Steven Brust - Vlad Taltos

Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (hungarian descent) is best known for his novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos.

There are currently 13 novels in the series although 19 are planned. In chronological order:

1. Taltos (1988)

2. Dragon (1998)
3. Yendi (1984)
4. Tiassa, section 1 (2011)
5. Jhereg (1983)
6. Teckla (1987)
7. Phoenix (1990)
8. Jhegaala (2008)
9. Athyra (1993)
10. Orca (1996)
11. Issola (2001)
12. Dzur (2006)
13. Tiassa, section 2 (2011)
14. Iorich (2010)
15. Tiassa, section 3 (2011)

The books are set on another planet (apparently) inhabited by dragaerans, who were created when the Jenoine (powerful race of extradimensial creatures) magically crossbred humans with various animals. Dragaerans average seven feet tall, with slender builds and very little muscular definition. They cannot grow beards and have very little body hair. Their lifespans are greatly enhanced, spanning several thousand years. They consider themselves "humans", but are called "Dragaerans" by Easterners who live in the Empire. In other lands, Easterners call them "elfs" or "faeries".

Magic exists in many forms: sorcery (gathering power from Chaos); pre-sorcery (sorcery that doesn't draw its power from the Imperial Orbit); elder sorcery (old and dangerous, presently outlawed). Witchcraft, used by men (although dragaerans consider themselves to be men and men to be sub-men) that use complex rituals to draw phisical energy.

The Great Houses are as follows (in order of their precedence in the cycle), with their two primary representative characteristics:

by ~Silversaff

* Phoenix—Decadence and Rebirth
* Dragon—War and Conquest
* Lyorn—Tradition and Duty

by ~samekh-mem

* Tiassa—Catalyst and Inspiration

by Katherine J. Grantham.

* Hawk—Observation and Inspiration
* Dzur—Heroism and Honor

* Issola—Courtliness and Surprise

by Katherine J. Grantham.

* Tsalmoth—Unpredictability and Tenacity
* Vallista—Creation and Destruction
* Jhereg—Greed and Corruption

by Katherine J. Grantham.

* Iorich—Justice and Retribution
* Chreotha—Forethought and Ensnarement
* Yendi—Subtlety and Misdirection
* Orca—Brutality and Mercantilism

by Katherine J. Grantham.

* Teckla—Cowardice and Fertility
* Jhegaala—Metamorphosis and Endurance
* Athyra—Magic and Philosophy

From http://blogs.elcorreo.com/bardsong/2009/10/25/la-saga-vlad-taltos-i-introduccion

Vladimir Taltos is an Easterner who inherits a small peerage of the house of Jhereg and decides to make his own mark on  dragaeran society, for which he has no hesitation in leaving a trail of corpses in its wake as he makes his way to the top of the house of Jhereg. To achieve this he has only his skill with the sword, his skill in the art of witchcraft and a small flying scavenger and sharp tongued reptile called Loiosh. He began his career as a simple thug but as the books progresse he is more and more compared to Mario, the most famous and feared assasssin throughout the empire. Of course not everything is as simple as it seems and during the Vlad novels, although he begins his career as a cold murderer, he will face great moral issues that will make him rethink his way of life ... (and I much prefer him when he's a cold hearted son of a bitch than later when he grows a concience out of love but... )

Gaiman and Douglas Adams, Tom Wolfe and Vonnegut

Found in awesome people hanging out together:

Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams

Tom Wolfe and Kurt Vonnegut

Dance with Dragons Download PDF

17/07/2011 The link didn't work, now it does. Apologies. 
18/12/2011 It seems the link doesn't work anymore. If you leave me an e-mail address in a comment I'll send it to you ASAP. 

I've found this link :http://www.taringa.net/posts/arte/11573747/A-dance-with-dragons-_ingles_-__MOBI-y-PDF_-_MU_.html, downloaded and tested the pdf file myself. For those who don't speak spanish you have to click the link after the sentence:Aqui para descargarlo en PDF ....here the link....

You'll be redirected to MediaUpload and there you'll see a counter that goes from 44 seconds down and you'll have to wait till it reaches zero and a grey button saying "Descarga normal" appears under the orange one that says "Descarga premium", "Descarga" meaning "Download" in Spanish.

Please check what copyright laws apply in your respective countries before you download the book and proceed accordingly. I'm assuming here that a backup copy is allowed everywhere and that what you want this pdf for. 

You can also download it here. Just look for megaupload at the end of the (spanish) post. 

Brent Weeks - The Night Angel Trilogy

There are three volumes in this amusing trilogy whose motto could be:

The perfect killer has no friends. Only targets.

And these are the books and you can find everything about them and the author here:

The Way of Shadows

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art. And he is the city’s most accomplished artist, his talents required from alleyway to courtly boudoir.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned the hard way to judge people quickly — and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins’ world of dangerous politics and strange magics — and cultivate a flair for death.

Shadow’s Edge

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin’s life. The Godking’s successful coup has left Kylar’s master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession.

But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?

Beyond the Shadows

Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance — a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom.

In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him.

Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends-and perhaps his enemies-he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess.


In the Official sffworld.com Book Review

The Way of Shadows is a big fat novel and I mean that in all good connotations of those terms. The world Weeks depicts in this novel is harsh: the protagonist is a killer-for-hire as is his mentor, his best friend is a male prostitute who serves both men and women, one Durzo’s closest companions, the enigmatic Momma K., is the head of a brothel, and ways of killing are spoken of very matter-of-factly. In addition, The Way of Shadow contains many of the elements of a solid fantasy novel: magic, murder, an über-powerful enemy pulling the strings, a nigh-omnipotent enchanted sword, and a chivalrous knight. By no means; however, is this simply a paint-by-numbers novel. In many ways, I would liken Weeks’s approach to some of the new fantasy authors who are embracing these standard elements of the genre and spinning them out with an entertaining voice of their own. 

Stealing his own books from Shawn Speakman's car

  

Entertaining. Rich plot. Harsh but not wantonly so. Fast paced style.

Brent Weeks & Terry Brooks