19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Gah! What Happened?, November 14, 2005
This review is from: Angry Lead Skies (Paperback)
This is the 10th in Cook's Garrett series ("Sweet Silver Blues," "Bitter Gold Hearts," "Cold Copper Tears," "Old Tin Sorrows," "Dread Brass Shadows," "Red Iron Nights," "Deadly Quicksilver Lies," "Petty Pewter Gods," "Faded Steel Heat," "Angry Lead Skies," and "Whispering Nickel Idols"). I don't know who really wrote this, but Glen Cook should track him down and take him to court. Well, perhaps I exaggerate. However, from all the gaffs in this book, it looks like Cook didn't bother to review his notes from the rest of the series before he wrote this one. Here are some of the problems that leapt out at me:
- First of all, where did Garrett's love interest, Katie, come from? Usually, he finds these women as part of his cases (either the principal or a player). In this case, we start out the book with her already there. She has no background and plays no part in the book. He doesn't even mention Tinnie (whom he had gotten back together with at the end of the previous book -- a couple of weeks in Garrett time) until half way through the book.
- Second, Playmate is way out of character. In all the other books, he's a simple, honest person. In this one, he's essentially a walking Dead Man or a more honest Morley Dotes: a sophisticated, educated, smooth talking, cynical person. Plus, Cook specifically notes that he's NOT really 9 feet tall. Yet, in all the other books, he IS 9 feet tall. A couple of books ago, Cook graphically portrayed him in a situation at Morley's restaurant as being bent over to fit inside. My guess is Cook needed some way to work a specific type of character in as a principal and a 9 foot tall, simple guy wouldn't work. So, he just changed him.
- Similarly, Singe has miraculously graduated from a smart, though barely articulate, rat woman into practically an Einstein.
- Ditto for the Rose triplets. Specifically, Doris and Marsha. In all previous books those two grolls were dumb as stumps. Even more importantly, only Dojango spoke "English" (that was why he was around -- to translate). Doris and Marsha ONLY and SPECIFICALLY spoke grollish.
- And, finally, near the end, Cook mentions that the Tates have DWARF blood somewhere back in their line. That's not correct. Again, specifically, in all previous books he's mentioned that they have ELF blood in them.
Then, there are the "logic" errors (I know, it's fantasy, but still...). For instance, in one case Cook has Doris hold Garrett up to a fourth floor window. AFAIK, that should be at least 40 feet up. Yet, Doris and Marsha are 20 feet tall. Even with very long arms, they couldn't reach above 30 feet. Then there's the fact that the "Visitors" are described as ugly, yet everyone thinks they might be elves. In all of these books, elves are alway extremely handsome/beautiful: it's an elvish characteristic. There's no way anyone should consider these "Visitors" to be related to elves.
Another BIG problem is the problem itself. It might be a spoiler, but since it's implied in the official write-ups and becomes obvious at the very start of the book, I'll bring it up: there are space aliens in this book. I'm sorry, but aliens just have no place in a fantasy/detective novel. It's just silly. Even worse, Garrett plays the two-backed beast with them. Repeatedly. Often. Ugh.
And finally, Cook seems to have lost the detective part of his fantasy/detective mixture the Garrett books are supposed to be. Outside of some minor leg-work during the first half of the book, there's no real mystery and no detectiving. In fact, the last half of the book doesn't really do anything at all. It's just Garrett doing his alien experments, setting up some personal stuff, getting back at Morley, and the aliens finalizing things. That's it. All done. What a waste.
If you're still reading this, by now, you'll probably guess I'm not happy with what Cook's done to the series with this book (and I LOVE this series -- it took me years to find all the books again to re-read them). So, I have to give this book a sadly well-deserved 1 star out of 5. If you've been following this series since the beginning, the book will give you nothing but grief. If you've never read a Garrett book before, you might get a few giggles out of it, but you won't have any of the history (even though Cook's "modified" it) to understand what's going on. There's really no reason for anyone to read it.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Who done it? Who wrote it?, April 10, 2002
This review is from: Angry Lead Skies (Paperback)
This does not read like the previous books in this series. I have been checking Amazon constantly for a new book and pre-ordered this as soon as it was available. If you are a big fan of the series, you will likely be disappointed. I would guess that Cook did not write this book. Too many contradictions (mentioned by other reviewers, whose comments I agree with). But, if you really are a fan, you are going to buy this book anyway, just don't get your hopes up. The interaction between the characters feels strained and not natural. I wanted to wait until the end, thinking it would get better, but it didn't. Cook has done a great job with the series until now. I eagerly await the next book, with the hopes that it gets better. Worse than anything, there was not enough of Morley Dotes, my favorite character in the series. I think there must have been a book before this one and somehow Angry Lead Skies was accidently published before it (sarcasm). I never thought I would say this but, there is too much sex in the book, not that that is a problem, but it just doesn't fit. It's as if it were thrown in because there was nothing else, so why not go with something that sells. Singe wants a turn with Garrett? Perhaps it has been too long between books? I look forward to the next one, if there will be a next one. Hopefully Cook will read the series for a refresher, (if he wrote this one). I can't say don't buy it, because I want to see another one, but if you are new to the series, pick up the earlier books (which I have read several times each).
I expected more....and I hate to think that Cook does not have it anymore.
Peace,
MD
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre work from a great writer, April 4, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Angry Lead Skies (Paperback)
Angry Lead Skies, the latest title in the Garrett P.I. series, doesn't have the same cohesive structure of the preceding works. In fact, the book is extremely dark from the first page. I think this might be due to the ending of the Black Company series and the writing styles have merged a bit. I have just finished reading the Black Company series from beginning to end (now that it is finished and I have recollected all of the books) and am currently reading the Garrett novels and can deffinately feel a lot more of the Black Company formula in this novel. The most disappointing feature of the book is the lack of consistency with the earlier titles. This book has a wonderfully convoluted storyline that keeps you wondering where Cook is leading you, but Garrett seems to have merged a bit with Croaker and many of the secondary and tertiary characters don't follow the same attitudes as they did in earlier books (and it has only been a few weeks since happenings in earlier titles according to time references made in this book). Overall, I truly am enjoying this novel due to Cook's amazing ability to keep a rolling narrative that leads you in so many directions at one. As most people do in their heads as they think, you get to see inside of Garrett's cynical, over-sexed mind. Deffinately a great read for fans of the series, but newcomers to the series would be better off starting with a couple of the earlier titles that are still in print. As with earlier works, it is really Cook's amazing storytelling ability that makes you want to read through the night.
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