariel's prompt amsuing -- I definitely had fun answering; a bit spoilery for Vlad, but nothing major, I think), but I see them as different characters and very different team dynamics.

Also, preserving this for posterity, don't mind me :)

[hamsterwoman]

ikel89's summary of Jhereg for alenky_cveto4ek (which I assume you're OK with me recording there -- let me know if this violates your privacy, or Vlad and Morrolan's XP)

morrolan: I am so honorable and straight that parisian meter bends to be like me
vlad: i'm so crooked and smooth I trip over my own feet
also vlad: there is this thing i could do which could upset morrolan. i can't do the thing.
morrolan: i shall make myself scarce bc my principles say vlad can't do the thing. so i can't see how he finds a way of doing the thing wihtout violating my honor.
vlad: did i tell u i hate all u fancy folks yet
morrolan: yes but u can tell me again
vlad: i don't visit u socially bitch :<
morrolan: ah yes, your general existence in my party list and on my payroll is a coincidence
vlad: ily morrolan
morrolan: ily vlad

(As the kids these days say, where is the lie? XP)