Bøger af Steven Brust

The time is the Beginning. The place is Heaven. The story is the Revolt of the Angels--a war of magic, corruption and intrigue that could destroy the universe.Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.Originally published in 1984, Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell is a retelling of Satan's revolt against Heaven with much more sympathy for Lucifer and his allies. Heaven is threatened by the reemergence of a cataclysmic event, a wave of energy that can destroy life and result in the loss of many angels. In preparation for this Fourth Wave, the angel Yaweh consults the angel Satan. A plan to build Earth, a new and larger Heaven that would be equipped to withstand the disaster is constructed. Satan questions the plan because doing so will sacrifice the lives of other angels, much like the Fourth Wave itself threatens to do. Charged with convincing their fellow angels to lay down their lives, Satan has reservations about their right to ask for such a sacrifice. This doubt, and the questioning of ethics, opens the door for a devious figure to manipulate Satan, developing a heavenly war. This re-examination of Paradise Lost calls morality and villainy into question through the lens of epic fantasy is a prescient early classic with an enduring legacy and a formative text of the genre. With an introduction by the late, great Roger Zelazny, author of Lord of Light and Nine Princes in Amber.

Once, Vlad Taltos knew his trade: he killed people for a living. That skill got him his foothold in House Jhereg, running the rackets for a chunk of urban Adrilankha. Later, things happened that left Vlad a changed man, on the run from the Jhereg and frequently involved in the affairs of Dragonlords, Empresses, and even Jenoine. Far more involved than the average human.Meanwhile, in the very distant past, one of the gods fashioned an artifact-a silver figurine of a tiassa, a winged panther-like animal. To Devera the Wanderer, it's a pretty toy to play with. To Vlad, it's a handy prop for a con he's running. To the Empire, it's a tool to be used against the Jenoine. And to the Jhereg, it's a trap to kill Vlad.As it happens, however, the silver tiassa has its own agenda.Tiassa tells a story that threads its way through more than ten years of the remarkable life of Vlad Taltos-and, to the delight of longtime fans, brings him together with Khaavren, from The Phoenix Guards and its sequels. Khaavren may be Vlad's best friend-or his most terrible enemy.

All The World's A Happy Stage. Until the knives come out... Lyorn is the newest adventure in Steven Brust's bestselling Vlad Taltos seriesAnother Opening...Another Cataclysm?Vlad Taltos is on the run. Again. This time from one of the most powerful forces in his world, the Left Hand, who are intent on ending his very lucrative career. Permanently.He finds a hidey-hole in a theatre where the players are putting on a show that was banned centuries ago...and is trying to be shut down by the House that once literally killed to keep it from being played.Vlad will take on a number of roles to save his own skin. And the skins of those he loves.And along the way, he's might find a part that was tailor-made for him.One that he might not want...but was always his destiny.

Hold on to your hats and get ready for another swashbuckling adventure in Tsalmoth, set in Steven Brust's bestselling Vlad Taltos series!First comes love. Then comes marriage...Vlad Taltos is in love. With a former assassin who may just be better than he is at the Game. Women like this don't come along every day and no way is he passing up a sure bet.So a wedding is being planned. Along with a shady deal gone wrong and a dead man who owes Vlad money. Setting up the first and trying to deal with the second is bad enough. And then bigger powers decide that Vlad is the perfect patsy to shake the power structure of the kingdom.More's the pity that his soul is sent walkabout to do it.How might Vlad get his soul back and have any shot at a happy ending? Well, there's the tale...

This omnibus contains two of Brust's popular Vlad Taltos novels--"Dragon" and"Issola."

The first seven of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos novels have long been in print from Ace Books in a set of three trade paperback omnibuses. In Spring 2011, Tor put the next two Vlad books, Dragon and Issola, into print as a trade paperback entitled The Book of Dragon. Now we continue with the next two, collecting the New York Times-bestselling Dzur and Jhegaala into The Book of Dzur.In Dzur, Vlad is back in the great city of Adrilankha, with a price on his head. The rackets he used to run are now under the control of the mysterious "Left Hand of the Jhereg"-a cabal of women who report to no man. His ex-wife needs his help. His old enemies aren't sure whether they want to kill him, or talk to him and then kill him. A goddess appears to be playing tricks with his memory. And the Great Weapon he's carrying appears to have plans of its own....In Jhegaala, Vlad decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario, in a papermaking town called Burz. At first it's not such a bad place, though the mill reeks to high heaven. But the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. Then a grisly murder takes place. And in its wake, far from Dragaera, without his usual organization working for him, Vlad has to do his sleuthing amidst an alien people...his own.

Two hundred years ago, Adron's Disaster destroyed Dragaera City, killed the Emperor, and deprived the entire Dragaeran Empire of the ability to use sorcery. It's been a rough Interregnum. The children of the great adventurers Khaavren, Aerich, Tazendra, and Pel are growing up in a seemingly diminished world. Like their elders, they're convinced that the age of adventures is over, and that nothing interesting will ever happen to any of them. They are, of course, quite wrong....The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera:1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley [standalone]

House Jhereg, Dragaera's organized crime syndicate, is still hunting Vlad Taltos. There's a big price on his head on Draegara City. Then he hears disturbing news. Aliera-longtime friend, sometime ally-has been arrested by the Empire on a charge of practicing elder sorcery, a capital crime.It doesn't make sense. Everybody knows Aliera's been dabbling in elder sorcery for ages. Why is the Empire down on her now? Why aren't her powerful friends-Morrolan, Sethra, the Empress Zerika-coming to her rescue? And most to the point, why has she utterly refused to do anything about her own defense?It would be idiotic of Vlad to jump into this situation. He's a former Jhereg who betrayed the House. He's an Easterner-small, weak, short-lived. He's being searched for by the most remorseless killers in the world. Naturally, that's exactly why he's going to get completely involved...In Iorich, Steven Brust has crafted a complex and intriguing Vlad Taltos adventure.

Tsalmoth is the next installment in Steven Brust's bestselling Vlad Taltos series-hold on to your hats and get ready for another swashbuckling adventure!First comes love. Then comes marriage...Vlad Taltos is in love. With a former assassin who may just be better than he is at the Game. Women like this don't come along every day and no way is he passing up a sure bet.So a wedding is being planned. Along with a shady deal gone wrong and a dead man who owes Vlad money. Setting up the first and trying to deal with the second is bad enough. And then bigger powers decide that Vlad is the perfect patsy to shake the power structure of the kingdom.More's the pity that his soul is sent walkabout to do it.How might Vlad get his soul back and have any shot at a happy ending? Well, there's the tale...

Set in the same world as Stephen Brust's beloved Vlad Taltos books, The Phoenix Guards is a fantasy rewrite of The Three Musketeers-a swashbuckling tale of adventure.A thousand years before the birth of Vlad Taltos, the Dragaeran Empire is a hotbed of intrigue, sorcery, intrigue, wild adventure, and intrigue. For those who would be heroes, it is a delightful time to be alive-and an easy place to die.Khaavren of the House of Tiassa is a son of landless nobility, possessor of a good sword and "tolerably well-acquainted with its use." Along with three loyal friends, he enthusiastically seeks out danger and excitement. But in a realm renowned for repartee and betrayals, where power is as mutable as magic, a young man like Khaavren, newly come from the countryside, had best be wary. His life depends on it. And so does the future of Draegara.The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera:1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley [standalone]

Cigany is the gypsy, stalking the city in a cloud of magic.Stepovich is the seasoned cop, who keeps finding dead bodies in the gypsy's wake.The Fair Lady is Queen of the Underworld, drawing them both into her murderous web...until only the gypsy's broken memories stand between Stepovich's beloved city and the Lady's dark designs.Part crime novel, part magic, Steven Brust and Megan Lindholm's The Gypsy is "a powerful and memorable fantasy" (Publishers Weekly).

Steven Brust's first three novels featuring assassin Vlad Taltos and his jhereg companion were collected in one volume as The Book of Jhereg. The Book of Taltos continues the adventure with books four and five in the series-Taltos and Phoenix.Vlad Taltos is an assassin unlike no other. Not only is he quick with a sword, but he also possesses a gift for witchcraft conjuring. The latest addition to his already formidable arsenal is a leathery-winged jhereg who shares a telepathic link with Vlad-making him twice as deadly…The adventures chronicled in Taltos and Phoenix find Vlad accepting a job in the Land of the Dead, but a living human being cannot walk the paths of the dead and return, alive, to the land of men. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), the Demon Goddess is willing to rescue him-if Vlad is willing to grant her a favor in return…

The Book of Jhereg and The Book of Taltos collected the first five novels of Steven Brusts highly imaginative fantasy series that Locus praised as entertaining and worth reading. The Book of Athyra features books six and seven in the seriesAthyra and Orca.Vlad Taltos is a sorcerer and assassin without peeras deadly at spell casting as he is with sword wielding. Accompanying him on his journeys are two leathery-winged jhereg who share a telepathic link with Vladand triple his chances against even the most powerful of enemiesIn Athyra, Vlad finds hes ready to retire himself and his jhereg companions, but the biggest hitters of the House of the Jhereg have something else in mind. In Orca, Vlad must repay a debt to a boy who saved his lifeeven if it means breaking a financial scandal big enough to bring down the House of the Orca, and possibly the entire Empire

In which Vlad Taltos confronts the Left Hand of the Jhereg...and discovers the game has more players than he thoughtVlad Taltos, short-statured, short-lived human in an Empire of tall, long-lived Dragaerans, has always had to keep his wits about him. Long ago, he made a place for himself as a captain of the Jhereg, the noble house that runs the rackets in the great imperial city of Adrilankha. But love, revolution, betrayal, and revenge ensued, and for years now Vlad has been a man on the run, struggling to stay a step ahead of the Jhereg who would kill him without hesitation.Now Vlad's back in Adrilankha. The rackets he used to run are now under the control of the mysterious "Left Hand of the Jhereg"-a secretive cabal of women who report to no man. His ex-wife needs his help. His old enemies aren't sure whether they want to kill him, or talk to him and then kill him. A goddess may be playing tricks with his memory. And the Great Weapon he's carrying seems to have plans of its own...Picking up directly where Issola left off, Dzur gives us Vlad Taltos at his best-swashbuckling storytelling with a wry and gritty edge.

In which Vlad Taltos finds himself, much to his surprise, at the fateful Battle of Baritt's TombMarching through mud just isn't as much fun as they say.After years of surviving in Adrilankha by practicing the trade he knows best-killing people for a living-suddenly Vlad Taltos finds himself in the last place any self-respecting assassin wants to be: the army. Worse, he's right in the middle of a apocalyptic battle between two sorcerous armies, and everyone expects him to play a role they won't explain. All Vlad's got between him and the worst kind of death is his wits. Oh, and a smart-mouthed winged lizard...Dragon is Steven Brust at his best-a swashbuckling fantasy adventure.

This novel delves into Satan's rebellion, and includes an introduction by Roger Zelazny.

Stephen Brust continues the Khaavren Romances, his remix of Alexandre Dumas' d'Artagnan Romances, with Five Hundred Years Later, extending his a fantasy twist to the original The Three Musketeers sequel.The heroes of The Phoenix Guards are reunited a mere five centuries later...just in time for an uprising that threatens to destroy the Imperial Orb itself!This is the story of the conspiracy against the Empire that begins in the mean streets of the Underside and flourishes in the courtly politics of the Palace where Khaavren has loyally served in the Guards this past half-millennium.It is the tale of the Dragonlord Adron's overweening schemes, of his brilliant daughter Aliera, and of the eldritch Sethra Lavode.And it is the tale of four boon companions, of love, and of revenge...a tale from the history of Dragaera, of the events that changed the world.The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera:1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley [standalone]

On the south coast of England, London man-about-town James Cobham comes to himself in a country inn, with no idea how he got there. Corresponding with his brother, he discovers himself to have been presumed drowned in a boating accident. Together they decide that he should stay put for the moment, while they investigate what may have transpired.

Born over a century ago, Agyar was once a frivolous young man, before he found immortality in a woman's blood-red lips. Now he roams from woman to woman and decade to decade, finding himself at last in an Ohio college town, where he must choose between the seductions of salvation and of destruction.

Steven Brust's Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille is a time-traveling, science fiction thriller and a rollicking, fun read. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille serves the best matzoh ball soup in the Galaxy, and hires some of the best musicians you'll ever hear. It's a great place to visit, but it tends to move around-just one step ahead of whatever mysterious conspiracy is reducing whole worlds to radioactive ash. And Cowboy Feng's may be humanity's last hope for survival.

Once upon a time there was a kingdom that lived in darkness, for the sun, the moon and the stars were hidden in a box, and that box was hidden in a sow's belly, and that sow was hidden in a troll's cave, and that cave was hidden at the end of the world.Once upon a time there was a studio of artists who feared they were doomed to obscurity, for though they worked and they worked, no one was interested in the paintings that stood in racks along their studio walls.Steven Brust's fantasy novel The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars is a tale of two quests, of two young men who are reaching for the moon. And the sun. And the stars.

Years ago, Vlad Taltos came from the East, to make his way as a human amidst the impossibly tall, fantastically long-lived natives of the Dragaeran Empire. He joined the Jhereg, the Dragaeran House (of which there are seventeen) that handles the Empire's vices: gambling, rackets, organized crime. He became a professional assassin.