About the Author

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in a family of Hungarian labor organizers, Steven Brust worked as a musician and a computer programmer before coming to prominence as a writer in 1983 with "Jhereg," the first of his novels about Vlad Taltos, a human professional assassin in a world dominated by long-lived, magically-empowered human-like "Dragaerans."
Over the next several years, several more "Taltos" novels followed, interspersed with other work, including "To Reign in Hell," a fantasy re-working of Milton's war in Heaven; "The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars," a contemporary fantasy based on Hungarian folktales; and a science fiction novel, "Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille." The most recent "Taltos" novels are "Dragon" and" Issola." In 1991, with "The Phoenix Guards," Brust began another series, set a thousand years earlier than the Taltos books; its sequels are "Five Hundred Years After" and the three volumes of "The Viscount of Adrilankha": "The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, "and" Sethra Lavode."
While writing, Brust has continued to work as a musician, playing drums for the legendary band Cats Laughing and recording an album of his own work, A Rose for Iconoclastes. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he pursues an ongoing interest in stochastics.

Reviews

"A rollicking good read....A first-rank addition to Brust's works!"--"Publishers Weekly"
"Steven Brust might just be America's best fantasy writer!"--Tad Williams, N"ew York Times "bestselling author if T"o Green Angel Tower"
"Brust is an indubitable master of swashbuckling high fantasy...Highly recommended, even for those who have not been following the saga of the Dragaeran Empire."--"Booklist"

This sequel to Brust's The Phoenix Guard comes close to crossing the line into self-indulgence but is saved by ultimately becoming a rollicking good read. Initially, however, the narrative is buried in such a flow of periphrasis that the reader begins to suspect the dialogue is a metaphor for the Dragaeran Empire's decadence. The suspicion is belied, however, when even Khaavren--the supposedly terse guard captain, who with companions Pel, Aerich and Tazendra is a main protagonist--rambles on. The action accelerates when the Emperor Tortaalik I becomes more imperial and several characters fall in love with Aliera, daughter of Lord Adron (who has his eyes on Tortaalik's throne). The dialogue picks up to keep pace with mounting tension. The author's delight in his creation is ultimately contagious and there is certainly enough adventure to satisfy most readers. If these characters often seem more cautious and world-weary than they did in the first volume (excepting the delightful Tazendra), and the novel is occasionally trying, it is nevertheless a first-rank addition to Brust's works. (Apr.)