Cover of The Baron of Magister Valley

The Baron of Magister Valley

core novel 2020 Dragaera

Record

First published2020
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.18 (573 ratings, collected 2026-09-13)
First-edition ISBN9781250311467
Internal chronology6

Synopsis

The Baron of Magister Valley reimagines the shape of Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo within Brust's Dragaeran world, again narrated in the florid, digressive voice of the in-universe historian Paarfi of Roundwood. It follows a young Dragaeran named Eremit, who is charged by his parents with investigating a conspiracy threatening their family's mining interests, a task that instead leads to his capture and years of imprisonment on an isolated, volcanic island. Held far from the life and family he once knew, Eremit's ordeal on the island shapes him into someone determined to see those responsible for his downfall held to account once he is finally able to leave. The novel follows his path from privileged investigator to prisoner, tracing the dramatic reversal of fortune that sets him on the road toward eventually seeking redress for what was done to him.

Where it sits

  • Universe: Dragaera
  • Series: The Khaavren Romances core; position 6 of 6 in the series' recorded order
  • Author: Steven Brust

Notes

  • From the series record (The Khaavren Romances): 6 novels (1991-2020), narrated in-world by the fictional historian 'Paarfi of Roundwood' in a deliberately florid Dumas-pastiche style, set centuries before the Vlad Taltos sequence. Books 3-5 form 'The Viscount of Adrilankha' trilogy within the sequence. Publication order equals internal chronological order throughout (no divergence, unlike the Vlad Taltos sequence).

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.

  • Reading order, within the series The Khaavren Romances: position 6 of 6: previous Sethra Lavode (2004)

Sources

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Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.