Steven Brust

Infobox Writer
name = Steven Karl Zoltán Brust


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caption = Steven Brust in 2004 at Minicon 39 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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birthdate = November 23, 1955
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occupation = writer
novelist
nationality =
ethnicity = Hungarian
citizenship = American
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genre = fantasy
science fiction
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notableworks = "See below"
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children =
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website = [http://dreamcafe.com/ The Dream Café, Brust's personal site]
[http://skzbrust.livejournal.com/profile Brust's LiveJournal profile]
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Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He was a member of the writers' group The Scribblies, which included Emma Bull, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, Nate Bucklin, Kara Dalkey, and Patricia Wrede, and also belongs to the Pre-Joycean Fellowship.

He is best known for his novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos. His novels have been translated into German, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Czech, French, Spanish and Hebrew, as of 2006. "Agyar" has two different French translations. Most of his short stories are set in shared universes. These include Emma Bull's and Will Shetterley's "Liavek", Robert Asprin's "Thieves' World", Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" and Terri Windling's "Borderland Series".

On December 12, 2007, Teresa Nielsen Hayden announced that Brust has "a recurrent and hard-to-treat infection" in "the bone behind one of his eyes" [http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/12/terry-pratchett-has.html#comment-92015] .

The Dragaeran books

The Vladimir Taltos series is set on what is apparently another planet, in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, who are humanoid but have such differences as greatly extended lifespans and heights averaging about 7 feet. Referred to as "elfs" by some humans, they refer to themselves as "human". The Dragaeran Empire controls the majority of the landmass known to it on the planet, and does not greatly concern itself with the rest. 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" 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 eleven 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, and a final novel which Brust has said will be titled "The Last Contract". The first three novels resemble private-eye detective stories, perhaps the closest being Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. The later novels are more varied than the first three. Though they read like fantasy, there are hints at science-fictional explanations for some things.

Brust has also written another series set in Dragaera, the "Khaavren Romances", 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's novels about the Three Musketeers, 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's wordgames in "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" (according to Pamela Dean's introduction to "Five Hundred Years After").

There is a certain amount of variation in the writing style amongst the Taltos novels as well. Brust uses a different narrative approach in almost every novel in the 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 two decades, they have been influenced by events in Steven 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 life-long interest in Marxist theory and practice, especially as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Since Brust is a self-identified "Trotskyist sympathizer," this topic frequently comes up in interviews with him. [ [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2003/20030203/brust.shtml Olson, Chris. "Interview: Steven Brust," "Strange Horizons" website] ]

Lastly, Brust has a decided knack for slipping absorbing mysteries into the minor details of his stories; mysteries that tend to fascinate his readers, once they notice them, and often form the kernel around which later books coalesce, even though their resolution still springs upon the reader unexpectedly when it finally comes.

Convention chapbooks

In 1986, Steven Brust was a Guest of Honor at the Per Ardua Ad Astra science fiction convention in Toronto, and he contributed the Vlad Taltos short story "A Dream of Passion" to the convention chapbook.

Brust included "Klava with Honey" in "Eeriecon Chapbook #4" for the 2005 Eeriecon convention. This very brief excerpt was initially part of the novel "Dzur". He could not attend the convention for medical reasons.

He contributed "Chapter One" for the "Eeriecon Chapbook #6" as well.

Introductions by Steven Brust

* In 1987, Tor Books published the book "Dzurlord (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Steven Brust's Jhereg)". It is like a cross between a book and a game. Steven Brust wrote the introduction for this book, which introduced readers to the world of Dragaera and its inhabitants.
* Tor also published "The Three Musketeers" in paperback in 1994. Steven Brust introduced the edition, saying that this translation (anonymous, originally published in 1888) was his favorite.
* Steven Brust contributed the introduction for "Manna from Heaven". Wildside Press published this collection of stories from the late Roger Zelazny in 2003.

Inspired by Dragaera

*In 1993, SIL-West published a Live action role-playing game called " [http://www.silwest.com/dragon/index.html Dragon] ", set in Dragaera. It was performed at BayCon '93.Similar LARPS have been run at other conventions, such as KublaCon 2007 [cite web |title=KublaCon 2007 Program Guide |publisher=KublaCon |url=http://www.kublacon.com/KC07_Program_web.pdf |format=PDF |pages = [http://www.kublacon.com/KC07_Program_web.pdf#page=43 p. 43] | accessdate=2007-07-20 ] .

Devera

The same character, 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.

Title nicknames

Brust is known for his propensity to give his books alternate titles for his own amusement. These have cropped up in numerous interviews and online forums, starting with "Jarhead" for "Jhereg". [cite web|date=2006-08-07|first=Tasha|last=Robinson
url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue224/interview.html
title=Science Fiction Weekly Interview]

Other examples are:
*The Rain in Spain ("To Reign in Hell")
*Aw Gee ("Agyar")
*The Kleenex Guards ("The Phoenix Guards")
*Ripple ("Brokedown Palace")
*Crosby, Stills and Nash ("The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars")
*Milqtoast (his spelling) ("Taltos")
*Stir ("Dzur")
*Giggolo (his spelling) ("Jhegaala")
*Your Itch ("Iorich")

Only his collaborative books escape being nicknamed.

Bibliography

Dragaera

*The Vlad Taltos novels (19 are planned in this series)
*#"Jhereg" (1983)
*#"Yendi" (1984)
*#"Teckla" (1987)
*#"Taltos" (1988)
*#"Phoenix" (1990)
*#"Athyra" (1993)
*#"Orca" (1996)
*#"Dragon" (1998)
*#"Issola" (2001)
*#"Dzur" (2006)
*#"Jhegaala" (2008)
*#"Iorich" (forthcoming [ [http://dreamcafe.com/words/2008/03/07/cats-and-birds-an-observation/ Cats and birds: an observation — Words Words Words — The Dream Cafe Weblog ] ] )
*The Khaavren Romances
*#"The Phoenix Guards" (1991)
*#"Five Hundred Years After" (1994)
*#"The Viscount of Adrilankha", published in three volumes:
*##"The Paths of the Dead" (2002)
*##"The Lord of Castle Black" (2003)
*##"Sethra Lavode" (2004)
*Stand-alone
**"Brokedown Palace" (1986)

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
*"Agyar" (1993)
*"Freedom & Necessity" (1997) with Emma Bull
*"My Own Kind of Freedom" (written 2005, released under the Creative Commons license February 8, 2008), a novel based on the "Firefly" television series

hort stories

* “An Act of Contrition” in "Liavek" (1985, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly; Locus Poll Award, Best Anthology)
* “An Act of Trust” in "Liavek: The Players of Luck" (1986, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
* “A Dream of Passion” in the convention chapbook for Ad Astra (1986)
* “An Act of Mercy” in "Liavek: Wizard's Row" (1987, with Megan Lindholm; edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
* “An Act of Love” in "Liavek: Spells of Binding" (1988, with Gregory Frost and Megan Lindholm; edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
* “Csucskári” (Excerpt from "The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars") in "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: First Annual Collection" (1988, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling)
* “A Hot Night at Cheeky's” in "Liavek: Festival Week" (1990, edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly)
* “Looking Forward: Excerpt from Athyra” in "Amazing Stories, March 1993" (1993, edited by Kim Mohan)
* “Attention Shoppers” in "Xanadu" (1993, edited by Jane Yolen)
* “Abduction from the Harem” in "Timewalker Issue 14" (October 1996, published by Valiant Comics)
* “Drift” in "Space Opera" (1996, edited by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
* “Valóság and Élet” in "Sandman: Book of Dreams" (1996, edited by Neil Gaiman and Edward E. Kramer)
* "Calling Pittsburgh" in "Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny" (1998, edited by Martin H. Greenberg)
* “When the Bow Breaks” in "The Essential Bordertown" (1998, edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman)
* “The Man From Shemhaza” in "Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune" (2004, edited by Lynn Abbey), reprinted in "Year's Best Fantasy 5" (2005, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer)
* "Klava with Honey" in "Eeriecon Chapbook #4" for the convention Eeriecon (2005, via the Buffalo Fantasy League)
* "Chapter One" in "Eeriecon Chapbook #6" for the convention Eeriecon (2007, via the Buffalo Fantasy League)

Award nominations (and dubious honors)

Brust's short story "When The Bow Breaks" was nominated for the 1999 Nebula Award, although it did not reach the final ballot. [ [http://dpsinfo.com/awardweb/nebulas/90s.html#1999 1999 Nebula Final Ballot] ]

"Five Hundred Years After" was nominated for the 1995 Locus Poll Award (Best Fantasy Novel). Other novels nominated for various Locus Poll Awards were "Brokedown Palace," "The Gypsy," "Agyar," and "Freedom & Necessity." [ Award Bibliography http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit13.html#640 on LocusMag.com ]

"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. [ Past Finalists and Winners http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/Book/]

Brust discovered in August 2006 that he had made the New York Times extended bestseller list at number 30 with "Dzur". He mentioned his ambivalence on this subject online. [ "I have a new first name" http://skzbrust.livejournal.com/18112.html says SKZB ]

SCI FI Wire posted an email interview with Brust after "Dzur" came out [ 24-AUGUST-06 interview http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=37635. ]

Music & other media

Brust played drums, specifically in the Minneapolis-based folk rock band Cats Laughing and also in the Albany Free Traders [ Albany Free Traders publicity flyer http://gerisullivan.livejournal.com/84142.html ] . He released his only solo album, "A Rose for Iconoclastes", in 1993. Two songs from this album were played by Doctor Demento: "I Was Born About Ten Million Songs Ago" (co-written with" Nathan A. Bucklin) and "Backward Message." [ [http://themadmusicarchive.com/artist_details.aspx?ArtistID=5397 Steven Brust] , The Mad Music Archive, retrieved August 29, 2006.]

The 1995 Boiled in Lead enhanced CD "Songs from the Gypsy" featured songs by Brust and Adam Stemple, as well as the full text of the novel "The Gypsy." [cite web|date=2006-08-07|first=Chris|last=Olson
url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/2003/20030203/brust.shtml
title=Article: Interview: Steven Brust, by Chris Olson]

Cats Laughing also appears in issue #5 of a Marvel comic book called "Excalibur." Steve is the only member of the band who is both seen onstage and named. Emma Bull also appears but names everyone in the band except herself. [ Steven Who? http://tenser.typepad.com/tenser_said_the_tensor/2006/08/dzur.html ] Steve was seen again in a one-shot special issue, "", in which the mutant superhero Shadowcat attends a Cats Laughing concert in Edinburgh and mentions previously having seen the band at Windycon.

In addition, Chris Claremont inserted a reference to "Cats Laughing — the Excalibur Sessions" into the DC Comics graphic novel "Star Trek Debt of Honor."

Brust owned a Cadillac ambulance in Minnesota. It was painted yellow, light blue and dark blue, with murals. Known as the Catmobile, the car was the band vehicle for Cats Laughing. The same car is also depicted on the "Another Way to Travel" album with the band members. This album, noted by its picture, has a cameo in the beginning of Emma Bull's novel "Bone Dance".

Brust performed in several Shockwave Radio Theater productions, notably "Closing Ceremonies (aka The Fall of the House of Usherette)" and "PBS Liavek".

"Dragon" gets argued over in the webcomic "Penny Arcade" [ Fine Distinctions http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/06/14] . Tycho elaborates on "Fine Distinctions" [ Penny Arcade! http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/06/14 ] that same day.

References

External links

* [http://www.dreamcafe.com/ The Dream Café] - Steven Brust's own homepage
* [http://www.livejournal.com/users/skzbrust/ Steven Brust's LiveJournal]
* [http://dragaera.info/ Dragaera] - a site authorized by Brust, with a mailing list, resources, and links to many fan pages

Bibliographies and fan pages

*
* [http://scifan.com/writers/bb/BrustSteven.asp Bibliography] on SciFan
* [http://www.fantasyliterature.net/bruststeven.html Novel synopses and reviews at FanLit.net]

Interviews and reviews

* [http://www.quantummuse.com/steven_brust_interview.html Email interview of Steven Brust] by QuantumMuse.com
* [http://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=950 Email interview by Spherical Time]
* [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2003/20030203/paths.shtml Strange Horizons 2003 Review]
* [http://www.rambles.net/brust_toreign84.html Rambles review]
* [http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_brust_brokedownpalace.html Review of _Brokedown Palace_]
* [http://www.wjduquette.com/authors/sbrust.html Brust reviews at Ex Libris]
* [http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_brust_khaavrenromances.html Green Man Review of Khaavren Romances]
* [http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/05/steven_brusts_dzur_w.html DZUR review at BoingBoing.net]
* [http://www.serenitystuff.com/2006/05/27/steven-brust-reads-him-some-firefly-at-oasis-19 Firefly reading report from OASIS 19 convention]
* [http://www.sfbookcase.com/author.asp?forename=Steven&surname=Brust Interactive bio & reviews]
* [http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_brust_dzur.html Review of DZUR]
* [http://www.greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_boiledinlead_gypsy.html Review of "Songs from _The Gypsy_"]