Steven Brust
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Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He was a member of the writers' group The Scribblies, which included Emma Bull, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, Nate Bucklin, Kara Dalkey, and Patricia Wrede, and also belongs to the Pre-Joycean Fellowship.
He is best known for his novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos. His novels have been translated into German, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Czech, French, Spanish and Hebrew, as of 2006. Agyar has two different French translations. Most of his short stories are set in shared universes. These include Emma Bull's and Will Shetterley's Liavek, Robert Asprin's Thieves' World, Neil Gaiman's Sandman and Terri Windling's Borderland Series.
On December 12, 2007, Teresa Nielsen Hayden announced that Brust has "a recurrent and hard-to-treat infection" in "the bone behind one of his eyes" [1].
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[edit] The Dragaeran books
The Vladimir Taltos series is set on another world (possibly another planet), in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are humanoid but have such differences as greatly extended lifespans and heights averaging about 7 feet. Referred to as "elfs" by some humans, they refer to themselves as "human". The Dragaeran Empire controls the majority of the landmass on the planet, and does not greatly concern itself with the rest. Vlad Taltos is one of the human minority, which exists as a lower class in the Empire (known by Dragaerans as "Easterners"). Vlad also practices the human art of witchcraft; "táltos" is Hungarian for a kind of supernatural person in folklore. Though human, he is a citizen of the Empire because his social-climbing father bought a title in one of the less reputable of the 17 Dragaeran Great Houses. The only Great House that sells memberships this way is, not coincidentally, also the one that maintains a criminal organization. Vlad proves surprisingly successful in this House. Despite being a human and a criminal, he has a number of high-ranking Dragaeran friends, and often gets caught up in important events.
Brust has written ten novels in the series, which is proposed to run to nineteen novels - one named for each of the Great Houses, one named for Vlad himself, and a final novel which Brust has said will be titled The Last Contract. The first three novels resemble private-eye detective stories, perhaps the closest being Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. The later novels are more varied than the first three. Though they read like fantasy, there are hints at science-fictional explanations for some things.
Brust has also written another series set in Dragaera, the Khaavren Romances, set centuries before Vlad's time. Since Dragaerans live for thousands of years, many characters appear in both series. It is partly an homage to Alexandre Dumas, père's novels about the Three Musketeers, and is five volumes long, following the pattern of Dumas's series. The books are presented as historical novels written by Paarfi of Roundwood, a Dragaeran roughly contemporary with Vlad. Paarfi's old-fashioned, elaborate, and highly verbose writing is explicitly based on Dumas's, though with a dialogue style that is, at times, based on Tom Stoppard's wordgames in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (according to Pamela Dean's introduction to Five Hundred Years After).
There is a certain amount of variation in the writing style amongst the Taltos novels as well. Brust uses a different narrative approach in almost every novel in the series. Some of these approaches are more purely stylistic and have minor effects on the actual story-telling; some are profound and involve the point of view of characters whom the reader never expected to get to know so well.
Further, as the writing of the Taltos novels has spanned over two decades, they have been influenced by events in Steven Brust's own life. A fascination with the Mafia — subsequently brought into a somewhat shocking perspective by the murder of a friend — profoundly influenced his storylines, as did the breakup of his marriage. The events and arguments of his books, especially Teckla, are acknowledged by Brust to be influenced by his life-long interest in Marxist theory and practice, especially as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Since Brust is a self-identified "Trotskyist sympathizer," this topic frequently comes up in interviews with him.[1]
Lastly, it should be noted that Brust has a decided knack for slipping absorbing mysteries into the minor details of his stories; mysteries that tend to fascinate his readers, once they notice them, and often form the kernel around which later books coalesce, even though their resolution still springs upon the reader unexpectedly when it finally comes.
[edit] Convention chapbooks
In 1986, Steven Brust was a Guest of Honor at the Per Ardua Ad Astra science fiction convention in Toronto, and he contributed the Vlad Taltos short story "A Dream of Passion" to the convention chapbook.
Brust included "Klava with Honey" in Eeriecon Chapbook #4 for the 2005 Eeriecon convention. This very brief excerpt was initially part of the novel Dzur. He was unable to attend the convention due to medical reasons.
He contributed "Chapter One" for the Eeriecon Chapbook #6 as well.
[edit] Most recently published
Dzur, the latest Dragaeran book, was published in early August 2006 by Tor Books. It has been selected as "a Sci-Fi Essential Book" as part of an arrangement between Tor and the Sci-Fi Channel.
An excerpt of Dzur is available at SCI FI Essentials. These first few pages immediately follow the end of Issola.
Brokedown Palace was reprinted as of September 5, 2006 (per Amazon.com). This was the only Brust title previously out of print. Tor Books released it as an Orb trade paperback, as is their policy with reprinted works.
[edit] Introductions by Steven Brust
- In 1987, Tor Books published the book Dzurlord (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Steven Brust's Jhereg). It is like a cross between a book and a game. Steven Brust wrote the introduction for this book, which introduced readers to the world of Dragaera and its inhabitants.
- Tor also published The Three Musketeers in paperback in 1994. Steven Brust introduced the edition, saying that this translation (anonymous, originally published in 1888) was his favorite.
- Steven Brust contributed the introduction for Manna from Heaven. Wildside Press published this collection of stories from the late Roger Zelazny in 2003.
[edit] Inspired by Dragaera
- In 1993, SIL-West published a Live action role-playing game called Dragon, set in Dragaera. It was performed at BayCon '93.
Similar LARPS have been run at other conventions, such as KublaCon 2007 [2].
[edit] Devera
The same character, usually a cute brown-eyed girl of about nine, appears as a motif in all of Brust's novels. In the Dragaeran books her name is Devera. She is the (future) daughter of another character and seems to be able to appear anywhere in time and space. In Brust's non-Dragaeran books she usually appears briefly and it is not always obvious where she appears.
[edit] Title nicknames
Brust is known for his propensity to create alternative titles for his books - and for his own amusement. These have cropped up in numerous interviews and online forums, starting with "Jarhead" for Jhereg. [3]
Only his collaborative books escape being nicknamed.
Other examples are:
- The Rain in Spain (To Reign in Hell)
- Aw Gee (Agyar)
- The Kleenex Guards (The Phoenix Guards)
- Ripple (Brokedown Palace)
- Crosby, Stills and Nash (The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars)
- Milqtoast (Taltos)
- Stir (Dzur)
- Giggolo (his spelling) (Jhegaala)
- Your Itch (Iorich)
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Dragaera
- The Vlad Taltos novels (19 are planned in this series)
- The Khaavren Romances
- The Phoenix Guards (1991)
- Five Hundred Years After (1994)
- The Viscount of Adrilankha, published in three volumes:
- Stand-alone
[edit] Other novels
- To Reign in Hell (1984)
- The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars (1987)
- Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille (1990)
- The Gypsy (1992) with Megan Lindholm
- Agyar (1993)
- Freedom & Necessity (1997) with Emma Bull
- My Own Kind of Freedom (written 2005, released under the Creative Commons license February 8, 2008), a novel based on the Firefly television series
[edit] Short stories
- “An Act of Contrition” in Liavek (1985, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly; Locus Poll Award, Best Anthology)
- “An Act of Trust” in Liavek: The Players of Luck (1986, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
- "A Dream of Passion" in the convention chapbook for Ad Astra (1986)
- “An Act of Mercy” in Liavek: Wizard's Row (1987, with Megan Lindholm; edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
- “An Act of Love” in Liavek: Spells of Binding (1988, with Gregory Frost and Megan Lindholm; edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
- “Csucskári” (Excerpt from The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars) in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: First Annual Collection (1988, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling)
- “A Hot Night at Cheeky's” in Liavek: Festival Week (1990, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
- “Looking Forward: Excerpt from Athyra” in Amazing Stories, March 1993 (1993, edited by Kim Mohan)
- “Attention Shoppers” in Xanadu (1993, edited by Jane Yolen)
- “Abduction from the Harem” in Timewalker Issue 14 (October 1996, published by Valiant Comics)
- “Drift” in Space Opera (1996, edited by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
- “Valóság and Élet” in Sandman: Book of Dreams (1996, edited by Neil Gaiman and Edward E. Kramer)
- "Calling Pittsburgh" in Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny (1998, edited by Martin H. Greenberg)
- “When the Bow Breaks” in The Essential Bordertown (1998, edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman)
- “The Man From Shemhaza” in Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune (2004, edited by Lynn Abbey)
- “The Man From Shemhaza” in Year's Best Fantasy 5 (2005, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer; story reprint)
- "Klava with Honey" in Eeriecon Chapbook #4 for the convention Eeriecon (2005, via the Buffalo Fantasy League)
- "Chapter One" in Eeriecon Chapbook #6 for the convention Eeriecon (2007, via the Buffalo Fantasy League)
[edit] Award nominations (and dubious honors)
Brust's short story "When The Bow Breaks" was nominated for the 1999 Nebula Award.
Five Hundred Years After was nominated for the 1995 Locus Poll Award (Best Fantasy Novel). Other novels nominated for various Locus Poll Awards were Brokedown Palace, The Gypsy, Agyar, and Freedom & Necessity. [6]
Dragon was a Finalist for the 1999 Minnesota Book Awards in the Fantasy & Science Fiction category. Freedom and Necessity was a 1998 Finalist for the same category, while The Phoenix Guards was a Finalist in 1992. [7]
Brust discovered in August 2006 that he had made the New York Times extended bestseller list at number 30 with Dzur. He mentioned his ambivalence on this subject online. [8]
SCI FI Wire posted an email interview with Brust after Dzur came out [9]
[edit] Music & other media
Brust played drums, specifically in the Minneapolis-based folk rock band Cats Laughing and also in the Albany Free Traders [10]. He released his only solo album, A Rose for Iconoclastes, in 1993. Two songs from this album were played by Doctor Demento: "I Was Born About Ten Million Songs Ago" (co-written with Nathan A. Bucklin) and "Backward Message."[11]
The 1995 Boiled in Lead enhanced CD Songs from the Gypsy featured songs by Brust and Adam Stemple, as well as the full text of the novel The Gypsy.[12]
Cats Laughing also appears in issue #5 of a Marvel comic book called Excalibur. Steve is the only member of the band who is both seen onstage and named. Emma Bull also appears but names everyone else in the band except herself.[13] Steve was seen again in a one-shot special issue, Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem, in which mutant superhero Shadowcat attends a Cats Laughing concert in Edinburgh and mentions previously having seen the band at Windycon.
In addition, Chris Claremont inserted a reference to "Cats Laughing - the Excalibur Sessions" into the DC Comics graphic novel "Star Trek Debt of Honor."
Brust owned a Cadillac ambulance in Minnesota. It was painted yellow, light blue and dark blue (and with murals). Known as the Catmobile, the car was the band vehicle for Cats Laughing. The same car is also depicted on the "Another Way to Travel" album with the band members. This album, noted by its picture, has a cameo in the beginning of Emma Bull's novel Bone Dance.
Brust performed in several Shockwave Radio Theater productions, notably Closing Ceremonies (aka The Fall of the House of Usherette) and PBS Liavek.
Dragon gets argued over in the webcomic Penny Arcade [14]. Tycho elaborates on "Fine Distinctions" [15] that same day.
[edit] References
- ^ Olson, Chris. "Interview: Steven Brust," Strange Horizons website
- ^ KublaCon 2007 Program Guide (PDF) p. 43. KublaCon. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Robinson, Tasha (2006-08-07). Science Fiction Weekly Interview.
- ^ Locus Forthcoming Books http://www.locusmag.com/ForthcomingBooks.html
- ^ Cats and birds: an observation — Words Words Words — The Dream Cafe Weblog
- ^ Award Bibliography http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit13.html#640 on LocusMag.com
- ^ Past Finalists and Winners http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/Book/
- ^ "I have a new first name" http://skzbrust.livejournal.com/18112.html says SKZB
- ^ 24-AUGUST-06 interview http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=37635.
- ^ Albany Free Traders publicity flyer http://gerisullivan.livejournal.com/84142.html
- ^ Steven Brust, The Mad Music Archive, retrieved August 29, 2006.
- ^ Olson, Chris (2006-08-07). Article: Interview: Steven Brust, by Chris Olson.
- ^ Steven Who? http://tenser.typepad.com/tenser_said_the_tensor/2006/08/dzur.html
- ^ Fine Distinctions http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/06/14
- ^ Penny Arcade! http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/06/14
[edit] External links
- The Dream Café - Steven Brust's own homepage
- Steven Brust's LiveJournal
- The Lyorn Records, a Dragaera Wiki
- Steven Brust's Travel & Event Schedule
- Dragaera - a site authorized by Brust, with a mailing list, resources, and links to many fan pages
- Brainyquote - Quotes
[edit] Bibliographies and fan pages
- Damien Sullivan's Steven Brust Fan Page
- Cracks and Shards - Mark A. Mandel's extensive Dragaera fansite
- Steven Brust at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Bibliography on SciFan
[edit] Interviews and reviews
- Email interview of Steven Brust by QuantumMuse.com
- Email interview by Spherical Time
- Interview with Fantasybookspot.com
- Strange Horizons 2003 Review
- Rambles review
- Review of _Brokedown Palace_
- Brust reviews at Ex Libris
- Green Man Review of Khaavren Romances
- DZUR review at BoingBoing.net
- Firefly reading report from OASIS 19 convention
- Interactive bio & reviews
- Review of DZUR
- Review of "Songs from _The Gypsy_"
