Issola

Vlad Taltos, Book 9

By: Steven Brust

Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Okay, so maybe I've been living in the woods too long, where you can't even get a decent cup of klava first thing in the morning. So who should turn up but Lady Teldra, the courtly servant of my old friend the Dragonlord Morrolan?

Teldra wants my help, because Morrolan and Aliera have disappeared, and according to Sethra Lavode, it looks like they may be in the hands of the Jenoine. Do I want to mess with them? The guys who made this place? And I thought I had problems before...

Oh well, what's a little cosmic battle with beings who control time and space? It's better than hunkering down in the woods without even so much as a drinkable cup of klava.

©2001 Steven Brust (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Missing section!

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

Definitely, but not this recording, because of the missing passage.

What does Bernard Setaro Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices are terrific.

Any additional comments?

There is a chunk missing in this recording, an important passage in chapter 9.

Vlad is back!

3.5 stars. Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.

“I miss the days when I used to be nostalgic.” ~Vlad Taltos

I’ve been slightly disappointed with the last few novels in Steven Brust’s VLAD TALTOS series, but with Issola, book 9, Brust returns to what I liked about the earlier books. While I admired Brust’s willingness to experiment with his world, his characters, and especially the narrative structure of his novels, I think he’s best when the overall plot is moving forward and Vlad is using his assassin skills to solve mysteries and help his powerful Dragonlord friends.

In Issola, we’re back to a present timeline. Vlad and Cawti are separated but Vlad is starting to recover from the funk he’s been in for quite a while now. He’s been run out of his organization and is hiding from them in the woods. Then Lady Teldra (an Issola who is servant to the Dragonlords Morollan and Aliera) shows up to tell him that Morollan and Aliera have disappeared and may have been kidnapped by extra-dimensional godlike beings called the Jenoine. Vlad isn’t sure what he can do to help, but he does have a weapon that might be useful, so he and Loiosh return to Castle Black to hunt for their friends. It’s good to be back in Castle Black which floats in the sky and has rooms that go to unknown places. It’s through one of these that Vlad must look for his friends.

In Issola we learn a lot more about Vlad’s world — who made it, how some of the magic and sorcery work, what the orb is made of and what it does, what the great weapons are for, how to make a great weapon (this was cool), more about Morollan and Aliera, what Sethra Levode’s role in the empire is, what Vlad’s magical chain can do, how his world is in danger from outside forces, etc. Some of this feels tacked on since it’s the first time (in nine books) that we’ve heard of it, but that didn’t bother me too much since these novels have a breezy feel to them. We also learn a lot about the Issola in this novel. Their nature is to be courteous and diplomatic, which gives Vlad a chance to meditate on the usefulness of these personality traits and to compare them to the more aggressive Dragons. (As a psychologist, I always enjoy this part of Vlad’s ruminations.)
As I said before, the best part about Issola is that Vlad is back to his witty sarcastic self, which is a welcome change after watching him brood for three novels. It’s amusing to listen to Vlad and Loiosh’s internal dialogue:

“I like to read about history, not make it.”
“You see, Boss? It’s because of attitudes like yours that there are so few human heroes.”
“And so many humans.”
“Heh.”

At the end of Issola, Vlad has a different outlook on life and his world has changed dramatically. I look forward to finding out what comes next in book 10, Dzur. By the way, I love Audible Studio’s versions of the VLAD TALTOS books. Bernard Setaro Clark is now THE voice of Vlad Taltos for me — I think he’s wonderful. Issola is 8.5 hours long on audio.

Awesome book, sucky narration

This was the first book I had read of Taltos series and I immediately fell in love with the series. This is the only series where I have read the novels again and again every time a new novel came, and I have read this particular novel so many times and I've enjoyed it every time and every time I found another nugget of information that I enjoyed, yup! Every time, every time except when I heard it on Audible.

I was excited to buy it and hear it, it couldn't have downloaded fast enough. But the narrator totally screwed this up. OH MY GOD! Horrible horrible marathon. The novel is so fast paced and narrator totally didn't get it. Sethra and Aliera, in fact all the women sound the same and they talk in such sonorous voice that you just fall asleep, which probably saved the narrator otherwise he should have been punched already by many people

Do buy the book, it's awesome. But I can't recommend buying it on audible until unless the narrator is changed

Great story, but..

This is one of my favorite books and I'd recommend it to anyone. The performance needs work, though. The line delivery feels utterly bored, and giving Loiosh a Mexican accent is...definitely a choice...

I don't want to be harsh, because I don't think it deserves harshness. These are problems that can be fixed in future installments. Unfortunately, this one is what it is.

Great book - audible is missing 4 pages

Chapter 9 suddenly cuts in a very obvious way midconversation with Loiosh to Lady Teldra - I checked the paperback and the audibook is missing 4 pages of fairly important dialog.

I love this book, it's one of my favourite in the series and the narration is spot on, but they seriously need to fix the problem with missing pages.

A delight for word nerds...

An excellent read, fun to visit multiple times. Steven Brust is a rare wit, and spins an at times laugh out loud yarn... it's hard to waite for the next installment.

Another Brust novel, another surprise

If you're new to the Vlad Taltos series - don't start here. If you're looking here for validation on purchasing the next in the series -- Well, let's be honest -- you're not real person. You're a hypothetical entity that only exsists to fill the checks and balances of a mathematical equation. You're a number that doesn't matter in any practical sense.
To all my friends who, like me, just found this series in 2019-- I, too, hold a unreasonable grudge against the fantasy and science fiction circles that failed to tell me about this Verra be d@mmed series earlier!! I mean, it's been out for around 40 years!
Brust has quickly become one of my authors. I very highly recommend anyone new to the series, pick up Jhereg (Book 1) and bring a friend so you can talk about it.
As an audiobook, Bernard Setaro Clark is the absolute PERFECT person to put a voice to this series. I listened to the audiobook first and found that when I read the physical copies (of course I've had to buy a couple of my Favorites), I find myself reading in his voice.
This is another time, I didn't think it could get any better but Brust continues to build and surprise, even as he jumps around the timeline. Take my 5 stars -- Take all the stars! I've given some more reserved criticism in previous books, but I'm done with that nonsense. Brust is too overlooked and underrated in my opinion to not give him and Bernard proper respect and remove the BS cynicism. I loved this book. I loved them all. I can't imagine that's going to change in the books ahead. So there you have it.

Clark was amazing in this one!

this was hands down Bernard Clark's best performance. amazing. killed it. my fav so far.

another great addition to the series

this is my favorite series and this one is just as good as the rest

wonderful book and ending

the book flew by! and what a twist at thw end!!! wonderful performance, loved everything about this book...probably my favorite next to jhereg

Absolutely Brilliant

One of Steven Brust's best in the Vlad Taltos series. Thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommended.i

Brilliant!

Very rewarding! Be words of few pages missing in chapter 9. Audible has been notified.