Moving on today to Athyra in the reread of Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. I dimly recall being very disappointed the first time I read this, discovering that not only had Brust abandoned first person narration, but that the POV character isn’t even Vlad. This time, of course, I was prepared for it, and was able to better appreciate what he was trying to do: broadening his world building, providing a different perspective, and allowing the reader to see Vlad Taltos from the viewpoint of a character unable to fit Vlad neatly into any familiar categories.
I suppose, looked at that way, Athyra is a success. It remains, however, a slog. After Vlad’s exploits in the city — the carefully planned assassinations, sword fights, sorcerous battles, and visits to the very gods themselves — reading about the doings of a rural peasant is less compelling.
Savn is a Teckla. He is apprenticed to the local physician, so does not have to spend all of his time in the fields. Brust spends a great deal of time painting a picture of village life, and establishing the society and hierarchy of an essentially feudal existence. A great deal of time. Savn befriends Vlad. Eventually a bit of action enlivens the narrative. An attempt on Vlad’s life leads to his severe injury. Savn takes him to a cavern complex and, over the course of a few chapters, saves his life. Near the end, Vlad explains what is happening, which, naturally, involves his prior existence with the Jhereg, and two of his former enemies conspiring to kill him. Savn overcomes his engrained Teckla timidity and his heroics are essential in Vlad defeating his enemies. The end.
Athyra is a short story stretched to novel length. Brust apparently wanted a forum to wax philosophical, discussing epistemology and other related subjects. That’s fine. But I could have used a few more sword fights. I certainly don’t object to characters examining the universe, themselves, and the nature of reality. In fact, I rather prefer it. But if the philosophical conversations constitute the balance of the narrative, I’d rather just reread the Socratic dialogues.
Perhaps Brust was bored and wanted to experiment. I completely understand that and can sympathize. I just wish the experiment had contained a trifle more action. Still, Athyra was…fine. It’s not a bad book, and there is much to praise in it as a piece of writing. So there’s a degree of “it’s not you, it’s me” in my reaction to the book.
Moving along to the requisite self-promotion portion of the post. Recently a couple of interviews with me have been posted online. If you can handle the sound of my voice, go ahead and check them out, here and here.
