Steven Brust has written one of my top 5 book series, and I’ve been enjoying his books for over 20 years. I believe he has written just shy of 30 books, but most of them are set in his fantastic world of Dragaera, and most of them follow the first person narrative of Vlad Taltos, assassin, mobster, investigator, sorcerer, cool cat and funny guy.
One of my favourite parts of the Taltos books, apart from the witty repartee between Vlad and his flying lizard familiar; is the City of Adrilankha in which the majority of the books are set. Brust brings the city alive with 17 Houses or factions, each with their own strengths and following their own objectives. There are turf wars between rival “gangs”, fights aplenty, female wizards, and magic for hire. It’s a city with an atmosphere to rival Leiber’s Lankhmar. Brust confesses influence from Dumas, Leiber and Chandler, and his writing style, (especially the dialog) is fun to read and in places downright hilarious. Great urban fantasy.
Outside of his Dragaera novels, my favourite is Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille, a delightful yarn about a bar and its patrons that just can't stay in one place.
Here’s a list of interviews with Steven Brust (@StevenBrust). It certainly doesn’t sound like he is a boring interviewee, and is definitely on the far side of the eccentric line, but that’s not a bad thing. No, not all. Please put down that Morganti blade, Mr. Brust!
Here’s some other interesting links to check out, especially the first one: