Steven Brust

I was going to write a letter to Steven Brust to tell him this story, but it's important to me personally, so I'll just blog about it and then send him the link. If he has the time or inclination, he can check it out. If that sounds self-serving, perhaps it is. But seeing as this blog is some kind of a journal for me as well as a place to rant while drunk, I kind of like the idea of recording this missive here...

Steven Brust is hands-down, the most important author in my life. I was almost going to use the word influential, but I'm not sure that's accurate. Influential hints at something that in some way has caused my life to change. Whilst Brust's books have certainly given me a lot of pleasure, other than forcing my hand at the bookstore (because when a new one comes out I simply must have it, particularly if it's a Taltos book), I can't say that his prose has been life-changing. Then again, when one can indulge in a bit of escapism, particularly the satirical wit and convoluted plot-making that Vlad Taltos indulges in from time to time, the reset button that allows one to hit sometimes probably does have a positive influence.

If you're interested in Brust's work, or his rants and observations on the world, check out his website.

Dream Cafe

This site has been around for years, and evolved with the net, particularly in terms of blog sophistication. It used to be pretty simple, but is now a great site, with plenty of content, and it would appear, a pretty easy way to get in touch with the man himself.

My Brust journey began way back in 1992, when I was in my second year at university in Melbourne. As is the case with many uni students, I was a pauper in those days. Barely enough income to put a roof over my head, put my body in a train most days, and a few packets of instant noodles in my gut. Once in a while I'd be able to throw a carton of beer into the mix, but then I'd have to starve for a few days. Such was life back then.

Anyway, due to my financial situation, I almost exclusively shopped for books in Melbourne's many second-hand bookstores. Second hand stores, particularly back then, were amazing places to visit. Musty old books lined huge shelves from floor to ceiling, with many stacks piled up in corners. These days the fun police would probably quote some fire hazard law and force the store owners to tidy things up a bit. This really retracts from the atmosphere in a good second-hand bookstore, as finding a decent read amongst the piles of haphazardly arranged tomes is an adventure in itself.

So I was in one of these stores one day, looking for something new. And I came across this:

 

I was thrilled with this book. I still have it today, and it's even more dog-eared than it was the day I bought it. It's actually an omnibus of Brust's first three Vlad Taltos books, although for some unknown reason, instead of being in the sequential order 1,2,3, it goes 2,1,3. There is probably a literary reason for this, or maybe just a cock-up?

Footnote: Not sure why that suddenly became underlined, I certainly never changed the formatting. My lack of technical blogging skills perhaps, which would also explain why I can't fucking get this paragraph to not be blue and am now re-writing it. Still, I guess it draws attention to itself, so perhaps that's not a bad thing. But I digress - the real reason for this footnote is that this post should have happened a year or more ago, but I could simply not find reference to the above omnibus, at least not with this picture on the front cover! I was thrilled today to find it finally, having done another search on a whim. So there you are!

So thus began my Brust journey. I have enjoyed all his books so far, but particularly the Taltos series. The Phoenix Guards series and Freedom & Necessity also get very honourable mentions. As do all of them really, he really has tried his hand at a wide variety of genres. But as for Taltos, if you enjoy a bit of fantasy, with plenty of humour and sarcasm thrown in, all set in a fascinating world, then please, give him a go. You won't regret it.

Shut-up Loiosh.