The Baron of Magister Valley by Steven Brust, I really wanted to enjoy this book but it failed for me, I do think others will enjoy it though. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book.

I came away from The Baron of Magister Valley smiling. It’s the epitome of a fun book, one crafted with obvious skill and passion, taking the reader on a journey that by turns excites and intrigues, horrifies and thrills. It’s got a story that kept my attention, and, as the sages say, had me turning pages, and protagonists who I cared about. There’s duels, wordplay, and a wonderful amount of baroque-yet-cunningly-crafted language.

Speaking of which, I have to talk about the style. Anyone who picked up The Phoenix Guards, or one of Brust’s other Khaavren Romances books will be familiar with it. In theory, they’re all written by the same in-universe historian, Paarfi of Roundwood, whose academic feuds and tendency to pointed outrage at petty injustices suffuse the subtext of the story. And Paarfi is a long-winded fellow. In this, he follows the tradition of Dumas, whose works are, shall we say, an homage to Paarfi, rather than the other way around. Paid by the word, Dumas gave us flowery descriptions of every, er, description, and dialogue which laced beautifully shaped prose through a structure which meant you got rather a lot of it for your money. And Paarfi is the same. There’s rather a lot of characters asking if someone wants them to answer a question, hearing the reply, confirming that they have heard the reply, replying to the confirmation, replying to the reply, and then maybe actually providing some information. It can be a bit hard to get your head around. But after a while, you don’t notice - the words themselves flow together in a cadence which is both a surprisingly restful read, and also compels you to turn the next page.

I suppose I’m saying that, if you’re new to Paarfi’s style, don’t worry, you get used to it. Like klava without honey in it, you may even come to enjoy it after a little while!

The story...well, depending on who you believe about who published first, you could say it bears a certain similarity to Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Taking the place of the Count is Eremit, the young scion of a noble family, recently come into possession of resources. This does not end well for him. Eremit is a wonderful portrait of someone unjustly confined, pacing the walls of their cell, marking time, trying to find a meaning and purpose in the slow monotony of their lives. Eremit is also a vivid actor when given the chance for vengeance, a mastermind with a ticking clock, moving his enemies like chess pieces, giving a comeuppance which was extremely cathartic to read. He’s easy to sympathise with, is Eremit, and his actions are always justified; thi is a paean to righteous vengeance. But it starts with a different person, a young man looking at the sun travelling over the sea - and the proof of the growth of his character is that, over time, that boy seems unlike Eremit to both himself and us. The pages that make up the text are those that shape Eremit, and drive him toward the heart of vengeance on a corrupt system, and the individuals which enable it - and if he is changed by that experience, then so too are we changed by having it with him.

Livosha, Eremit’s betrothed, is perhaps the other significant point of view here. While Eremit’s initial stages are those of confinement and apathy driven by injustice, Livosha is an active agent, struggling to escape from carnage, survive tragedy, and take back what is hers. Livosha is charming, thoughtful, deadly with a blade - and as driven by the need for survival and for revenge as is Eremit. Her relationship with her family has some genuinely charming banter in it, and watching her kick arse and take names, whilst slowly re-ascending the steps of a society which ignored her when she was cast down - well, it’s a pure joy. Livosha, having struggled through trials and tribulations, is someone you can cheer when they’re finally holding the edge of a sword to the throat of someone used to abusing a position of power.

And that’s what this is, in the end. A world of nobility, of power, of corruption and abuse, wrapped in phantom structures of honour, where what is right is decided by connections, magic, and the number of blades. That world can be overturned by one or two people of good intent, who are determined to make something of it, something better. Dragaera will be changed by these two, and by their friends - and by the struggles they have against a cast of delightfully unpleasant villains. This is a world of sorcery and high adventure, but its tale of the struggle to rise up out from under a system of oppression, to have agency of ones own, and not to accept what the system doles out - those are messages that resonate very strongly today.

Paarfi..er..Brust, has done it again. This is at once a searing indictment of modern society, a thrilling adventure story, and a cosy fantasy delight. And for all of those reasons, I suggest that you help Paarfi pay for his next cup of klava, and pick a copy up. It’s a lot of fun, and it’ll make you smile.

Dragaera! Surely a fascinating place!

Steven Brust, one of my fav authors. Such a pleasure to be back in Dragaera, with all it's intrigues and different Houses that make up part of this world, it's magic and sorcery. Indeed I'd forgotten the wordy ways of some of the Dragaerans.
This tale as related by the pompous historian and self acclaimed storyteller, "Paarfi of Roundwood (esteemed historian of House of Hawk and exquisite artisan of truths)" in a convoluted and drawn out manner, uses a very precious and exacting style, à la Alexander Dumas.
He delights in giving drawn out explanations to us mere mortal aficionados about everything from philosophical theories to reasons why he doesn't include some information. Underneath the effusion of verbose language is a fascinating story of betrayal and revenge, hope and justice.
Two Houses suffer at the hands of those who are greedy and corrupt. (Indeed that corruption stems from near to the highest in the land.)
The scion of one House is bundled off to an illegal jail. Those of another spend many years one step ahead of pursuers.
This is all set during at the time when the Orb, the source of the Empire's power fails, sowing disruption and discord across the Empire, including failure of authority.
I love Steven Brust's writing and have read almost all of his works. This latest contribution to the world of Dragaera is for me a winner!

A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I received an ARC of this book to read in exchange for a fair review. The Baron of Magister Valley is the sixth book in Steven Brust’s The Khaavren Romance Series. It can be read as a stand-alone. This book had so much potential it’s got evil villains, pirates, bandits, a dashing magical hero, a bold heroine and an awesome revenge plot based on the Count of Monte Christo but sadly it’s told by the most boring annoying omniscient narrator that ever existed. Imagine your most boring professor of obscure history, multiply by ten and you’ve got the narrator for this book. I’ve never enjoyed the omniscient narrator style of writing and this one seriously takes the cake for cringeworthy prose. My advice would be just to skip through anytime the narrator babbles on and underneath you will find an adventure story well worth reading until the end which I have to say was kind of meh… Publishing Date: July 20, 2020. #TheBaronOfMagisterValley #StevenBrust #FantasyNovel #TorBooks #bookstagram #MacMillanTorForge #NetGalley

The Baron of Magister Valley is not a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. It says so in the description. Psst! It totally is! And, yet, isn’t. But that’s the point. It very closely mirrors the classic while also putting on a new, fantastical, updated spin. As a fan of The Count of Monte Cristo (true story, I spent years hunting down an unabridged copy after being completely confused by an abridged edition), I couldn’t not request this from Netgalley, and was incredibly delighted to be approved for this title. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but, for anyone who has loved The Count of Monte Cristo, I highly recommend this not-retelling. Which also happens to be number 6 in a series of standalone novels (I have a bad habit of picking up books in the middle of a series, so I’m glad this is also considered a standalone!).

The Writing: Quite Proper
The writing is not something I normal write about in my reviews, but I think it’s something I should start with here. The writing is stilted. It’s very polite and proper and very reminiscent of novels like The Count of Monte Cristo. Brust captured both the speech and way of writing, which makes it very different from the standard fantasy, and general fiction, of today. It’s not for everyone, but it absolutely does wonders for the atmosphere in the novel. The dialogue is full of tell versus show, but it’s also easy to follow, makes perfect sense, and moved the story along without any ambiguity. I wasn’t expecting it to be written the way it was, and can see how it might not be for everyone, but I find I was delighted by it and even found myself easily slipping back into the novel whenever I picked it back up.

The Characters: Familiar, But Unique
The characters are like those in The Count of Monte Cristo, but not. They’re given a fresh, new spin in The Baron of Magister Valley, and not just with some magical skill, especially the two main females. I liked that they were similar to the characters I love, but were also uniquely their own in ways that made sense for both the story and the setting.

Eremit is Edmond. He had the same innocence, the same looking forward to a future of pastoral and marital happiness. He was dutiful and honorable, and wrongly imprisoned. I loved that he had the same drive to learn what he could from a fellow prisoner and to take his revenge as fully and completely as possible. He had the same air about him, but somehow felt uniquely Eremit.

My favorite was probably Livosha, who corresponds to Mercedes in that she is Eremit’s betrothed, but the similarities end there. While Mercedes has been depicted as fragile and feminine, Livosha is anything but. The woman can fight, negotiate, do hard labor, and take revenge with the best of them. She’s strong, smart, and relentless. Instead of resigning herself to a life without her betrothed, she literally spends centuries (people age very differently in this world) looking for him. I adored her; she’s definitely the modern heroine this story needs while still remaining true to the spirit of Mercedes’ character.

I did find it hard to see the villains in this story as truly villainous, but I also got that feeling in The Count of Monte Cristo so it didn’t bother me too much. I loved that there was a group who set out to obtain one thing and another group set out to get their revenge on them for stealing what was theirs. They all had their roles and I thought they were fulfilled flawlessly, but some of it did feel like it was a little lacking in life.

The one character I found really interesting, though, was the historian telling this tale. The Baron of Magister Valley revolves around an historian recording the story of Eremit and Livosha, but he lives long after the couple lived. It was fascinating to learn about him during the frequent asides in which he discussed the history of the world, how things changed, some philosophical thoughts, and why he chose to record the story the way he did.

The Setting: Full of a Rich History
Since this is the sixth book set in this world, it felt very established with history and cultures. But, since each book is considered a standalone, I don’t feel like I missed out on any world building; instead, the world was right there before my eyes. It felt like it had existed for a long time, felt like it had been carefully crafted, and this was the result.

It’s a far flung kind of world. There are so many places, and so many different kinds of places, from a secluded jail to bustling cities that have edged over into unnavigable. I felt like the world was brought to life in my head while I was reading. I didn’t get a crystal clear view of what everything looked like, but the world still felt alive, like it was breathing and the time in that world was continuing to march on.

One thing I do wonder if I missed out on was the different Houses. I’m not too clear on them, but it seemed like everyone was born to a specific line in which they were meant to be sailors, aristocrats, servants, etc. I think I picked up on enough to figure it out, but the details and specifics of them eluded me. Still, I found it fascinating, and even more fascinating to see it lent itself to a caste system that most people actually found to be suitable. I suppose it was nice to see that everyone knew their place and where they belonged.

The Plot: A Fantastical Story of Revenge
The Baron of Magister Valley borrows heavily from The Count of Monte Cristo. It is a retelling of the story in terms of the revenge and how elaborate it was. In the latter novel, the hero is wrongly accused and imprisoned. There, he meets a fellow prisoner who teaches him, tells him of an island with untold treasure, and helps him escape. Newly minted Count of Monte Cristo, the hero returns to exact his revenge on the men who crafted his downfall. The Baron of Magister Valley closely follows this course, but differs in particulars. For one, there’s some magic going on, and it felt much more linear and less elaborate than the giant tome it is based on.

I did love this book. Once I acclimated to the stilted, formal writing, it was fun to get to know the characters and see their behaviors and motivations driving the story. It’s quite a bit faster than the book it’s retelling, but it still provided a complicated enough web of lies, deception, and power hungriness.

I loved the familiarity of the story, which really let me enjoy how Brust chose to retell it. It felt like an updated version that’s been transplanted into a fantasy world. There was an interesting duality in that it felt old-fashioned with the class system and the idea of servants being way down on the bottom rung and everyone being so polite and formal, but modern with how strong and capable the women tended to be.

Overall: A Fun Spin on a Classic
The Baron of Magister Valley was a fun read. I loved the retelling and the unique spin Brust put on it. It does make me curious about the previous five standalones and I’d love to get to know this world better. There’s a rich history to this world. I liked that the characters were familiar, but different and that the story was similarly comfortingly familiar, but with it’s own unique flavor. The only part I felt ambiguous about was the end. I loved the way The Count of Monte Cristo ended, and I loved the way this novel ended. It was interesting that they’re so similar, yet so different and they lent themselves to similar, but very different endings that were still satisfactory. Overall, a very satisfying novel for anyone who loves The Count of Monte Cristo.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Link to post: https://thelilycafe.com/book-review-the-baron-of-magister-valley-by-steven-brust/

I found this book to be oddly compelling The preface and some other areas are hard to read, comprend due to the language but whence you get into the actual story it's easier. It has lots of tension to it. #The Baron of Magister Valley #NetGalley

A good swashbuckling yarn. Adventure, swords, pirates, revenge, magic and long-lost love all set in the Dragaera world. Brust played with the style of writing and speech in this Count of Monte Cristo inspired story (though the author denied any resemblance). I was amuse and entertained but not all will enjoy this style and will find it far too wordy--I did at times--but if you like the stories of yore pick it up, sit back and delight.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to Netgalley.com and the publisher in return for a fair and impartial review.

So, do you remember English lit classes fondly? The books from the days where the authors got paid by the word? The flowery language? The over the top set ups, betrayals, plots and tragedies?
Do you also like fantasy novels? This is the book for you! I think this isn’t the right book for everyone but the people who are going to like it will love it. Brust does well with this old fashion writing style and if you’ve been reading the books in this universe since the 1980s you’ll love the visit back in that world’s history. The writing style suits a tale set in that world’s history.