Dzur

 

Vlad is back, and this time he’s hungry. I mean, really hungry. I could explain the plot of this one, but I think I’m going to eat, instead.

ornament

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15 thoughts on “Dzur”

  1. Of all the Vlad novels, this one hit me harder than any other. Just thinking about fine and noble cuisine is a sensual experience, so even in the abstract the details of of the meal before each chapter rendered me more vulnerable to the goings-on. Yet because the meal was abstract for me, I was able to maintain a distance from the narrative. So I saw more of the whole that led to each bit of action.

    I won’t even admit how many times I’ve tried to make essence of pepper.

  2. Being something of an amatuer cook myself, I was particularily struck by Vlad’s description of the symbiotic relationship between the cook & his audience in the Valabar’s portion of chapter 3 – Shamy. I’ve never heard (or read as the case may be) it put more succinctly & at the same time, eloquently. Kudos on an especially fine wee piece of prose.

  4. Definitely one of my favorites out of all of them. Issola might be my very favorite, but I’d probably have to read them all again to decide. I guess that shows a flair for the dramatic in me (loving the epic battle of Gods and Jeonine and Vlad and the reborn Teldra), but then, Taltosh is probably also in my top four out of all of your books that I’ve read.

    Anyway, I really love Dzur. Finally! A meal at Valabar’s! Is there a special place that gave you the inspiration for Valabar’s?

    Food is a passion of mine. I’d love to prepare meals people were that enthusiastic about. (Sometimes I actually do, which is quite satisfying.)

  6. Either I’m overthinking this, or there’s a very subtle callback to ISSOLA in the last chapter. In ISSOLA,the Vlad tells the Demon Goddess that, “In order to make a threat credible, one requires the power to carry it out.”

    In the climax, I initially had trouble believing that Vlad’s threats were credible, but of course they were, on several levels: he could destroy several people’s souls and assuming that Lady Caola and her cadre were the leadership, he could pretty much wreck the Left Hand. And of course, the Demon is there to make the threat more persuasive.

    Like I said, I may be overthinking it, but it’s still pretty cool.

  8. Read it for the 3rd time two days ago… Still laughing about the curtain…
    Thank you so much for it and for the Vlad series of course !!!

  9. So many years later, I just wanted to say I love, love Zungaron/Telnan. I’d love to see him appear in another Vlad book.

  11. I was re-reading the prologue to Dzur today looking for information on an article I’m writing about Dragaeran wine, and I noticed a term I am completely unfamiliar with. A Google search came up absolutely dry, so I’m wondering if this is maybe an obscure Hungarian word, or something made up entirely?

    What the heck does “Kermeferz” mean?

  12. Update: Doing a little work with Google translate, I discovered that “kamerferz” means “carpentry” in Hungarian. Apparently, the Fenarian vowel pronunciation has shifted a bit from its ancient roots, or else Vlad is just a poor speller.

  13. Is it just me or was there confusion about who the mistress was in the story? In the first half its Triesco, but then at the end its that other lady?

  14. Yeah, I wasn’t sure if Triesco was the mistress or Crithnak. The guy in the library said it was Triesco and then Mario killed Crithnak. And Triesco was alive at the end, so either the mistress wasn’t killed or the guy in the library was wrong about which one was the mistress. Great book though, one of my favorites

  15. I think skzb has sort of admitted elsewhere that he got them mixed up. In Lyorn, one of his characters also has trouble keeping the names of the Left Hand big wigs straight, and she’s Left Hand herself!
    I chalk it up to these sorceresses being so mysterious, not using their real names, or perhaps even enchantments that cause others to forget their names.

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