Hot take: Steven Brust deserves more love from this subreddit

So, this spring I was doing my semi-yearly reread of the D’Artagnan Romances, as one does. Personally, I love Twenty Years After the most, but that’s neither here nor there. I was reading the Wikipedia page for them (as one does) and in the adaptation section it mentioned that a fantasy author named Steven Brust had used all the Dumas books for inspiration of several of his own novels. I had never heard of Steven Brust before, which was a little surprising, since he’s been writing for forty years. The library didn’t have the books actually based on the D’Artagnan Romances, so I grabbed the first Vlad Taltos book while I waited for them to arrive.

And y’all. I was hooked. The first three Taltos novels went down like the smoothest bourbon or maybe more like a really great fajita taco. lol. So well packaged, so fun, and so imminently absorbable. I was immediately shocked that these three books had been written in the eighties. There was so much in them that seemed like they should have been made in the 2010s. Loiosh may be the best familiar in the history of familiars. And Sethra Lavode is one of the more fascinating magical powerhouses that does very little with it. Morrolan and Aliera’s annoying sibling vibe regularly cracked me up especially because they both keep threatening each other with soul killing swords. The writing style was accessible, there was wit and humor that seemed very current, the gangster style plots reminded me so much of the Green Bone Saga that I still find it hard to believe that Brust wasn’t an influence.

Then I devoured the rest of Brust’s entire bibliography. All seventeen Vlad Taltos books, the three D’Artagnan inspired Khaavren Romances, and even the Count of Monte Cristo homage, The Baron of Magister Valley. His talent for mimicking and mocking Alexandre Dumas had me cackling and the “author’s” arrogant and insufferable asides were absolutely delightful in universe touches. The stories rhymed with Dumas’ works, but were different enough that I didn’t feel bored and in fact, I appreciated most of the ways his work different from the older tales.

I am amazed that Brust is not bigger than he is in general, and specifically on this subreddit. There is so much about his work that seems like it would be a slam dunk for the readers here. He has a real voice for his narratives but also is great at showing growth for his characters over time. His world building is great, with multiple competing magic systems, multiple planes of existence, and a larger plot that only gets revealed in bits and pieces. This sub regularly throws up Wheel of Time, Brando Sando, and a host of others, and I am a little amazed that Brust is almost never added to that list.

There are seventeen books in the main series, but Brust wrote each book to be a stand alone as well. Recommended for those who enjoyed Green Bone Saga, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or similar quippy stories), Murderbot Diaries, Lies of Locke Lamora, or Cosmere. Great crime stories, character development, and world building. They are easily accessible, solid plots and action, and characters that feel like they belong in the world he has created.