Nukelavee Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Yeah. Y'know, this isn't the first time i've realized I blurred those names together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I love the series. The first three are my favorite, the silver spiek is good too, as it has some interesting side characters heading the stage. The rest are worth reading just to get to the last book which I thought ended the series wonderfully. I would love any new black company books by Cook.I thought his style of writing was a good change in pace with other writers. You can also get the gritty feel of battle from a man who knows what he is talking about. Crocker is a great character, and he and the others took on a nostalgia factor after awhile later in the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I would love any new black company books by Cook.I would be happy if he finished the Dread Empire series myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 pat interviewed him back in 09 and he listed Port of Shadows ( Black Company ) and A Path to Coldness of Heart ( Dread Empire ) as some projects he would be working on. So that's awesome.Its a good interview too btw. Not many like GC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I saw Wikipedia had two potential Black Company titles listed. Ill believe it when it shows. Ive enjoyed Tyranny, but ready for a new venue already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grack21 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Nightshade is releasing the last two dread empire books in trade as a ramp up to the final dread empire. I have a link somewhere...Glen Cook also tends to be silent for a few years then have like, 4 books come out in a month. Wonder if that's publisher related or just how he writes.Swords and Dark Magic and Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 both have new Black Company stories.That interview in 09 is when he said he turned in the third Instrumentalities book, and look how long it took to get published. TOR, I poop on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horselover Fat Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 A little off topic but...I am loving the Black Company, I just got the first Dread Empire omnibus and I am wondering where people rate the Instrumentalities books in all this. So far I am quickly becoming a Cook fiend. I guess I am wondering how everyone rates the three and if the DE and Instra. are close in quality to the Black Company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grack21 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/Reap-East-Wind-Glen-Cook/dp/1597803189/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307417367&sr=1-4Product DescriptionIt 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 takes command of Eastern Army, while Lord Kuo faces plots in his council and a suicide attack of two million Matayangans on his border. But in the desert beyond the Dread Empire, a young victim of the Great War becomes the Deliverer of an eons-forgotten god, chosen to lead the legions of the dead. And the power of his vengeance will make a world''s schemes as petty as dust, blown wild in the horror that rides the east wind. This volume marks the beginning of the end. Reap the East Wind is the first step on the road to the long-delayed final chapter of Glen Cook''s legendary Dread Empire series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 A little off topic but...I am loving the Black Company, I just got the first Dread Empire omnibus and I am wondering where people rate the Instrumentalities books in all this. So far I am quickly becoming a Cook fiend. I guess I am wondering how everyone rates the three and if the DE and Instra. are close in quality to the Black Company.Instrumentalities was very interesting through the first two(haven't read the third), but is MUCH harder to get into. It is not an easy read, kind of weird, and while it doesn't have a huge cast of characters, it has a huge cast surrounding them (if that makes any sense at all). First one took me a week to get through it, and it isnt really a very long book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Cook is a bad writer, but he makes interesting pulp books.Except Instrumentalities of the Night, that kinda sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manmiles Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I borrowed the first omnibus of 'Black Company' from my local library today.I sure hope it's good, I've too many books of my own to read right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukelavee Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I beg to differ, he may not be a great writer, but he's solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Eh, he's a good writer with a style quite different from many, and one I enjoy quite a bit ( much more than alot of other popular sff authors ). IMO, Dread Empire is the best, with Black Company following close behind. The Dragon Never Sleeps and Passage at Arms are fucking fantastic too. If you haven't read them, I highly suggest you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grack21 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Instrumentalities of the Night is very dense. There's very little info dumb, and there's a LOT going on. It reminds me a bit of Bakker actually, although that may be cause both are based around the crusading era. Cook's is more about the stuff going on back home, and that whole thing were they had two popes. I love how people come in here with OMG COOK IS BAD. Seriously, I've seen Stanek back things up better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoTreviews Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Cook is a bad writer, but he makes interesting pulp books.That's one hell of a statement. Cook has a style that matches his Universe (in the Black Company, at least. I didn't find "Garret P.I." so great) and every now and then (when the story allows it) his style, as a writer (and not just a "pulp maker") really shines. The end of the Silver Spike for instance... this IS great writing: the way the different PoV switch, faster and faster, following the pace of the action, that's really skillfull writing.And yes, I would indeed reccomend that series to just about everyone (even if the "we're the black company, we're the ultimate badass and we got True Grit" may dissapoint some readers).edit: I like the "in the trenches"-style. Suits him :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grack21 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 That's one hell of a statement. Cook has a style that matches his Universe (in the Black Company, at least. I didn't find "Garret P.I." so great) and every know and then (when the story allows it) his style, as a writer (and not just a "pulp maker") really shines. The end of the Silver Spike for instance... this IS great writing: the way the different PoV switch, faster and faster, following the pace of the action, that's really skillfull writing.And yes, I would indeed reccomend that series to just about everyone (even if the "we're the black company, we're the ultimate badass and we got True Grit" may dissapoint some readers). Yeah, his "War Correspondent" prose has been praised by tons of critics and authors. His style really takes you down to ground level, in the trenches. His non first person prose can be very terse though. You can;t miss a word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukelavee Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Good point - I've had to go back and re-read chapters when I've managed to totally lose track of who is actually still standing, because of a single line.Old Man Fish might be THE most bad ass supporting character ever...he's like Yoren, but smarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Lord of Winterfell Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Croaker is his best character, but Bragi Ragnarsson is pretty damn cool as well.And as good as the Taken are, the names of the nonhuman magical beings who side with the West in Dread Empire are awesome. The "Egg of God", etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 If you enjoy Dread Empire, try the Starfishers trilogy. I have all three, but have only read the first, and it gave me a DE vibe but in space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 This is a little off topic, but I have the Dread Empire: A Fortress in Shadow, the two prequels. I have not read the main stories though. Should I go by the main ones to start with or just read the prequels first? Any comments would be helpful thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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