Customer Reviews

Lord of the Silent Kingdom

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Glen Cook is the most underated fantasist working today. He has changed the face of fantasy and here he excels again. (Don't read this without the first installment you will be lost.)
This is a fabulously complex entirely new world: new rules, new magic, new "gods" same old deal for soldiers. He is so good at weaving great human characters. Soldiers you would want at your back, or drinking with you at a rowdy bar. Villains you wouldn't leave alone with your dog. All caught up in huge swirling events that draw out the best in the good and the worst in the bad. But sometimes which is who is hard to see. He is great at showing the good in the bad but competent, and the foibles of the heroes with feet of clay. Cynicism abounds. Politicians are always seen with the jaundiced eys of the long since disillusioned.
Another great hero in Piper Hecht. An indomitable man who just wishes everybody would just leave him the hell alone, but of course they won't.
That's why this is so much fun. This is not a predictable same old same tale. Don't turn your back on anyone!
Once again Cook draws you into his world and once again it is something to behold.
Have fun.

This is book two of a series. The first book, _The Tyranny of the Night_, was a heavy slog for the first 150 pages. In contrast, _Lord of the Silent Kingdom_ was a page-turner.

Piper Hecht is the Captain General of the Patriarch's army. Unfortunately, the Patriarch, Sublime V, is a megalomaniac who honestly believes that the rest of the world's sole purpose is to gratify his wants. Hecht establishes something not seen since the downfall of the old Brothen Empire, a professional army led by professional officers. At one point in the book, Hecht's army is laying siege to a city. Even though the army is small, it goes about its task in a methodical, competent manner. Eventually, almost inevitably, the city is conquered with minimal loss of Hecht's men.

Soldiers are different from warriors. A soldier makes war because that's his job. A warrior makes war for glory. Unless it is incompetently led or suffers other problems (lack of supplies, facing overwhelming odds, etc.), an army of soldiers will usually defeat an army of warriors. Hecht, who is extremely competent and who can pick competent subordinates, proves this adage several times.

Hecht's personal life is also shown. He's got a mistress and picks up stray children, giving him an instant family. He's a three-dimensional character with likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. He's also got problems. People and gods (aka Instrumentalities of the Night) are trying to kill him. Personally, I'm a bit confused as to why the gods are after him. Yes, he discovered, almost by accident, how to kill a god. But now the information is general knowledge. Other than for revenge, there's little point in killing him now. However, the gods as described in the series are not the most intelligent or mature folks around. Near-omniscience and godlike powers do not a wise being make.

I enjoyed this book and am eagerly waiting for the next installment.

If you've read the first book in this series, The Tyranny of the Night: Book One of the Instrumentalities of the Night, you pretty much know what to expect from this book. The downside of that is this book has a lot of the same faults as the first book. But, I found this book just a tad more like the Glen Cook I know and love with a bit more of the flavor of his other works. I also found it easier to keep track of all the players and places. If you've read the first book and liked it, then this book is for you. If you didn't enjoy the first book, you'll probably feel the same about this one. Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one. I rate it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.

Thankfully Cook's publishers have allowed him to step away from his proven intellectual properties of the Black Company and Garrett. I thoroughly enjoy those series, but it is amazing to see how witty and how imaginative this man is. I agree with an earlier reviewer that a few "out of time" dialogs exist, but they should not detract from the brilliantly woven story.

Cook's character development is as good as anyone writing. His pacing and style create a fast-paced imagery and identifiable characters. I read this book craving the next page, while dreading that it was brining me closer to the end.

I bemoaned the lack of a map in the first book and I'll start again by asking if it would be too much to include a map in a book that jumps among a slew of kingdoms, countries, islands, and petty territories. As a long-time fan of "epic" fantasy, I consider myself pretty well-versed in how to handle sweeping geography, but there were so many names of so many places playing a major role either in the active plot or in the backgrounds/motivations of characters that I became annoyingly bewildered by who was where and who was allying with whom. The same is true of the names, that get flashed by quite often, especially in the first third or so of the book, sometimes at a whirlwind pace where you might get 8-10 names of new places and new people in a single paragraph then two paragraphs later get another 8-10. Some of this is just background to the world-creation, pointing out that a larger world exists beyond the canvas of the novel's plot, but many of the places and people are important based on geopolitics--which queen is supporting which king who has sent which knight to lead which county lord against which king fighting in support of which prelate, and so on. Not to mention of course that some of these characters have multiple names due to their being undercover agents or having a separate nickname used by some characters but not others or, like many aristocrats, they have both names and title which gets used or not. And then there are the sects and sects within sects who often act as characters in their own right, as in "the Brotherhood was making things difficult". As I mentioned, it all gets a bit bewildering as characters drop into info-dump mode to explain why things are moving as they are and to be brutally honest, for much of the first third I had no idea of why things were happening at all. I knew what was going on--who was fighting whom and who was winning--but why they were fighting this particular enemy? No clue.
Eventually, those packed expositive paragraphs dwindle, the storyline narrows, and it all becomes easier to follow. As in book one, the focus is on Piper Hecht, now Captain-General of the Patriarch's army (though of course Hecht is actually Else Tage, a Praman warrior sent by his king--partially because Tage is so good and partially because the worried king thinks he's too good--into the West to undermine their ability to crusade against the Eastern (Praman) lands. In Lord of the Silent Kingdom, Hecht leads the Patriarch's army into the End of the Connect to pacify a religious heresy, learns more about his sponsor--a member of the high council (think Cardinals) and magic user, picks up a lost girl who seems to be someone important politically, evades many, many assassination attempts, learns he has a guardian angel of sorts, is caught up in the political and religious machinations as people battle for the power of the Patriarchy, and does battle with the instrumentalities--the minor and major gods. And that's not all.
Meanwhile, we get another point of view from Helspeth, Princess Apparent of the Grail Empire whose father has recently died, leaving the throne to her ill brother, who is to be followed by her older sister of questionable capability.
Rounding out the three-stranded POV is Brother Candle, a Perfect Master (pacifistic minister of sorts) who observes the battle in the Connecht but from the other side of Piper Hecht.
It's a hugely complex plot in terms of its politics, religion, character motivations, geography, etc. And as mentioned, it's all a bit hard to follow for the first third or so. The POV switches aren't always successful, the writing often feels disjointed, and the POV"s are also a bit unbalanced in effect, with Piper's much more engaging, followed by Helspeth's (though she gets the least amount of time), and then by Candle, who's character's passivity makes for relatively uninteresting reading, especially as much of what happens is told rather than shown.
Piper's story, however, is engaging even when one isn't sure why he's doing what he's doing. It has Cook's trademark realism and dark humor, strong character and dialogue. As events clear up, it becomes even more enjoyable.
The battles with the instrumentalities seem a bit anti-climactic, though it does seem we're building up to something larger. The grander themes are all fascinating--an encroaching ice, a worsening of the Instrumentalities, the major shifting of geopolitics, the problems with refugees fleeing the ice age effects, Hecht's gradually morphing from Else Tage, Praman warrior, to Piper, Patriarchal General. It's an ambitious work that doesn't quite succeed for a big chunk but then finds its voice and pacing for most of the rest of the book.
Cook is working on a large canvas here and sometimes probably short-changes himself by cramming it all in to a relatively small space, thus leading to problems of clarity of exposition-stuffed prose, but by the end the reader is pulled in thoroughly and looking forward to volume three. Recommended with caveats. And with yet another plea for that damn map.

I'm a sucker for the way Glen Cook tells a story. I have been ever since the Ken Kelly cover paintings attracted me to Reap the East Wind and An Ill Fate Marshalling, 20 years ago. I flipped through Reap the East Wind, and was so enthralled that I spent the next few weeks scouring all the used bookstores in my area, until I had found copies of the orginal three Dread Empire novels.

I didn't know it yet, but what made me enjoy the Dread Empire books were things that became trademarks in Glen Cook's writing. Even as the narrative voice changes from series to series, certain elements are aways present. The characters talk in a "realistic," down to earth way, and they behave as people do in the real world. This extends to military campaigns, which in Cook's worlds always seem to occur in the ways that true veterans recount in their memoirs. People die, sometimes even important personalities. The language is sparse, and neither the reader nor any character is usually fully in the know of what is going on. Also, there's often more "telling" than "showing." While some reviewers have considered this a fault, to me it is an element of Cook's personal style.

The lack of flowery language and absence of an omniscient viewpoint throws off some would-be readers of Cook. I think it is worth the effort to read a decent chunk of one of his books, and thereby discover whether or not he is for you. I accept that certain readers will simply never enjoy what Cook does. But for those who have bought in to Cook's way of telling a story, Lord of the Silent Kingdom is some of his best work. All of what makes his work enjoyable can found in abundance, as the story begun in The Tyranny of the Night progesses (other reviews cover the specific plot points, for those who want spoilers).

It needs to be stated at this point, however, that Lord of Silent Kingdom will only be rewarding to experienced readers of Cook's material. At a minimum, the preceding volume, The Tyranny of the Night, must be read for the present story to make any sense. Even then, the reader will be more entertained if they have read further into Cook's back catalog. Then, there will be a comforting familiarity in recognizing that Else Tage is like Bragi Ragnarson and Croaker in rising from simple soldier to military commander. That Titus Consent and Ferris Renfrow are like Michael Trebilcock in their way of gathering crucial intelligence and getting the impossible done. And that the squabbling nobles in Brothe are like the squabbling nobles in Kavelin and Taglios.

Yet with these recognizable similarities comes a host of new characters and situations, so that Lord of the Silent Kingdom is not at all predictable. I saw an interview with Cook from a few years ago, in which he admitted that work on the book was progressing slowly, and that it was turning out not at all as he had expected. One gets the feeling that Cook himself was surprised at the twists and turns in the story, as it took on a life of its own (as pieces of writing sometimes do!). I was quite pleased that most major storylines reached acceptable conclusions by the end of the book, even as plot threads remained dangling, awaiting resolution in the next volume. Out of all the many characters, I came to especially like Socia Rault, who did a bit of growing up without losing all of her colorful traits.

The Tyranny of the Night was released in 2005, and Lord of the Silent Kingdom followed in 2007. It seems reasonable to expect the follow up (provisional title Surrender to the Will of the Night) in 2009. Until then, I plan to keep myself busy by exporing the worlds of Steven Erikson and Joe Abercrombie. I have a copy at hand of Gardens of the Moon, and if I like that, I'll have plenty of reading ahead of me while I await more Glen Cook material. Meanwhile, if you enjoy Glen Cook's books, but have so far avoided The Instrumentalities of the Night, then pick up a copy of The Tyranny of the Night, and start reading this latest series, which only gets better in Lord of the Silent Kingdom!

As with all of Glen Cook's novels, Instrumentalites of the Night is a departure from standard fantasy fare. There are few, if any, ultra-good, or ultra-evil characters. There are no "you hold the only key" characters who must rise from obscurity to defeat an all-powerful enemy. Cook's stories are filled with very real characters who must deal with their very real lives. Living in a world where very few people are as bad, or as good, as they may seem. Lord of the Silent Kingdom seems almost a retelling of actual history, rather than a work of fiction. His honest portrayal of individuals makes them that much more believable. He has created a world, and let his characters walk it. Great Fiction.

First, I have read every single thing Glen Cook has published aside from his last 3 garrett novels, and have reviews for many of them on this site. He is one of my very favorite authors.

This story picks up the 3 storylines of Else Tag/Piper Hecht, Brother Candle, and Helspeth. Much of the story is devoted to Hecht's storyline as Captain-General of the Patriarchal armies. When other viewpoints come in, often months pass between with some description of ongoing military and political events in the interim. Considerably greater background on Hecht is given during the story as well, some of it bearing on the plot.

As in the prior novel, the abundance of place-names referring to places that may have existed in 12th century europe (or even today) but altered beyond recognition has made matters far too complicated. We know the map is of europe with substantially lower mediterranean (and black) sea levels and extensive glaciation in the north, so why not give us that map? At least he keeps the name of the person Gibraltar was named for in the name of that landmark, but....I guess i can brag about figuring out Corsica and Sardinia (I think).

This story, in style of writing, resembles Dread Empire more than anything else of his I have read. The eventually connection between Hecht and Helspeth is once again teased at the end of this novel, but knowing Cook, he might just kill her instead. (I keep thinking of O'Shing when I consider this) He does tend to kill off much of his cast in major battles at the end of a series, so presumably most of the players will be around a bit longer.

Time is spend on politics in the Grail Empire, usually through Helspeth but Ferris Renfrow is treated in more detail. Presumably we will learn a lot more about him later in the series.

Brother Candle is mainly used to give a first-hand view of events in the Connec, including resurgence of Night instrumentalities, a couple of invasions/sieges, and a glimpse of the inside of politics within that faction.

Cook also introduces a figure, the man in brown, who becomes almost a deux ex machina for resolving a number of events and incidents differently than they already would have turned out. It reached the point that everytime Hecht had trouble, you could count on the man in brown showing up.

I enjoyed this book a lot, despite inconsistent patterns of grammar usage in exposition/descriptions, which was distracting early in the book. That said, I recently reread the original dread empire trilogy, and it is by far more enjoyable that this while being substantially shorter.

Cook's done it again, both writing an excellent follow up to the already classic "Tyranny of the Night" and resurrecting the best parts of my all time favorite hero Croaker, the leader of The Black Company.

What I like about this one is that it sucks you into the plot and gets you inside the skin of these people, all the while weaving its intricate plot line deeper and deeper into a whole new fabric.

There are plenty of minor suprises, and one big one that await the reader as well.

I can't wait for the next one.

Lord of the Silent Kingdom (2007) is the second epic fantasy novel of The Instrumentalities of the Night, following The Tyranny of the Night. In the previous volume, Svavar absorbs the souls of several gods through the spear and then flees back to the northlands. The Deves use their firearms to destroy Gray Walker and then save Pinkus Ghort -- and Princess Helspeth -- from the Hero revenants.

Prince Lothar is snatched from the hospital tent and later reappears among the Imperials. The dying Grade Drocker selects Piper Hecht to command the Patriarchal forces after his death and later the Patriarch concurs. As the senior Brother of War, Sergeant Bechter conducts the service for Drocker.

In this novel, Patriarch Sublime V -- formerly Honario Benedocto -- of the Bothan Episcopal Church has a dire need for funds. He has too many outstanding loans. Some date back to vote buying in the Patriarchal election and the rest had paid for funding of the Calziran Crusade. Unhappily, the Crusade had been a military win, but an economic loss.

Now Sublime is trying to conquer the Maysean heretics in the End of the Connec by issuing letters of marque to Grolsacher mercenaries. The plunder has not been that great. Rumors say that sooner or later he will be sending in Church forces to seize this land.

Brother Candle is a Maysean Perfect, a leader of the Seekers After Light. When the Grolsacher mercenaries besiege Caron ande Lette, Brother Candle is sent out the back way to save his life. Church mercenaries would love to capture a Perfect.

Piper Hecht - formerly Else Tage -- is Captain-General of the Bothan Episcopal Church forces. One of his duties is to ensure that his forces are ready to follow the orders of the Patriarch. Of course, he has good subordinates, so he spends most of his time with Anna Mozilla, his lover.

Pinkus Ghort is Commander of the Bothan City Regiment. He has been a friend and campaigning companion of Hecht for years. When he comes to fetch Hecht, Piper goes with him without complaint. On the way to the Closed Ground, Hecht, Ghort and their escort encounter three bowmen and a sorcerer who try to assassinate Piper.

The Collegium -- the Princes of the Church -- includes the official sorcerers of the Bothan Episcopal Church. In the West, almost all mages are either part of the Collegium or dead. A committee of these Princes is waiting when Hecht finally arrives for his meeting.

Upon hearing about the assassination attempt, Principate Muniero Delari leaves the room in a rush to question the prisoners. The rest of the committee question Hecht closely about the ambush. When Delari returns, he has little information, but has learned the rendezvous point for the assassins.

After the meeting, Delari takes Hecht to the baths for further discussion. Hecht leaves early to check on Polo, who had been injured in the ambush, and to meet with Ghort to discuss the two men from the City Regiment who had betrayed them into the ambush. Then Hecht leaves for his overdue staff meeting.

Hecht meets his senior staff at the Castella dollas Pontellas, a Brotherhood of War facility. One of his senior staff is Clej Sedlakova, observer for the Brotherhood. Others included Colonel Buhle Smolens, his second in command, the Krogusian Hagan Brokke, his planning officer, Titus Consent, his intelligence chief, and Tabill Talab, his senior quartermaster. These latter two are Devedians.

In this story, Hecht briefs his staff on the Clearenza situation and is briefed in turn on current efforts. He arranges to have a few days off and then has a private meeting with his intelligence chief. Consent wants to convert to the Chaldarean faith and asks Hecht to be the godfather for his soon-to-be-born child.

Later, Hecht and Ghort take ship up the Sawn to Sonsa. There they pick a young urchin as a guide and deliver a courier packet to a Brotherhood agent at the Ten Galleons, a local cathouse. They have to leave the cathouse in disguise as a family group and then one young girl refuses to return to the house. She claims to be an adducted child from a good family. All four flee town before their enemies can organize a pursuit.

The four walk through Alicea to the Knight of Wands inn and wait for the deserters to arrive. When the two men from the City Regiment appear, Hecht and Ghort confront them and their paymasters outside the inn and learn that Immaculate, the Anti-Patriarch, was apparently behind the ambush. The attempt had been set up by Rudenes Schneidel through intermediaries.

After this operation, Hecht and Ghort return to Bothe with the children. Hecht leaves the boy Pella and the girl Vali with Anna and she soon has them dressed and behaving as good Bothan children. Hecht goes off to ask Delari about Rudenes Schneidel.

This story continues the adventures of Else Tage -- former Captain of the Sha-lug slave-soldiers of far Dreanger -- in the lands of his enemies. But are they really his enemies? He is beginning to have too many friends among the Bothans for his peace of mind.

Highly recommended for Cook fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of swords and cannons, Things of the Night, and international intrigue.

-Arthur W. Jordin