Hawk

Sometimes you want your favorite authors to write another book that is just like the book that originally made you fall in love with their writing in the first place. I get that this is boring for the writer, but when a book goes down as easily as the smoothest martini, it's an absolute pleasure for the reader. And so I savored every sentence of this rollicking romp with one of my favorite fantasy characters ever, Vlad Taltos, as written by the enormously talented Steven Brust. This book had it all, the humor, the descriptions of delicious food, the plotting of a caper with all its twists and turns, and the wonderful short-cuts (Neal Stephenson, please note you can sometimes leave out all the details and the book will actually be better):

"It was long, slow, and painful to get into each of the places I wanted to leave a message without taking more chances han necessary; but not all that interesting to relate, so let's just say I did it, and by the time I was done, I was seriously hungry..."

You also have to appreciate that in amongst the banter and plotting and magic, there are also hints at the darker regions of the mind into which Vlad sometimes falls, with good reason. We love him not only because he can outsmart even the craftiest crime lords and ancient sorcerers, but also because he is a human being who is trying to repair old wrongs and stay connected to those he cares about most.

All I can say is, "can I please have another?"--and the ending seems to indicate that this is not the last we will see of Lord Vlad Taltos.