Vladiad Paarfi & BP
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Tables of Contents:
The Vlad Taltos Novels

Click here for publication information and my abbreviations for all the Dragaera tales.

Click here for Tables of Contents of Paarfi's romances and the Fenarian novel Brokedown Palace.

Here's a table of contents for each book in the Vlad series, so that if they're ever published in variant editions or in translations you'll still be able to get some use out of my references by seeing what chapter each one is in, and roughly what part of the chapter. The contents for the other Dragaera books are here.

To make this job easy on myself (I'm lazy), I'm using an HTML trick that lets me number each line of a list, so

1. 19
under "Jhereg" tells you that Chapter 1 of Jhereg starts on p. 19. The format isn't as pretty as it might be, but the information is all here. A page whose number is in parentheses is in the front matter of the book and the pages aren't numbered, but counting back from the first numbered page yields this number. A title in brackets is a descriptive label I have supplied for a section with no title.

I was nervous about this section because it seemed like a kind of extended direct quotation, even though the books themselves don't have Tables of Contents. I asked Brust about it, and he said to go ahead. So have fun!

Jhereg

Each chapter is headed with a saying that relates to both the events of the chapter and the House that holds the corresponding position in the Cycle. See The Houses of the Dragaeran Empire. [Pointed out by Lance Nathan.] The second page number refers to the omnibus The Book of Jhereg, courtesy of Thomas Yan.

    [The spell]
    Pronunciation Guide
    1/3. Prologue
    17. (of course). The Cycle
  1. 19/14. "Success leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to failure."
  2. 29/21. "There is no substitute for good manners -- except fast reflexes."
  3. 39/28. "Everyone is a predator."
  4. 49/36. "Inspiration requires preparation."
  5. 57/42. "There are dangers in eyesight too keen."
  6. 67/49. "True heroics must be carefully planned -- and strenuously avoided."
  7. 77/57. "Always speak politely to an enraged Dragon."
  8. 95/68. "There is no such thing as sufficient preparation."
  9. 105/76. "You can't put it together again unless you've torn it apart first."
  10. 117/84. "One man's mistake is another man's opportunity."
  11. 133/96. "When the blameless / And the righteous die / The very gods / For vengeance cry."
  12. 143/103. "Tread lightly near thine own traps."
  13. 159/115. "The bite of the yendi can never be fully healed."
  14. 171/123. "Oft 'tis startling to reveal / What the murky depths conceal."
  15. 189/136. "Staring into the dragon's jaw, one quickly learns wisdom."
  16. 199/143. "The adding of a single thread changes the garment."
  17. 215/156. "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style."
    231/167. Epilogue: "Failure leads to maturity; maturity leads to success."

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Yendi

Each chapter is headed with a line of dialogue, which occurs within the chapter itself (not always in the identical words) on the page I have indicated in brackets.

The second page number of each pair refers to the omnibus The Book of Jhereg, courtesy of Thomas Yan.

    Wellock's Area [map]
    Vlad's Area [map]
    Introduction
    The Cycle
  1. 1/177. "Stay out of sight, in case they get rude." [7/181]
  2. 13/185. "I'm going to want protection." [21/190]
  3. 27/194. "This Laris teckla is no teckla." [32/197]
  4. 39/202. "You expect to be unavailable?" [43/205]
  5. 51/210. "For an assassin, you're a real sweetheart." [57/214]
  6. 63/218. "I'm going to take a walk." [71/223]
  7. 77/227. "I guess there's just a time for doing dumb things." [85/232]
  8. 89/236. "I'll stay here and clean up the blood." [91/237]
  9. 101/244. "I guess they wanted to see you." [103/245]
  10. 113/253. "I dislike killing my guests." [119/257]
  11. 125/261. "A quick game, boss?" [130/264]
  12. 137/269. "Friendly, isn't she?" [142/272]
  13. 149/277. "Well, what did you think I'd do? Kiss him?" [159/283]
  14. 163/286. "Lord Morrolan, I must insist." [172/292]
  15. 177/295. "I imagine he's being well paid." [181/297]
  16. 189/304. "Vladimir and I will just watch." [191/305]
  17. 201/312. "You what?" [204/314]

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Teckla

Between the Prologue and Chapter 1 we see Vlad's written order for cleaning and repairs on some clothing. Each chapter is headed by a successive quotation from this order and tells us how the stain or damage occurred.

The second page number refers to the omnibus The Book of Jhereg, courtesy of Thomas Yan.

    The Cycle
    1. ["This is the city..."]
    2/321. Prologue
    7/325. [Order for cleaning and repair of clothing]
  1. 8/327. "1 grey knit cotton shirt: remove wine stain from rt sleeve..."
  2. 21/336. "...black tallow from left..."
  3. 34/345. "& repair cut in rt cuff"
  4. 47/354. "1 pr grey trousers: remove bloodstain from upper right leg..."
  5. 61/364. "...klava stain from upper left..."
  6. 73/373. "...& dirt from knees."
  7. 85/381. "1 pr black riding boots: remove reddish stain on toe of rt boot..."
  8. 98/390. "...& remove dust & soot from both..."
  9. 109/398. "...& polish."
  10. 123/407. "1 grey silk cravat: repair cut..."
  11. 134/415. "...& remove sweat stains"
  12. 146/424. "1 plain grey cloak: clean & press"
  13. 159/433. "...remove cat hairs..."
  14. 172/442. "...brush, removing white particles..."
  15. 182/449. "...remove honing-oil stains..."
  16. 196/459. "..& repair cut in left side."
  17. 211/469. "1 Pocket Handkerchief: clean & press"

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Taltos

The chapters are untitled. The second page number refers to the omnibus The Book of Taltos, courtesy of Konrad Gaertner.

  1. 1/3.
  2. 12/13.
  3. 25/25.
  4. 39/38.
  5. 47/48.
  6. 58/56.
  7. 66/64.
  8. 78/76.
  9. 90/88.
  10. 100/98.
  11. 111/108.
  12. 121/118.
  13. 132/128.
  14. 144/139.
  15. 155/149.
  16. 166/160.
  17. 175/169.

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Phoenix

In a conceit set up in the Prologue, the chapters are called "Lessons" and are grouped into three sections.

The second page number refers to the omnibus The Book of Taltos, courtesy of Konrad Gaertner.

    (1.) Prologue
    One: Technical Considerations
  1. 5/179. Contract Negotiations
  2. 17/190. Transportation
  3. 29/200. The Perfect Assassination
  4. 49/217. Handling Interrogation
  5. 63/229. Returning Home
    Two: Business Considerations
  6. 79/243. Dealing With Middle Management I
  7. 92/254. Matters of State I
  8. 103/263. Dealing With Middle Management II
  9. 119/277. Making Friends I
  10. 133/289. Making Friends II
  11. 148/302. Matters of State II
  12. 164/316. Basic Survival Skills
  13. 179/329. Advanced Survival Skills
  14. 190/339. Fundamentals of Betrayal
    Three: Aesthetic Considerations
  15. 207/355. Basic Improvisation
  16. 222/368. Dealing With Upper Management I
  17. 231/376. Dealing With Upper Management II
    244/388. Epilogue

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Athyra

Each chapter is headed with a verse of a country dance song. The story is told in a third-person voice, mostly from Savn's viewpoint, sometimes from Rocza's, and in the Prologue and Epilogue from that of an anonymous authorial narrator.

    (1.) Prologue
  1. 3. "I will not marry a dung-foot peasant..."
  2. 16. "I will not marry a serving man..."
  3. 28. "I will not marry a loudmouth Speaker..."
  4. 42. "I will not marry a magic seer..."
  5. 60. "I will not marry a blessing priest..."
  6. 77. "I will not marry a cursing wizard..."
  7. 88. "I will not marry a poor musician..."
  8. 101. "I will not marry a guzzling drinker..."
  9. 113. "I will not marry a starving painter..."
  10. 128. "I will not marry a wealthy trader..."
  11. 140. "I will not marry a filthy hermit..."
  12. 152. "I will not marry a fat old cook..."
  13. 164. "I will not marry a handsome soldier..."
  14. 177. "I will not marry a sly intendant..."
  15. 192. "I will not marry an acrobat..."
  16. 214. "I will not marry an aristocrat..."
  17. 228. "I'm gonna marry me a bandit..."
    239. Epilogue

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Orca

The chapters are untitled. The story is framed by letters from Kiera the Thief to Cawti, with Interludes of dialogue between them. The story itself is mostly told by Kiera, with parts as told to her by Vlad. But by the end we realize or discover that she isn't, or isn't always, telling it to Cawti.

    (1.) Prologue
  1. 3.
  2. 16.
    34. Interlude
  3. 36.
  4. 52.
  5. 64.
  6. 85.
    105. Interlude
  7. 107.
  8. 128.
  9. 147.
  10. 175.
  11. 190.
  12. 205.
    220. Interlude
  13. 222.
  14. 239.
  15. 250.
  16. 268.
    272. Interlude
  17. 275.
    289. Epilogue

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Dragon

The story is spoken or dictated by Vlad to an "odd metal box", which he refers to in the present tense, evidently a recorder or transmitter that will take his words to Brust the interviewer.

The chapters tell of Vlad's participation in the war between Morrolan and Fornia, culminating in the Battle of Baritt's Tomb, all several years before the "present tense" of dictation. The Interludes and Epilogue take place on the same day Vlad is dictating and the day before.

The hardcover and paperback have identical pagination. The second page number refers to the Science Fiction Book Club omnibus Dragon and Issola, courtesy of Konrad Gaertner.

    (3)/1. [title page]
    (5)/3. [dedication]
    (7)/5. Acknowledgments
  1. 13/7. Memory Is Like a Watchacallit
  2. 29/21. Crossing Lines
  3. 43/33. On Stolen Swords and Borrowed Books
  4. 59/46. Call to War
  5. 73/58. Mourning in the Afternoon
  6. 87/69. Assault on Helpless Wood
    101/83. Interlude: Maneuvers
  7. 105/87. What Was the Question?
  8. 125/104. In the Army Now
  9. 141/117. Skulking About
  10. 156/130. Run Away! Run Away!
    171/145. Interlude: Defend
  11. 177/149. Breakfast with Chef Vladimir
  12. 193/163. A Few Bumps and Bruises
  13. 209/176. Soldier's Stew
  14. 223/189. Ups and Downs
    237/201. Interlude: Counterattack
  15. 241/205. Scratch One Jerkin
  16. 255/217. A Walk in the Park
  17. 267/228. The Limitations of Wit
    283/241. Epilogue: Trophies

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Issola

The story is told by Vlad to the usual anonymous listener, presumably Brust the interviewer. The Prologue discusses manners in different societies and in different Houses, and describes the book as "a small treatise on manners in the Dragaeran Empire".

The second page number refers to the Science Fiction Book Club omnibus Dragon and Issola, courtesy of Konrad Gaertner.

    /245. [title page]
    /247. [dedication]
    /249. Acknowledgments
    9/251. Prologue
  1. 11/253. Adapting Behavior to Environment
  2. 27/267. Being a Good Listener
  3. 43/282. Dropping in Unexpectedly
  4. 57/295. Making Acquaintances
  5. 71/308. Pleasantries with Deities
  6. 87/322. Trading at the Market
  7. 101/334. Asking for and Receiving Assistance
  8. 117/348. Fishing Etiquette
  9. 133/361. How to Break Unwelcome News
  10. 151/377. Courtesy Toward Inanimate Objects
  11. 165/389. Disagreements with Deities
  12. 179/401. Exercising Due Care for the Comfort and Safety of Others
  13. 193/413. While in the Care of the Physicker
  14. 209/427. Conversations with the Undead
  15. 225/440. When Negotiation Becomes Strained
  16. 239/453. Funereal Customs
  17. 251/469. Taking One's Leave of Friends

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Dzur

The story is told by Vlad to the usual anonymous listener-- or perhaps to the reader. In the Prologue, Vlad addresses this person: "You see me, but I don't see you. I don't know who you are. You're there, but invisible, like Fate if you choose to believe in it.... Do you know me? Have we met? Do I need to explain who I am, or shall I assume you're the same individual who's been listening to me all along?"

The Prologue, Epilogue, and the beginning of each chapter are successive scenes set in Valabar's, the ancient and legendary finest restaurant in the Empire, as Vlad has a meal there. Each is titled with a food or drink served at that point.


    11. Prologue: Peasant's Platter
  1. 33. Dry Red Wine
  2. 51. Garlic Bread
  3. 67. Shamy
  4. 85. Mushroom-Barley Soup
  5. 101. White Wine from Guinchen
  6. 117. Sertalia Cheese
  7. 123. Fish
  8. 135. Steamed Goslingroot
  9. 149. Chilled Defrina
  10. 165. Salad
  11. 183. Descani Wine
  12. 197. Chicken with Shallots
  13. 215. Descani Wine (Continued)
  14. 235. Brisket of Beef
  15. 241. Dumplings
  16. 257. Red Wine
  17. 271. Palaczinta
    281. Epilogue: Ailor Dessert Wine

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Jhegaala

The story is divided into five parts corresponding to successive stages in the life cycle of the jhegaala ("Jhegaala shifts as moments pass"). Each part is introduced with a quotation from a successive chapter (15-19) from Volume 6 of Fauna of the Middle South: A Brief Survey, by Oscaani (whose name we haven't seen before, and which appears nowhere else in the series). -- This is the first book of the Vladiad in which we do not meet a member of the title House, except of course for Taltos... and you could say that Vlad himself is a member of that House.

In the Prologue Vlad tells the usual anonymous listener about a symbolic point in crossing the mountains from the Empire into Fenario, and then flashes back to how he decided to go to Fenario while on the run from the Organization. In the Epilogue he wraps up the time between the events of the story and his return to the Empire, ending at the same symbolic place, now heading back. There is also an Interlude, in which Vlad watches events through Loiosh's and Rocza's eyes, and their thoughts are interwoven with his.

Each chapter is introduced with a quotation from "a mannerist murder comedy" (pp. 267f.), Miersen's Six Parts Water.


    9. Part 1: Egg
    11. Prologue
    19. Part 2: Apoptera
  1. 21.
  2. 39.
  3. 52.
  4. 64.
    77. Part 3: Steminastria
  5. 79.
  6. 94.
  7. 108.
  8. 125.
  9. 140.
  10. 157.
    175. Part 4: Notonide
  11. 177.
  12. 190.
    207. Part 5: Levidopt
  13. 209.
  14. 226.
  15. 242.
  16. 259.
    274. Interlude
  17. 279.
    298. Epilogue

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Vladiad Paarfi & BP
Books Houses Peoples Languages Names Time Seventeen Jokes & Allusions Acknowledgements Assorted Shards Cracks
Cracks and Shards Feedback to me my home page

last modified 2008-08-02