Cranky review (SPOILERS)
Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters. Review: Well, that went fast. It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker. It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans. Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential.
Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters. Review: Well, that went fast. It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker. It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans. Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
Sure. Happy to have read it. Felt like a complete story - loved the opportunity to reconnect.And agreed he may be setting up a new book. Hope so.The kids in shadow feels like the girl & ‘cat’ in shadow …More pleaseSaul in Virginia Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 10:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters. Review: Well, that went fast. It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker. It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans. Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
I've been slacking...just ordered The Best of Glen Cook and Songs of Valor. I'll chime in once I'm caught up. On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 10:25 AM saulamca--- via glencook-fans < glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Sure. Happy to have read it. Felt like a complete story - loved the opportunity to reconnect. And agreed he may be setting up a new book. Hope so. The kids in shadow feels like the girl & ‘cat’ in shadow … More please Saul in Virginia
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-email-weather-video/id646100661>
On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 10:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans < glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters.
Review: Well, that went fast.
It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker.
It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans.
Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
_______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
Yes, in addition to the kids being pretty clearly linked to Port of Shadows, there's a few moments in the story where Cook deploys italics. As if we're reading Croaker's thoughts. Except, of course, that we're always reading Croaker's thoughts. Which suggests that these brief interjections might be a commentary from a later Croaker. Otherwise, too short. It's interesting that the tone is far closer to the older books than to Port of Shadows, which in retrospect reads like Croaker hadn't taken the time to clean things up for their official inclusion in the annals. David On 8/4/2021 9:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans wrote:
Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters.
Review: Well, that went fast.
It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker.
It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans.
Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com <mailto:glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com <mailto:glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com>
_______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
Oh, that's an excellent point about Port! Those Annals were "lost" to memory-wipes and the evac from Aloe, along with being affected by intense glamour from Rain, the kids, and the demon-cat. No *wonder* it doesn't sound like the Croaker we all remember. I'm starting to buy the time-traveling ideas. On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 09:34:52 AM CDT, David Ainsworth <narsham@comcast.net> wrote: Yes, in addition to the kids being pretty clearly linked to Port of Shadows, there's a few moments in the story where Cook deploys italics. As if we're reading Croaker's thoughts. Except, of course, that we're always reading Croaker's thoughts. Which suggests that these brief interjections might be a commentary from a later Croaker. Otherwise, too short. It's interesting that the tone is far closer to the older books than to Port of Shadows, which in retrospect reads like Croaker hadn't taken the time to clean things up for their official inclusion in the annals. David On 8/4/2021 9:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans wrote: Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters. Review: Well, that went fast. It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker. It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans. Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.comTo unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
No doubt the kids in *Cranky Bitch* were Baku and Shin. I don't know what to make of the use of italics...is that definitely something we don't see anywhere else in Croaker's writings? As for time travel, the theory I've heard on it has Mischievous Rain and Ankou as Lady and Croaker-Shivetya from the future, having projected themselves back in time to uncover some knowledge of necromancy from Laissa/Ardath/Syleth or Precious Pearl, with the amnesia spell being cast to prevent any unintended changes to the timeline afterward. That theory also tries to explain the period of time in which Mischievous Rain is not herself, which doesn't otherwise get addressed. I suppose I can see how that all fits, but I'm not fully sold. Mischievous Rain's looks are different enough from Lady's that Croaker does not recognize her in Port of Shadows, yet Laissa/Ardath/Syleth recognizes her as Kitty at the end of the book, which seems to imply that either Mischievous Rain's resemblance is Lady/Dorotea/Kitty's original appearance (and therefore Lady's typical appearance is adopted) or Mischievous Rain is not Lady/Dorotea. When I originally read Port of Shadows, I figured that Mischievous Rain was Tides Elba as a Taken being directly possessed by Lady so that she could operate incognito outside of Charm, where she would be missed if absent. The period of time when she is not "herself" could just be Lady dealing with other issues at Charm rather than directly controlling her. There's problems with that theory, though: Tides Elba wasn't a sorceress herself, so where did her talent as Mischievous Rain come from? Did Lady bestow her with that power? And if Mischievous Rain is Tides Elba in body if not in mind, then why did Laissa/Ardath/Syleth recognize her as Kitty? Soulcatcher once told Croaker that Lady had murdered her twin sister, who would be either Ardath or Syleth, whichever Laissa is not. That fourth sister is entirely unaccounted for. Could it be that Mischievous Rain inhabits Lady's twin sister's body? But if that were the case, and they were identical enough twins for Laissa/Ardath/Syleth to recognize as Kitty, then they would have to be identical enough for Croaker to mistake her for Lady as well, right? This all assumes that Soulcatcher was telling the truth. Of course, it could also be that Laissa/Ardath/Syleth is Lady's twin sister herself. As for the amnesia spell, I figured that was performed so that no one would have any recollection of Precious Pearl and Laissa/Ardath/Syleth, so that Lady could protect them from the resurrectionists. Anyway, this has turned into mostly speculation on the plot of Port of Shadows. I enjoyed *Cranky Bitch*, but it has just left me hungry for more. I am heartened somewhat by the last line in Glen's bio printed just after the story: He hopes to live long enough to finish the thirty-some novels still
racketing around inside his head.
Maybe he is still writing? Perhaps there is still hope that we'll get Pitiless Rain and all of this speculation will end up looking silly. I enjoyed the dynamic between Croaker, Mischievous Rain, and the kids, so I hope we'll get more of that. On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 11:26 AM Matt Cutter via glencook-fans < glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Oh, that's an excellent point about Port! Those Annals were "lost" to memory-wipes and the evac from Aloe, along with being affected by intense glamour from Rain, the kids, and the demon-cat. No *wonder* it doesn't sound like the Croaker we all remember.
I'm starting to buy the time-traveling ideas. On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 09:34:52 AM CDT, David Ainsworth < narsham@comcast.net> wrote:
Yes, in addition to the kids being pretty clearly linked to Port of Shadows, there's a few moments in the story where Cook deploys italics. As if we're reading Croaker's thoughts. Except, of course, that we're always reading Croaker's thoughts. Which suggests that these brief interjections might be a commentary from a later Croaker.
Otherwise, too short. It's interesting that the tone is far closer to the older books than to Port of Shadows, which in retrospect reads like Croaker hadn't taken the time to clean things up for their official inclusion in the annals.
David
On 8/4/2021 9:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans wrote:
Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters.
Review: Well, that went fast.
It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker.
It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans.
Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
_______________________________________________glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.comTo unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
_______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
Just finished Sung in Blood. I thought it was a good read with a straight forward storyline and fairly well developed characters. Does anyone know if there will be a continuation of this series? thanks. stay safe and enjoy!
If memory serves, elements of it ended up in Tower of Fear, so that. On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 2:22 PM conchan conchan <nagoyacanuckjp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote:
Just finished Sung in Blood. I thought it was a good read with a straight forward storyline and fairly well developed characters.
Does anyone know if there will be a continuation of this series?
thanks.
stay safe and enjoy!
_______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
I don't think there's anything besides the novel. On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 4:23 PM, conchan conchan<nagoyacanuckjp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote: _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
Never located a follow up Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Saturday, August 14, 2021, 12:14 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: I don't think there's anything besides the novel. On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 4:23 PM, conchan conchan<nagoyacanuckjp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote: _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
My theory on Lady killing her twin is that Soulcatcher meant it literally, and was referring to herself. It would have happened several times while she was being Taken. She also has the physical resemblance to Lady to back that up. On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 1:46 PM Timothy McNamara <mcnamara.timothy@gmail.com> wrote:
No doubt the kids in *Cranky Bitch* were Baku and Shin. I don't know what to make of the use of italics...is that definitely something we don't see anywhere else in Croaker's writings?
As for time travel, the theory I've heard on it has Mischievous Rain and Ankou as Lady and Croaker-Shivetya from the future, having projected themselves back in time to uncover some knowledge of necromancy from Laissa/Ardath/Syleth or Precious Pearl, with the amnesia spell being cast to prevent any unintended changes to the timeline afterward. That theory also tries to explain the period of time in which Mischievous Rain is not herself, which doesn't otherwise get addressed. I suppose I can see how that all fits, but I'm not fully sold.
Mischievous Rain's looks are different enough from Lady's that Croaker does not recognize her in Port of Shadows, yet Laissa/Ardath/Syleth recognizes her as Kitty at the end of the book, which seems to imply that either Mischievous Rain's resemblance is Lady/Dorotea/Kitty's original appearance (and therefore Lady's typical appearance is adopted) or Mischievous Rain is not Lady/Dorotea.
When I originally read Port of Shadows, I figured that Mischievous Rain was Tides Elba as a Taken being directly possessed by Lady so that she could operate incognito outside of Charm, where she would be missed if absent. The period of time when she is not "herself" could just be Lady dealing with other issues at Charm rather than directly controlling her. There's problems with that theory, though: Tides Elba wasn't a sorceress herself, so where did her talent as Mischievous Rain come from? Did Lady bestow her with that power? And if Mischievous Rain is Tides Elba in body if not in mind, then why did Laissa/Ardath/Syleth recognize her as Kitty?
Soulcatcher once told Croaker that Lady had murdered her twin sister, who would be either Ardath or Syleth, whichever Laissa is not. That fourth sister is entirely unaccounted for. Could it be that Mischievous Rain inhabits Lady's twin sister's body? But if that were the case, and they were identical enough twins for Laissa/Ardath/Syleth to recognize as Kitty, then they would have to be identical enough for Croaker to mistake her for Lady as well, right? This all assumes that Soulcatcher was telling the truth. Of course, it could also be that Laissa/Ardath/Syleth is Lady's twin sister herself.
As for the amnesia spell, I figured that was performed so that no one would have any recollection of Precious Pearl and Laissa/Ardath/Syleth, so that Lady could protect them from the resurrectionists.
Anyway, this has turned into mostly speculation on the plot of Port of Shadows. I enjoyed *Cranky Bitch*, but it has just left me hungry for more. I am heartened somewhat by the last line in Glen's bio printed just after the story:
He hopes to live long enough to finish the thirty-some novels still
racketing around inside his head.
Maybe he is still writing? Perhaps there is still hope that we'll get Pitiless Rain and all of this speculation will end up looking silly. I enjoyed the dynamic between Croaker, Mischievous Rain, and the kids, so I hope we'll get more of that.
On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 11:26 AM Matt Cutter via glencook-fans < glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Oh, that's an excellent point about Port! Those Annals were "lost" to memory-wipes and the evac from Aloe, along with being affected by intense glamour from Rain, the kids, and the demon-cat. No *wonder* it doesn't sound like the Croaker we all remember.
I'm starting to buy the time-traveling ideas. On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 09:34:52 AM CDT, David Ainsworth < narsham@comcast.net> wrote:
Yes, in addition to the kids being pretty clearly linked to Port of Shadows, there's a few moments in the story where Cook deploys italics. As if we're reading Croaker's thoughts. Except, of course, that we're always reading Croaker's thoughts. Which suggests that these brief interjections might be a commentary from a later Croaker.
Otherwise, too short. It's interesting that the tone is far closer to the older books than to Port of Shadows, which in retrospect reads like Croaker hadn't taken the time to clean things up for their official inclusion in the annals.
David
On 8/4/2021 9:00 AM, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans wrote:
Anybody else got an opinion on the story? On Thursday, July 29, 2021, 02:55:28 PM CDT, Matt Cutter via glencook-fans <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> <glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Disclaimer: Shortened the name to avoid trouble for anybody behind profanity filters.
Review: Well, that went fast.
It's a short read. But I enjoyed it. Voice seemed more like the old Croaker voice from the original trilogy. Though Cook's prose is more polished, it doesn't change that old voice. I missed young, optimistic Croaker.
It's self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but has enough callbacks to engage us long-time fans.
Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Characters included to prevent whitespace from being collapsed.) . . . . . . . . I'm pretty sure I agree with the theory that the twins here are the twins from Port of Shadows and that the mysterious one-armed Taken is Twice Dead. Too bad the Lady gobbled him up; he had potential. _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
_______________________________________________glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.comTo unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
_______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com _______________________________________________ glencook-fans mailing list -- glencook-fans@mailman.xmission.com To unsubscribe send an email to glencook-fans-leave@mailman.xmission.com
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participants (6)
-
conchan conchan -
David Ainsworth -
Matt Cutter -
Michael Llaneza -
saulamca＠aol.com -
Timothy McNamara