The conclusion of the trilogy that finally restores the Empire to its former order. Sethra Lavode, one of the mysterious powerful characters (and she's undead, but NOT a vampire) from the Vlad series takes an active hand, and we learn a lot more about her. Though, not really what 'undead' means in this world. Either way, its still a good concluding story. ( )

Decent, but not the best of Brust: I like Steven Brust, and I think he's arguably one of the best fantasy writers operating today. But _Sethra Lavode_, and the trilogy of which it is a part, are disappointing. The writing style is deliberately obtuse and ornate, and others have already commented on the allusions (both substantive and formalistic) to Alexandre Dumas. That's not the problem with the book.

The problem with the book is that it doesn't have sufficient focus to it. The book is titled "Sethra," but it isn't really about Sethra. Similarly, the preceding book titled "Lord of Castle Black" doesn't really focus on Lord Morrolan either, nor does the "V of A" trilogy focus on the Viscount of Adrilankha. I guess deliberate mis-titles may have been another facet of Brust trying to write in ornate obscurity, but I found it annoying.

Fans of Brust want to know more about Sethra and Morrolan, and most would have been happy for stories that focus more deeply on Khaavren, Pel, Aerich, and Tazendra. But we don't ever really get satisfaction with regard to following any of these characters. Instead, the story skips around among them without really letting us build new feelings for any one character. In sum, the plot works as a plot, but the narrative pretty much cuts the characters short.

If you're fan of Steven Brust, you will want to read this anyway, and even with its flaws, it's still better than most new fantasy novels. And of course, it does tell the story of an exciting historical period in Brust's universe. It is, perhaps, a backhanded compliment to the author to say that this is simply not his best work.

This is the 3rd book in the Viscount of Adrilankha trilogy, following The Paths of the Dead and The Lord of Castle Black. It's a trilogy the way the Lord of the Rings is a trilogy--it's one story, broken up into 3 volumes, and you really have to read them all to get the full effect.

So in Sethra Lavode, we get the conclusion of the war between Zerika's followers and the Pretender, and the resolution of the problems between Khaavren and his son Piro, who'd run off and become a highwayman, and basically tells us how Morrolan and Sethra Lavode and Sethra the Younger get to the point they're at when we first meet them in the Vlad Taltos series.

I won't rhapsodize about the writing style in this series here except to say that I absolutely love it. The point being that you have to love this style to enjoy the books, otherwise you'd hate it. ( )

This book helps connect the pieces between the two major Dragaeran casts: The Phoenix Guards crew, and Vlad era. Many of the gaps are filled in to make them one, unified story. ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/apr04.html#brustsl ( )