I like a lot of Brust's stuff. I'm not fond of Dumas' style, but he even brought that off well - readably well - in several of his books. This was more like a cross between Spider Robinson's "Calahan's Cross Time Saloon" & the first (4th) Star Wars bar scene. It tried for comedy & fell flat for me. Most of it seemed pointless, but that's not too surprising. Humor is often difficult to write, especially for me. I didn't like Monty Python, either, so your mileage may vary. ( )

This was recommended to me by the only person whose literary recommendations I wholeheartedly trust (we just seem to like and dislike exactly the same stuff) - and I was taken aback when, reading it, I didn't find it that wonderful. It was light and a quick read - I felt that the characters could have had more depth. But when I got to the end, I found I'd completely changed my mind. ( )

Not my favorite of his - I prefer Vlad Taltos ("Jhereg", etc). However, to give credit where it's due, Steven Brust is one of only two authors that have ever floored me with a plot twist. (The other, BTW, was Diana Wynne Jones in "Archer's Goon".) ( )

so not worth my money

I had hopes of anything vaguely Douglas Adams, Spider Robinson, maybe even a little Philip K Dick, mixed in with a wee bit o' Terry Pratchett, but instead got some uninteresting characters in an interesting situation but never actually doing anything about or with it. I kept waiting. Hell, I waited through a dreary 142 pages without a bit of the ole space-faring nonsense I was lead to expect. Perhaps it picks up in the second half of the book, but I'll not wait around long enough to try to find out. Moving on. ( )

A colorful, imaginative tale with memorable characters and some plot twists I perhaps should have seen coming but didn't. Highly readable. ( )