The Paths of the Dead: Book One of the Viscount of Adrilankha - Hardcover

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Two centuries after the event known as Adron's Disaster deprived the Dragaeran Empire of its emperor and its stability, the descendants of the Empire's greatest heroes set off on their own voyage of discovery, despite the fact that their diminished world contains little in the way of adventure. Their fortunes change when they encounter Zerika, a young woman who carries the lineage of the Phoenix within her and who provides the impetus for a revival of the old days of glory-provided she survives her journey along the Paths of the Dead. Continuing his swashbuckling epic fantasy (begun with The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After) with a new series and a new generation of heroes, Brust, with his arch humor and quasi-archaic narrative style, pays homage to Dumas, Zola, and other masters of swashbuckling adventure. A good choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In his latest chronicle of the Dragaeran Empire, Brust (Issola) conjures the spirit of Dumas (the subtitle evokes the Viscount trilogy that includes The Three Musketeers), though he less successfully captures the panache of those classic swashbucklers. The mock historic narrative follows Khaavren and other heroes from the author's earlier books (The Phoenix Guards; Five Hundred Years After; the Vlad Taltos series) and gives the origins of later ones in the course of the epic restoration of the Dragaeran Empire. Piro, son of Khaavren and heir to his father's role of protector of the Emperor, seeks to help a childhood friend achieve her destiny. With polished manners and courteous speech, he must maneuver his way amid a number of similarly equipped folk to escort his friend to the Paths of the Dead, entryway to the Halls of Judgment (where sit the gods), so that she may retrieve the Imperial Orb, linchpin of empire. After that, the real work begins. Brust strives hard to recreate Dumas's charm, including a mix of humorous and tragic elements, a romantic tone, intersecting plot lines, themes of vengeance and return, slightly effete nobles and somewhat clownish (if sensible) commoners. The author might have done better to ascribe comic verbal ticks to only a few characters. Also, since much of the character interaction depends on knowledge of previous books, casual readers will be occasionally puzzled.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This sequel to Five Hundred Years After (1994) continues Brust's exuberant, if somewhat sprawling, fantasy pastiche of Dumas. The survivors of the fall of the Dragearean Empire are limping along without magic or capital city or emperor. They retain their taste for plot, counterplot, and general skullduggery, though, and the descendants of adventurers in earlier books of the saga are up to their teeth in all those activities. The stakes mount higher when Zorika, a surviving Phoenix heir, turns up, and the possibility of recreating the empire becomes excitingly real. But a great many more swashes must be buckled before that resolution can arrive, and this book apparently launches a new trilogy. Readers unfamiliar with Dumas need not retreat to Brust's inspiration to enjoy this yarn, though those who have read The Phoenix Guards (1991) and Five Hundred Years After may enjoy it somewhat more. Still, Brust is incapable of writing a dull book, and most fantasy collections should add this un-dull volume. Roland Green
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