 Stephen Bruce's Vlad Taltys series has left an indelible mark on me as a human being. The short of it, Talmud is an exciting new addition to the perennial urban fantasy series Vlad Taltys. Vlad, owed money by a dead man, tries to get his 800 Imperials back. And things get infinitely more complicated than he signed up for. A captivating mystery of few murders, including Vlad's own, and a support cast to kill for. All of these brought to life by Stephen Bruce's witty and dynamic dialogue and characterisation. The Vlad Taltys series has failed at turning me into an assassin or a mob boss. And I can't even strut around with a purchase rifle in the House of Jerich. What it has done is shaped my sense of humour and my tendency towards quips that are too clever by far for my continued health. I read and reread these books religiously as a child, and there are quite a few of them. Fifteen published a date with today's title, Talmud, marking the 16th release. So really, that's 16. I read this review originally before release, but I've been so busy lately it's only coming out now, sorry about that, three more to go, anyway, until we reach the promised land and see the whole series come to its conclusion. Talmud is published 40 years after the first book, Jerich. However, it takes place before the events of Jerich. These are the golden years of Vlad portraying him as the grumpy, likeable crime boss working his territory, trying to get back the 800 he's owed by a dead man. 800 might not be a lot for anyone who's anyone in the Dragerian Empire, but it is a lot for Vlad. Besides, it's a matter of principle, and he's getting married soon, too. Can't well be a fiscally conscious marriage partner if you don't walk that extra mile to collect what you're owed by a dead guy, now can you? Little does Vlad realise everything gets real complicated real quick. Lucky for the reader, as every time Vlad's life turns miserable, he'll come calling out to his Percy of ridiculous and high-powered friends, more than Lord of Black Castle, his cousin Alira, whose fuse is as short as, well, she is. The necromancer, whose lack of social graces is equaled only by her knowledge of dead and bizarre things, and also the eldritch. The Telver, the kindest, most decorous Dragerian you'll ever meet, etc. Undead sorcerers, general of legend, and owner of a significant chunk of real estate. At today's Vlad's right-hand man, Kregar, and his murderous fiancé, Corti. And you've got a cast to kill for. This might be the most involved Corti's been in one of Vlad's novels in terms of sheer size, as newlyweds-to-be, the two are inseparable, Vlad's introduction of her is too funny. I met her on a warm, pleasant day, with a nice breeze flowing in from the ocean sea, when she killed me, nothing personal, she'd been paid, and I got better, then I, that is only permanent if you're unlucky, which makes it the opposite of marriage. As this is a prequel, we all know, readers and authors alike, where these characters are going and so it's a joy to see future character development seeded here, in small, subtle ways, a great nod to knowing fans, but also a hint, otherwise to come for anyone picking up a Vlad-Teltish novel for the first time. An example that caught my eye is the following passage. We passed a small group of Easterners in Tecla, marching and holding up signs, I didn't bother reading, I was going to make a remark about them, but the way Corti was looking at them made me change my mind. If you're familiar with Corti and Vlad's relationship, of course you know how well these three sentences forecast the series of arguments, accusations and recriminations that come to pass away into the series, at catastrophic personal cost and downright anguish. Small elements like these put in display Stephen Bruce's mastery, like little else does. One of the elements I've always loved about this series is, each novel reflects the makeup of the fantastical Dragerian house whose name it carries, each of the 18 houses signifies its own characteristics, and each member exhibits them in some way. For Thalmut, these are unpredictability and tenacity. Thalmut are, I quote, usually craftsmen of some kind, maybe merchants, they do the sorts of things anyone else would get tired of, but they have a reputation for finding different ways to do the same thing, which I guess keeps them from getting bored. Drager once told me a joke about Thalmut taking 20 years to get from little death gate to the hook, because he had to take every part to decide which one was best. Another way to look at them, I suppose, are those born in the house of Thalmut, that is, is as people capable of great perseverance, that like the traits of every other house in the series, plays a key part in unlocking the puzzle-brewst setup and peels away. One of the funniest elements to this one is, it's framed as a story of what it's telling, etc. At numerous points, he'll post his narrative of the events described and have conversations with her. The catch is, the reader never sees her responses, so we have a one-sided conversation and are forced to piece together whatever Cetrus is telling Vlad based on his responses. It's entertaining, most of the time, and the rest of it, well, is hilarious and might make you mouth foul-mounted words at an author who's merciless teasing demands as much. As in here, I quote, every time I was in the hallways of Castle Black, something different caught my eye. This time it was a sculpture of, off to the right, below the top of the stairway, that seemed to be two people joined together, one with arms raised, the other holding a two-handed sword facing in opposite directions. I decided I'd try to remember to ask Moralyn about it, of course, I forgot, maybe next time I see him. Huh? Really, Cetra? Then how did Moralyn end up with it? Oh, that's funny. Good story. You should be talking instead of me. No, no, I don't mind the interruptions. You see what I mean? Such a tease. I wish I could read to you every quote that made me grin, chuckle and cackle through salmots, but we don't want this video to drag on endlessly. Which it probably should, because this is a fantastic novel and one of my favorite fantasy works of the years so far. I could talk about it for days, but the point is, you should experience a Vlad Taltysh novel for yourselves. And this is a great place to start. You should read Salmat if, one, someone has owed you money and you've gone to extraordinary lengths to get it back, two, no, really, at some point it's just not worth it. But okay, I guess it. Three, you are looking for a how-to guide on prepping for married life. Four, you find a period of your life absent from memory, are looking for answers, have a cool moustache and an even cooler pet, and a named Vlad. And five, what's five again? I've reread the first 10-12 books in the Vlad Taltysh series, known as in four times. Tries, or Maureen Bulgarian, in a few years back in English for the very first time. If you're worried that this might be one of those cases where an author goes back to the golden years of a favorite character and writes them in such a way they read a little like a parody of themselves, don't be. I'm not naming names, but there are a few series like that out there. Bruce's work is instead nothing short of magisterial. Salma slots wonderfully between the earliest Taltysh novels, and I already cannot wait to reread it a few months from now, while sipping cocktails and taking over my own local crime area. Salma came out at the end of April with the next Vlad Taltysh... Was it Taltysh? Taltysh? Yes, yes, good God. With the next Vlad Taltysh book coming out, supposedly, in April 2024. If you can trust Wikipedia about that kind of thing, the plan, I'm going to try and write a little something about every single Gregorian book Bruce has written by the time the next one comes out. Or maybe by the time the one after that. You know, you can never tell with these things, they take a while. At any rate, my point is, you really should pick Salma's up. It's a phenomenal read. It's great fun, and it would serve as a wonderful introduction to one of the most colorful. And I don't even know how to begin to describe it. It is one of those worlds which simply... You lose yourself in it. And I love it. Genuinely I do. I have spent so much time in it, and I will spend many, many hours more lost in Bruce's words. You should too. Without a mind, I'll leave you to it. If you enjoyed this video, please share it with your friends. Like it, subscribe. And you know that whole hula-baloo. I have got a new camera. It's a Logic Ambrio. So it's not the best thing, but it makes things easier for me possibly than the previous one. I have a really nice... I'm not going to bore you with the details. Let's just say it's a work in progress. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully the video quality is not half bad. I'll see you next time. Bye!