The seventh book in Brust’s “Vlad Taltos” series has yet another twist on
the “unreliable narrator” idea. With the exception of Athyra
Vlad’s been narrating them, and there are tantalizing hints in one or two
of the books about his having to tell his story to a metal box. It’s not at
all clear just who the metal box belongs to, or why Vlad’s agreed to talk
to it; in particular, I don’t know whether the box is just a conceit to
explain how Brust got the story to begin with, or whether there’s
something deeper going on. (There are hints in Brust’s “Khaavren” books
that their “author”, Sir Paarfi of Roundwood, has had some kind of
dealings with Mr. Brust.)

But Orca does something completely different.
Orca picks up some time after Athyra; Vlad is
seeking help for a Teckla boy who was injured saving his life, and
he’s called upon his old friend Kiera the Thief to help him. And here’s
the trick: most of the book is narrated not by Vlad, but by Kiera. And
even the sections that Vlad narrates are apparently based on Kiera’s
remembrance of how he narrated them to her. Moreover, some
third-person interludes make it clear that she’s not relating the tale to
some old metal box, but rather to Vlad’s estranged wife, Cawti–although
apparently we the reader (whoever we are in the grand scheme of things)
are privy to certain bits of information Kiera’s not passing along to
Cawti.

That’s right–we’re hearing about Vlad’s experiences through not one but two levels of unreliable narration.

The plot in this particular volume is fairly pedestrian. A wisewoman
might be able to help Vlad’s young Teckla; in return, she wants to keep
her house, which has recently been foreclosed on. Vlad and Kiera
investigate, and find their way into a financial scandal that could rock
the Empire. Ho. Hum. But it’s a good read nevertheless, not least
because it’s the first time we get to see Vlad and Kiera interact for any
length of time, and because (as in Athyra) we get to see Vlad
through the eyes of another.

Oh, and there are Important Revelations. More than that I shall not say.