@RUTGERS.ARPA:NET-ORIGIN@MIT-MC (03/22/85)
From: hmiller@mit-speaker (Herbert A Miller)
I have several friends who, along with myself, have read both
"Jhereg" and "Yendi" and we all came away from these books dying for more!
However, two questions come to mind, concerning these novels:
1) Why was "Jhereg" published first, followed by "Yendi"?
The chronological order, should be:
"Jhereg" prologue, "Yendi", "Jhereg" body.
If the books are read in order of publication, then
"Jhereg" gives away a lot of the action that should
be a suprise in "Yendi".
2) Are there plans for any more "Vlad Taltos" novels?
If so, when can they be expected, and where will
they fall in the already confusing chronology?
- Herb
kentb@tekchips.UUCP (Kent Beck) (03/26/85)
> From: hmiller@mit-speaker (Herbert A Miller) > > I have several friends who, along with myself, have read both > "Jhereg" and "Yendi" and we all came away from these books dying for more! > > However, two questions come to mind, concerning these novels: > > 1) Why was "Jhereg" published first, followed by "Yendi"? > The chronological order, should be: > "Jhereg" prologue, "Yendi", "Jhereg" body. > If the books are read in order of publication, then > "Jhereg" gives away a lot of the action that should > be a suprise in "Yendi". > > ... Don't believe it for a minute. These novels were written to be read backwards. Recently someone else on the net claimed that they should be read in chronological order, so to prove it to myself, I did (I might add that I have read them in published order several times). Yuch!!! There is far more information given away reading "Yendi" first than the other way around. One of the beauties of these books is that "Jhereg" sets up several puzzles that are solved in "Yendi," and they are intended to be read that way. Now, Steven, when are we going to find out what happened at Deathsgate Falls? Kent Beck uucp: tektronix!tekchips!kentb CSNet: kentb@tektronix
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (03/26/85)
> From: hmiller@mit-speaker (Herbert A Miller) > > I have several friends who, along with myself, have read both > "Jhereg" and "Yendi" and we all came away from these books dying for more! Thank You. > > However, two questions come to mind, concerning these novels: > > 1) Why was "Jhereg" published first, followed by "Yendi"? > The chronological order, should be: > "Jhereg" prologue, "Yendi", "Jhereg" body. > If the books are read in order of publication, then > "Jhereg" gives away a lot of the action that should > be a suprise in "Yendi". > JHEREG was published first because I wrote it first. Furthermore, when I wrote it, I had no idea anyone was going to want to actually PUBLISH it. I mean what? Me? I'm sorry you feel JHEREG gives away surprises. Those were supposed to be teasers. Anyway, the order of books to date (and future) is: JHEREG TO REIGN IN HELL YENDI BROKEDOWN PALACE (Jan. '86) TECKLA (In progress). > 2) Are there plans for any more "Vlad Taltos" novels? > If so, when can they be expected, and where will > they fall in the already confusing chronology? > > - Herb > > Chronologicaly, the order is as follows: EASTERNER (maybe 1990???) YENDI JHEREG TECKLA It is possible there will be others (and not certain EASTERNER will be written) depending on whether I feel there is anything worthwhile to write about these characters. Thanks for asking. -- SKZB
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (03/28/85)
> > Now, Steven, when are we going to find out what happened at Deathsgate Falls? > > Kent Beck > uucp: tektronix!tekchips!kentb > CSNet: kentb@tektronix Dunno. It will appear, if at all, in a book called EASTERNER that will be the "first" of the Vlad novels. Chances are that it will be written after some unknown (but probably wieird) book that will be written after TECKLA, which I am at work on now. If TECKLA weren't going to damn slowly I'd have a better idea. Thanks for asking. -- SKZB
micah@mit-athena.UUCP (Micah P Doyle) (03/29/85)
>> From: hmiller@mit-speaker (Herbert A Miller) >> >> I have several friends who, along with myself, have read both >> "Jhereg" and "Yendi" and we all came away from these books dying for more! >> >> However, two questions come to mind, concerning these novels: >> >> 1) Why was "Jhereg" published first, followed by "Yendi"? >> The chronological order, should be: >> "Jhereg" prologue, "Yendi", "Jhereg" body. >> If the books are read in order of publication, then >> "Jhereg" gives away a lot of the action that should >> be a suprise in "Yendi". >> >> ... > From: tektronix!tekchips!kentb (Kent Beck) > >Don't believe it for a minute. These novels were written to be read >backwards... There is >far more information given away reading "Yendi" first than the other way >around. One of the beauties of these books is that "Jhereg" sets up several >puzzles that are solved in "Yendi," and they are intended to be read that >way... I'm have to agree with Herbert Miller. I read the books in chronological order and am very glad I did. Maybe there are some surprises given away by reading them in the "wrong" order, but I was much more interested in what happened to the characters than solutions to puzzles. I think I would have liked "Yendi" much less if I knew beforehand which characters survived, who marries who, etc.; that would have spoiled most of the suspense in the book. I had never heard of these books until about a month ago when I just happened to be around our local science-fiction library when someone was raving about them. Few people I've mentioned them to have heard about them either. Steven Brust has written some of the best books I've read in a long time, and I just don't understand how such excellent books can remain so obscure. Stephen Brust also has a new book coming out in May. I don't know whether or not it's a sequal to "Jhereg" and "Yendi", but since Mr. Brust reads this newsgroup, perhaps he can tell us a little about the book himself (pretty please?). Micah Doyle micah@mit-athena.ARPA decvax!mit-athena!micah
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (04/04/85)
> Stephen Brust has written some of the best books I've read > in a long time, and I just don't understand how such excellent books can > remain so obscure. Well, heck. Thanks. *Blush.* I dunno. I don't FEEL obscure. I mean, I was first published in '83. > > Stephen Brust also has a new book coming out in May. I don't know > whether or not it's a sequal to "Jhereg" and "Yendi", but since Mr. > Brust reads this newsgroup, perhaps he can tell us a little about the > book himself (pretty please?). > > Micah Doyle > micah@mit-athena.ARPA > decvax!mit-athena!micah The book is called To Reign In Hell, it is already out, and is not related to the Vlad books. It is sufficiantly unrelated that liking the other two is no indication that you'll like this one. (Bye the way, that's Steven, not Stephen). Anyway, thanks for asking. -- SKZB
psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (05/01/85)
< Smokey the Bar says, "Stamp out software pirates" [squish!] >
It's fun to trace influences on writers. It's a game to which hundreds
of trees and English students have fallen, chopped down and lulled to sleep,
respectively.
But sometimes the influences are obvious, and even (occasionally)
self-proclaimed. So it's clear that Brunner has been effected by Dos
Passos, Haldeman by Hemingway (and Dos Passos, come to think of it), and
(Spider) Robinson by Heinlein.
So has Steven Karl Zoltan Brust been influenced by Zelazny. The signs
are all there: The wise-ass, almost contemporary character surrounded by
scenes and beings of myth and legend. The complex, constantly changing
relationships and forces. The beautiful prose, invisible in its strength,
except when it jumps out and startles you with its beauty. The unexpected,
sometimes startling humor. The not-quite-as-flat-as-you-first-thought
characters, protagonists, villains, and spear carriers alike.
I *like* Zelazny. So does Brust. Brust doesn't write as well as
Zelazny. Well, that's okay; no one writes just like Zelazny, except better.
A few write differently, and also very well, and some more write pretty
well. Brust writes pretty well.
I'm telling you all this because, largely on the strength of reviews of
TO REIGN IN HELL, I went out and bought the collected works of Steven Brust,
and I just wanted to keep all the common comments together. As to the books
themselves, keep reading. . . .
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm
...!{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc The above opinions are my own,
...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc not necessarily anyone else's,
...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc including my employer's.ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076) (05/02/85)
Since there's been some interest in Steven Brust on this newsgroup, I thought
I'd repost the following from the Compuserve SF&Fantasy SIG:
Join us this Saturday, May 4, when our guest in CO [conference] will be
Steven Brust, author of the delightful fantasy novels JHEREG and YENDI,
and the astonishing TO REIGN IN HELL. The CO will start at 6:30 PM EDT.
Don't miss it!
(On Compuserve, "conference" is an online meeting of lots of people, like
multi-person "talk" or terminal linking (depending on what operating systems
you grew up on. I've never participated in one, so I can't say too much
more, but I expect I'll be in this one.)
-- David Dyer-Bennet
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