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A couple of specific Taltos things I wanted to comment on
First is a (not too spoilery) scene from Taltos, which I think is a lovely example of one of the reasons why I like these books so much.
So there's a part of Taltos where Vlad and a companion are traveling, and they encounter some cat-centaurs - which is a delightful idea, by the way. It's your basic random D&D encounter type of fantasy-quest event; they notice something approaching them at speed, which turns out to be a hunting party of centaurs with horse-sized cat bodies, armed with spears.
Primed by reading a lot of epic fantasy, I was expecting this to result in a fight.
Instead, the cat-centaurs are cautiously friendly, and after establishing a lack of hostile intentions on both sides, they're like, "Hey, we're going to catch something to eat, want to join us?" What follows is not merely friendly interaction, but adorable friendly interaction because of the way that the straight-laced leader of the cat-centaurs' bickering-bantering relationship with one of her subordinates reflects the kind of thing that Vlad currently has going on with his traveling companion.
So basically I went into that scene thinking it was going to be a random attack encounter, and instead it was funny and adorable, the cat-centaurs were just people with their own lives and relationships, and they all parted as friends.
It exemplifies this series' general philosophy of life in such a satisfying way.
The other thing is a particular exchange between two series regulars in Issola that made me laugh but is also a nice little summation of their friendship.
The context here is that they're trapped together and Vlad is clearly working on some kind of escape plan, but hasn't told anyone what it is.
POOR MORROLAN. xD It is also worth pointing out that he is, at this point in the book, chained to the wall of a dungeon, which makes his level of patience with Vlad's general Vlad-ness even more impressive.
Anyway, I love this because of its contrast with the repeated motif of Morrolan's "Shut up, Vlad" in Taltos whenever Vlad says anything sarcastic and irritating (which is every other thing he says, basically) -- how far they've come! -- and because it just sums up HOW MUCH Vlad's friends have to put up with and how much slack they give him for it. I adore Vlad as a character and as a (fictional) person, but I love that you get a sense from the books of both why his friends are so loyal to him, and also how incredibly irritating he is at times, between the nonstop barrage of sarcasm and the fact that he's constantly doing things without explaining to the people around him what his plans are, or giving them a straight answer when they ask. His relationship with the people he's close to is sort of like, "We know you're a sarcastic asshole, but you're our sarcastic asshole."
So there's a part of Taltos where Vlad and a companion are traveling, and they encounter some cat-centaurs - which is a delightful idea, by the way. It's your basic random D&D encounter type of fantasy-quest event; they notice something approaching them at speed, which turns out to be a hunting party of centaurs with horse-sized cat bodies, armed with spears.
Primed by reading a lot of epic fantasy, I was expecting this to result in a fight.
Instead, the cat-centaurs are cautiously friendly, and after establishing a lack of hostile intentions on both sides, they're like, "Hey, we're going to catch something to eat, want to join us?" What follows is not merely friendly interaction, but adorable friendly interaction because of the way that the straight-laced leader of the cat-centaurs' bickering-bantering relationship with one of her subordinates reflects the kind of thing that Vlad currently has going on with his traveling companion.
So basically I went into that scene thinking it was going to be a random attack encounter, and instead it was funny and adorable, the cat-centaurs were just people with their own lives and relationships, and they all parted as friends.
It exemplifies this series' general philosophy of life in such a satisfying way.
The other thing is a particular exchange between two series regulars in Issola that made me laugh but is also a nice little summation of their friendship.
The context here is that they're trapped together and Vlad is clearly working on some kind of escape plan, but hasn't told anyone what it is.
"What are you thinking, Vlad?" said Morrolan.
"I'm meditating on helplessness as a way of life, and captivity as an expression of artistic fulfillment."
"What are you thinking, Vlad?" he repeated patiently.
POOR MORROLAN. xD It is also worth pointing out that he is, at this point in the book, chained to the wall of a dungeon, which makes his level of patience with Vlad's general Vlad-ness even more impressive.
Anyway, I love this because of its contrast with the repeated motif of Morrolan's "Shut up, Vlad" in Taltos whenever Vlad says anything sarcastic and irritating (which is every other thing he says, basically) -- how far they've come! -- and because it just sums up HOW MUCH Vlad's friends have to put up with and how much slack they give him for it. I adore Vlad as a character and as a (fictional) person, but I love that you get a sense from the books of both why his friends are so loyal to him, and also how incredibly irritating he is at times, between the nonstop barrage of sarcasm and the fact that he's constantly doing things without explaining to the people around him what his plans are, or giving them a straight answer when they ask. His relationship with the people he's close to is sort of like, "We know you're a sarcastic asshole, but you're our sarcastic asshole."
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