Jhereg

Vlad Taltos, Book 1

By: Steven Brust

Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Vlad Taltos is a mobster and assassin in the magical metropolis of Adrilankha. A member of the Great House of Jhereg (named for the tiny dragon-like creatures native to Dragaera), Taltos is given the largest contract of his career but the job is even more complicated than he expects.

The first book in Stephen Brust's "Vlad Taltos" series, Jhereg has also been adapted into a graphic novel by Marvel Comics. Here, Bernard Setaro Clark brings the tale to life in a rousing performance.

©1983 Steven K. Z. Brust (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Lots of fun!

Good (not great) fantasy, in the Zelazny tradition.

You won't be disappointed.

Excellent performance, one of the best I've heard!

Good Read.

Had a buddy a long time ago recommend this series and am now just getting around to it. Great story, easy to follow the general magic system and the characters were well thought out. voice acting was also good on this as well. Will likely burn through the rest of the series. Only downfall, is the story is a bit short for my usual preferences. But that does not mean it is lacking.

A long time favorite

I have long loved this series and this is the first time I've listened to it as an audiobook. it was very enjoyable.

Great Book

Good story and pacing. The performance was excellent. Well done all around. Very pleased with the series so far.

Very plain boring story

The world is just unique enough to be sort of interesting, but nothing so unique that makes it stand out.

You have basic magic, teleportation, reserection and medieval weaponry along with the very basic hierarchy of 3 total races and some basic lore.

Get hooked on Brust!

The woman I'm falling in love with loves these books, and I love audiobooks, so when I found out Brust was in this format, I dove in. The voice acting is superb , and you won't want to stop. And there are 17 books in the series.

A strong start

First book of the long running Taltos series by the author. I regularly come back to it, and the audio book helps to revisit the world now that I'm older and busier.
I will say the voice actor is a bit monotone in this book, but he steadily improves later on.

Dragaeran fun despite the stiff narrator

For a first-time read, I'd recommend going with the text version if you can. Clark's narration style is so grave, his enunciation so fanatically precise, he sounds like he's being held at knife-point by his elocution teacher. Not the best match for the tone or diction of a wise-cracking noir assassin talking about shining punks. From book to book, and sometimes within a single book, characters change regional accents for no apparent reason (I assume the narrator forgot what accents he'd previously used). The voice he settles on for Loiosh sounds like Peter Lorre, though, which is fun.

The narration is not a dealbreaker, especially if you already know the series, but you might have a better time doing the voices yourself if it's your first foray into Vlad's world. (And if you haven't been to Dragaera before, start with The Phoenix Guards. The reader is excellent.)

Excellent and fun

It's very fun to listen to, the narrator is great. The world building is very original and interesting, and it isn't just all dumped on you at once. You're mostly left to pick up clues and sort out the world yourself. Every now and again it all gets spelled out, but that is usually entertaining enough not the be a burden. The last 15% of the book feels a little sloppy and circular, but it's not much and it didn't reduce my enjoyment too extremely.

Lackluster narration and a decent story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this audio book but with reservations. The story was interesting and I think it was well-written. However, the narration was very bland, as if the main character didn't care about anything; I felt Bernard Setaro Clark was just going through the motions.

Could you see Jhereg being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, I think it would be interesting enough for a film, although the main character is an assassin.