Orca

By Steven Brust

Book Overview

Granted, walking around with two jhereg on your shoulders is not the best disguise for an ex-assassin wanted all over the Empire. But a young boy saved his life and then needs help, Vlad Taltos pays his debt--even if it means uncovering a financial scandal big enough to bring down the House of the Orca and the entire Empire.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441001963
• ISBN13: 9780441001965
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A terrific expansion of characterization.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the Vlad books, and all of them stand on their own merits, independent of the other books in the 'series.' But Orca so far is one that gives us further character development of our favorites. We get to step outside of Vlad some more, and see how others percieve him and Loiosh. We get to see the chain of events within Vlad's perception, and heave a sigh of relief at his specific voice. Brust is masterful in helping Vlad step off the pages, into reality. By far, my favorite Vlad novel to date because of the character development. While not as exciting as Jhereg, or Athyra, the background you gain really helps you grow to appreciate these characters. If you're into that sort of thing.

Underrated

I have gone back and read this book many times. The humor in this book is more of the subtle understated variety. There is also an excellent suprise ending with a few subtle clues. Brust at his best form.

Great book!

Another good book by Steven B rust. Good characterizing and a major surprise at the end. I can not wait until the next one comes out.

Return to Dragaera in an excellent Taltos novel

A wonderful installment in the Vlad Taltos saga, as everyone's favourite ex-assassin tries to help a tragically injured lad (less than 100 years old) from the previous novel, Athyra. A couple of _mind-numbing_ secrets are revealed, about one of the most mysterious characters in the series (not Mario, but close...). As always, Brust writes an engaging tale, where the enemy isn't who you think, and isn't as dumb as you fear. I'm still trying to figure out how Vlad acts like an Orca in this one, but regardless: Buy it! Brust is one of the best authors around, and conveys more in a couple hundred pages through insinuation, imagery and the reader's intelligence, than most can manage in a 1000 pages of plodding detail. Witty, sarcastic, intriguing and above all, satisfying

A whole lot better than Athyra

Brust returns to Vlad Taltos after the tragedy of 3rd person Athyra. He doesn't quite return to 1st person Vlad though, instead the story is told by Kiera the Thief as she tells of the events to Vlad's wife(or ex-wife I'm not exactly sure yet). There are sections of Vlad 1st person along with Loiosh, but they are told as if Kiera was dictating what Vlad told her. It's really bizarre. The book as a whole is very well written, just like all the other Brust Vlad novels except for Athyra(I don't like referring to that one as a Vlad novel). It has a fast moving plot and good characters. If you like Vlad, so for it.