March 2012 - glencook-fans - mailman.xmission.com

Order for Star Fishers?
by Richard Chilton 20 Mar '12

20 Mar '12

Hi. Just wondering if anyone can tell me where "Passage at Arms" fits in the Star Fisher trilogy. I know that it's a stand alone and that it was written after the trilogy, but I found it listed in one place as book "0" of the trilogy. Should it be read before the other three, after the other three, or does it not matter? Thanks for any help you can give, Richard

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The Darkwar Series
by Richard Chilton 20 Mar '12

20 Mar '12

I finally was able to track down the short story Darkwar and it's changed my opinion of the Darkwar trilogy. Yes, I still feel that Cook wasn't able to build much sympathy for the Meth or the main character in that series, but that matters a bit less now. I now view the entire trilogy as the prelude for the short story. Viewed that way it's a bit long, but it sets the scene for a great short story. One set centuries after the events in Ceremony. One that could have shared a title with the third Star War prequel. One that I wish had been in an extra chapter in Ceremony - or maybe not. It would have been jarring to switch directly between Meth mindsets. If you haven't read that short story and you've read the Darkwar trilogy, it's wonderful. If you haven't read that short story and you haven't read the Darkwar trilogy, it completely spoils the ending (and much of the plot). In short, I now feel that reading that trilogy was time well spent. Richard

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Re: [Glencook-fans] The Darkwar Series
by Richard Chilton 20 Mar '12

20 Mar '12

A confession. While looking for the correct order to read Star Fishers, I checked Wikipedia. I didn't find the correct order there but was reminded of the existence of the Darkwar short story - which appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (December 1982). I then went looking. After not finding it for sale I went looking for torrents. I found one at http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/39987510/?tab=summary It has several (4? 5?) different versions of each Glen's novels. I own the entire Dread Empire series, the Black Company Series, the Garrett series, the Instrumentalities of the Night series, the Darkwar trilogy, and recently bought the Star Fishers and Passage to Arms from Amazon. As for the short stories there, all except "Darkwar" and Raker (which is a chapter of the Black Company novel - and one I'd previously found at a library) were collected in the "An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat" Dread Empire collection. If there was a way to buy that short story I would, but instead I downloaded 57k of that file. Oh, and if I remember correctly, the only real difference between the short story Raker and the chapter in the Black Company is that the short story gives the company's strenght at that point. If I recall correctly it was less than 200. Richard

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Path to Coldness of Heart
by Jerry Kalayjian 15 Mar '12

15 Mar '12

I just finished the book and I can't decide what I think. The end seemed to come and go a little to quickly for me after all the build up. I certainly was ripping through the book quickly enough and was enjoying myself along the way. I wonder if I'm just glum it's over. 20+ years was a long wait. Still, I left it still feeling as if the story wasn't quite over yet, as if Cook left some things open (with Mist's kids, with Bragi and Kavelin, with Haround, Yasmid and Hammad al Nakir, and with Mist knowing where the Star Rider might be from El Murid), which, given that my presumption is that this is certainly the last Dread Empire story, didn't set right. I also have a question that I'd love feed back on if anyone is able: Why does Mist recognize the Matayangan guru aiding the Disciple? Who is he supposed to be? Jerry Kalayjian

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