Where I Dig the Middle Book

The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the middle book in the trilogy that ends this 3-book (or 5-book, depending how you look at it) series. As a result, it starts at the beginning of the middle and ends at the end of the middle, but that's cool--it works. I'm enjoying this series from start to finish, and although it doesn't give me the closure i'm eager to get to, it moves the story along well, and does so with a lot of humor and entertaining action.

I'm Team D'Artagnan from way back, and that makes me, inevitably, Team Khaavren, too. So the cataclysm at the end of the book before this trilogy, leading to Khaavren's subsequent retirement--hiding, really--and giving up on life was hard to take. We see signs in the previous book of him coming around, and in this novel he follows after his son Piro, who left home on a quest some time before. He's meant to be active and energetic, so it's good to see that change in him.

Zerika returns with the Orb in this book, a key to re-establishing the empire of old, but setting herself up as Empress is still a hard path, with thousands of troops and various enemies between herself and her partisans and their goal, the capital city of Adrilankha. An additional conflict is the love between Piro and Ibronka, one unacceptable to either set of parents. Since this series is patterned on The Three Musketeers and the succeeding volumes, one can guess how that love affair will prosper (or not), but the author isn't being slavish to the original, so I guess we'll still see.

The quaint language and ironic tone of the series still cracks me up, even after 1500 pages or so, and I'm delighted that Brust has kept it going throughout. Passages like this:

"My dear friend, you seem agitated."
"Do I?"
"So it seems."
"Well, I confess I am disturbed."
"Tell me what troubles you, then, and perhaps together we will be able to ease your mind."
"Very well, I shall do as you suggest. This is it, then."
"I am listening."

So mannered and belabored. I actually LOL while I'm reading this, which I rarely do with any other books. Well played, sir.

I will shortly be on to the last book in the trilogy. Looking forward to it. Meanwhile, fans of fantasy, especially those who admire Dumas, should hurry up and find these, if they haven't already. Super fun.

Recommended.

View all my reviews