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herewiss13Just finished 'Sethra Lavode'. I won't say it wasn't a satisfying read, but somehow...less profound than I'd hoped. The narrative trailed off, rather like that of its predecessors, only this was the actual end of the story. And Sethra Lavode was _not_, in any way, the title character. Important, yes. But we still don't have a great deal of her POV. Still a nice read, of course.
The novel did, however, have one astonishing and bizzare redemptive feature. There is a short, and basically unrelated afterward dealing the Gods (and, for some reason, Paarfi's college days; though not at the same time). As you read it, the realization slowly sinks in that Brust (or whatever puppet author Brust is using) has written a scene in which the Gods are playing Texas Hold'em. That is to say: poker, seven card variety. Very, very blatantly. The fact that he calls it "Seven Card Jerehg" won't fool anybody.
In fact, it might very well have been the transcript from some divine WPT episode. He even mimics the nicknames for various poker terms (i.e. The Flop, Fourth Street, The River) which will be instantly clear to anyone who has watched the Travel Channel at any point during the last year
After twisting and skewing the typical fantasy novel for many years, I think Brust has finally pioneered an entirely new level of the surreal.
The novel did, however, have one astonishing and bizzare redemptive feature. There is a short, and basically unrelated afterward dealing the Gods (and, for some reason, Paarfi's college days; though not at the same time). As you read it, the realization slowly sinks in that Brust (or whatever puppet author Brust is using) has written a scene in which the Gods are playing Texas Hold'em. That is to say: poker, seven card variety. Very, very blatantly. The fact that he calls it "Seven Card Jerehg" won't fool anybody.
In fact, it might very well have been the transcript from some divine WPT episode. He even mimics the nicknames for various poker terms (i.e. The Flop, Fourth Street, The River) which will be instantly clear to anyone who has watched the Travel Channel at any point during the last year
After twisting and skewing the typical fantasy novel for many years, I think Brust has finally pioneered an entirely new level of the surreal.
