Reviews

Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook

corprew's review

4.0

This book is much better than its predecessor in the series -- instead of just aping the plot of a crusade against the Cathars with a touch of magic, drama, and intrigue thrown in, Cook creates a plot as good as his earlier ones.

I wasn't sure about this new series of books, but this episode moves it from a fun recapping of european history to something that can stand in its own right?

Will this series be as successful as his previous? I doubt it, the first may prove too randomly inaccessible to those who don't know european history.

xantaranth's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jonmhansen's review

4.0

Liked it quite a bit, but the writing style feels odd, as if in many places the descriptive bits of what's actually happening in any given scene have been removed, which makes it feel kind of unanchored. This would be fine if the scene's just a conversation between two people, but it's not, they're doing other stuff with other characters coming in. Distracting.

wmhenrymorris's review

I had forgotten so much of what had happened in the first book that it was difficult to get in to this book. In addition, there's a story arc, but much of what happens is an "and then" and the deep discoveries and reveals don't occur in the natural place and some of the battles are anticlimactic. On the other hand, especially upon reflection, there's a realism of sorts to be found in this book. It is very much a chronicle. Things unfold to a certain extent as 'And then's. And the socio-political situation is always shifting and some of that is due to natural causes and not just machinations. I suppose you could say that there's some historical realism to it.

I also really like some of the characters. It doesn't sear like the Black Company novels, but there's a nice piquancy to it. More like a 3.5.

oisin175's review

3.0

An improvement on the first book mainly because so much is already known going in. The cast of characters is relatively stable. The locations are mostly the same as mentioned in the first book. It is still frustrating to try to picture the campaigns without a map. It is also likely that this book should have been broken in to two parts so that so much of the battles in the Connec and Arctecipea weren't glossed over as if they were completely irrelevant to the story.

countdeworde's review against another edition

5.0

4,8*

V únoru jsem četla knihu, kde se objevila postava jménem Cloven Februaren. :P Ne že by jméno bylo to jediné zajímavé. Je to také mocný čaroděj a velký troll, jehož specializací je chodit neviditelný, kam se mu zlíbí a tam všechny otravovat. :D

sarah42783's review

5.0

☠ A Seasoned and Nearly Seasoned Glen Cook Mercenaries Buddy Read (SAaNSSGCMBR™) with The Real Evgeny™, Choko the Beach Bum, Elena the Nearly Seasoned One and Eilonwy the Pretend Patriarch Slowpoke ☠

Actual rating: 8 stars. Duh.

“Disarm the idiots by putting them in charge, then let their own incompetence destroy them.”

Now that’s the spirit! Okay, so my super scrumpalicious boyfriend Else Tage is now one of the idiots totally awesome dudes in charge, but this quote obviously doesn’t apply to him. Because, duh, he’s my boyfriend and stuff. Do you seriously think I would have locked him up in the Harem if he was a complete nitwit? I mean, have I ever kidnapped a book boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever for their yummy bodies, not their lickable intellects? Err…Okay, nevermind, I never asked this question and you never answered it. Right. Moving on. So, as I was saying, my boyfriend Else Tage has gone up up up in the world and is now at the head of spoiler spoiler spoiler ← lots of spoiler spoiler spoilers to be expected in this crappy non review, this book being one big shrimping spoiler and stuff. Pretty sure at least one of Else’s bosses must be pretty pumped about that. Which boss, you ask? How should I know? I think Else was a quattuordecuple agent at the last mission count, so you can’t really expect me to remember what he’s cunningly doing, and on whose behalf. I mean, remembering his many assumed names is difficult enough, so imagine trying to keep track of all his treacherous operations. No can do and stuff. But I guess that’s what you get for hooking up with an International Man of Mystery and stuff.



Told you I didn’t kidnap Else for his chest hair body.

So my mouth-watering spy of a boyfriend is now up to his delicious ears in Machiavellian powerplays, devious shenanigans and devilish sorceries. So much so that, despite his gloriously sharp undercover agent mind, the most essential stuff kinda sorta goes right over his lovely little head sometimes. But who can blame him, really? Pretty sure I would have been as ridiculously clueless as he in the same situation

which should tell you something, since Einstein’s grey cells are a complete joke compared to mine and stuff

. Anyway, Else is always super cute when he gets all, “Say bloody shrimping what??!!” so it just adds to his lusciously tasty harem-worthy persona.

And now it seems we have a problem since I can’t tell you much more about the book. Because spoiler spoiler spoiler, obviously. Speaking of which, if you’re considering giving this series a try—as you bloody fishing should—do NOT read the blurb for this book. Unless you want to spoiler spoiler spoiler yourself to death and back, that is. And thoroughly ruin what is left of your puny little lives, that is. Because, you see, there are some unexpected twists and revelations in some books, and there are UNEXPECTED TWISTS AND REVELATIONS in Glen Cook Books of Utter Awesomeness (GCBoUA™).



And then some.

Let’s see then, what non-spoilerish stuff could I dig up and tell you about? Well, I am happy to report that Pig Iron, the mostest badassest donkey soldier ever, is still alive and kicking (well, he is kind of vacationing at the moment but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back at the heart of the duplicitous action posthaste). What else? We’ve got giant-ass worms and bugs (which barbecue well, from what I’ve heard) and somewhat bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac damsels in no bloody shrimping distress whatsoever. We also have ancient (if moderately malevolent) gods, HAHAHA-bloody-HA dialogues (lots of these), mummified thingies, a wondrous cast of most untrustworthy delectable characters (revoltingly endearing kids included), and severed limbs (yum). There’s plenty of gloriously head-scratching stuff, too, lots and lots of

, and many a Glen-Cook-what-evil-scheme-is-this-and-what-the-fish-are-you-up-to-you-wicked-man-you moment. Anything else? Oh yes, assuredly: a certain item that would make a certain super sexey person who shall not be named go all, “my precioussssssssss” is also at hand (or is it? Ha). And last, but bloody shrimping not least, we have the Mostest Awesomest Butt-Grabbing Practical Joker of an Invisible Man (MABGPJoaIM™) that ever was and ever will be. Poof, gone, Harem and stuff. Obviously. Time for a celebratory dance, is it not? Here we go.



➽ And the moral of this Bloody Shrimping Shocker Shrimpman I Better Make Sure I Have a Defibrillator Handy When I Read the Next Book in this Series Otherwise I Might Not Survive and Stuff Crappy Non Review (BSSSIBMSIHaDHWIRtNBitSOIMNSaSSCNR™) is: do you think that Fantasy meets sorcery meets medieval Europe meets the Crusades is the most improbable, doomed-to-fail mix ever? That’s just because you’ve never read a Glen Cook book before and don’t know any better, my Clueless Barnacles. But hey, worry your little selves silly over this you shouldn’t. Else can be clueless as fish, too, and yet I still lurves him to bits. So there’s hope for you yet. Then again, maybe not.

· Book 1: The Tyranny of the Night ★★★★★
· Book 3: Surrender to the Will of the Night ★★★
· Book 4: Working God's Mischief ★★★★



There are books. And there are Glen Cook Books of Utter Awesomeness (GCBoUA™) that kinda sorta make you feel like this:



Yes, it's true, I now officially have a T-Rex fetish. Because reasons.

Yes, Glen Cook is indeed a god. And a god he shall remain, until someone scientifically proves than any author other than His Glorious Little Self can write Scrumptiously Scrumptious Books (SSB™) that include: crazy-ass sextuple⁹ backstabbing schemes, political and religious machinations that make Machiavelli look like a pathetic amateur, hahahahahaha dialogues, Harem-Worthy Spy Material (HWSM™) *waves at her yummy boyfriend Else*, most delicious (if a little vindictive) giant bugs, ancient invisible men I want to adopt kidnap, record-breaking body counts, jaw pincer-dropping shocking shockers and revelations, and spoiler spoiler spoiler. Among a few other slightly wondrous things. So what do you say? Any contenders? Ha! Didn't think so.

➽ Full Looks Like My To-Read List is about to Graciously Self Combust Just So I Can Read Book 3 in this Series Lucky Me and Stuff Crappy Non Review (LLMTRLiatGSCJSICRB3itSLMaSCNR™) to come.

doorisajar's review

3.0

It winds up feeling like a middle book, but it was still quite enjoyable.

ronpayne's review

3.0

Not the barn-burner the fist one was. It took me a long time to work through this. Still, definitely going to read the next one.