Faded Steel Heat (Garrett Files, Bk. 9) [Paperback]

Glen Cook (Author), Allan Pollack (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

Riots between humans and trolls, elves, and other non-humans have plunged Tunfaire into near chaos. Garrett finds himself pulled into the game when a powerful gang of human rightists tries to shake down his employer-and ends up caught in a conspiracy of hate that pits man against... everybody!

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451454790
• ISBN-13: 978-0451454799
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glen Cook is the master!!!, July 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Faded Steel Heat (Garrett Files, Bk. 9) (Paperback)

When my mother first handed me The Garrett Files hardcover compilation of Sweet Silver Blues, Bitter Gold Hearts, and Cold Copper Tears, I thought to myself, what the heck is this? Not only was I thoroughly glad I read it, this series has become my favorite of all time. No chac=racters, no setting, no style has been able to surpass it in my mind. The only other works that come close are Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, and Cook's own Black Company. I have been awaiting a new book in this series for the last two years, ever since I bought my copy of Petty Pewter Gods. I heartily recommend this series to anyone with a sense of humor, and a love of fantasy and would give every book in it (except for Dread Brass Shadows) six stars, if it were possible. Pick one up and see if you can put it down. And while you're at it check out The Black Company. What are you waiting for?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Parrot is enough to Raise the Dead, May 11, 2000

By 

Zeta Thompson "Zeta Thompson" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faded Steel Heat (Garrett Files, Bk. 9) (Paperback)

This was actually the first in this series I read. The somewhat tongue in cheek hard-boiled detective writing style kept me interested. I sometimes had problems remembering when/where this is supposed to take place and kept envisioning Chicago in the 30's with a vastly different population, until he kept reminding me about the horses. (what happened to him with horses anyway?)

The story is much lighter than his Black Company series, yet still drives home the problems and weaknesses with being merely human. He examines not only the "wacko" fringe groups in TunFaire, but his own prejudices.

The revelation scene comes off like passage from a Hercule Perot novel, but as usual has Cook's strangly warped twists in it. The Parrot actually is useful in this book for things other than getting in trouble.

Humour permeates this story, but not to the detriment of the story. The adventure still keeps you on the edge. You will be tempted to read it quickly to see what happens, but I suggest you hold yourself back and savour his prose as well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good But Has Inconsistencies, October 10, 2001

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faded Steel Heat (Garrett Files, Bk. 9) (Paperback)

This is the 9th 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"). As are all Glen Cook's books with the title format of [adjective][metal type][noun], this is an interesting, fun, action-packed read. It's definitely a page-turner. Unfortunately, the minor inconsistencies I noticed in the previous book seem to be propogating in this one. Some of these errors are merely editing or lack of note-checking. For instance, near the beginning of this book, Garrett's talking to CAPTAIN Block. But, from two books back, we know that Block was promoted to COLONEL. A hundred pages on, though, Cook's got Block back as a COLONEL. In another case, Garrett's looking at a captured wagon. He specifically notes ONE prisoner. A couple pages later there are TWO prisoners. One page later, THREE. More seriously, there are behavioral problems. For instance, Garrett and his harem can't keep their minds on their business. In earlier books, Garrett's womanizing didn't really interfere in his business. In this book, both he and the women just stop working on important things (like infiltrations, kidnappings and murder) for a little bit of groping. And I mean they stop right in the middle of those things: not afterwards. Also, Garrett just misses obvious clues. He narrates to us about them, but nothing apparently clicks in his head. And then there's where he takes Tinnie with him to visit the headquarters of The Call (a militant human rights group). But, as noted in earlier books, Tinnie is part elf. Nobody ever notices.

These problems are still minor. This is definitely a book to read (along with all the rest of the series). But, because of these discrepencies, I've lowered my rating for the book to 4 stars out of 5 (unfortunately, I can't edit those stars on this review).

BTW: At the time of this review, this book is long out of print. It's tough to find anywhere. As an alternative, look around for the SFBC's "Garrett Investigates." This book is part of that collection.