Steven Brust

Shadows and Reflections is the Roger Zelazny tribute anthology you've been waiting for. Here are stories that are not just inspired by Roger Zelazny, but stories set in universes created by Roger Zelazny. Finding Shadows and Reflections is like discovering a new Zelazny collection full of old friends that you thought you'd never see again. You'll find stories set in many of your favorite universes: Lord of Light, Isle of the Dead, Madwand, Creatures of Light and Darkness, and Jack of Shadows, to name only a few. George R. R. Martin introduces the anthology, and Roger's daughter, Shannon Zelazny, provides an afterword. Both provide insight into the wonderful and complex man that Roger Zelazny was. Contributors include Steven Brust, Steve Perry, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Kelly McCullough, Jane Lindskold, Shariann Lewitt, and many others. Also included as a special treat is a very rare Roger Zelazny story. This anthology was edited by his son Trent Zelazny, a Nightmare Award winner, and Warren Lapine, who has been nominated for both the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. You will not soon forget this outstanding anthology.

Another Opening…Another Cataclysm? Vlad Taltos is on the run. Again. This time from one of the most powerful forces in his world, the Left Hand, who are intent on ending his very lucrative career. Permanently. He finds a hidey-hole in a theatre where the players are putting on a show that was banned centuries ago…and is trying to be shut down by the House that once literally killed to keep it from being played. Vlad will take on a number of roles to save his own skin. And the skins of those he loves. And along the way, he might find a part that was tailor-made for him. One that he might not want…but was always his destiny.

Originally published in 1984, Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell is a retelling of Satan's revolt against Heaven with much more sympathy for Lucifer and his allies. Heaven is threatened by the reemergence of a cataclysmic event, a wave of energy that can destroy life and result in the loss of many angels. In preparation for this Fourth Wave, the angel Yaweh consults the angel Satan. A plan to build Earth, a new and larger Heaven that would be equipped to withstand the disaster is constructed. Satan questions the plan because doing so will sacrifice the lives of other angels, much like the Fourth Wave itself threatens to do. Charged with convincing their fellow angels to lay down their lives, Satan has reservations about their right to ask for such a sacrifice. This doubt, and the questioning of ethics, opens the door for a devious figure to manipulate Satan, developing a heavenly war. This re-examination of Paradise Lost calls morality and villainy into question through the lens of epic fantasy is a prescient early classic with an enduring legacy and a formative text of the genre. With an introduction by the late, great Roger Zelazny, author of Lord of Light and Nine Princes in Amber.

Another Opening…Another Cataclysm? Vlad Taltos is on the run. Again. This time from one of the most powerful forces in his world, the Left Hand, who are intent on ending his very lucrative career. Permanently. He finds a hidey-hole in a theatre where the players are putting on a show that was banned centuries ago…and is trying to be shut down by the House that once literally killed to keep it from being played. Vlad will take on a number of roles to save his own skin. And the skins of those he loves. And along the way, he might find a part that was tailor-made for him. One that he might not want…but was always his destiny.

Vlad Taltos is in love. With a former assassin who may just be better than he is at the Game. Women like this don’t come along every day and no way is he passing up a sure bet. So a wedding is being planned. Along with a shady deal gone wrong and a dead man who owes Vlad money. Setting up the first and trying to deal with the second is bad enough. And then bigger powers decide that Vlad is the perfect patsy to shake the power structure of the kingdom. More's the pity that his soul is sent walkabout to do it. How might Vlad get his soul back and have any shot at a happy ending? Well, there’s the tale…

First comes love. Then comes marriage… Vlad Taltos is in love. With a former assassin who may just be better than he is at the Game. Women like this don’t come along every day and no way is he passing up a sure bet. So a wedding is being planned. Along with a shady deal gone wrong and a dead man who owes Vlad money. Setting up the first and trying to deal with the second is bad enough. And then bigger powers decide that Vlad is the perfect patsy to shake the power structure of the kingdom. More's the pity that his soul is sent walkabout to do it. How might Vlad get his soul back and have any shot at a happy ending? Well, there’s the tale…

From the vaults of Dragaeran history and the mind of master fantasist Steven Brust--a tale of betrayal and vengeance that is not at all a retelling of The Count of Monte CristoReader, you will undoubtedly have had the misfortune of consuming the rotten fruit of fallacies that we--Paarfi of Roundwood (esteemed historian of House of Hawk and exquisite artisan of truths)--"borrow" our factual recount of Dragaeran history from some obscure fellow who goes by the name Al Dumas or some silly nomenclature of that nature. The salacious claims that The Baron of Magister Valley bears any resemblance to a certain nearly fictional narrative about an infamous count are unfounded (we do not dabble in tall tales. The occasional moderately stretched? Yes. But never tall). Our tale is that of a nobleman who is betrayed by those he trusted, and subsequently imprisoned. After centuries of confinement, he contrives to escape and prepares to avenge himself against his betrayers. A mirror image of The Count of Monte Cristo, vitriolic naysayers still grouse? Well, that is nearly and utterly false. Also by Paarfi of Roundwood: The Khaavren Romances1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha I)4. The Lorde of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha II)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha III)

Meanwhile, for years, Vlad’s path has been repeatedly crossed by Devera, a small Dragaeran girl of indeterminate powers who turns up at the oddest moments in his life. Now Devera has appeared again - to lead Vlad into a mysterious, seemingly empty manor overlooking the Great Sea. Inside this structure are corridors that double back on themselves, rooms that look out over other worlds, and - just maybe - answers to some of Vlad’s long-asked questions about his world and his place in it. If only Devera can be persuaded to stop disappearing in the middle of his conversations with her... Full of swordplay, peril, and swashbuckling flair, Vallista is a treat for longtime fans of this popular fantasy series, a deep dive into the mysteries of Dragaera and all within it.

Years ago, Vlad Taltos came from the East to make his way as a human amidst the impossibly tall, fantastically long lived natives of the Dragaeran Empire. He joined the Jhereg, one of the seventeen Dragaeran Houses that handles the Empire's vices: gambling, rackets, organized crime. He became a professional assassin. He was good at it. But that was then, before Vlad and the Jhereg became mortal enemies. For years, Vlad has run from one end of the Empire to the other, avoiding the Jhereg assassins who pursue him. Now, finally, he's back in the imperial capital where his family and friends are. He means to stay there this time. Whatever happens. And whatever it takes.

Sethra Lavode is the sequel to The Paths of the Dead and The Lord of Castle Black, and the culmination of the bestselling epic begun with The Phoenix Guards. The oldest person in the Dragaeran Empire. A military genius and master of sorcery whose story stretches back to before the dawn of history. Now, after a long absence, the undead Sethra Lavode, the Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, has reentered the Empire's affairs. And the affairs of Khaavren and Pel, Tazendra and Aerich, and all their descendants, colleagues, and friends. For since Adron's Disaster, when Dragaera City was turned instantly into a sea of amorphia, the Empire has been in ruins. Trade has declined, brigands rule the roads, plagues sweep through the population. Now an ambitious Dragonlord means to rebuild the Empire in his own name. But unknown to him, the true heir, the Phoenix Zerika, has already retrieved the Imperial Orb from the Paths of the Dead. Sethra Lavode means to see Zerika on the throne. To do so will entail a climactic battle of sorcery and arms, told with all the swashbuckling flair for which Steven Brust is known. The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera: 1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley standalone]

Journeys Intrigues Sword fights Young persons having adventures Beloved older characters having adventures too Quests Battles Romance Snappy dialogue Extravagant food And the missing heir to the Imperial Throne It's an old-fashioned adventure--moving at a twenty-first-century pace. The Interregnum is over. To everyone's astonishment, Zerika, a very young Phoenix, has coolly emerged from the Paths of the Dead, carrying with her the Orb, which everyone had thought was lost in Adron's Disaster. The Orb is the heart of the Dragaeran Empire, the source of all its magic--and the infallible sign that Zerika is the new Empress. But not everyone is happy to hear the news. It's been 250 years since Adron's Disaster, and power vacuums never stay vacuums for long.... The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera: 1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley standalone]

Two hundred years ago, Adron's Disaster destroyed Dragaera City, killed the Emperor, and deprived the entire Dragaeran Empire of the ability to use sorcery. It's been a rough Interregnum. The children of the great adventurers Khaavren, Aerich, Tazendra, and Pel are growing up in a seemingly diminished world. Like their elders, they're convinced that the age of adventures is over, and that nothing interesting will ever happen to any of them. They are, of course, quite wrong.... The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera: 1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley standalone]

The first seven of "Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos" novels have long been in print from Ace Books in a set of three trade paperback omnibuses. Now Tor, publisher of the series from book eight on, continues the series of omnibuses by putting Dragon and Issola into print in that format. In "Dragon", Vlad finds himself in the last place any self-respecting assassin wants to be: the army. Worse, he's in the middle of an apocalyptic battle between two sorcerous armies, and everyone expects him to perform a role that they won't explain. Vlad may kill people for a living, but this is ridiculous. All he's got to rely on are his wits...and a smart-mouthed winged lizard. In "Issola", Vlad's aristocratic friends Morrolan and Aliera have disappeared, and according to the eldritch (but affable) Sethra Lavode, they may be in the hands of the Jenoine - the mysterious beings who made the world of the Dragaera Empire and its surroundings, and who may have come from somewhere else. Oh, well, what's life without the occasional cosmic battle with beings who control time and space?

House Jhereg, Dragaera's organized crime syndicate, is still hunting Vlad Taltos. There's a big price on his head in Draegara City. Then he hears disturbing news. Aliera - long-time friend, sometime ally - has been arrested by the Empire on a charge of practicing elder sorcery, a capital crime. It doesn't make sense. Everybody knows Aliera's been dabbling in elder sorcery for ages. Why is the Empire down on her now? Why aren't her powerful friends - Morrolan, Sethra, the Empress Zerika - coming to her rescue? And most to the point, why has she refused to do anything about her own defence? It would be idiotic of Vlad to jump into this situation. He's a former Jhereg who betrayed his House. He's an Easterner - small, weak, short-lived. He's being searched for by the most remorseless killers in the world. Naturally, that's exactly why he's going to get completely involved...

In which our heroes are reunited a mere five centuries later just in time for an uprising that threatens to destroy the Imperial Orb itself This is the story of the conspiracy against the Empire that begins in the mean streets of the Underside and flourishes in the courtly politics of the Palace where Khaavren has loyally served in the Guards this past half-millennium.It is the tale of the Dragonlord Adron's overweening schemes, of his brilliant daughter Aliera, and of the eldritch Sethra Lavode.And it is the tale of four boon companions, of love, and of revenge a tale from the history of Dragaera, of the events that changed the world.This action-packed fantasy epic continues the story of The Phoenix Guards, from bestselling author Steven Brust."

Set in the same world as Stephen Brust's beloved Vlad Taltos books, The Phoenix Guards is a fantasy rewrite of The Three Musketeers--a swashbuckling tale of adventure. A thousand years before the birth of Vlad Taltos, the Dragaeran Empire is a hotbed of intrigue, sorcery, intrigue, wild adventure, and intrigue. For those who would be heroes, it is a delightful time to be alive--and an easy place to die. Khaavren of the House of Tiassa is a son of landless nobility, possessor of a good sword and "tolerably well-acquainted with its use." Along with three loyal friends, he enthusiastically seeks out danger and excitement. But in a realm renowned for repartee and betrayals, where power is as mutable as magic, a young man like Khaavren, newly come from the countryside, had best be wary. His life depends on it. And so does the future of Draegara. The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera: 1. The Phoenix Guards2. Five Hundred Years After3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1)4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2)5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3)The Baron of Magister Valley standalone]

In which Vlad Taltos confronts the Left Hand of the Jhereg...and discovers the game has more players than he thought...Vlad Taltos, a short-statured, short-lived human in an Empire of tall, long-lived Dragaerans, has always had to keep his wits about him. Long ago, he made a place for himself as a captain of the Jhereg, the noble house that runs the rackets in the great imperial city of Adrilankha. But love, revolution, betrayal, and revenge ensued, and for years now Vlad has been a man on the run, struggling to stay a step ahead of the Jhereg who would kill him without hesitation.Now Vlad's back in Adrilankha. The rackets he used to run are now under the control of the mysterious "Left Hand of the Jhereg"--a secretive cabal of women who report to no man. His ex-wife needs his help. His old enemies aren't sure whether they want to kill him, or talk to him and then kill him. A goddess may be playing tricks with his memory. And the Great Weapon he's carrying seems to have plans of its own...Picking up directly where Issola left off, Dzur is Steven Brust at his best--swashbuckling storytelling with a wry and gritty edge.

From bestselling fantasy author Steven Brust comes this paranormal novel of immortality and its price...Born over a century ago, Agyar was once a frivolous young man, before he found unwanted immortality in a woman's blood-red lips. Now he goes from woman to woman, and decade to decade, finding himself at last in an Midwestern college town, where he must choose between the seductions of salvation and of destruction."

A traveling space bar and grill, reputed to be the site of the best matzo-ball soup and musicians in the galaxy, becomes humanity's last hope for survival in the wake of a mysterious conspiracy that threatens to reduce all inhabited worlds to radioactive ash. 25,000 first printing.