Book of Jhereg
Sep. 22nd, 2021 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverflight8I finished the Book of Jhereg (Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla) a few weeks back and just realized I forgot to post about them here.
The library does not have books 6,7,8 or 9, despite having all the books around it, neither ebook nor print. I'm not sure why and this isn't the first time this library system (big city decent budget) has had these kinds of issues - their SF/F acquisitions seems to be very patchwork. I'm not expecting them to have super obscure or old titles, but this is neither. Also they got all the other books around them! I put in a request for the two as omnibuses and they were approved right away, so I'll read them soon.
On to the thoughts! I really enjoyed them, one of the reasons I'm mad again at acquisitions is I wanted to just keep reading, damn it.
*So much more of Morrolan, Vlad, Aliera and Sethra's friendship and the whole dynamic! There's a lot more backstory in terms of the way Dragon and Jhereg Houses relate and why, and it makes the whole friend thing even better. Especially in Jhereg when they are trying to deal with the Mellar situation.
*That Dragon-Jhereg war, whew. No wonder everyone is alarmed at it happening, but I definitely see why the Demon would see it differently than the Dragonlords - totally different priorities and ways of looking at the world, not to mention associating with extremely different people. There's definitely plenty of plotting and competition among the Dragons, but it's a very different mentality that a mob boss would have, since he knows he stabbed his way up and must be ever-lastingly aware that under him, others are trying to do the same.
*I really like...I mean...pretty much all the characters, but shout out to Aliera, who is really hot-tempered. Normally this is a character flaw but I really like characters who are just really determined, especially female characters who don't often to be just completely dead-set on things.
*I'm enjoying the filling in background as well. In Phoenix after Vlad pisses off most of the Organization, he heads to Castle Black, and Kragar makes the comment that while it's really hard to dig someone out of there...they've been successful. Now I know what that refers to - the whole complicated Mellar plot!
*The account of Vlad's acquisition of Loiosh's egg! So the bargain was with Loiosh's mother, and then Vlad literally reared him from an egg. Oh my god, this is adorable. Vlad was so worried about it and kept the egg on his person for weeks, and felt murderous rage when he thought someone damaged the egg. Loiosh panicking when hatching (seriously, can you imagine? baby birds must be so confused) and calling Vlad mama! Vlad not having anything in the apartment to feed Loiosh, even though he's been carrying an egg around, and he should have expected a jhereg to hatch out of any day (so he fed it some milk by putting Loiosh's entire face into the dish, and then for whatever reason also had a hawk wing in his kitchen?)
*Oh my god Morrolan died briefly!! AHH!! He was fine but seriously, the death thing is alarming.
*I have sort of sorted out all of the various Jhereg bosses that Vlad has worked for/on, but man, it's confusing. There are so many names and Vlad just throws the names out like you know what he's talking about, because he's relating it all very casually, so the timelines are also all over the place. The fact we don't know Tagichatn or whatever's name because Vlad never bothered to learn it is hilarious though.
*I enjoy all the little structural conceits! Like in Yendi how Vlad sprinkles a few jokes on the same theme (how many HOUSE does it take to sharpen a sword?) I really enjoyed in Teckla the usage of the tailor's order and how each item's damage is revealed in the chapter. I'll have to re-read and look specifically for those - it's not like the text draws attention to it, sometimes the cut or abrasion happens in a few words like any other action in a novel.
*Teckla was definitely painful to read. I feel neutral about the getting-together part of Cawti and Vlad, but it happened so fast and most of it was offscreen since I guess Vlad didn't want to narrate it. Their splitting up is also quite off the page - they keep talking and Vlad doesn't record those conversations, but you can tell they're both trying but they're just such different people now. I respected that that was the conclusion Vlad came to, though - sad and upset it was ending, but not at Cawti. I don't really enjoy reading books that wallow in the feelings of resentment.
*The torture scene in Teckla, woof. It's very understated but Vlad's subsequent actions make it so clear how bad it was. Cawti is so concerned :(
*As well, the time just preceding that when he's so angry and off kilter he just goes wandering about without any protection. Eek.
*On a lighter note, I do enjoy the parts where Vlad is thinking about why Sethra and Aliera etc put up with him, and says things like this:
To Sethra, even more than to most Dragaerans, an Easterner’s lifetime was a blink of an eye. Maybe that’s why she was so tolerant of me. (Morrolan’s tolerance was due to having lived among Easterners for many years of his youth, during the Interregnum. Aliera’s tolerance I’ve never understood; I suspect she was just being polite to Morrolan.)
They're your friends, Vlad. F-R-I-E-N-D-S, that's what.
*I love that Loiosh enjoys going to shows. Also going through various restaurant dumpsters.
*Kelly is pretty tedious. Meh.
This entry took ages, I read Athyra last night (thanks tohamsterwoman!) But I'm too tired to write up thoughts about that. Next time!
The library does not have books 6,7,8 or 9, despite having all the books around it, neither ebook nor print. I'm not sure why and this isn't the first time this library system (big city decent budget) has had these kinds of issues - their SF/F acquisitions seems to be very patchwork. I'm not expecting them to have super obscure or old titles, but this is neither. Also they got all the other books around them! I put in a request for the two as omnibuses and they were approved right away, so I'll read them soon.
On to the thoughts! I really enjoyed them, one of the reasons I'm mad again at acquisitions is I wanted to just keep reading, damn it.
*So much more of Morrolan, Vlad, Aliera and Sethra's friendship and the whole dynamic! There's a lot more backstory in terms of the way Dragon and Jhereg Houses relate and why, and it makes the whole friend thing even better. Especially in Jhereg when they are trying to deal with the Mellar situation.
*That Dragon-Jhereg war, whew. No wonder everyone is alarmed at it happening, but I definitely see why the Demon would see it differently than the Dragonlords - totally different priorities and ways of looking at the world, not to mention associating with extremely different people. There's definitely plenty of plotting and competition among the Dragons, but it's a very different mentality that a mob boss would have, since he knows he stabbed his way up and must be ever-lastingly aware that under him, others are trying to do the same.
*I really like...I mean...pretty much all the characters, but shout out to Aliera, who is really hot-tempered. Normally this is a character flaw but I really like characters who are just really determined, especially female characters who don't often to be just completely dead-set on things.
*I'm enjoying the filling in background as well. In Phoenix after Vlad pisses off most of the Organization, he heads to Castle Black, and Kragar makes the comment that while it's really hard to dig someone out of there...they've been successful. Now I know what that refers to - the whole complicated Mellar plot!
*The account of Vlad's acquisition of Loiosh's egg! So the bargain was with Loiosh's mother, and then Vlad literally reared him from an egg. Oh my god, this is adorable. Vlad was so worried about it and kept the egg on his person for weeks, and felt murderous rage when he thought someone damaged the egg. Loiosh panicking when hatching (seriously, can you imagine? baby birds must be so confused) and calling Vlad mama! Vlad not having anything in the apartment to feed Loiosh, even though he's been carrying an egg around, and he should have expected a jhereg to hatch out of any day (so he fed it some milk by putting Loiosh's entire face into the dish, and then for whatever reason also had a hawk wing in his kitchen?)
*Oh my god Morrolan died briefly!! AHH!! He was fine but seriously, the death thing is alarming.
*I have sort of sorted out all of the various Jhereg bosses that Vlad has worked for/on, but man, it's confusing. There are so many names and Vlad just throws the names out like you know what he's talking about, because he's relating it all very casually, so the timelines are also all over the place. The fact we don't know Tagichatn or whatever's name because Vlad never bothered to learn it is hilarious though.
*I enjoy all the little structural conceits! Like in Yendi how Vlad sprinkles a few jokes on the same theme (how many HOUSE does it take to sharpen a sword?) I really enjoyed in Teckla the usage of the tailor's order and how each item's damage is revealed in the chapter. I'll have to re-read and look specifically for those - it's not like the text draws attention to it, sometimes the cut or abrasion happens in a few words like any other action in a novel.
*Teckla was definitely painful to read. I feel neutral about the getting-together part of Cawti and Vlad, but it happened so fast and most of it was offscreen since I guess Vlad didn't want to narrate it. Their splitting up is also quite off the page - they keep talking and Vlad doesn't record those conversations, but you can tell they're both trying but they're just such different people now. I respected that that was the conclusion Vlad came to, though - sad and upset it was ending, but not at Cawti. I don't really enjoy reading books that wallow in the feelings of resentment.
*The torture scene in Teckla, woof. It's very understated but Vlad's subsequent actions make it so clear how bad it was. Cawti is so concerned :(
*As well, the time just preceding that when he's so angry and off kilter he just goes wandering about without any protection. Eek.
*On a lighter note, I do enjoy the parts where Vlad is thinking about why Sethra and Aliera etc put up with him, and says things like this:
To Sethra, even more than to most Dragaerans, an Easterner’s lifetime was a blink of an eye. Maybe that’s why she was so tolerant of me. (Morrolan’s tolerance was due to having lived among Easterners for many years of his youth, during the Interregnum. Aliera’s tolerance I’ve never understood; I suspect she was just being polite to Morrolan.)
They're your friends, Vlad. F-R-I-E-N-D-S, that's what.
*I love that Loiosh enjoys going to shows. Also going through various restaurant dumpsters.
*Kelly is pretty tedious. Meh.
This entry took ages, I read Athyra last night (thanks to
hamsterwoman!) But I'm too tired to write up thoughts about that. Next time!
no subject
Date: Sep. 23rd, 2021 06:42 pm (UTC)EEHEEEE. I love this. In general, I love the sheer level of self-delusion that Vlad is clearly dealing with regarding the way he feels about the people around him and the way they feel about him, especially since (despite the books being told in first person) the narration skillfully gets across the vast gulf between what Vlad claims is true of his relationships with the people he's close to vs. how they actually see him.
It would have been a different experience reading it the other way around, but for me, reading Taltos after reading Jhereg was a big "Oh!!" moment because it very clearly demonstrates why Morrolan and Aliera are so utterly ride-or-die for Vlad by the time that Jhereg rolls around. I mean, it's clear that they're close but if THAT was your basic introduction to Vlad, then it's pretty evident why you'd end up being willing to do just about anything for him even though he's an assassin, a sarcastic asshole, and all the other things that Vlad so charmingly is. :D
Oh, and I also love in Jhereg - and I think this is the big thing that hooked me on the series, honestly, other than really enjoying the narration and worldbuilding - is that the entire plot is hinged around Vlad not wanting to hurt Morrolan. That's it, that's basically the plot. I mean clearly there is a lot else going on, but what it comes down to is that everything that happens, happens because Vlad isn't willing to simply fuck over Morrolan, even in the interests of preventing an inter-House war.
This is why these people love you, Vlad, you towering idiot.
This was a great write-up and very much fun to read!
no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2021 12:15 am (UTC)YES! -- and also while everyone except Morrolan thinks Morrolan's insistence on honoring Mellar's guest right is nuts, including members of Morrolan's own House. That Vlad, Jhereg and Easterner, is willing to go to this degree of trouble to honor his frankly bonkers wishes is such a delightful part of their relationship for me!
no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2021 12:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 25th, 2021 01:30 am (UTC)ESPECIALLY Vlad, probably, LOL, and yet! (I do love them so! ♥ &hearts)
no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2021 03:45 am (UTC)Very true! The Demon thought of it, acted on it, and Vlad figured it out and was like THIS CANNOT HAPPEN, I WILL MAKE IT UN-HAPPEN.