Joel Flank's Reviews > Issola

Vlad Taltos is still on the run from his former criminal organization, when his friend Teldra finds him. As the house Issola major domo who serves the Dragonloard Morrolan, Vlad is surprised to see her in the woods, not to mention that she found him when he's been on the run. When she tells him that Morrolan simply disappeared, and needs his help, he risks his old associates finding him to help.

After some initial investigation, he and Teldra find themselves transported to a strange world, following the trail the kidnappers left, and quickly find themselves confronting a plot by the Jenoine, the strange creatures who came before, and are vastly powerful, but so alien as to be inscrutable to humans.

While Vlad is vastly over-matched against the Jenoine, his sideways and tricky strategies and thinking help confound their plans and piece together some of the bizarre kidnapping plot. Even with allies as powerful as Vlad has, it takes all of his wits to help them defeat the Jenoine's attack on their world.

The Jenoine and a larger magical threat have been hinted at throughout the series, but in this book they finally brings them to the forefront. Vlad having such powerful friends finally begins to make sense from the overall narrative of the story, as the Jenoine require such power to be faced, and allow his allies to shine as main characters more than simply being supporting characters to Vlad's own issues as a former assassin.