[Dragaera] Your Favorite Vlad Books

[Marco Emerson]

I think Teckla is his best work to date by far.  It is a cold, painful,
unforgiving read that leaves a lasting impression on you.  I loved the other
books because they were fun, but I'm not sure any of them had permanent
effects.  Teckla also provides the most back-story (albeit not as in
depth) of the Empire.  Jhereg was a broad stroke, trying to explain so many
things at once that it couldn't give you that solid feel for how life works
there.  It is hard to remember, but think about the *first* time you read
Jhereg, and the questions you had...  I think Yendi was a great book in
terms of providing the back story of the Organization, but it didn't
give SKZB the room to build world we analyze with so much scrutiny.  Also,
Teckla was a complete directional change.  As soon as we got comfortable
with our Super Assassin and his League of Heroes, SKZB tears him down.  I
was expecting a series of high stake, high powered espionage, but instead I
got a series of introspective analysis, with a side of political and social
commentary.  That's just my two...but what do I know?