Five Hundred Years After - Hardcover

Brust, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312851790 ISBN 13: 9780312851798

Publisher: Tor Books, 1994

Synopsis

Khaavren, Pel, Aerich, and Tazendra meet again after five hundred years, just as an uprising in Dragaera threatens the Imperial Orb and begins to change their world

About this title

Reviews

This sequel to Brust's The Phoenix Guard comes close to crossing the line into self-indulgence but is saved by ultimately becoming a rollicking good read. Initially, however, the narrative is buried in such a flow of periphrasis that the reader begins to suspect the dialogue is a metaphor for the Dragaeran Empire's decadence. The suspicion is belied, however, when even Khaavren--the supposedly terse guard captain, who with companions Pel, Aerich and Tazendra is a main protagonist--rambles on. The action accelerates when the Emperor Tortaalik I becomes more imperial and several characters fall in love with Aliera, daughter of Lord Adron (who has his eyes on Tortaalik's throne). The dialogue picks up to keep pace with mounting tension. The author's delight in his creation is ultimately contagious and there is certainly enough adventure to satisfy most readers. If these characters often seem more cautious and world-weary than they did in the first volume (excepting the delightful Tazendra), and the novel is occasionally trying, it is nevertheless a first-rank addition to Brust's works.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another of Brust's fantasy novels set in the Dragaeran Empire (the Vlad Taltos yarns, etc.), this takes place (per the title) 500 years after the events of The Phoenix Guards (1991). Whether imitation, pastiche, or tribute, Brust's swashbucklers are consciously modeled on the Dumas/Sabatini/Errol Flynn school of drama, and they come complete with irritatingly intrusive author, thudding bodies, waving swords, and a modicum of sorcery. The four Empire loyalist heroes of the previous book--Khaavren, Aerich, Tazendra, Pel--again take center stage, required to uncover and frustrate a plot to destroy the Orb of the Empire and thus overthrow the Emperor. While overlong and dense, Brust's yarns have many pleasing features, not least the snappy dialogue and the intriguing and well-thought-out scenario. Overall, more charming than annoying. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Intrigue in the emperor's palace and revolution in the streets of the underside drive Phoenix guard Khaavren and his longtime companions to action in defense of an empire that may be near the end of its cycle. Full of flamboyant action and arch dialog, this latest adventure in Brust's popular "Dragaeran" novels pits sword against sorcery in classic swashbuckling style. Deliberately reminiscent of the romantic adventures of Dumas, this lush tale of conspiracy, love, magic, and swordplay should enjoy a wide readership.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The sequel to The Phoenix Guards (1991) follows closely the model of Dumas' Twenty Years After; in fact, it helps to be familiar with Dumas's Musketeers to fully appreciate Brust's romance. Five centuries after the close of the earlier work--Phoenix Guards, that is--Brust's D'Artagnan, Khaavren, is still serving in the guards. Unfortunately, the emperor has begun to lose his grip and mortally insults Adron the Dragonlord. Add Adron's ambitious daughter and several other influences, magical and human, to that beginning, and you have a complex plot to which Brust does full justice. A versatile writer, Brust is not equally adept at all the stories he has tried to tell; but he is an indubitable master of swashbuckling high fantasy, and this book is an undoubted treat. Highly recommended, even for those who have not been following the saga of the Dragaeran Empire, of which the books about Khaavren are the second multivolume helping since 1984. Roland Green

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312851790
• ISBN 13: 9780312851798
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 443