So, what to say about Steven Brust’s Sethra Lavode, the final volume of his Paarfi novels? Nothing coherent, I’m afraid, so here’s a bulleted list of thoughtlets:
- Going in, I was afraid I’d be tired of Paarfi’s voice by now — it’s a bit affected, and we’ve had it for four books already, after all — but no. I still love it, and am slightly saddened that there won’t be more Paarfi book. (But only slightly; better to want more than to wish there had been fewer.)
- I can’t help noticing how cosmological the Dragaera books have gotten recently. Issola is obviously the most noticeable example, but the three Viscount of Adrilankha books are far more metaphysical and high-powered than The Phoenix Guards. This book has bits about the gods, about the Jenoine, and about the Orb.
- Who wrote the afterword on this one? The name didn’t seem obvious, and I haven’t seen anyone say straight-out who it was…
So, yeah, good book, basically on the same level as the previous books in the series. If you’ve read those and liked them, you’ll read this and like it, too.
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