When browsing through the epinions of other books in the Vlad series, i was surprised that Phoenix was neglected. When i thought about what i was going to say about the book, however, i discovered how difficult it was to say something about the story - particularly to those not familiar to the previous Vlad books (particularly Teckla). Many of the other books have a glaring personality to them - something distinct about them that helps to create focus to the book and to the review. Phoenix doesn't have that kind of personality, so i hope that this epinion does justice to its slippery character.

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If you want to know why Steven Brust is my favourite author hands down, read the introduction to my epinion on Jhereg.

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PHOENIX

WRITTEN: Fifth
CHRONOLOGICALLY: Sixth (after Teckla, before Athyra)


Disclaimer (and recommendation): What I write about Phoenix has relation to some of the other books in the Vlad series. I think that Phoenix is not meant to be a book you start on in the Vlad series., nor is this epinion. So if you're interested in the series at all, read at least the first three books first (Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla). More detail about why i think this is a good idea is detailed at the end of my epinion on Taltos.

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If i can get on my soap box here for a second....

[clump clump]

To me, life has everything to do with change and evolution. While it is true that "history repeats itself" and that some of the issues that we deal with are the same as those from two years ago, five years ago, even fifty years ago, the context of which those issues are dealt with are different. People change, lifestyles change, society evolves.

In any form of art, the acknowledgment of this evolution - from a society standpoint and from a personal standpoint - is what distinguishes what I feel is a "good" artist from a truly great one. In my epinion on Teckla, kiarrith made a comment about how David Bowie's music evolved with the times, and that's a great example. Whether or not you like what David Bowie did before vs. what he did now isn't the question - the fact that he is doing something different is what counts. He has opened new kinds of doors for his music while still retaining his characteristic David Bowie style.

[end soap box]

While many of the Vlad series opened up new doors, I feel Brust reached a new level of exploration when he wrote Phoenix. You can tell that Brust has become more comfortable with his various styles of writing because he includes all of it in this book - it's a book about assassination, like Jhereg. It's a book about Dragaeran politics and a troubled marriage, like Teckla. It's a book about Vlad's personal psyche, like Taltos. All of these things are wrapped up rather well into one single volume.

Thus, Phoenix marks a transition and a decision in the way that Brust wants to write and continue the Vlad series. He lets his readers know that he wants to evolve Vlad's character and those around him. This declaration combined with his freedom to write anywhere in Vlad's history gives him two distinct styles of writing - books that are written chronologically after this in Vlad's history are in a newer exploratory style of Brust's writing (Athyra and Orca), while the one book written chronologically before this in Vlad's history is in his "older" style (Dragon).

In addition to the writing style, the content of Phoenix itself also marks some important changes in Vlad's character. I don't want to give away any important details, but suffice it to say that Vlad's identity struggles that were explored in Teckla come to a head in this book, as well as his some of his relationships. And of course, amongst the great depth of issues and death and bleakness, Brust still manages to keep a unique sense of humour in the book, through Vlad and Loiosh, but also through a new character named Aibynn - a drummer with some odd personality quirks.

I mentioned in the "cons" section of my epinion that some my feel that this book lacks the focus of the previous books because it deals with all of these issues at once. Well, among the authors who can successfully pull off having such a complex web of substantial ideas into one compact volume, Brust is definitely one of the finest. Fans of the Vlad series should not be disappointed in this volume, and if they are, at least respect must be given to Steven Brust for allowing himself to change.



Recommended: Yes