*I apologize in advance for the length of this, but I felt the need to set
down some ideas swirling around in my head. I first read the Dread Empire
original trilogy and two sequels 20 years ago. I didn't read any Black
Company books until later, though I had seen them in stores. In fact, I had
seen a number of Glen Cook books, and recall the Dark War ones in
particular. *
* *
*I noticed Reap the East Wind and An Ill Fate Marshalling in early 1988
because of the Ken Kelly cover art. I became a big fan of Kelly's work by
around 1985, when I realized that the guy who painted the KISS Destroyer and
Love Gun covers was the same guy who was doing the recent Gor book covers,
was the same guy who did the Berkely Robert E. Howard covers, and was the
same guy who was doing the Robert Adams Horseclans covers (and later, in
1987, he started doing the majority of Tor Conan pastiche covers). So I
noticed his Reap the East Wind and An Ill Fate Marshalling covers right
away. Both were labelled "The New Dread Empire Novel," yet I wasn't aware of
any "old" Dread Empire novels!*
* *
*Perusing the books showed them to be fascinating, in large part because of
hints of backstory such as frequent mentions of some horrific battle at
Palmisano. I started looking around all the used bookstores in the **Albany*
*, **New York** area, and finally found All Darkness Met. This was a few
weeks before I headed to **Fort Collins**, **Colorado**, to become a
freshman at **Colorado** **State** **University**. In **Fort Collins** I
finally found A Shadow of All Night Falling and October's Baby (I then
realized I had seen the latter in stores some years earlier, but iy had
meant nothing to me then). *
* *
*At last I could read my way through the five books in order. I've thought
back on that experience as I now, in A Cruel Wind, reread the original
trilogy for the first time in its entirety. I've reread bits and pieces over
the years, but this is the first thorough rereading. Just as two decades
ago, I find A Shadow of All Night Falling to be fairly good, but only of
real interest in how it sets up what comes later. October's Baby is where
the story really kicks in for me, and it only gets better in the
complex events
of All Darkness Met. *
* *
*I've enjoyed reading these stories in a nice new volume, instead of in beat
up old mass market paperbacks. I had wondered if the context would matter,
and I think it does (I also suspect the Black Company original trilogy makes
a better impression in the attractive omnibus than in the curious covers of
the original mass market editions). Still, first impressions are usually
strong, and thus I have always pictured Bragi Ragnarson as looking like Ken
Kelly's depiction! (anyone who has seen the original version of All Darkness
Met probably shares my amusement at Kinuko Kraft's in-joke of depicting
Bragi with Glen Cook's face!).*
* *
*I've read online comments by people who are surprised that Steven Erikson
and Jeff Vandermeer found the Dread Empire books so influential. I suppose
they don't stand out in this era as much as they did 20 years ago. However,
I can assure you all that they made a profound impact on me then! I know
just what those guys mean when they write that these books helped them to
realize that stories didn't have to be clichéd accounts of farm boys with
hidden royal blood going on quests with unlikely, mismatched groups of "good
guys." I may never write a fantasy novel, but I have the plots for some in
my head, and the mode of their telling was strongly influenced by reading
Cook's Dread Empire novels. I'm enjoying them now almost as much the second
time around! If we ever do get "Wrath of Kings Recovered" it might be worth
the 20 year wait! *
