It took me several tries to get past the first 100 pages of this book. I
picked it up thinking it was similar to the Vlad Taltos series and got mired
down in the language and details of the story. Will gave me words of
encouragement so I went back to it and started over, mentally shunting aside
any thoughts about Vlad and enjoying it for what it is on it’s own.

On it’s own, it’s really good. One of the first things I noticed is that
Brust has total control over his narrator. The book operates on two levels.
There is the general story of Khaavren and his fellow Guardsmen and the
intrigues of the Court and the Empire. There is also the story that the
narrator, Sir Paarfi of Roundwood, is telling. The narrator’s voice is as
much a character in the story as the actual participants in the events that
he is telling about.

Brust is writing a blatant ripoff of the style and some of the plot elements
in Alexander Dumas‘ Three Musketeer books. (Click the link, if you aren’t
familiar with them.) The best known is The Three Musketeers but Dumas went
on to continue the story in 4 more volumes, three of which are actually
subdivisions of one book. So, like Dumas’ books, this book is a historical
romance, a swashbuckling tale of sword fighting and dueling with a love
interest and court intrigues. It’s wordy and has long, complex sentences and
takes forever to get to the point. And that is what is so fun about it.

One suggestion I would make to any reader coming to this series after
reading the Vlad Taltos series is to read the Author’s preface and the two
About the Author sections at the end before beginning the book proper. It
will clue you into the narrator’s voice and how it relates to the action of
the story.