Steven Brust’s massive series about Vlad Taltos has, after forty years, finally gotten to part seventeen. With a member of the left hand trying to assassinate him, for magical reasons Vlad hides in a theater preparing a musical about a famous play that brought down the Lyorn (hard from Tor) Emperor centuries before. Since Dragaerans can live for thousands of years, the play left a sore spot in the Lyorn clan and their prince will do everything to stop the play. There are a large number of inside jokes about theater culture, Vlad has to bring off a convoluted scheme involving the Phoenix Empress to trap all his foes. Along the way he gets hints of his destiny. Theoretically this series is supposed to stretch two more books, so hopefully there might be an ending in a few years. Excellent series.

In Lyorn, Stephen Brust continues his long tradition of creating intriguing and thrilling fantasy. One of the reasons I’ve always liked the series is the voice of the main character Vlad Taltos as Vlad works his way through mysteries and dilemmas, creating capers and solving problems. If you like shows like Leverage, for example, this is what the character feels like, a conman/thief and except for being set in the modern world, it’s set in a magical fantasy. Vlad Taltos as a character is a delight to read and he is why the story is so thrilling.
One of the elements I particularly appreciated in this book was Vlad’s sojourn in the theater watching the crew put on a musical. In addition, each chapter begins with a musical parody of a popular song. The fun is figuring out which song Brust is parodying and here, his talent as a musician shines. I will admit that one of the reasons I like this aspect is that I’m a student of music myself. But it adds a uniqueness to the story.
I also love the way Vlad is involved in matters like the Cycle and with the gods, rather despite what he’d prefer. That involvement is at the crux of the story and I loved the way Brust resolved the narrative and showed Vlad’s decision. If you like caper-like books with intriguing characters, mysteries, musical parody and incredible magical realism, this book is for you. Even if you haven’t read the previous books, you can still follow along and enjoy the story. I think this is one of the best of Brust’s works.

Vlad’s in trouble—again!

A return to the Vlad shenanigans is always a welcome experience. This time Vlad’s hiding out in a theater from quite a few factions. He sorted the problem with the Jhereg but now The Left Hand is after him, and he no longer has sorcery protections. Oh, and also, being turned into a demon was unplanned and particularly unhelpful. Yet Vlad needs to stay in the City. Big Problem!!
A friend advises him to hide out in a theater because apparently , “Every theater in the City has spells to prevent sorcery, and powerful spells to prevent clairvoyance and any other sort of detection until the show opens, and most of them don’t bother to take the spells down after that.”
Perfect! Sort of! A musical farce is being performed based on the challenge of theatre productions and the empire. I recognised some Gilbert and Sullivan repartee. Vlad by the way dislikes musicals.
He has a bed to sleep in but the food is abysmal so Vlad communicates with the outside to have it delivered. Of course! He’s a foodie! (Personally, I think that’s a bad idea, but I’m only a reader)
It seems the producer is having trouble with Jhereg investors. The latest a Lyorn. Of course Vlad lends a hand. After all he’s in hiding and bored and is doing nothing to bring attention to himself. Ha!
He also has Sethra Lavode, Warlord, working on his problem.
Along the way we’re given a potted history of the Empire and the Stage.
As usual I enjoyed the misadventures of the likeable rogue Vlad (officially Lord Vladimir Taltos, First Count of Szurke by the grace of Her Majesty) and his two small, long suffering, quite vocal, put upon companions, Loiosh and Rocza.
A long time reader of Vlad novels, I love the tone, the irony, the sarcasm and the wit of it all. Well played Brust!

A Tor ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Here in our post-Buffy world, every TV writers room knows that if your show CAN do a musical episode, it MUST do a musical episode.

Steven Brust doesn’t see any reason to confine that rule to TV.

LYORN, the 17th (!!!) Vlad Taltos novel, sees Vlad hiding out at a theatre. A theatre in rehearsals for a 3-day musical. A 3-day musical about putting on a politically-charged play during the last Lyorn reign.

It is NOT Vlad’s wheelhouse, on any level. And it’s a damned delight.

We probably don’t get ALL the musical’s songs (see: 3-day production), but we get 19 of them, set to tunes you’ll know if you’re at all familiar with the musical theatre canon. They’re incredibly fun, but the musical is very much concerned with the theatre’s inner workings and responsibilities to its audience, what’s moral vs what’s “right,” who gets to speak the truth, and how tyranny plays out in real time.

Which, hey, MIGHT have a bit to do with what’s going on in Vlad’s life? Maybe?

Basically, it’s a great big feast of great songs, heavy plot stuff, criminal endeavours, and people (ie, Vlad) being forced to confront stuff they do not want to confront, thank you very much, all leading to what I presume will be the grande finale in CHREOTHA, coming someday. (I wanna hope for next year, but Brust started the series in 1983, soooo….)

I loved it very much.

You want to read this series, but for maybe the first time in its nonchronological road to completion I’m gonna tell you this isn’t a good jumping-on point. There’s a lot of cumulative character work and worldbuilding woven into the action, so you’ll probably do best to approach it after you’ve read at least a few of the others, including last year’s TSALMOTH.

This book is written a little differently from the previous novels. I found it a big distraction that didn’t add much to the main story line. Vlad is in big trouble and he can’t get to his friends for assistance. He hides in a theater, a world he knows nothing about. Even so he finds himself drawn into problems connected to the people in the theater.

The blurb of this book makes it seem so dramatic and important. The actual novel feels much smaller, with low stakes and calm feelings. The big conflict of this book is trying to perform a musical in the face of financial and legal challenges. There's also some subplots about some kidnappings and hostage situations, but those take a backseat to the musical.

The novel has many excerpt from two in-world documents: the lyrics of the musical, and the history book that the musical is based on. This takes up a lot of the page time, and I don't think it improved the book. It interrupted the story, and was boring.

However, this book was easy to read, and kept me engaged. I was excited to see how the musical would go on opening night, and the steps leading up to that. It had some cool moments, and made me laugh. But, in the end, not much happens in this book. It's setting up things for the next book, but not actually having those pieces do important things now. It touches on a lot of interesting themes, but doesn't explore them.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, @ChloeFrizzle.

You'll always get me with a new work by Steven Brust. He has a sharp eye for the human condition, a real talent for snark, a penchant for saying interesting things, and a tendency to play around with the format of his stories to see what works. From the period-stylings of The Khaavren Romances to the thriller beats of The Good Guys, there's an impressive range there. But the heart of it, for me, is Vlad Taltos, and the saga of the Jhereg. Taltos has been a lot of things. Thug. Killer. Father. Fugitive. And we've seen him weave in and out of his story, switching point sin his personal timeline with him, picking up the pieces that fall off the stories he tells, trying to work out what's been happening, and what's coming next. We've seen the younger man planning murders, the older one standing in the ruins of his marriage, and the, ahem, even older one, rebuilding his life in a world that still isn't built for him, in an Empire that hates him for who he is, with gods playing the long game, friends with their own problems (like being an immortal vampire sorceress) and, well, you know, all those people trying to kill him.
Which is where Lyorn comes in. Vlad is back, baby. Back in Adrilankha, city by the sea, where he used to run a medium-sized criminal operation, and occasionally kill people. Back in the Empire of Dragaera, run by seven foot tall elves with access to sorcery, who regard him as a short-lived inconvenience. Back in close proximity to old friends, old loves, and old enemies. And, it turns out, in a theatre. The theatre is where he's hiding out, due to the aforementioned old enemies, while a few deals go down which, hopefully, keep him alive. And, in traditional Vlad style, he can't resist poking into other people's problems - or they can't resist involving him. The theatre itself is beautifully built. Every line adds some texture, some history, tells you about stories, about drama, about why the players company exists, who they are, what they need - and why being able to tell their stories, to live their needs, is important. Not just for them, but for everyone. For individuals, and Empires. Because stories have power, especially the ones we tell ourselves. Look at Vlad, who has reinvented himself more times than I have hats, who now just wants to build a life. Look at him as he walks through a theatre, sword at his hip, Jhereg on his shoulders, righting wrongs almost by reflex, and doing it because it's not just the right thing to do, but the necessary thing.

And that's before those old enemies come into play, getting rather aggressive in their efforts to drag him out of hiding.

At this point in the Jhereg series, you're either starting fresh here, or asking if this one is worth the investment you put into the previous books in the series. If you're coming in new. Hmm. Vlad is smart and funny and oblique, and has a lot of old friends you may not be familiar with. Sit with him as he figures out, from inside a theatre-shaped bottle, how to save his friends and himself without dying first. You're going to see some high quality schemes, some delightful banter, and occasional bouts of knife-edge action. If you're coming in as a fan though...you're probably starting to see different pieces of Vlad's past falling into place. You can see a larger game that's been playing out across the entire series and is starting to come to fruition. But you'll also see a familiar, late-period Vlad, still struggling to figure out who he is, but absolutely determined not to let anyone else tell him either. A man accustomed ot action, now having to acclimatise himself to thinking, planning, and patience. Being the person holding the blade, and not the tip of the blade itself. Lyorn is a story about the law, and about honour, and about what society is willing to accept and what it isn't - and it's a story about saving lives and yourself.

In short, it's a Taltos story, and a really good one, at that. If you're unfamiliar, give it a try (or go read Jhereg!). If you're a fan - yes, you're going to want this one.

Vlad Taltos is on the run. But now it is the Left Hand of the Jhereg rather than the Right Hand that wants to end his career. With the aid of a friend, he finds shelter in a theater that is putting on a musical Song of the Presses which is about playwright who wrote a play that offended a Lyorn Emperor several centuries ago. Vlad ends playing a role in the musical as part of his plan to out-wit the Left Hand, preserve his skin, do a really big favor for a friend, and keep the play from being cancelled! As a TV actor would say, "I love it when a plan comes together!" That is how Vlad feels, well that and drain, invigorated, and very ready to leave The Crying Clown and eat dinner with a very good friend!

Steven Brust does an exceptional job of ratcheting up the pressure on Vlad, complicating his life until the big reveal at the end. The musical parodies that Brust includes provides humor and keeps the reader guessing which musical will he skewer next. Now the reader needs to wait until at least the next volume to see what heroics Vlad will have to endure when D'nilla launches her masterpiece.

Thanks Netgalley and Tor for the opportunity to read and enjoy this volume!

I had enjoyed the first book in the Vlad taltos series. And was excited to see that there was a sequel coming out. It had what I had enjoyed from the first book and continued the world perfectly. I really like the idea of the lyorn and was just hoped from the beginning. Steven Burst has a great writing style for the fantasy genre and I enjoyed what I read. I love the idea of a dog that has a unicorn horn and that it worked in the book's world.

2.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Vlad Taltos, having saved himself from the wrath of the Jhereg's criminal Right Hand, is now pursued by the sorcerous Left Hand, and must hide in a theater to save himself.
Review
I had expected Lyorn to be the last in the Taltos series; there are, after all, 17 Houses in the Cycle that it’s partly about. Some have suggested 18 books, perhaps because there are two lines for Phoenix in some diagrams. In any case, this book is not the last. I hope the next will be. Wikipedia suggests I’m wrong, but I’m not sure I can stretch to two more of these.
It’s disappointing when a favored author loses that favored status. Steven Brust came to my attention through the Liavek shared world series, and his stories were among the best in those books. On his own, I loved Jhereg, thought To Reign in Hell was terrific, enjoyed Brokedown Palace. I hated the Viscount of Adrilankha sub-subseries, and maybe even disliked the whole Khaavren Romances subseries, but every author’s allowed a fumble or two. As I’ve said before, though, it just feels like Brust is no longer trying – he’s like an actor who’s become known for a particular role and just does that, not even trying to bring anything new to his performances.
There’s a line somewhere between having fun and self-indulgence, and I’m sorry to say that Brust is on the wrong side of that here. He clearly wants to have fun with theater and music, bringing in lyrics for an in-story musical. Several have implicit melodies taken from popular musicals (e.g., Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General”), which I found uninteresting, but perhaps was intended as homage. The larger problem, though, is that the story feels considerably forced – warped to fit the musical element with very little justification. Seventeen books into a series, you can’t blame an author for having fun with the story, but I can and do blame Brust for sucking the fun and interest out of Vlad Taltos.
Trying plot aside, the rest is standard (and by now tired) Vlad – he has a problem, develops an overly complex and unlikely solution, calls on powerful friends to help, Loiosh makes sarcastic comments, talks about food, etc. There’s a little more development of the big mystery of Vlad’s involvement in divine matters, the Jenoine, the Serioli, etc., but no kind of resolution, which will clearly be another book. In another series, the little tidbits of the mystery would be the kind of thing that would call for a rereading of the entire series, seeing how all the pieces fit together. Here, I’m afraid, I just don’t care anymore. I do want to see the final reveal, so I’ll read that last book, but the chances I’ll go back and reread the series I started out loving are essentially nil. The little pieces of mystery are so sparse, so scattered, so convoluted, and so surrounded by Vlad Taltos formula that it just wouldn’t be fun.
I think Brust is a talented author, but it feels like he’s been coasting for years now – maybe decades – and it’s been a long time since I could count him as a true favorite. As for this book – if you’ve read recent Taltos books, it’s more of the same, but less interesting.
* Separately – I’m not sure I can blame the artist, since this seems to have been Brust’s design, but apparently a lyorn is just a dog with a unicorn horn stuck on.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Lyorn is a lot to wrap your mind around, and it does not at first seem like something you should need to wrap your mind around. I am guessing this is not long after the events of Tsalmoth. Vlad has his memories back and knows why he agreed to being mindwiped in the first place. Vlad is still being pursued by the Left Hand of the Jhereg, but has gotten the Right Hand of the Jhereg to back off.

Due to shenanigans involving the Left Hand of the Jhereg, Vlad ends up hiding at a theater. It turns out that Dragaeran theaters are extremely well protected from sorcery. This makes a theater the perfect place to hide, if you are a fan of musicals. (Vlad is not a fan of musicals.) Much to Vlad's misfortune, the theater company is going to be performing a musical. A controversial musical that turns out to be about censorship, and is extremely unflattering of a Lyorn Emperor.

Vlad is approached to help with a "Jhereg problem," by the director of the musical. Around the same time a representative from the House of the Lyorn turns up to try and get the musical canceled. This leads to the usual machinations and strategizing Vlad is typically really good at. However, things get increasingly complicated, not only with the Left Hand of the Jhereg, but also on a mysteriously cosmological level. There is some Greater Purpose out there that Vlad would really like to avoid, but not be able to.

A few notes:

- Lyorn is dedicated to John M. Ford. This is fitting as Ford wrote How Much For Just the Planet, which was the "musical episode" of Star Trek Original Series tie-in novels!
- So, in previous Vlad Taltos books, when the POV shifted to a Dragaeran, the dialog would shift over to "Paarfi of Roundwood's Histories" style of dialog. This time around, there was no shift. The mode of speech and narrative was pretty much identical to Vlad's sections. This is somewhat interesting in the context of the Mysterious Cosmological Level.
- Verra is being very weird and that's saying something, because this is Verra.
- I am honestly very worried about what might happen to Vlad. There is a lot of background stuff going on.

Lyorn is definitely not one of the books you can more or less just jump into. (For that, I suggest Taltos or Jhereg.) In fact, before you start Lyorn you should probably reread Tsalmoth. I definitely enjoyed the book, and found it to be a fairly fast read with lots of quick twists and revelations.

This review is based on a galley received from NetGalley.

To be perfectly frank, there is only so long that any author, no matter how good, can stretch out a mystery; thankfully, the mystery at the heart of the Dragaeran Empire is beginning to be unravelled. This is the seventeenth Vlad Taltos novel, though only the eleventh that I've read; I found my appetite for additional novels set earlier in Vlad's life that didn't seem like they were going to advance the main plot waning, and I'm glad that this finally did.

It's been very clear for a very long time (to me at least since Issola) that Vlad is going to be involved in big, world-scale events, and I've found myself chafing against the dramatic irony as Vlad himself has refused to notice or grapple with that and Brust has continued to write stories with much lower stakes; it wouldn't be fair to say that Vlad has been unchanging in that time, but to maintain the same level of snark in his narration he has ended up pretty much resistant to anything significant, and that's been fairly frustrating as a reader. It is interesting to note that apart from some fuzziness at the odd reference, I have not really suffered consequences from not having read a third of the series, and I don't know that that is an endorsement of each of the books being essential reading.

This book itself is fairly low-stakes as the plots go; Vlad is on the run, this time from the Left Hand of the Jhereg, and so must execute yet another plot to get away from the people who want to kill him. This has happened enough times (as Vlad has been on the run from enough different groups) as to be a smidge de trop, but this time we have the set dressing of the theatre to liven it up. There's less cool sorcery or witchcraft this time, there's much less fighting, and there's just the sense that none of it matters overmuch. Vlad comes up with a plan, doesn't tell the reader what it is, and then executes it, as per usual, but because it's lacking the more entertaining magic or fighting or changes of scenery, this time the process feels less propulsive. The rest of the word count is padded out with songs from the musical being put on in the theatre while Vlad is hiding there (which can, if you can figure the reference out, be set to music from musicals in our world), brief interludes in the third person (which may be visions, but Vlad never gives any suggestion that he's seeing them so probably not) and excerpts from a volume of history (which is thematically linked to Vlad and the musical but not super plot relevant).

I guess, in summary, that this book is kinda just fine. It provided just enough new information to not be actively frustrating, but stopped short of being genuinely novel. It is probably a good entry point if you've not read the series for a few books and are looking to get back into it before the final two books, which I have to assume will be pretty plot heavy.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Yet another highly entertaining Vlad Taltos book, this one takes place mostly inside a theatre where Vlad has retreated to in order to avoid getting killed by the Left Hand. Vlad and his friends put together a plan to solve his current problems, all while Vlad learns about theatre life and how to tolerate musicals. We also get the usual snarky conversations and complex problem solving that we've become accustomed to from this series.

There is an extra treat for the musical aficionados amongst in that the author includes more than a dozen musical number lyrics that are warped versions of numbers from real musicals. I was able to identify a bit less than half of them, and those included pieces from "Pirates of Penzance", "The Music Man", and "Guys and Dolls".