At one time, many years ago, this was one of my favorite series. Then life got busy and I didn't like the last book as much and I left the series behind. I decided I wanted to give it one more chance.

I reread the first two books but realized I remembered the story enough to get on with it. I am glad I did. I liked this book a lot. I didn't love it but it had all the things I remember love about this series. Including a main character who is not always that likable. I will most certainly go onto the next book. ( )

I'm doing a re-read of all the novels in Steven Brust's Dragaeran Universe. This one so far is the most different of the books featuring Vlad Taltos. Written more of an actual fantasy novel, and in the point of view of a young Teckla, Sven, we see Vlad in a completely different light - a man of a different species, full of mystery and wonder, with an odd sense of honor that isn't quite trustworthy.

This is also the most heartbreaking of the novels. I'm not going to ruin the ending, but its the first book in this series where the horrors of the death and violence affected me personally. ( )

Vlad Taltos es muy bueno matando gente. Eso, combinado con dos fieles compañeros y un talento para la brujería, lo convierte en un asesino por excelencia. Pero últimamente su corazón no ha estado en su trabajo, así que decide retirarse. Desafortunadamente, los viejos enemigos tienen cuentas que saldar con Vlad. ¡Tanto para la jubilación!

I'm always tempted to skip this one when I read this series through. (I confess I do skip Tekla.) But I'm always glad that I read it when I finish it. The outside view of the conflicted Vlad is wonderful and is such a turning point. ( )

oh boy... I've enjoyed the first 5 books in the series quite a bit, but this one... pretty boring. At the 40% mark, I bumped the narration speed to 1.5x just to get the book finished before I pulled my (remaining) hair out.
So hopefully this was just an anomaly and that the rest of the books will be less dragging. ( )