Yet another impressive display of narrative cohesion, mastery of characterization and dialogue, and a subtle but significant push to advance the plot without messing with the over-arcing story. Brust is deliberate and yet somehow still playful, intricately weaving an exciting and often laugh-out-loud funny narrative with some very somber and bitter tones of violence, remorse, and rage. Set some time after the events of Issola, Iorich is a strong reminder that the epic fantasy hijinks aren’t totally necessary to continue what has been (and will continue to be) a very significant and well-written series of action-adventure novels. And, again, I’m not even a little bit fond of stories that rely on exposition in dialogue, but Brust accomplishes this with a whimsical and wicked flourish of the pen few to no writers living or dead now or then can meet the measure of. I’m excited to continue my reread and if I had to make mention of even one criticism it’s that there’s so much and somehow not enough of these Vlad novels.