Things are so quiet out there that I'm going to spam you all with my
current project.
In the absence of any new books from Glen, I'm rereading the Black Company
and Garrett books. I think it's my fifth time through BC and third through
Garrett.
It's interesting that every time I do this, I reshuffle what I think are
the best books and what the best parts of them are. For example, this time
around I find myself thinking that The Silver Spike, which I have tended to
think of as a mere add-on, is in fact one of the best plotted and
constructed books in the BC series. And it's finally getting drummed into
my head just how small a fraction of the series the Books of the North
really are. Viewed as a whole, the series is much more about the journey
back to Khatovar then it is about the three "European" chronicles. But for
some reason, I have always thought of those three books as the "real"
series.
Another difference is that I usually tend to bog down in Glittering Stone,
but this time I enjoyed both Murgen books a lot. I'm about to start Water
Sleeps, and I'm interested to see this time through if I change my opinion
of it as the slowest and least interesting book in the series. For reasons
I can't pinpoint, that honor seems to be going to Dreams of Steel this time.
Another twist is that, for the first time, I'm reading the books with my
17-year-old son. Which, I have to say, is an awesome experience. He loves
them and is now hooked on Glen's books. So far, his favorite it is
Swordbearer, but hey, he's just getting the hang of things. I envy him
having Tower of Fear, Darkwar, etc., ahead of him.
One thing that hasn't changed is my general preference for the BC books
over the Garrett books. I enjoy the latter series, as well, but as good as
those early books are (I'm through Dread Brass Shadows), they see much more
derivative, formulaic, and repetitive than the BC books, especially read
one after the other. And I consistently prefer these early ones to the
later Garrett books.
Okay, enough about my reread. Has anybody heard anything – even a rumor –
about the forthcoming BC books or anything else from Glen? It seems like
he is dropped off the face of here since Working Gods' Mischief.
Cheers,
Larry
