Lord of the Silent Kingdom

Instrumentalities of the Night #2

by Glen Cook

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 Captain-General of the armies fighting a crusade for Patriarch Sublime V. Intrigues swirl around the throne of the Grail Empire, as the imperial family's enemy Anne of Menand raises money to help the perpetually indebted Patriarch finance his crusades. To reduce his own vulnerability, sickly young Emperor Lothar assigns his two half-sisters--his immediate heirs--to their own realms.
 
Now Piper Hecht learns that the legendary sorceror Cloven Februaren, referred to as the Ninth Unknown, is still alive, more than 100 years old, and on Piper's side. As the dynastic politics of the Empire become even more convoluted, it's clear that while the old gods may be fading, they're determined to do everything they can to bend the doings of men to their own advantage. 
 
Sieges, explosions, betrayals, Anti-Patriarchs, and suspicious deaths will ensue as the great chess game plays itself out, with Piper Hecht at the center of it all…

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, War, Dark Fantasy, Magic, Epic

496 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2007

About the author

Glen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with malicious intent to publish in 1968, eventually producing 51 books and a number of short fiction pieces.
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

☠ A Seasoned and Nearly Seasoned Glen Cook Mercenaries Buddy Read (SAaNSSGCMBR™) with The Real Evgeny™, Choko the Beach Bum, Elena the Nearly Seasoned One and Eilonwy the Pretend Patriarch Slowpoke ☠

Actual rating: 8 stars. Duh.

“Disarm the idiots by putting them in charge, then let their own incompetence destroy them.”

Now that’s the spirit! Okay, so my super scrumpalicious boyfriend Else Tage is now one of the idiots totally awesome dudes in charge, but this quote obviously doesn’t apply to him. Because, duh, he’s my boyfriend and stuff. Do you seriously think I would have locked him up in the Harem if he was a complete nitwit? I mean, have I ever kidnapped a book boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever for their yummy bodies, not their lickable intellects? Err…Okay, nevermind, I never asked this question and you never answered it. Right. Moving on. So, as I was saying, my boyfriend Else Tage has gone up up up in the world and is now at the head of spoiler spoiler spoiler ← lots of spoiler spoiler spoilers to be expected in this crappy non review, this book being one big shrimping spoiler and stuff. Pretty sure at least one of Else’s bosses must be pretty pumped about that. Which boss, you ask? How should I know? I think Else was a quattuordecuple agent at the last mission count, so you can’t really expect me to remember what he’s cunningly doing, and on whose behalf. I mean, remembering his many assumed names is difficult enough, so imagine trying to keep track of all his treacherous operations. No can do and stuff. But I guess that’s what you get for hooking up with an International Man of Mystery and stuff.



Told you I didn’t kidnap Else for his chest hair body.

So my mouth-watering spy of a boyfriend is now up to his delicious ears in Machiavellian powerplays, devious shenanigans and devilish sorceries. So much so that, despite his gloriously sharp undercover agent mind, the most essential stuff kinda sorta goes right over his lovely little head sometimes. But who can blame him, really? Pretty sure I would have been as ridiculously clueless as he in the same situation which should tell you something, since Einstein’s grey cells are a complete joke compared to mine and stuff . Anyway, Else is always super cute when he gets all, “Say bloody shrimping what??!!” so it just adds to his lusciously tasty harem-worthy persona.

And now it seems we have a problem since I can’t tell you much more about the book. Because spoiler spoiler spoiler, obviously. Speaking of which, if you’re considering giving this series a try—as you bloody fishing should—do NOT read the blurb for this book. Unless you want to spoiler spoiler spoiler yourself to death and back, that is. And thoroughly ruin what is left of your puny little lives, that is. Because, you see, there are some unexpected twists and revelations in some books, and there are UNEXPECTED TWISTS AND REVELATIONS in Glen Cook Books of Utter Awesomeness (GCBoUA™).



And then some.

Let’s see then, what non-spoilerish stuff could I dig up and tell you about? Well, I am happy to report that Pig Iron, the mostest badassest donkey soldier ever, is still alive and kicking (well, he is kind of vacationing at the moment but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back at the heart of the duplicitous action posthaste). What else? We’ve got giant-ass worms and bugs (which barbecue well, from what I’ve heard) and somewhat bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac damsels in no bloody shrimping distress whatsoever. We also have ancient (if moderately malevolent) gods, HAHAHA-bloody-HA dialogues (lots of these), mummified thingies, a wondrous cast of most untrustworthy delectable characters (revoltingly endearing kids included), and severed limbs (yum). There’s plenty of gloriously head-scratching stuff, too, lots and lots of , and many a Glen-Cook-what-evil-scheme-is-this-and-what-the-fish-are-you-up-to-you-wicked-man-you moment. Anything else? Oh yes, assuredly: a certain item that would make a certain super sexey person who shall not be named go all, “my precioussssssssss” is also at hand (or is it? Ha). And last, but bloody shrimping not least, we have the Mostest Awesomest Butt-Grabbing Practical Joker of an Invisible Man (MABGPJoaIM™) that ever was and ever will be. Poof, gone, Harem and stuff. Obviously. Time for a celebratory dance, is it not? Here we go.



➽ And the moral of this Bloody Shrimping Shocker Shrimpman I Better Make Sure I Have a Defibrillator Handy When I Read the Next Book in this Series Otherwise I Might Not Survive and Stuff Crappy Non Review (BSSSIBMSIHaDHWIRtNBitSOIMNSaSSCNR™) is: do you think that Fantasy meets sorcery meets medieval Europe meets the Crusades is the most improbable, doomed-to-fail mix ever? That’s just because you’ve never read a Glen Cook book before and don’t know any better, my Clueless Barnacles. But hey, worry your little selves silly over this you shouldn’t. Else can be clueless as fish, too, and yet I still lurves him to bits. So there’s hope for you yet. Then again, maybe not.



· Book 1: The Tyranny of the Night ★★★★★
· Book 3: Surrender to the Will of the Night ★★★
· Book 4: Working God's Mischief ★★★★



There are books. And there are Glen Cook Books of Utter Awesomeness (GCBoUA™) that kinda sorta make you feel like this:



Yes, it's true, I now officially have a T-Rex fetish. Because reasons.

Yes, Glen Cook is indeed a god. And a god he shall remain, until someone scientifically proves than any author other than His Glorious Little Self can write Scrumptiously Scrumptious Books (SSB™) that include: crazy-ass sextuple⁹ backstabbing schemes, political and religious machinations that make Machiavelli look like a pathetic amateur, hahahahahaha dialogues, Harem-Worthy Spy Material (HWSM™) *waves at her yummy boyfriend Else*, most delicious (if a little vindictive) giant bugs, ancient invisible men I want to adopt kidnap, record-breaking body counts, jaw pincer-dropping shocking shockers and revelations, and spoiler spoiler spoiler. Among a few other slightly wondrous things. So what do you say? Any contenders? Ha! Didn't think so.

➽ Full Looks Like My To-Read List is about to Graciously Self Combust Just So I Can Read Book 3 in this Series Lucky Me and Stuff Crappy Non Review (LLMTRLiatGSCJSICRB3itSLMaSCNR™) to come.

[Eilonwy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent follow-up to The Tyranny of the Night, following all the same characters. Embarrassingly, it took this volume to make me see that this really is a nearly exact re-telling of the Crusades, just set in an alternate Earth where gods, or at least the supernatural, are/is real. So it's alternate historical fiction. Which makes me see this as really ambitious -- how much research had to go into creating this world and story line?

Glen Cook, as always, does a great job of making it all feel real and believable, and keeping everything that happens on a small, personal scale inside the big picture, so the reader is invested in all the characters and what's going to happen to them.

Sorry for such a sketchy review, but I'm overwhelmed with RL at the moment. So check out my Buddy Readers' reviews for better details:

Evgeny
Sarah

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot more on my second read. A classic Cook tale of warfare, intrigue, and dark sorcery. Cook's alternate 13th Century Europe/Middle East continues to deviate from the "real world" timeline of the first book, but there are still a ton of parallels. As in the previous novel, the story is told from three characters' perspective - in this case, a Mameluke* spy who has ended up becoming Captain-General of the Papal* army, an elderly Cathat* Perfect caught in the middle of a crusade, and the younger daughter of the recently deceased Holy Roman Emperor.* Cook does an excellent job of taking medieval history and placing it in a world where gods and demons are real. Bumping this up to a low four stars.

*different terms in the series, but basically the same.

PREVIOUS REVIEW: Kind of disappointing after Tyranny of the Night (the first book of this series). Good solid Glen Cook, but failed to wow me. 3 stars.

[Bara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,8*

V únoru jsem četla knihu, kde se objevila postava jménem Cloven Februaren. :P Ne že by jméno bylo to jediné zajímavé. Je to také mocný čaroděj a velký troll, jehož specializací je chodit neviditelný, kam se mu zlíbí a tam všechny otravovat. :D

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cook's epic wars are always filled with sarcastic humor about war, religion and world views in general. This one parallels the current East/West wars we're involved in with all the false patriotism and religious rhetoric.

#3 has yet to be published and as complex as this story is, I will probably have to re-read the first 2 once it comes out. It was a good book but his writing style probably puts some people off. The banter between characters is often choppy and hard to follow, not unlike real life.

[Ryan St george · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cook continues with his detailed and very complex series based on pseudo historical fantasy. Somewhat similar to 13th century Europe with a level of technology similar to his Black Company series. Given that this series and the Black Company has no maps, you almost feel like these two could be in the same world. Or traveled to via Glittering Stones(portals found in the Black Company series).

I like this series a lot! I admit it's hard to follow at times and is very complex. However if you can tough it out a bit you'll discover a great fantasy series .

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world of the Instrumentalities of the night develops and, as with any Cook title I've read so far, I get pulled in and end up asking for more.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK but not as good a the black company

[Pavlo Tverdokhlib · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we last left him, Else Tage, the officer of the pseudo-Mamelukes (pretty much all names of places are made up, but correspond to some bit of real medieval history. I'm not going to write out the word "pseudo" fifty times in this review, so just insert it every time some proper noun from real history pops up from now on) who was sent as a double agent and became the Captain-General of the Papal forces, led a successful recapture of Sicily. He also found himself the target of the collective Night (the gestalt occult and supernatural), since he accidentally stumbled upon a way to easily kill the most powerful manifestations of Night- the Instrumentalities (demons and godlings) using the newly-discovered firepowder.

"Lord of the Silient Kingdom" continues the story, as tensions continue to mount in the Languedoc where the Cathar heresy continues to thrive, to the dismay of the pope. Else Tage, alias Piper Hecht, continues to try to create a professional regular army for the pope, while also delving deeper into the secrets of the College of Cardinals-who include some of the most potent sorcerors who still remember their ancient mandate to keep humanity safe from the Night.

To put it simply, the book is great. it's basically a history novel, with some magic aspects and a lot of weird names. multiple PoVs allow Cook to provide a better inside into the messy nature of the medieval warfare, portraying just how senseless and horrific it could get. The plot revolves around Piper's attempts to fulfill his mission for him Egyptian lord of sabotaging any attempts at a new crusade in the Holy Lands, but also grappling with liking his new life, and a sensation that he's been cut off and left to die- a feeling reinforced by multiple assassination attempts. The main "villain", when he is introduced does feel a bit contrived and he is also quite anti-climactic. It's probably fair to say that the entire ending feels that way, which is kinda okay, since this clearly isnt the end of the story, but it also leaves off on a sequel hook that's while not really a cliffhanger, still feels like it's there purely to spark up extra interest for the sequel.

Overall, this is purely more of the same. The series is great for a history nut, and it'll likely be entertaining, though more confusing, to any other fantasy fan.

[Jim Carleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many others have written, I am a big fan of Glen Cook's work. So far, I've not read anything of his which has not been highly enjoyable; even the weakest of his stuff is still very good.

This series, begun after the majority of the Black Company novels were published, has continued that trend. It is a very interesting amalgam of "traditional" sword-and-sorcery with Medieval European and Middle Eastern history. The three major religions of these areas - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - are all recast and woven into the narrative, as is Norse Mythology and animism. Place and personal names have similarities to actual ones from the past, but none are precisely the same, allowing us to read this as a form of historical fantasy rather than as the fantastical "history" that is steampunk.

There is no point in my telling anything about the actual story, as Cook does it better than I could ever encapsulate it. Suffice it to say that Piper Hecht (AKA Else Tage) becomes further embroiled in the political battles and religious rivalries of the region, as he is given more charge over the military forces of the Patriarch. Faith - in oneself, one's religion, one's friends and companions, one's family, one's goals and objectives - is the constant narrative thread that holds this vast tapestry together.

This is not Garrett, not The Black Company, not The Dread Empire. It is not as humorous for its own sake as the first, not as angst-ridden as the second, not as all-consuming as the third. It reads as well as all of those, and is just as enjoyable. This story might be his most "authentic" novel (barring the sorcery, of course) since "Passage at Arms".

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it quite a bit, but the writing style feels odd, as if in many places the descriptive bits of what's actually happening in any given scene have been removed, which makes it feel kind of unanchored. This would be fine if the scene's just a conversation between two people, but it's not, they're doing other stuff with other characters coming in. Distracting.

[Ken Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

ElseTage, now Piper Hecht, Captain General of Brothe Patriachy and his adventures. Anna, girlfriend, Pinkus Ghort, friend, finds new family members. All while continuing to exterminate the instruments of the Night and enemies of the Patriarch. Good story.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Zeak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cook continues his trilogy in this second volume, following former spy Else Tage as he works his way up to being Someone Of Importance in the Brothen Empire... The setting has not changed, it's still a combination of Crusades + that time where there were Two Popes, but Cook has further detailed the world in some interesting ways, and introduced a few clever twists that keep this book from being just another part-two-of-three. While Else Tage had, in the last book, been fairly certain he was who he was, a veteran soldier (Sha-Lug, think Spartan commando and you'll get the idea) on a mission from his Kalif, Gordimer the Lion (who's really sent him west to get rid of him) to spy and sow dissension among the East's enemies, here in LotSK all of that is thrown into question and the story gets a great deal more interesting. I'm not one for spoilers, but Tage's ancestry comes into play and he finds himself suddenly part of a much larger possibly centuries-spanning plot to take down the Instrumentalities of the Night (read: old gods, new gods, demons, spirits, anything supernatural in this world is 'of the Night'). He reluctantly (after the events of book one) embraces his role as someone special, even as he is a persistent doubter of all the BS that gets thrown his way. Back in the day the Scream movies (which were not really all that great) made a big deal about the rules of the Trilogy, and here we see Cook following a fairly normal Aristotelian path-- 1st book introduces conflict (and a lot of it), 2nd book adds complications/ twists (many of them), and 3rd book provides a conclusion. Since I leaped directly into the third book upon finishing this one, I feel fairly confident giving it 5 stars-- I've been a fan of Glen Cook from the Black Company days and this volume in particular (which didn't, by the way, suffer the same typesetting/binding problems of the preceding 1st edition) shows him absolutely at the top of his game, weaving a complicated web of intrigue that crosses from one Empire to another and interlaces the mysterious actions/motives of the Instrumentalities of the Night themselves. Lord of the Silent Kingdom features, as the main course of action, a protracted land war in a rich province, and these sections, which make up the bulk of the book, really shine, showing Else (or Piper Hecht as he calls himself in the West) rising to the challenges of raising and maintaining a proper professional army, keeping himself mostly out of political maneuverings (except where he's forced to step in to prevent complete anarchy), and winning battles both against mortal foes and the dreaded Instrumentalities. Running throughout is the persistent worry that someone will figure out he's not who he's supposed to be, and there is a bit of an evolution of that plotline as he meets up with/finds out what happened to his former unit of Sha-Lug, who then (instead of being static characters) go on and take actions of their own. This is Glen Cook firing on all cylinders, and as such, if you like your fantasy dark and gritty (as I do) it's a must-read.

[Psychophant · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the Instrumentalities of the Night, I have enjoyed this book more than the first one. Mainly because my main problem with the series, that it is based on a thinly disguised XIIIth century Earth, is less intrusive now that things are drifting from the historical record. It is still fairly disturbing, as there are still too many correlations, but as the events do not follow the historical script (unlike the past), it becomes more interesting.

A second problem is that, unlike George RR Martin in similar circumstances, Cook uses a reduced cast. That makes the events easier to follow, but it also means that a few characters end up taking parts in almost all events, and he cannot use Martin's powerful tool of killing major characters, as he needs all of them.

The descriptions of warfare and its horrors are as good as usual with this author, the magic is suitably mysterious, terrifying and not very effective (to keep the emphasis on the characters), and there is a real sense of time passing and events taking place.

Its delocalization from Earth dillutes its strong anti-religious feeling, but it is still a good military middle ages adventure. I will be waiting for the next installment.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the danger of reading ebooks: it is a much longer novel than I expected.

It reads a little like a second draft, before the author realized it should have been more than one book and reworked it as three (each of them almost as long as in its current form). It summarized a lot more of the action than I would have liked, and much more than I expected from the other Glen Cook books I have read. It's obvious that some of that was because of the fact that big, sweeping changes in the political landscape were occurring, but even events wherein key perspective characters got personally involved ended up with far more summarizing than I would have preferred.

Despite that, the character development, the evolving circumstances and relationships, and the story itself all kept me thoroughly absorbed so that I would find myself wishing I could just read the book instead of whatever else I was supposed to be doing (working, sleeping, eating, whatever). Cook has a definite talent for keeping me interested in what will happen next.

[astaliegurec · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read the first book in Glen Cook's "Instrumentalities of the Night" series, then you pretty much know what to expect from this sequel: "Lord of the Silent Kingdom." The downside of that is that this book has a lot of the same faults as the first. But, thankfully, I found this one to be just a tad more like the Glen Cook I know and love with a bit more of the flavor of his other works. I also found it easier to keep track of all the players and places. If you've read the first book and liked it, then this book is for you. If you didn't enjoy the first book, you'll probably feel the same about this one. Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one. I rate it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.

The books in Glen Cooks "Instrumentalities of the Night" series are:

1. The Tyranny of the Night: Book One of the Instrumentalities of the Night
2. Lord of the Silent Kingdom (Instrumentalities of the Night)
3. Surrender to the Will of the Night (Instrumentalities of the Night)
4. Working God's Mischief (Instrumentalities of the Night)

[Malquiviades · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was waiting for this second part. And I liked it.
Even I am not yet sure if it is good or bad the link with historical Middle Age's Europe, it gives the story an interesting background (trying to guess if Cook will follow or not) and enjoying the new twists in history.

And so, the (alternative) story is quite interesting and leads you through a history that might have happened, which spices the reading quite nicely. Also, I still enjoy the main character just because he is not presented as an extraordinary talented/God touched guy, but just a normal one who knows his business. I am rather weary of out-of-the-norm characters, so having a normal one immediately gets my attention.

Now, he is main pawn of the powers moving around, but still trying to keep his own agenda, which now seems not so clear any more.

The first book hooked me on the character and this second one, on the setting. Nicely done.

[Terence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe I've finally figured out what has disappointed me in Cook's Instrumentalities of the Night. It's the same thing that spoils my enjoyment of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series: There's nothing to fight for.

The villains of both series are suitably "bad" and, by any moral criterion, deserve to be resisted but their opponents aren't much better. Oh, the individuals the authors chose to focus on may be likable enough (more so in Cook's case than Jordan's, in my opinion) but the forces they lead or are allied with are no better than the enemy.

I can handle less than saintly "good guys" but on some level they have to be striving for something better than the status quo or just to hold on. For me, it's what makes the Black Company series better. Croaker is fighting for his "family" in the Company and for Lady; at his core, he's a romantic.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Two in the Instrumentalities of the Night series. Better than the first book if only because the complex tangle of names, places, characters and cultures has been explained previously and now the story can move merrily along. It does move, indeed, though I was not happy with how most of the action was summarized rather than described. But that's Cook's style and it doesn't detract all that much from the storytelling. When he feels he needs to be detailed, he's detailed enough.

The only thing I didn't like was towards the end of the book. The mystery is ratcheted up to ridiculous levels... and the revelation is kind of bland. The final epic confrontation is actually kind of ... blah. This is even worse than the disjointed mess of an ending in the first book. Though, again, this is just another volume in the series. I imagine the big catharsis is still coming up.

[Math le maudit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roman plutôt agréable, où on retrouve le style narratif si déstabilisant de Glen Cook, mais qui, comme son prédécesseur n'échappe pas aux mêmes écueils : une trame vaste, sans doute trop, et un récit dans lequel on a du mal à entrer.

Cela se lit cependant assez bien, et même avec plaisir, mais plus d'un sera "douché", je pense, par la lenteur de l'action, le héros plutôt lisse... Rien à voir avec l'excellent cycle de la Compagnie noire.

On retrouve quelques thèmes chers à l'auteur : sorciers puissants mais terrassés par de "simples" mortels, prédominance de l'armée de métier sur les armées occasionnelles ou encore l'obscurantisme religieux et le fanatisme qui l'accompagne.

[Corprew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is much better than its predecessor in the series -- instead of just aping the plot of a crusade against the Cathars with a touch of magic, drama, and intrigue thrown in, Cook creates a plot as good as his earlier ones.

I wasn't sure about this new series of books, but this episode moves it from a fun recapping of european history to something that can stand in its own right?

Will this series be as successful as his previous? I doubt it, the first may prove too randomly inaccessible to those who don't know european history.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second installment of the series is slightly less compelling than the first, owing largely to the rushed pace of the central chapters. A main villain all but disappears - perhaps he will reappear in the next installment.

One great improvement, however, is the development of the main character, Piper Hecht. His struggle with identity and loyalty is well done, and Cook rarely misses the opportunity to pit his characters up against terrible events.

[Viktor Davion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sequel to the Tyranny of the Night! Story is driven more deeply into the political intrigues and conspiracies. People and mighty ancients gods are involved in struggle to control the world. Empires suffered solid changes and one who was mere soldier is writing history now. Well some mysteries were uncovered but a lot of them are still mysteries. If you enjoyed Tyranny of the Night you will definitely like this one.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An improvement on the first book mainly because so much is already known going in. The cast of characters is relatively stable. The locations are mostly the same as mentioned in the first book. It is still frustrating to try to picture the campaigns without a map. It is also likely that this book should have been broken in to two parts so that so much of the battles in the Connec and Arctecipea weren't glossed over as if they were completely irrelevant to the story.

[lynne fireheart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is book 2 of what I assume is a trilogy.

Thankfully Book 2 wasn't full of short choppy sentences like Book 1.

I really like the idea(s) and plot(s), I just wish it didn't plod along so. I'm going to continue with this series because I want closure on many points. I'm not sure I'd subject anyone else to it, though...

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glen Cook’s terse Hemmingway-minimal take on characters in often grim fantasy settings always takes some getting used to. But the author is definitely an underrated master. I really dig the fantasy take on a crusades-torn world. My only quibble was that the ending was very much an Empire Strikes Back style ending.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The continuing adventures of Else/Piper as he shows that competence plus luck is a powerful combination. And supernatural help and superior technology don't hurt. (Although it seems quite lucky that he happens to find connections for the first and that he's aligned with the people who have the second.)

[Troy Lefman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a little boggy with explanations, but a really good, interesting story. Two more books to go to see what else will happen with Piper Hecht and company. More magic in this one, intrigue, battles.