C.T. Phipps Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 Hey folks, I've been searching for a new long-running series to read and decided to read GARRETT PI due to the recommendations to me as a long-standing fan of the Dresden Files. I was curious if anyone else had read the series and what their thoughts were about it. I'm only on the third book but figure I can finish the entire series by the end of the year. The premise for those who aren't familiar with it is it's a reversal of the Dresden Files in some respects. Instead of a wizard and magical person in the ordinary land of Chicago, Garrett is a mundane PI in a high fantasy world. I really like the characters so far and the world-building too. Truly fantastic noir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 My Sweet Silver Blues review 3.5/5 Spoiler Glen Cook is an author that I intellectually know I should love but just doesn't jive with my style. At least, that's what I thought about him having tried and failed to read the Black Company three times. It was excellent world-building but, for some reason, I wasn't able to appreciate it the way I wanted to so I ended up dropping the series. Still, I was attracted to the prospect of another supernatural PI story. I'm a huge Dresden Files fan and the idea of a normal non-magical PI in a fantasy world seemed a cool reversal. The premise is Garrett is a former Marine in the service of the kingdom of Karenta that survived his term of service before becoming a private investigator. A former friend of his is killed in an accident and leaves his vast fortune to a mysterious woman. Named executor of their estate, Garrett is compelled by the substantial fee he's offered to go back to war-torn Cantard in order to find her. For the most part, I very much enjoyed the book and the whole idea of a detective novel in a fantasy land is something I'm absolutely down for. I mentioned that I felt like Dragon Age 2 would have been improved greatly if instead of being a nobleman, Hawke had ended up opening a private Inquisitive service. Anyway, the parts about investigating Kayean Kronk's mysterious disappearance as well as dealing with the late Denny Tate's partners are the best in the book. Unfortunately, the final third of the book is a bit of a let down as it goes from being a detective novel to being more straight action fantasy with battles against unicorns, vampire hunting, and other fights to the death that are less interesting. There's also the fact women aren't terribly well-represented in the book. Rose Tate, one of a pair of beautiful redheaded gnomish sisters, threatens to tell everyone Garrett raped her at one point. Which, later on, he gets her back for along with a beating from one of her goons by sending a man to kidnap her then spank her naked in public. Yeah. Yikes. I was also somewhat disappointed with the fact we never get much in the way of conversation with Kayean Tate. Despite being someone who is the focus of numerous interesting storylines, she says all of two words in the novel. I feel like conversations with the protagonist would have been a lot more interesting than stabbing vampires through the heart with unicorn horns. Which, compared to my fourteen-year-old-self's fantasy tastes, must sound like blasphemy. Overall, Glen Cook is a fantastic author and I really love this peanut butter and jelly sandwich he's made of genres. Unfortunately, I really wish he'd stuck with the PI elements of the book heavier than he did. He sort of wandered off into, admittedly, very well written action scenes. I will probably read the rest of the series but I hope the handling of the feminine sex gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 On 1/8/2023 at 7:56 PM, C.T. Phipps said: My Sweet Silver Blues review 3.5/5 Hide contents Glen Cook is an author that I intellectually know I should love but just doesn't jive with my style. At least, that's what I thought about him having tried and failed to read the Black Company three times. It was excellent world-building but, for some reason, I wasn't able to appreciate it the way I wanted to so I ended up dropping the series. Still, I was attracted to the prospect of another supernatural PI story. I'm a huge Dresden Files fan and the idea of a normal non-magical PI in a fantasy world seemed a cool reversal. The premise is Garrett is a former Marine in the service of the kingdom of Karenta that survived his term of service before becoming a private investigator. A former friend of his is killed in an accident and leaves his vast fortune to a mysterious woman. Named executor of their estate, Garrett is compelled by the substantial fee he's offered to go back to war-torn Cantard in order to find her. For the most part, I very much enjoyed the book and the whole idea of a detective novel in a fantasy land is something I'm absolutely down for. I mentioned that I felt like Dragon Age 2 would have been improved greatly if instead of being a nobleman, Hawke had ended up opening a private Inquisitive service. Anyway, the parts about investigating Kayean Kronk's mysterious disappearance as well as dealing with the late Denny Tate's partners are the best in the book. Unfortunately, the final third of the book is a bit of a let down as it goes from being a detective novel to being more straight action fantasy with battles against unicorns, vampire hunting, and other fights to the death that are less interesting. There's also the fact women aren't terribly well-represented in the book. Rose Tate, one of a pair of beautiful redheaded gnomish sisters, threatens to tell everyone Garrett raped her at one point. Which, later on, he gets her back for along with a beating from one of her goons by sending a man to kidnap her then spank her naked in public. Yeah. Yikes. I was also somewhat disappointed with the fact we never get much in the way of conversation with Kayean Tate. Despite being someone who is the focus of numerous interesting storylines, she says all of two words in the novel. I feel like conversations with the protagonist would have been a lot more interesting than stabbing vampires through the heart with unicorn horns. Which, compared to my fourteen-year-old-self's fantasy tastes, must sound like blasphemy. Overall, Glen Cook is a fantastic author and I really love this peanut butter and jelly sandwich he's made of genres. Unfortunately, I really wish he'd stuck with the PI elements of the book heavier than he did. He sort of wandered off into, admittedly, very well written action scenes. I will probably read the rest of the series but I hope the handling of the feminine sex gets better. Overall, I enjoyed The Black Company series, but as you say, the style does jar at times. One thing I do like about Cook is there is not much bloat in his stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 I love the Garrett PI series pretty much 100%. I think it holds up wonderfully, and I also think there's a whole layer that's there for people who have read Nero Wolfe, Sam Spade, Mike Hammer, and other classic detective novels. This series is inverted urban fantasy, it's the noir detective in a fantasy setting, and it works! It's also one of the most re-readable series I've read. I can grab random books and read them no problem. The women are archetypes that you see in classic noir, but that template gets less as the characters grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted January 29, 2023 Author Share Posted January 29, 2023 I just finished the fifth book. These are very addictive and perfect for reading if you're a Dresden Files fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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