A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire

For me, these books finally gave substance to Fantasy Fiction. It wasn't the Thud and Blunder of Conan or Gor. It was interesting, developed, 'real' characters working against insurmountable odds. And, trust me, the Shinshan are as bad a bunch off dudes as you will find. The Military SF aspect is realistic. The diplomatic intrigue is well thought out. The magic system works and is internally consistent. A good read of an interesting story well told.

As others have noted, there were seven of the Dread Empire books published. The first three are the best; the prequels are worth reading if you can find them at reasonable price ("Fire in His Hands", "With Mercy Towards None") tho they left me feeling that there should be another book between them and the Dread Empire ones. The sequel trilogy to DE was awful. Cook says that the last book sold in the hundreds. I never heard the story of the lost manuscript until recently and was somewhat skeptical, but the original poster found a confirming reference - many thanks. But the initial three Dread Empire stories are great. I've re-read my paperback originals until they're tattered, and will be picking up this omnibus edition without fail. What makes it good? A good chunk of it is the combination of gritty realism and utter unpredictability. Plans succeed or fail on the oddest twist; every victory and every defeat isn't certain until it's over. When the protagonists go into battle even major characters can die, so you never know from page to page just what's going to happen. And the characterization is best of all. Varthlokkur, the avenging wizard who discoveres he might be nothing more than a tool; Nepanthe, the spoiled princess who grows up fast but sad; Mocker, who has the seeds of greatness but can't quite make them grow; Michael Trebilcock, who goes from callow youth to future eminence gris; and Bragi, the adventurer who can't help rising to the challenge no matter what it costs him personally. Get this book. Read it. Love it. I'm doing all three. Addendum: I now have the book. I did not intend to re-read it on the spot, just glanced at it to see how well it was put together physically. Somewhere around the second chapter it sucked me in yet again, and I barely put it down for the two days it took to finish. Yes, I stand by my praise in the above. Oh, and physically - very well put together, full cloth bindings and a properly sewn spine. The only complaint I could make is that Cooks maps from the original edition aren't included. Fortunately his physical descriptions are good enough you can get by without them.

The dread empire series is one of the best I have ever read. Cook pulls absolutely NO punches in depicting the gritty reality of human life, death, ambition, callousness, and realpolitik. Unlike nearly every other novelist, even military novelists, Cook has no problem developing a character for half a book or 2 books or more, then simply killing him in the most incidental or non-dramatic fashion if that is what the plot calls for. This realistic depiction of things is his hallmark in both this and the black company series. The first novel in this book is the weakest of all. There is a lack of focus or ability to draw the reader into the various characters presented here; Varthlokkur is very hard to empathize with in this book, and other major characters only get limited page-time. I believe the second novel began to address these issues, and by All Darkness Met, Cook has found his voice, the reader is attached to the characters by now, and he concludes the tale in spectacular fashion. After this Cook wrote 2 prequels dealing with the origins of some of the characters in this trilogy as well as that of El Murid, then he began a second trilogy following a few years after this omnibus, the first 2 books of which both occured mostly in the same time period, presenting intersecting events and events from 2 view points. They are excellent as well, and end on a note with obviously is set up for the third novel, though with cook there is no telling which way that novel would have gone. Unfortunately, the third volume, 'The Wrath of Kings,' was stolen in manuscript form from his house in the late 80's and has never been recovered. This series has never been finished. When/if you finish the final published volume, An Ill Fate Marshalling, and realize what is lost with that manuscript, you might want to scream. In response to a question on another review - google glen cook and wrath of kings...SFsite has an interview with him up. I doubt they would fabricate something like that but who knows. To recap - While the first book is somewhat dry, and October's Baby less so, getting through it to All Darkness met and then the four other dread empire books is 100% worth it.

I have read the 3 book that make up this volume time and again. There is little that equals them in this category, and none better. The characters are as well formed as the situations are richly detailed - complex, chaotic and cruel. There is magic, but it seems to obey a kind of second law of thermodynamics - you cannot get something for nothing and you cannot even break even. It is a lot easier, cheaper and safer to go to the market for something than it is to get magically. Things happen because of the strength of the personalities, not because somebody waved a wand. The main characters appear in all three books, and develop as time passes an problems are evaded or surmounted. The setting is mideval, without gunpower, but with numerous small kingdoms or principalities, and the intrigues, tensions and border skirmishes. If you are a Buffy fan, this is not for you, but if you liked R.E Howard, or Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, you are in for a treat.