dark and gritty, and yet with a realistic feel when it comes to the fate and development of the characters. i love how the whole series was told from the views of the different personalities, and though somehow i wished there was some details revealed, it ends up that the whole point of having no...
Yes, I do like fantasy/supernatural based mysteries. Don't judge. I've followed Garett from the beginning, and like any character, he ebbs and flows. I appreciate the fact that Mr. Cook is trying to mature the character realistically. I don't know if I necessary enjoy the maturing process, but it...
When the former mistress of the now-defunct king hires Garrett to find her missing teenaged daughter, the human detective gets more than he bargained for in a world full of suspects, sex, and corpses.
The War That Wizards DreadAcross the mountains called Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the Werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Windtower. From this lonely keep the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread, fought f...
Starfish: Treasure troves of power. They were creatures of fusion energy, ancient, huge, intelligent, drifting in herds on the edge of the galaxy, producing their ambergris, the substance precious to man and the man-like Sangaree alike. In deep, starless space the herds were protected by the grea...
3.5 stars (based on my individual ratings for all three books)The heart is stilled but the corpse stumbles on. The Company is dead in fact but not in name.And we, O merciless gods, stand witness to the power of names.After decades of fighting in the dark empire of the north, the huge and devastat...
My apologies to the legion of Dresdenites who may be about to burn me in effigy...but Garrett's files are far more entertaining to peruse than those of Jim Butcher's more famous creation. And while I enjoy many aspects of the Dresden stories, Harry himself annoys the bejesus outta me and taints ...
The Fortress on the edge of the galaxy was called Stars' End, a planet build for death, but by whom? It lay on the outermost arm of the Milky Way, silent, cloaked in mystery, self-contained and controlled, tantalizingly close to the harvesting Starfishers. If they could gain control of that arsen...
I started this book immediately after I had finished with The black company as I had found the first book to be engaging after 50 pages or so but this book the I think cook has hit his stride from the start, the last book was basically given us to from the pov of Croaker who is basically annalist...
In TunFaire, a city of gorgeous women, powerful sorcerers and dangerous magic, the beautiful, criminally insane daughter of a comatose crime boss has some lascivious designs on private investigator Garrett-who now has to figure out why everyone is suddenly after him.
Slaying BeautyShe was tall, blonde, and offering Garrett a fee that was irresistible to take a case that seemed open and shut. But in a town of elves and humans, thugs and swindlers -- a place where magic and religion could prove an all-too-potent mix -- Garrett had learned to take a long, hard l...
Rereading Cook's "Dread Empire" books on my way to "A Path to Coldness of Heart." I was struck by how clearly this is his early work. Parts of it are awkward. Other parts are lyrical. Many of the elements of classic, epic fantasy are here, but already Cook puts them through his blender and th...
4 AND ½ STARS My first experience with dark fantasy author Glen Cook could not have been more enjoyable. I always look for a good story, solid technical writing that exudes confidence, a strong vocabulary with a unique style, believable and original characters, rich atmosphere, and an overall con...
THE POWER IN HER MIND brought young Morika at last to the great Maksche Cloister, where her already precocious silth witch-like powers could be honed to an awesome mental weapon.To the tradermales fell the skills ot science and technology, while the female silth dominated the world with their mas...
This book is a definite improvement from the last two books in the series, although Bleak seasons was a good book but I definitely thought that it lagged in some parts and main issue with it was our narrator i.e. Murgen just kept jumping from past to present and it was hard to identify where he w...
This is the official 6th book in the Chronicles of the Black Company series, by Glen Cook. It's a little confusing, because you would think that The Silver Spike was the 6th book, (or possibly the 5th), as that is where it is chronologically, but it actually doesn't have a number. I'm not sure as...
Soldiers live. And wonder why.This book is the culmination of all the Taglian centered Black Company novels. It is a fitting end to the book of Croaker, as we have slowly seen the old guard phased out over the novels since the White Rose.Much to my enjoyment, Croaker is finally back as Company An...
It's a shame Glen Cook has never continued this tale; the ending unarguably leaves room for a follow-up and we as readers can only hope Glen returns to this particular world of his creation one day. "The Swordbearer" is a deftly-written, action-packed high fantasy tragedy with a truly compelling...
Darkwar is the second series I've read by Cook, and is a beast of a completely different color than The Black Company. At the outset it seems standard, if strange, fantasy, but soon enough you will begin some very serious Sci-fi elements. We're talking space battles here. I went in with absolu...
Blood soaked blades had been taking their toll among the luscious lovelies in Garrett's home city of TunFaire. And though Garrett could be as civic-minded as the next guy - unless the next guy was Captain Block of the Watch - the private eye wasn't sure he really wanted to take on a serial killer...
I'm pretty sure that in every long series I read, there's one volume whose content I never can remember until I'm actually reading the book again. In the Garrett series, that's Faded Steel Heat. I really like this book, honestly. I just can't sum it up for anyone, unlike Sweet Silver Blues (vampi...
Even though this is probably one of the lesser lights in the Black Company saga, Cook is a gifted enough writer to always keep me enjoying the story. In a genre that tends often tends to the stale he really is a unique voice writing unique stories. The Silver Spike starts right after the momentou...
A part of me wanted to like Murgen. But mostly I resented him for not telling the story I wanted to read, especially after the last cliffhanger ending.This book is also a great example of why I typically don't read the sprawling multi-volume epics (and yet what are the sequels to [link: The Chron...
Cradled in swords, the war-child comes October. When the leaves turn blood and the wind turns bone: a time for doings dark and strange. The princess bears a child to the winged thing and the cries are heard far beyond the peaks of Dragon's Teeth, at the end of the world's Beginning, where Nepanth...
It has ended. It begins again. In Kavelin: Lady Nepanthe's new life with the wizard Varthlokkur is disturbed by visions of her lost son, while King Bragi Ragnarson and Michael Trebilcock scheme to help the exiled Princess Mist re-usurp her throne—under their thumb. In Shinsan: a pig-farmer's son ...
I've heard this described as "Vietnam War fiction on peyote" and I think that's a pretty accurate description. This is wild, dark, bleak stuff and deserves its reputation as a fantasy classic. While other writers had done a marvelous job of plumbing the depths of gritty, amoral fantasy (Robert E....
Garet , P. I., is on the case There are some new gods in the town of TunFaire, but temple real estate on the Street of Dreams is at a premium. So the big gods on the block issued a challenge-find the "key" to the one temple still available. When two rival pantheons try to hire Garrett, he knows h...
It's cold. The wells of power are weakening and the forces of Night grow strong. The gods are real, and still have some power, mostly to do harm. The Instrumentalities of the Night are the worst of these. Piper Hecht, born Else Tage, survived a battle with the Instrumentalities. Now he's Capt...
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews I'm a big fan of Glen Cook and have been since I was a know-it-all teenager, so whenever he puts out a new book, I eventually get around to reading it. Usually I love the thing, because I just enjoy the way the man tells stories. But even I have to say...
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Glen Cook's fantasy novels have a sharp edge and unique style, with dark undertones flowing throughout even the most lighthearted bits of the story. I really like that. In his science fiction he tries something similar. It doesn't QUITE work as wel...
Immédiatement après avoir fini de lire le premier roman de cette série, j'ai commencer le second livre en espérant qu'il soit un peu plus travaillé que le premier livre.C'est assez sidérant de voir la différence directement dans les premières pages du livre, meilleur prose, meilleur écriture, mei...
Protector Jerhke has kept Shasessrre peaceful for hundreds of years. After his brutal murder, his son Rider tries to discover his father's murderer. Rider is helped in his search by his companions, as they battle against the agents of the mysterious Kralj Odehnal. But the murderous dwarf turns ou...
I actually give this 3.5 stars. Having just finished it moments ago, I can say that I enjoyed the final 1/4th of the book more than all the rest of it combined. Most of the time I felt like you could have replaced "spaceship" with "submarine" and you'd have the same damn novel. Which, I suppos...
A CORPS OF CORPSESwas what it seemed Garrett had committed himself to find when Blake Peters turned up to reclaim some overdue favors. Someone was trying to kill Peters' boss, wealthy, retired General Stantnor, in a most lingering, painful, and maybe poisonous way. And Peters wanted Garrett to ke...
Finally done!Kids, I gotta be honest. This one felt kinda like homework.Sleepy is our narrator this time. She's not fun or funny, which is a drag. But she is a genius at guerrilla warfare, and that is pretty great. She is in charge of a tiny ragtag bunch - Company members not cocooning under ...
Everyone wants to find it?a treasure so rich it makes even a hard-boiled detective like Garrett nervous. It's the legendary Book of Shadows, made of brass and holding secrets no mortal was ever meant to master?and Garrett must make sure no one ever has the chance to work its spells on an unsuspec...
The Crown never had possessed wealth enough to raise a purpose-built structure. Josiah’s health had not improved. He limped. He carried a cane. He leaned on it heavily when no one was watching. The little king was doing better. Inger said, “This place is a sty. Pray the weather has the grace to l...
Mouse snarled. “You should’ve . . . ” He had not forgiven Moyshe the weakness that had left her alive.“I can’t stomach contingency assassinations, Mouse.”“Yeah? Look over there and think about it some more. How much mischief could she do?”“All right. So it makes a perverted kind of sense. If you ...
I heard talk from Singe’s office. John Stretch was using his deadly calm, lethally reasonable voice. I thought he would use that voice to explain why he was going to kill you. He was the only one doing any talking. I raised an eyebrow to Penny. She shrugged, raised one han...
I opened up. The Windwalker sprinkled salt along the sill plate. I shut the door carefully. We would have to redo that one because of traffic. For now it should stay shut till Dollar Dan and the cleaning ladies traded places. We did the back door next. That got almost no use. Likewise, the transo...
Antieux: Last Happy Season Brother Candle felt no different—except for enduring the endless horror of knowing he had been involved in multiple deaths. The dead had been bent on hurting him. He had been but a vehicle for those deadly serpents. But the guilt persisted. And he knew, as soon as he ho...
“What happened to your coat?” “Tinnie’s good intentions. Dean back yet?” “No. We’re on our own for supper.” That meant Garrett would boil some sausages. He might even get experimental and toss in a couple potatoes. She asked, “So how was your ...
At the time the story was written its world existed principally to support short fiction involving Leiberesque characters Bragi Ragnarson, Mocker, and Haroun bin Yousif. That world had evolved into something much larger, more complex, and deadlier even before this story appeared. An ominous thin...
“They had him stashed in some kind of locker. Marsha! Get everybody ready to hit the road. We’re gonna move as soon as we can get the kid cleaned up. Playmate, take him to the pond.” My instructions inspired a hundred questions. I ignored them all, located my local buddy Mr. Thr...
Silence and darkness surrounded him. To the west there was a hint of glow limning the Thunder Mountains, illuminated ions blowing on the solar wind. Before him, invisible to the eye, stretched a long, narrow plain flanked by the ringwalls of two immense meteor craters. The hill on which he stood ...
Realm of the Gods: Time and Tide 20. Realm of the Gods: Time and Tide The Ninth Unknown felt the weight of each of his years, though he had forgotten all but the most interesting. Nor was he sure his recollections of those were trustworthy. Could anyone be so old? And he was in little better shap...
Billy lay curled in Visigodred’s lap, sleeping fitfully, plagued by unhappy monkey dreams. Perhaps the leopards of his mind were closing on the running ghost of his monkey-imagination. Servants came and went, bringing refreshments and carrying away dirty mugs and dishes, or tending the roar...
It was a Pluto-sized twerp of a straggler planet which, like an orphaned puppy, had taken up with the first warm body it had come across. When it did so, it set up for business too far from the unstable Cepheid it adopted. Even at perihelion in its lazy, eggy orbit it did not receive enough warmt...