Customer Reviews

The Tower of Fear

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Set in a city resembling Carthage during the Punic Wars, Cook has written a masterpiece of intrigue, patriotism and desperation surrounding the events after the fall of a great city. If you like your anti-heroes to be frighteningly competent, you'll love Azel. The novel is very dark and should please anyone who has read Mr. Cook's Garrett or Black Company novels.

This book is somewhat unique in the books I have read by glen cook. While there are military elements present they are secondary to the story and battles do not play a notable role. The political intrigue, a story of 3 factions interested in control of the city, as well as the goals of the Witch and the infighting in 2 of the factions, one of which at least superficially resembles imperial rome. More generally this book appears to be well informed by classical studies in general and in one particular case it is hard not to think of a certain event in the Punic Wars.

Realistic portrayal of characters, believable political goals and machinations, and sympathetic characters from most sides make this a pleasure to read. If you enjoyed The Dragon Never Sleeps or Shadowline, the political violence will seem more muted here but the tapestry he weaves is arguably more complex.

"Tower of Fear" is yet another excellent book by Glen Cook. It's very well-written, exciting, and suspenseful. Unfortunately, as with almost all of Cook's books, this one is hard to find (i.e., it appears to be out of print). I don't know why publishers don't re-print these books. Outside of the Black Company books, almost none of them are now available. I know that the SFBC publishes 3 (or 4, now) books which consolidate the Garrett series (another excellent series). But, these older works, which I read decades ago (and believe are all excellent) have just vanished. If you can grab a copy of this book, do so. I rate it at 5 stars out of 5.

While most authors tend toward a creativity based either on the "art" behind prose, or the "craft" of storytelling, Glen Cook apparently decided to encompass both within this novel. In a genre that is possibly threadbared by overuse of quasimidieval settings (knights/English Castles/etc.), Cook developed a Jerusalem-like city that was completely believable from a socio-political viewpoint, and threw in economic, artistic, and philosophical elements as well. Artistically, the novel is lavish with minutae that make the very architecture come to life. The craft of writing is taken to its summit via the best characterizations one may ever encounter, coupled with a plot that proves Cook to be one of the more inspired authors in the genre.

The Tower of Fear perhaps the best example of Cooks ability to intertwine plots and scemes. The amazing thing is, that while he must have had to use a flow chart to create the thing, he tells the story(stories) in such a way that you don't need to see it for yourself. The intertwinning of the plots is ingenious, and yet totally logical at the same time. I have not seen such briliant insight into the minds and scemes of characters,combined with the often conflicting interelationships between characters/plots, since the Dune series. If you want to see what a literary master is, read this book!!!

4 AND ½ STARS

My first experience with dark fantasy author Glen Cook could not have been more enjoyable. I always look for a good story, solid technical writing that exudes confidence, a strong vocabulary with a unique style, believable and original characters, rich atmosphere, and an overall consistency from beginning to end. It is rare for a writer to have strengths in most of these categories. Glen Cook has them all.

This book is crafted masterfully like the construction of a champion chess game. Every new chapter delicately builds upon the last, with each development having an impact on the story. A single character's decision has a domino effect, creating new choices, options, and dangers of everyone involved. I found myself nearly breathless how well everything came together. If there was a criticism to be made of the book, it would have to be the handful of places where the dialogue felt too modern with phrases that didn't seem organic to the world Cook has created. Those few times pulled me out of the story, but fortunately, that did not happen often.

I was so impressed with this book, I have already ordered 3 more titles from this author (The Dragon Never Sleeps, Passage At Arms, and The Black Company omnibus). Anyone interested in fantasy without the clichéd orcs, ogres, elves, dwarfs, and magical weapons, will be refreshingly surprised with this stand-alone novel. Cook has renewed my interest and faith in the dark fantasy genre. I can't wait to read more.

I throughly enjoy Glen Cook's Black Company series and I am just starting book 5, "Dreams of Steel", but I have to say that by far "The Tower of Fear" is his best work that I have read so far. It reads like something from Greek Mythology. If there are any movie producers out there who are looking to make a blockbuster film then you need to contact Cook soon and get the rights to this story. But if you do, PLEASE do it justice and don't make it cheap and cheesy.

First of all, let me just thank reviewer David Lessnau. He recommended this book in another review on Amazon. I got into fantasy just a short time ago but found it difficult identifying good original fantasy works. Many of the great classics apparently were written in the 70' and 80' and I would not have been able to find them without this site. Amazon reviews work!! Anyways, back to "The Tower of Fear". Glen Cook is a fantastic writer. "The Tower of Fear" was my introduction to Glen Cook, and it will not be the last time I'll read his works. "Chronicles of the Black Company" looks interesting. "The Tower of Fear" contains several story lines with multiple,complex and multi-layered characters. Usually a warning sign for me. Almost inevitably one of those story lines ends up being boring. Cook avoids this however, and puts together believable characters with interesting stories to tell. (I have to admit though it took some time getting used to the weird names. Several times I had to review the cast to see who was who). The world building is superb and I love how it all fits together. The "Tower of Fear" is a fast, fun, scary, dark and enjoyable read. It all comes together and ends with a great finish. I was however, disappointed with the two epilogues. Better to just end with the last chapter. But hey, that's just a personal opinion. Great book, I highly recommend it.

Glen Cook writes an exceptional book. There are three main factions, all vying for a "win" in a great and fading city. The wins are mutually exclusive. Each faction is led by a smart, capable leader who has tactical and stratigic goals. Each has motivations that are both clear and obscure. This is a book about smart people competing against each other and dealing with unexpected events, bad luck, and people showing human failings and insights. There are very realistic portrayals of cpeople and I came to care for many of the characters. Balance this story against books where the hero comes up with a plan, competes against powerful but incompetent advesaries, and chugs toward a successful conclusion.

Power is balanced with flaws, cunning against bad luck, morality against emotional weakness.

I am a Cook fan and this was one of his best books. Highly recommended. [Best was probably The Dragon Never Sleeps- space opera.]

This is one of if not the best book by Glen Cook. If you liked the Black Company series you'll love this book. The personalities are original and well developed as well as the world in which the story takes place. Absolutely loved this book and have read it several times. I've read almost every single book by Cook including all the Black Company and Garret Files as well as several of the out of print ones and this is as good or better than any of them.