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Yendi comprises the second Vald book, but it takes place a few years before Jhereg. Brust considered the best way to read this series-- chronologically or in order of publication--and suggested order of publication, so I am doing that. While Jhereg burst on the scene with Vald already an established 'player', Yendi centers on his rise to a power player, and not incidentally, the meeting of his wife Cawti.

Becoming formulaic kills series for me, but I do not think I have to worry about that with Brust. This starts with Vald in charge of part of the city, well, the underground part of it at least, with several brothels, 'gaming' establishments, 'cleaners' (eg., fences) and such. They earn a tidy sum, but not enough to make him wealthy. Further, he still takes up some 'work' on occasion. Still, Vald is a small player in a big game. When the 'boss' next door, a rather big boss, sets up a gaming house in Vald's territory, things quickly get ugly.

If the previous installment reminded me of the Stainless Steel Rat, this reminded me of The Godfather when mafia clans clash-- going to the mattresses was the colorful slang employed there. Vald has to fight back to get respect, but his opponent controls a lot more territory, has deeper pockets and a lot more people (enforcers) working for him.

If the mob was comprises the main plot, the political intrigue among the Dragaera fleshes it out. Like in Jhereg, some deep, dark plot/secret lurks among the Dragaera players and poor Vald gets stuck in the middle; if he does not sort it out, well, that's life (literally). Brust's pacing once again excels and this quickly becomes a fine mixture of political intrigue mixed with war on the streets. We also get a bit more background on some of the key secondary characters, especially the Dragaera ones. Lovely world building done almost effortlessly, with few wasted words. Remember the day when fantasy novels were seldom massive doorstops? I do! The economy of prose, and the elegance of the prose really sets this apart from the pack. The dark humor ices the cake. 4.5 stars!!