Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and

science fiction author This is a list of notable science-fiction authors, in alphabetical order: A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) * Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan ...

of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans living on a world called Dragaera. His recent novels also include '' The Incrementalists'' (2013) and its sequel ''The Skill of Our Hands'' (2017), with co-author

Skyler White Skyler White (née Lambert) is a fictional character portrayed by Anna Gunn in the American crime drama television series ''Breaking Bad''. Skyler is married to protagonist Walter White. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim. She ...

. As a drummer and singer-songwriter, Brust has recorded one solo album and two albums as a member of

Cats Laughing Cats Laughing is a folk rock band, founded in the late 1980s in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and revived in 2015. Several of its members, including Emma Bull and best-selling author Steven Brust, are better known as writers of fantasy and science fict ...

. Brust also co-wrote songs on two albums recorded in the mid-1990s by the band

Boiled in Lead Boiled in Lead is a folk-punk/worldbeat band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founded in 1983. Tim Walters of ''MusicHound Folk'' called the group "the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s." Influential record producer and ...

Writing career

The Dragaeran books

The Vlad Taltos series, written as

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

with a science fiction underpinning, is set on a planet called Dragaera. The events of the series take place in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, a genetically engineered humanoid species, having characteristics such as greatly extended lifespans and heights averaging about seven feet. Referred to as "

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

s" by some humans, they refer to themselves as "human". The Dragaeran Empire controls a region that is "enclouded" by a perpetual overcast that blocks the sun from view. Vlad Taltos is one of the human minority (known by Dragaerans as "Easterners"), which exists as a lower class in the Empire. Vlad also practices the human art of witchcraft; "

táltos The táltos (; also "tátos") is a figure in Hungarian mythology, a person with supernatural power similar to a shaman. Description The most reliable account of the táltos is given by Roman Catholic priest Arnold Ipolyi in his collection of fol ...

" 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 organization. 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 17 published 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 ('' Taltos''), and a final novel which Brust has said will be titled ''The Final Contract''. The first three novels resemble private-eye

detective stories A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

, perhaps the closest being

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ...

's Spenser series. The later novels are more varied than the first three. Though they read like fantasy, there are science-fictional explanations for some things. Brust has also written another series set in Dragaera, the ''

Khaavren Romances The ''Khaavren Romances'' are a series of fantasy novels by American writer Steven Brust, set in the fictional world of Dragaera. The novels are swashbuckling adventure stories involving war, intrigue, and romance. They are heavily influenced by ...

'', 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 Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

's novels about

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

, and is five volumes long, following the pattern of Dumas' 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', though with a dialogue style that is, at times, based on

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's wordgames in ''

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Hamle ...

'' (according to Pamela Dean's introduction to ''Five Hundred Years After''). ''

The Baron of Magister Valley ''The Baron of Magister Valley'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, set in the fictional world of Dragaera and part of the Khaavren Romances. Like the other books in that series, the novel is heavily influenced by the d'Artagnan ...

'', an additional Paarfi novel, is modeled after Dumas's ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

''. The two series are finally brought together in the thirteenth novel in the Vlad series, ''Tiassa'', which can also be viewed as the sixth novel in the Khaavren series. ''Tiassa'' comprises what are in effect three related novellas, each told in a different style and connected by a common theme. The first section reads like the first three novels in the series, with first-person narration by Vlad but including Khaavren's son, Piro; the second section has a different viewpoint character in each of its chapters; and the third section is narrated by Paarfi in the style of the earlier ''Khaavren Romances'', with Khaavren as the viewpoint character and interacting with Vlad.

Short stories

Most of Brust's short stories are set in

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

s. These include

Emma Bull Emma Bull (born December 13, 1954) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo- and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula-nominated ''Bone Dance'' and the urban fantasy ''War for the Oa ...

's and

Will Shetterly Will Shetterly (born 1955) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for his novel '' Dogland'' (1997). The novel is inspired by his childhood at the tourist attraction Dog Land owned by his parents. He won the Minnesota B ...

's ''

Liavek Liavek is a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly set in a shared world. Orson Scott Card found the initial volume to be "an example of what can be accomplished n a shared-world projectwhen almost everything ...

'',

Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy authors, fantasy author and science fiction fandom, active fan, known best for his humorous series ''MythAdventures'' and ''Phule's Company (series), ...

's ''

Thieves' World Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by science fiction and fantasy authors Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, ...

'',

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

'' and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958, in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram St ...

's '' Borderland Series''.

Style and literary theory

Brust was a founding member of a Minnesota-based writers' group called

The Scribblies The Scribblies were a fantasy fiction group of writers formed in the United States, U.S. city of Minneapolis in January 1980. Members included Nate Bucklin, Emma Bull, Steven Brust, Kara Dalkey, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly and Patricia Wrede.Nove ...

, which included

Pamela Dean Pamela Collins Dean Dyer-Bennet (born 1953), better known as Pamela Dean, is an American fantasy author whose best-known book is ''Tam Lin (novel), Tam Lin'', based on the Child Ballads, Child Ballad of the Tam Lin, same name, in which the Scott ...

, Nate Bucklin,

Kara Dalkey Kara Mia Dalkey (born 1953) is an American author of young adult fiction and historical fantasy. Personal life She was born in Los Angeles and has lived in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Seattle. Much of her fiction is set in the Hei ...

, and

Patricia Wrede Patricia Collins Wrede (; born March 27, 1953) is an American author of fantasy literature. She is known for her ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' series for young adults, which was voted number 84 in NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels list. Care ...

. He also was a founding member of the Pre-Joycean Fellowship. He has rejected a distinction between science fiction and fantasy, stating that no belief in such a distinction can withstand an encounter with the writing of

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...

Writing style

There is a certain amount of variation in the writing style amongst the Taltos novels, as well as between Brust's various series. Brust uses a different narrative approach in almost every novel in the Taltos 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 four decades, they have been influenced by events in 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 lifelong interest in Marxist theory and practice. Brust's parents were activists in the Workers League, the predecessor to the Socialist Equality Party, and he continues to identify as a "

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

sympathizer," linking to the SEP-affiliated

World Socialist Web Site The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". About The WSWS was established on Fe ...

on his personal website. He endorsed the SEP's presidential candidates in the 2016 US elections.

Literary theory

In contrast to contemporary academic studies in literature, Brust has put forward what he called "The Cool Stuff Theory of Literature":

All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool. And that works all the way from the external trappings to the level of metaphor, subtext, and the way one uses words. In other words, I happen not to think that full-plate armor and great big honking greatswords are cool. I don't like 'em. I like cloaks and rapiers. So I write stories with a lot of cloaks and rapiers in 'em, 'cause that's cool. Guys who like military hardware, who think advanced military hardware is cool, are not gonna jump all over my books, because they have other ideas about what's cool.

Brust elaborated, "The novel should be understood as a structure built to accommodate the greatest possible amount of cool stuff."

Motifs

The character Devera, 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 her appearances are usually brief and not always obvious.

Musical recordings and performances

Brust is a singer-songwriter and drummer who has recorded a solo album, and who has played in the Minneapolis-based

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

, and with the Albany Free Traders, and Morrigan. Brust also co-wrote two songs on the 1994 album '' Antler Dance'' by the band

(BiL), as well as many of the songs on BiL's 1995 multimedia CD ''Songs from The Gypsy''.

Cats Laughing

Cats Laughing released two albums with Brust as the drummer, in 1988 and 1990. Brust also contributed as a songwriter and vocalist. The 1990 album ''Another Way to Travel'' features cover art that depicts the band members and a vehicle known as the Catmobile, the band vehicle for Cats Laughing. The car, owned by Brust, was a Cadillac ambulance, painted yellow, light blue, and dark blue, with murals. On April 3, 2015, Brust performed as part of Cats Laughing in a reunion concert at the

Minicon Minicon is a science fiction and fantasy Science fiction convention, convention in Minneapolis usually held on Easter weekend. Started in 1968 and running approximately annually since then, it is one of the oldest science fiction conventions in ...

50 science fiction convention in Bloomington, Minnesota. In March 2016, Cats Laughing released a double CD of their 2015 reunion, ''A Long Time Gone'', as well as a DVD by the same title with documentary concert footage.

Solo

'' A Rose for Iconoclastes'', a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

(or

folk pop Folk-pop is a broad musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been popularized by mainstream media in recent years. Musica ...

) album released in 1993, is Brust's only solo album. The title is a reference to "

A Rose for Ecclesiastes "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" is a science fiction short story by American author Roger Zelazny, first published in the November 1963 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' with a special ...

", a short story by Brust's literary hero and mentor

. (Interview in which Brust notes that a picture of Zelazny is on his desk.) Twelve of the fourteen songs were written or co-written by Brust. The album was produced by

Adam Stemple Adam Stemple is a Celtic-influenced American folk rock musician, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also the author of several fantasy short stories and novels, including two series of novels co-written with his mother, writer Jane Yolen. Stem ...

, a fellow fantasy writer and member of Cats Laughing.

''Songs from The Gypsy'' (1995)

The 1995 enhanced CD ''

Songs from The Gypsy ''Songs From the Gypsy'' is the sixth album by Minneapolis folk punk band Boiled in Lead, and its second with lead singer/guitarist Adam Stemple. It is a song cycle based on a Hungarian folk tale, written largely by Stemple and his Cats Laughi ...

'', by the band

, featured songs written by Brust and

, as well as the full text of Brust's novel '' The Gypsy.''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

reviewer Steven McDonald called ''Songs from The Gypsy'' "an example of Brust's serious songwriting working well." Conversely, a critical review by

's Roch Parisien emphasized that "''Songs from The Gypsy'' represents a failure of multimedia integration. As an audio CD, the disc serves up ten songs, ranging from acoustic trad to bluesy rockers, that ironically form a less cohesive whole than previous Boiled in Lead releases. The better numbers (like the title track) incorporate Celtic rock with Hungarian, Middle Eastern, and other interesting worldbeat influences." Parisien found the album's integration with the novel unsuccessful, in that the novel's 17 chapters were presented as "scrollable text only, which also intersperse some 80 song lyric excerpts that you can play from hot buttons. Annoyingly, you must flip back to the main menu index to move from one chapter to the next." Parisien concluded, "Despite Brust's engrossingly poetic, impressionist story inspired by Hungarian folk tales and revolving around three Gypsy brothers, the project does not overcome the primary limitation of bringing literature to the computer screen, that being that the computer offers an inhospitable environment for viewing literature-length text." The review, written in 1995, predated a wave of popular

e-book reader An e-reader, also called an e reader or e device, is a Mobile computing, mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and Periodical literature, periodicals. Any device that can display text on ...

s that began to emerge about ten years later.

Other performances

Brust has performed dramatically in several

Shockwave Radio Theater ''Shockwave Radio Theater'' was broadcast for 28 years on Fresh Air Radio, the community radio station KFAI, 90.3FM Minneapolis, 106.7FM St. Paul from 1979 to 2007. Much of Shockwave Radio is archived on archive.org Podcasts of some shows are ava ...

productions, notably ''Closing Ceremonies (aka The Fall of the House of Usherette)'' and ''PBS Liavek''.

Award nominations

Brust's short story "When The Bow Breaks" was nominated for the 1998

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

. ''Five Hundred Years After'' was nominated for the 1995

Locus Poll Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus (magazine), Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. O ...

(Best Fantasy Novel). Other novels nominated for various

s were ''Brokedown Palace,'' ''The Gypsy,'' ''Agyar,'' and ''Freedom & Necessity.'' ''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. Brust discovered in August 2006 that he had made the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' extended bestseller list at number 30 with ''Dzur''. He mentioned his ambivalence on this subject online. ''SciFi Wire'' posted an interview with Brust after ''Dzur'' came out.

Translations

Brust's novels have been translated into numerous languages, including Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.

Bibliography

Dragaera

Paarfi's historical romances

Historical romances, in effect, taking place centuries prior to the works featuring Vlad Taltos, with some overlap of characters. It was written as if by Paarfi of Roundwood, a Dragaeran historian. The fictional "author" regards these novels as works of history written for a popular audience, and published with great success during the reigns of Empresses Zerika IV and Norathar II. T * The

consist of three works, published as five books. The third and longest work, Paarfi's account of the Interregnum titled '' The Viscount of Adrilankha'', was published in three volumes as individually-titled books. :# ''

The Phoenix Guards ''The Phoenix Guards'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the first novel in the Khaavren Romances series, set in the fictional world of Dragaera. Like the other books in that series, the novel is heavily influenced by the d'Arta ...

'' (1991) :# ''

Five Hundred Years After ''Five Hundred Years After'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the second novel in the Khaavren Romances series. It is set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Like the other books in that series, the novel is heavily influence ...

'' (1994) :# '' The Paths of the Dead'' (2002) – Vol. 1 of ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'' :# '' The Lord of Castle Black'' (2003) – Vol. 2 of ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'' :# ''

Sethra Lavode ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, published in three volumes. Collectively, the three books form the third novel in the Khaavren Romances series. It is set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Like the ...

'' (2004) – Vol. 3 of ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'' * ''

'' (2020) – a standalone Paarfi novel

Standalone Dragaera novel

* ''

Brokedown Palace ''Brokedown Palace'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, and Bill Pullman. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for alleged drug smuggling. Its title is t ...

'' (1986) - prequel to the Vlad Taltos series

Vlad Taltos

There are currently 17 novels in the series, with a total of 19 planned. The 18th planned novel will be named after the remaining Dragaeran Great House, ''Chreotha'', and the concluding book ''The Final Contract''. #''

Jhereg ''Jhereg'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, part of his Vlad Taltos series, originally published in 1983 by Ace Books. Ace later republished it in 1999 as part of the three-book omnibus, ''The Book of Jhereg''. Marvel Comics a ...

'' (1983) #''

Yendi Yendi (Dagbani language, Dagbanli: Yani, meaning "Seat of the Yaa Naa"), is the traditional capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon and the administrative centre of the Yendi Municipal District in the Northern Region of Ghana. As of 2021, the populatio ...

'' (1984) #''

Teckla ''Teckla'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the third book in his Vlad Taltos series. Originally printed in 1987 by Ace Books, it was reprinted in 1999 in the omnibus ''The Book of Jhereg'' along with ''Jhereg'' and ''Yendi'' ...

'' (1987) #'' Taltos'' (1988) #'' Phoenix'' (1990) #''Athyra'' (1993) #''Orca'' (1996) #''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' (1998) #''Issola'' (2001) #'' Dzur'' (2006) #''

Jhegaala ''Jhegaala'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the eleventh book in his Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. It was published in 2008. Following the trend of the series, it is named after one of the Grea ...

'' (2008) #'' Iorich'' (2010) #''

Tiassa ''Tiassa'' is the thirteenth book in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. It was published in 2011. Following the trend of the series, it is named after one of the Great Houses and features that House as an i ...

'' (2011) #''

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

'' (2014) #''

Vallista ''Vallista'' is the fifteenth book in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. It was released in October 2017. Following the trend of the series, it is named after one of the Dragaera#The Great Houses, Great Hous ...

'' (2017) #''

Tsalmoth ''Tsalmoth'' is the sixteenth book in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. It was released in April 2023. Following the trend of the series, it is named after one of the Great Houses, and the personality chara ...

'' (2023) #'' Lyorn'' (2024) # ''Chreotha'' (TBA) # ''The Last Contract'' (TBA)

= Short Stories

= # "A Dream of Passion" (1986) – published by the

Ad Astra is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue the highhard to r ...

science fiction convention in its 1986 chapbook (non-canon sequel) # "Klava with Honey" (2005) – a prologue to ''Dzur'', published by the Buffalo Fantasy League in ''

EerieCon EerieCon was a non-profit, fan-run science-fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction, horror convention which was held every year until 2016 in Niagara Falls, New York, Niagara Falls, New York (state), New York. Guests have included Kevin J. Anderso ...

Chapbook #4'' # "The Desecrator" (2011) – published online by Tor Books

=In in-series chronological order

= # ''

'' (1986) # "The Desecrator" (2011) # ''

'', prologue (1983) # '' Taltos'' (1988) # ''

'', main chapters (1998) # ''

'' (1984) # ''

'', interludes (1998) # ''

'', section 1: Tag (2011) # ''

'' (2023) #

'', main chapters (1983) # ''

'' (1987) # '' Phoenix'' (1990) # ''

'' (2008) # ''Athyra'' (1993) # ''Orca'' (1996) # '' Issola'' (2001) # "Klava with Honey" (2005) (a prologue to '' Dzur'', published by the Buffalo Fantasy League in ''

Chapbook #4'') # '' Dzur'' (2006) # ''

'', section 2: Whitecrest (2011) # '' Iorich'' (2010) # ''

'', section 3: Special Tasks (2011) # ''

'' (2017) # ''

'' (2014) # ''

'', epilogue (2023) # '' Lyorn'' (2024) # ''The Last Contract'' (TBA)

=Omnibuses

= #''The Book of Jhereg'' (contains ''Jhereg'', ''Yendi'' and ''Teckla'') #''The Book of Taltos'' (contains ''Taltos'' and ''Phoenix'') #''The Book of Athyra'' (contains ''Athyra'' and ''Orca'') #''The Book of Dragon'' (Tor paperback) a.k.a. ''Dragon & Issola''

Science Fiction Book Club Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

edition, hardcover) (contains contains ''Dragon'' and ''Issola'') #''The Book of Dzur'' (contains ''Dzur'' and ''Jhegaala'')

The Incrementalists

Novels

*'' The Incrementalists'' (2013) – with

* ''The Skill of Our Hands'' (2017) – with Skyler White

Short fiction

* "Fireworks in the Rain" (2013) – (by Brust only), published online by Tor Books * "Strongest Conjuration" (2014) – (by White only), set directly after the events of ''The Incrementalists'', published online by Tor BooksWhite, Skyler (August 26, 2014)
"Strongest Conjuration"
Tor.com * "Playing God" (2017) – by Brust only, featuring Roger Zelazny's character Francis Sandow, in ''Shadows and Reflections: A Roger Zelazny Tribute Anthology'' (edited by Trent Zelazny and Warren Lapine)

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 Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden (; born March 5, 1952), known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the ''Realm of the Elderlings'', ...

) *''Agyar'' (1993) *''Freedom & Necessity'' (1997) (with

) *''My Own Kind of Freedom'' (2008, self-released) –

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

novel based on the TV series ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' *'' Good Guys'' (2018) *''The Sword of Happenstance'' (2021) (with Skyler White)

Introductions by Brust

* In 1987,

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

published the

gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...

''Dzurlord (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Steven Brust's Jhereg)''. Brust wrote the introduction for this book, which introduced readers to the world of Dragaera and its inhabitants. * Tor also published ''

'' in paperback in 1994. Brust introduced the edition, saying that this translation (anonymous, originally published in 1888) was his favorite. * Brust contributed the introduction for ''Manna from Heaven''.

Wildside Press Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limite ...

published this collection of stories from

in 2003.

References

External links

* *
Bibliography
on SciFan

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brust, Steven 1955 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American Trotskyists American bloggers American fantasy writers American male bloggers American male novelists American people of Hungarian descent American science fiction writers Cats Laughing members Chapbook writers Dragaera Living people Minnesota socialists Novelists from Minnesota

Writing career

The Dragaeran books

Short stories

Style and literary theory

Writing style

Literary theory

Motifs

Musical recordings and performances

Cats Laughing

Solo

''Songs from The Gypsy'' (1995)

Other performances

Award nominations

Translations

Bibliography

Dragaera

Paarfi's historical romances

Standalone Dragaera novel

Vlad Taltos

= Short Stories

=In in-series chronological order

=Omnibuses

The Incrementalists

Novels

Short fiction

Other novels

Other short stories

Standalone short fiction

Introductions by Brust

References

External links