recent reads; Gath and Garrett

The Winds of Gath by E. C. Tubb

I didn't know anything about E. C. Tubb until his death in 2010, and then I read all sorts of tributes and posts.  The mention that really caught my attention was from author John Maddox Roberts, who noted (on the REH Forums,) "I loved those [Dumarest] books. If Conan were a spacefarer, he'd be Dumarest, just with a knife in his boot instead of a sword at his belt."

As you can imagine, Tubb's Dumarest went right on my radar.

Winds of Gath is the first novel of the series.  Dumarest is stranded on the planet Gath, where pilgrims and tourists caravan to the mountains to hear the singing winds.  But the winds are dangerous, driving men to madness, and the coming storm is worse than anyone predicts.  Against that backdrop, Dumarest becomes embroiled in political maneuvers including assassination attempts.  He must stay alive, and earn his passage from Gath.  There is action and intrigue.  The setting, the setup of galactic factions (that will continue throughout the series) and the characters were all interesting and had their own voices.

Dumarest is his own character, but I can see why there might be echoes of Conan.  I felt more like Dumarest reminded me of Ian Fleming's original James Bond.  Not that Dumarest is a spy anymore than a man who becomes king - but when he kills out of necessity he executes with grim precision.  He lacks the red lust of Conan when it comes to mortal combat.

I enjoyed this story, and as a bonus, it was an "old school" novel - a short, quick read.

If you can't hunt down the paperbacks, the entire Dumarest series are available as e'books, though I wish they were priced a bit cheaper.

I'll be reading more of them, for certain.

Dread Brass Shadows by Glen Cook

I was surprised to look back over my 2012 reads and realize I had not read a single Glen Cook novel. I usually read at least one.  I grabbed Dread Brass Shadows off the shelf.

Garrett is a noir private eye whose beat is the fantasy city of TunFaire (which Cook bases on St. Louis.)  Unlike most "urban fantasy" featuring fantasy creatures in our modern cities, this is the opposite - a human gumshoe in a fabled city populated by multiple races - human, dwarf, elf, ogre, etc.  Also should note; Garrett is not some guy who fell through from our world, either.  He's a native of TunFaire, a Marine veteran getting by the only way he knows how.

I don't know if Cook invented this milieu, but he does it very well.  He is faithful to the tones of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, et al. while pulling in all kinds of sorcerous and fantastical elements.

This time out, Garrett must locate the Book of Shadows - a magic tome spells that allow the reader to take the shape and form of whatever is on the brass-plated page.  Battling factions catch Garrett in the middle, as he tries to understand why he got pulled into the situation in the first place.  The stakes rise as Garrett finally understands he must confront the biggest mobster chief in the city - and only one of them will come out alive, this time.

I always enjoy Glen Cook, and Dread Brass Shadows was no different.

Book cover pr0n!

These popped up on Amazon finally!

And, cover not on Amazon yet, but it is on display at Subterranean Press;

recent read - Sung In Blood

Summary from Night Shade Books; Protector Jerhke has kept Shasesserre 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 out to be an introduction to greater terror, as they match wits with Shai Khe, the powerful sorcerer who wants to rule Shasesserre.

That is exactly what you get in this short novel (novella, really.) I am a fan of Glen Cook, so I enjoyed this quick fix between longer novels. Rider and his team read like Doc Savage and his crew (though, Rider is no Doc.) As usual, Cook plunges the reader into a setting seat-of-the-pants, and it's a fun ride. The opening assassination is darn near worth the price of admission alone.

Rider protects Shasesserre via a Web of magic that also allows communications with his team. Airships powered by ensorceled demons wander the skies.

Su-Cha, a shape-changing, wall penetrating imp, the familiar of Rider, is particularly fun side man. Cook always manages to give everyone just the right quirks and camaraderie. And yes, his team includes a strong man "barbarian" character, too.

This novella originally appeared in 1990 at a convention. Whether it was specifically written for that, or a "trunk" manuscript rescued for the event, there are some weaknesses.

The biggest is the abrupt ending. Some reviews argue Cook should have filled the tale out to a novel. I think--given that is was aimed as a novella--it should actually have been cut shorter. It feels like act one ends, act two starts and stops within a few pages. It might stand alone better with a cleaner cut and no bits of act two.

Fleshing out to a novel might have worked, but it already suffers from some repetition - a lot of chasing, captures and escapes and recaptures. Maybe this was a sly satire on Doc Savage novels but I haven't read enough to be sure on that point.  The story might just have needed more editing.

Given that, if you are interested, seek out the ebook (which is considerably less than the limited edition hardcover) or find a used copy.

I enjoyed it, but I'm a fan. It might not be a bad quick introduction to Cook's style, but understand he has much more interesting and stronger works available - the original Black Company trilogy first and foremost.

Dread Empire!

Those sneaky folks over at NightShade Books have been working under the radar, again. I don't recall any news items about these, but here they are;

Reap the East Wind
An Ill Fate Marshalling

These are reprints, and I've been dying to get my own copies. A friend loaned me An Ill Fate Marshalling and I read it awhile ago.

It's a pity they couldn't talk Glen Cook resurrecting the "lost" (stolen!) novel of the series, The Wrath of Kings and putting all three into another omnibus. (read old interview here)

I'll take 'em, though!

more reading

More read reviews. I think these are more for me personally to recall what I read, and what the books were about. But, if you enjoy these quick blurbs, too, that’s fine.

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Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
I listened to the audio-book. This novel came with a lot of hype and lived up to it. The story is a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae. The plot comes with plenty of backstory, including Spartan military training which probably has more to do with modern USMC training. Still, soldiers have always been soldiers and if Sparta was a militaristic society, surely some things have never changed since armies were conceived in ancient times.
This book is now part of the West Point reading curriculum, and it’s no surprise.
A bloody (literally) good read.

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The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield.
Again, I went with the audio-book.
This novel is an unrelenting and unflinching look at combating guerrilla war and insurgency. Set in the time of Alexander's invasion of Afghanistan, clearly it pulls modern examples from Vietnam, the current situation in Afghanistan and (perhaps?) the Soviet occupation, too.
Unlike Gates of Fire, I strongly suspect the military brass aren’t rushing to hand this one out to the impressionable young troops.
Harsh by necessity, this is another good read.
One note; this story is narrated in present tense. Usually I don’t like that, but I was able to ignore it. Maybe the fact that the story was read aloud made that more palatable.

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The Last Chancers (Warhammer 40K) by Gav Thorpe
A Warhammer 40K omnibus, featuring a trilogy of novels and two short stories. Ironically, this one is also written in present tense. Not sure why and I was able to ignore it once things got rolling. At its essence, this was a varied, futuristic take on The Dirty Dozen. It’s fun with a lot of action, but sometimes a little too amoral in its killings.
I generally enjoyed it but not sure I liked the final conclusion (nor did other readers, from some short reviews I’ve read.)

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The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook
Despite its title, this novel from Cook is scifi, not fantasy. But, that doesn't stop Cook from setting up a wild story universe and chucking you into the deep end. I think Cook throws off new readers sometimes with that style, but I love it.

The story concerns an attempt by a political house to overthrow the ancient Guardships that patrol and have kept order for millennium. Full of violence, intrigue, sex, aliens, artificial beings, clones, etc. Kez Maefele, an alien Ku - something like a turtle warrior (maybe even a mutant ninja turtle, but delivered with dead seriousness) - is one of those unforgettable Cook characters.
I really enjoyed this one, even if it was sometimes hard to follow.

An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat

Or, perhaps, A Blog Unacquainted With Updates, eh?

Thanks you faithful few who still check back here.

I haven't been writing and because I wanted to keep this blog somewhat focused on writing, I haven't been blathering here. (blathering a bit on Facebook, who knows why)



Reading has been slow, too, but I finally finished Glen Cook's Lord of the Silent Kingdom. I'm not very objective about Cook, I'm a fan boy. I enjoyed this novel but the politics of church(es) and state(s) make this a somewhat complicated world to explore. Cook says it's no different from real world history, and I'd agree. A little streamlining might help, though. The novel just ended, clearly waiting on the next novel for some resolution. But, I mostly enjoyed it, went along for the ride, and there were some surprises along the way. I'll be reading the next novel in the series.

Meantime, I am more excited about a collection of Cook's earlier stories concerning the Dread Empire (a different series, altogether.) The novels were collected in omnibuses by Night Shade Books and now the short stories have been collected and are finally being released. I can't wait to get this book, An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat, on my shelf. I've only ever found one short by Cook, who mostly writes novels.



I have moved onto a Mack Bolan novel, Interception, chock full of violence and intrigue, ghost-written by a friend, Nathan Meyer (his name is buried in the front piece.)

Writing-wise, I am still slowly outlining a couple of things in my head, gathering some research notes, and hope to generate some real, meaty outlines (if nothing else) over the summer.

There, that should be enough links to keep you busy