Reap the East Wind: The Last Chronicle of the Dread Empire: Volume One

Dread Empire #6

by Glen Cook

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 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.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic, High Fantasy

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1987

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]

💀 Vanishing Unrelenting Glen Cook Mercenaries Buddy Read (VUGCMBR™) with The Overlord and My Nefarious Daughter 💀

UnFortunately for you Little Barnacles, I don't have time to write a full crappy review for this Slightly Very Good CookBook (SVGC™), so I'll just say this: I want to be the Deliverer when I grow up. And have my very own army of the undead. Only that my zombie minions won't be puny humans like the Deliverer's. They'll be Most Fearsome Crustaceans (MFC™). Obviously.



Pretty sure I'll take over the world in no time with flunkies like Ferocious Freddie here. Ha.



Reading order for this series, as firmly kindly suggest by Evgeny (aka the Ruthless Glen Cook Overlord™):

① Book 1: A Shadow of All Night Falling ★★★★
② Book 4: The Fire in His Hands ★★★★
③ Book 5: With Mercy Towards None ★★★★
④ Book 2: October’s Baby ★★★★
⑤ Book 3: All Darkness Met ★★★★★
⑥ Book 6: Reap the East Wind ★★★★★
⑦ Book 7: An Ill Fate Marshalling ★★★★★
⑧ Book 8: A Path to Coldness of Heart ★★★★
⑨ Short stories: An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat ★★★★

[Eilonwy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sixth installment in the Dread Empire series was great. It provided a break from the constant battles of the previous two books (although there certainly are battles in this one). Instead, it focuses more on the personalities and interactions of the characters on a more small-scale level, while also reminding readers of the chaotic, unpredictable, and unfortunately mostly malevolent forces running loose in this world and, often, trying to shape events to not-so-pleasant ends.

I appreciated that this volume was nice and short, too! The next (and last two) installments look to be quite a bit longer, but if they maintain the "feel" of this one, they should go fast.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen this mentioned in other reviews, but it's worth repeating: the "Volume 1" on the cover of the more recent publication is a bit misleading...the key thing to pay attention to is the wording "The LAST Chronicle of the Dread Empire." So while this is technically the first book in the sequel trilogy to the original series, it builds off everything that came before it. So, before reading this, it is important to read the first five novels (collected in A Cruel Wind and A Fortress in Shadow), otherwise you will be almost certainly confused by the storyline here. Also, you will be missing out on much of the emotional resonance that comes from knowing what these characters have been through over the course of the previous books.

As for the quality of the book itself, I think it's probably the best in the series yet, followed very closely by All Darkness Met. While All Darkness Met was more emotional (and more brutal to its characters) overall, the second half of that novel felt rushed. In Reap the East Wind, its direct sequel, it seems Glen Cook had finally honed his writing skills to be able to sufficiently handle the scope of the Dread Empire world. The plot was well-balanced between scenes of action and those of political intrigue. The characters felt realistic in their motivations and behaviors. I also enjoyed how the magical/supernatural elements were handled in this volume.

In general, a really entertaining book that kept me turning the pages.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not great formulaic pseudo-epic fantasy from the days (1980s) when so many were trying to figure out (or at least cash in on) what made The Lord of the Rings great. Cook is good. His characters have enough depth and complexity to be interesting and his plot(s) sufficiently involved--without being labyrinthine--to engage the reader.

Starting at the last book of a trilogy is not recommended, but I'm grateful I did as probably wouldn't have gotten this far otherwise.

A good read.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had this book as it was a "sale" or special offer from B&N. Now that I realize that it is the 6th in the series I can see what some of the problems I was having with following the storyline.

I think this could be a good series if one started reading from the 1st in the series but jumping in on the 6th leaves one very confused.

A lot goes on in the story but it isn't a stand alone story and it doesn't seem to move the storyline forward by very much if you consider it part of a larger whole.

Don't know if I would go back and purchase the first 5, I like fantasy/fiction but this is not my style.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, the cover art on this edition... But, that being as it may, the book is a decent (but rather short) installment in the Dread Empire novels. Of the original three main characters of the series, Haroun doesn't appear at all, Mocker is dead, and Bragi Ragnarson is pretty much a side character here. The story focuses on Nepanthe (Mocker's widow), her son Ethrian (missing and presumed dead from the previous novel), Mist (former ruler of the Dread Empire), and Ssu-ma Shih-ka'i (one of the Tervola - sorcerer-generals - of Shinsan). While the action (and POV) does bounce back and forth a lot, the focus is definitely on the Empire of Shinsan - under attack from both south and east, and threatened by a coup by Mist, who hopes to involve Bragi in an attempt to regain her throne. I enjoyed the perspective of Ssu-ma Shih-ka'i, probably the first sympathetic representative of the Dread Empire in six books. On the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of Nephante, nor do I think that Cook needed to go over the events of the last book from her point of view - there were literally no surprises in that section. This is pretty much a stand-alone novel but you definitely need to have read at least the "main trilogy" of this series not to be totally confused by all of the alliances and betrayals. 3 stars.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dread Empire series was written in a very different style than the Black Company books and at first I wasn't in to it as much. I never did like it quite as much as the Black Company series but I came to enjoy it a lot and consider it a very strong fantasy series.

[Newton Nitro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reap the East Wind (Dread Empire #6) - Glen Cook | O início sombrio da TRILOGIA FINAL da saga Dread Empire! | NITROLEITURAS #fantasia #fantasiasombria #horror

E o final da Saga do Dread Empire começa com uma história cheia de horror e violência! Ou seja, dooodimais vééééio! :)

Reap the East Wind (Dread Empire #6) - Glen Cook | 1985, 260 páginas, Baen Books | NITROLEITURAS | Lido de 05.02.18 a 06.02.18

A vida de Lady Nephante com o mago supremo Varthlokkur é perturbada pels viões de seu filho perdido Etrian, enquanto o rei Bragi Ragnarson e o mestre dos espiões Michael Trebilcock conspiram para colocar a Princesa Mist de volta ao trono do Dread Empire, e com isso conseguir uma aliança com o mais poderoso império do mundo.

Enquanto isso, em Shinzan, no coração do Dread Empire, o filho de um cuidador de porcos assume o comando do Exército do Oriente, a mais poderosa força militar do império das trevas, enquanto o poderoso Lorde Kuo enfrenta conspirações e traições de seu próprio conselho de generais e um ataque suicida de mais de dois milhões de bárbaros Matayangans em suas fronteiras.

Mas, no deserto além do Dread Empire, uma jovem vítima da Grande Guerra se transforma no messias de um deus esquecido, e é escolhido para controlar uma legião imensa de mortos-vivos.

E, movido pela vingança contra o Dread Empire, esse jovem necromante inicia o princípio do fim do maior império de todos os tempos.


RESENHA

"Reap the East Wind" é o primeiro volume da trilogia final da saga do Dread Empire. É nítida a grande evolução de Glen Cook ao chegar nesse volume. A narrativa está tão focada e bem estruturada quanto nos dois volumes anteriores, sobre as guerras de El Murid.

No sexto volume da saga Dread Empire temos uma histórica clássica de fantasia pulp, com um jovem encontrando um poder das trevas que lhe serve como ferramenta de uma vingança. Mas, é dentro dessa estrutura que entra a inventividade de Glen Cook. Como nos outros volumes de Dread Empire, a moralidade é absolutamente cinzenta, as estratégias para conter o jovem necromante são bem originais, e os personagens teimam em desconstruir as expectativas do leitor de fantasia sombria.

Esse volume também mostra mais o ponto de vista do Dread Empire, uma espécie de China Medieval misturada com alta magia, uma civilização poderosa mas quase estagnando sob o peso de milênios de tradições e rituais.

A série melhora a cada volume, e, como o grande mestre que precedeu Steven Erickson, George R.R. Martin e o resto da galera dos anos 90, Glen Cook também não tem dó do leitor, matando personagens queridos de acordo com a brutalidade da narrativa! Estejam avisados!

Recomendadíssimo para os fãs de fantasia sombria e fantasia brutal (grim fantasy!).

ONDE COMPRAR
Reap the East Wind (Dread Empire #6) - Glen Cook
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[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cookening continues with another rock solid (if very short!) entry in the Dread Empire series. After the relatively dry and magic free(ish) prequel books it was nice to get back to the more wizardy shenanigans of the main series.

Lots of twists and battles, an unexpected dramatic anticlimax (classic Cooky) and promise for future events. Apparently the next book retells some of the less developed events of this one from different character perspectives. Might work, might not, but I'm hooking straight in.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish because this does not read like a stand-alone.

[Czilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and original story with more of a focus on Shinsan and Bragi's troubled son. Not as strong as the previous omnibus.

[Zeak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cook always awesome

[Sam Macuga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait okay yeah, second trilogy is not confusing!! This was so much easier to read and actually so interesting!!

[Filip Kuchta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niestety, nie aż tak dobra jak poprzednie części, a nowi bohaterowie nie są interesujący.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this is about the point in time where Cook is really reaching his peak as an author. He really found his voice by now. While I don't necessarily think the story itself grabbed me as much as some of his previous stuff, the quality of his writing is markedly improved.

[Luke Coury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uhh, people reading this should be confused if they haven't read the first 5.

These are a great series and this end of the series gets a lot more interesting in my opinion. Its interesting seeing Bragi work as king of Kavelin but I also am put off by how depressing it was (not in a bad way as far as creative authoring goes). I was truly sad to see some of my favorite characters from the previous books dead. I feel like Cook kills too many of his characters that meant a lot to the reader, but i also don't think it was done untastefully. The only problem I had with this book was that Cook purposefully leaves you out of the loop, leaving you pretty confused (especially if you have no idea whats going on because you didnt read the previous books). He doesn't really fill you in until the next book, which pretty retells the whole of this book plus the missing pieces, but I feel like it was unnecessary as it made the next book kind of boring until you finally get past the point where this book ends.

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps if I was more familiar with the series it would have come across as a better read. But, having this as the introduction to the fantasy world Glen Cook created I didn't enjoy it. The only character that I cared for was Lord Ssu-ma, General of one of the antagonist armies. Ethrian didn't seem believable as a leader (perhaps previous books had back story on his education?), the 400 year old wizard came off as a petulant child, the women (other than Mist) seemed weak and not overly intelligent, and the politics was uninteresting. This isn't a long book and it still took me a week to drag myself through it. There was some good groundwork for an interesting world in Shinsan, and perhaps that was explored in other books. But, as a stand alone book, I can't recommend it to anyone.

The ebook was formatted well with no obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

[William Gerke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arguably my favorite of the Dread Empire books. The complex politics of the Dread Empire; the brooding emotional-complexities of Nepenthe and Varthlokkur (an epic sorcerer who is epically human in his behavior); the beginning of Bragi's greatest folly; and the battle in the East with the pig-farmer's-son turned general (which is favorite of the conflicts played out in this saga for its use of military and magical power and the almost chess-like back and forth between the two leaders). Enjoyed it even more the second time.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly my favorite book in the Dread Empire series. It's almost a standalone -- most of the action takes place on the opposite side of the world from previous books as a vast army of undead warriors threatens the Dread Empire -- but it does bring in characters from the original trilogy and tie up some loose ends. I particularly enjoyed the large-scale troop actions and pyrotechnic battle magic.

[William Gerke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting experiment by Cook. This follows and interweaves with many of the events of "An Ill Fate Marshaling." It's a damn shame the third book's manuscript was stolen. Finishing this was something akin to getting to the end of "The Empire Strikes Back" knowing that "Return of the Jedi" never was and never will be made.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a long delay in reading this series I figured out how to continue via InterLibrary Loan. Cook has always had a facility for sketching characters and conveying drama through medieval/fantasy military strategy/tactics. This book felt a bit short & too much like bare bones. Only 244 pages. At least the series isn't over yet. Also, I miss the character Mocker!

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK, but I don't think I was intrigued enough to read the rest of the series.
The biggest surprise for me was to learn, halfway through that it was not the first book in the series, but number 5 or 6. Though there may have been characters or situations that had previously featured, nothing about it felt like any prior knowledge of the world was necessary.

[Steven Fowler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a clever move by B&N as I got this book, #6 in the series, as one of their "Free Friday" offers. It is a decent stand-alone book though I bet it would have been much richer for me had I read the first 5 books. This was interesting as it blurred the line between magic in the fantasy genre and mental powers or psionics, which are more typical of science-fiction.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has Cook's fingerprints all over it. The style is terse, the action takes place against a backdrop of more complicated and ongoing events, and there's no clear "good guy."

I enjoyed the book, but it didn't take my breath away.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

What brought this novel up from an "OK" read to an "I like" is the main character -- Ssu-ma Shih K'ai, the commander of one of the Dread Empire's training legions. Calm, cool, competent.

[Jimmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 Stars It Was Okay/I Liked It

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Empire unacquainted with defeat world continues to unfold. A bit short compared to the others but a good read.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was really confusing, however I have not read the previous 5 books which would have prbably made it easier to understand

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK. It was free on a Friday or I wouldn't have picked it up because it is in the middle of a series.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

could get into it. didnt finish