Tiassa is very different from most of the Vlad novels in that very little of it is told from Vlad’s point of view. This does not make it bad, just different. The story is still Vlad centric, but it details what would normally be behind the scenes actions that Vlad never sees and isn’t really aware of. It’s good, but I love Vlad’s voice so I was kind of disappointed.
It also reminds us of the fact that we’re hearing these stories because Vlad is telling them to someone, recording them. We learn this is as a favor to Sethra.