I came across this on The Quill to Live blog and was intrigued by the idea of a nonlinear series about a central character, where each book expounds on key moments of the life of assassin Vlad Taltos.  Interestingly, this takes place in an alternate universe that is ruled by a revolving 17 houses embodying different talents, ideals, and strengths that mirror a particular animal’s core traits.  

This first book is about the House of Jhereg, a cunning, ruthless dragon-like creature the size of a cat, and the only house who allows admittance of humans into their ranks.  It is here that lowly human Vlad survives and thrives, and the reader is introduced to him as he tackles his most profitable offer to date -  assassinate a thief who stole from the aforementioned house - a task with many mission constraints including an unfortunate tight deadline.

What Vlad encounters are repeated impossible roadblocks and multiple attempts on his own life.  In and amongst his going about this frustrating job, Brust slowly peppers this story with fascinating reveals about the cultural intricacies and history of this intriguing world.

Overall, this has impressive political intrigue, long lived races, sword fights, crazy heists, plentiful magic, and a cheeky cutthroat familiar.  Vlad is as cunning as he is resourceful, who has built a steady network of varied allies to help in his dubious dangerous endeavors, and curiously, was someone who I enjoyed rooting for.

A solid start and one that I am going to continue to follow through!