World Famous Comics: Lord of the Silent Kingdom (Instrumentalities of the Night)
Lord of the Silent Kingdom (Instrumentalities of the Night)
By: Glen Cook Publisher: Tor Fantasy Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Tor Fantasy Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 640 Publication Date: January 02, 2008 Release Date: January 02, 2008
It’s cold. The wells of power are weakening and the forces of Night grow strong. The gods are real, and still have some power, mostly to do harm. The Instrumentalities of the Night are the worst of these.
Piper Hecht, born Else Tage, survived a battle with the Instrumentalities. Now he’s Captain-General of the armies fighting a crusade for Patriarch Sublime V. Intrigues swirl around the throne of the Grail Empire, as the imperial family’s enemy Anne of Menand raises money to help the perpetually indebted Patriarch finance his crusades. To reduce his own vulnerability, sickly young Emperor Lothar assigns his two half-sisters—his immediate heirs—to their own realms.
Now Piper Hecht learns that the legendary sorcerer Cloven Februaren, referred to as the Ninth Unknown, is still alive, more than 100 years old, and on Piper’s side. As the dynastic politics of the Empire become even more convoluted, it’s clear that while the old gods may be fading, they’re determined to do everything they can to bend the doings of men to their own advantage.
Sieges, explosions, betrayals, Anti-Patriarchs, and suspicious deaths will ensue as the great chess game plays itself out, with Piper Hecht at the center of it all…
Not Free SF Reader This is longer than the first, so it wanders around a bit with interludes in the various different nations that at times seem to have not too much of interest to offer of particular, though at least unlike the first you do know who the people involved are. Whether this is the author, or publisher request for longer work, not sure. this meandering is not a strength, though.
Here, Piper as he is mostly known is now a powerful general, and discovers something about his past, who he is, and a powerful sorcerer or two (including the title figure) as he is ordered into the field by a waning Patriarch to make war on the infidel.
While all this is going on the Night entities and those who worship these more physical gods are trying to get rid of him, permanently.
The middle of a war or three certainly offers some opportunities, but so it does for enhancing your techniques for god and monster slaughter into the bargain.
Clearly he could write more here if he wanted to. This is better than the first book, sort of the almost approaching 3.5 mark.
3.5 out of 5
Successful sequel Glen Cook's next installment in The Instrumentalities of the Night is a welcome update in an already interesting story. We return to a world that is undergoing dramatic changes and great war is brewing. It was interesting and tense and that doesn't end.
The main character, Else Tage/Piper Hecht is a solid, no-nonsense leader who is caught up in a whirlwind of political and ethical challenges. The reader is drawn along as he confronts these problems and is shaped by influences that come into his life. It's neat because the evolution of the man makes sense as he goes through some of the shocks and adapts as his pragmatic personality leads him to.
Magic, the Church, political motivations, religious persecution, corrupt politicians and dithering nobles make up a pantheon of different characters that we are exposed to. Cook doesn't spend much time developing characters who won't stick around very long, but he does give them enough depth to make sense. It adds a level of complexity to the writing that is often missing in other books.
My favorite part of the story is the way that Cook allows his pragmatic hero to react to, adapt to and overcome the obstacles to his different missions. It's refreshing to hear someone think along logical lines as they figure out how to accomplish a military mission. Many of the details of the operation are obstructed from us, but that's not a bad thing since it keeps the minutiae from crowding out the story.
On the whole I strongly recommend Lord of the Silent Kingdom as a worthy addition to the series. Cook has done a decent job of keeping the story moving forward and developing the characters who are essential without bogging us down with more information and personalities than would be essential. Good stuff.
Fantastic! Just had to write this in: I read this book quite a long time after reading the first book, and didn't remember some of the main characters that appear in this one. nevertheless, this was very entertaining, and I felt, better than many of the black company series books. It has the trademark Glen Cook characteristic in being 'realistic'. The first book was very convoluted and difficult to read, but reading it again after 'Lord of the Silent Kingdom', it was enthralling. I would actually take the liberty of rating this next to Steven Erikson and George RR Martin.
Not my usual reading fare I'm more of a reader of hard Military SciFi, IE Drake, Sherman and Shelly, etc, and this isn't the type of novel I tend to read but, being a big fan of Glen Cook's Garret books, I gave the first of the series a shot and got hooked.
The world Glen Cook builds here is one where gods live and die,religions and beliefs are at war, and power to rule is the name of the game. They're all there and only thinly disguised. From the gods of the Norse to the Jew,Gentile,and Muslim.
In other words it is pretty much a historical synopsis of the world we live in today with all the major players easily recognizable and the author plays no favorites.
It goes without saying that the characters are vivid and real. Our hero competent, overcoming the obstacles in his path with a wry common sense and through exploiting the vanities of his adversaries.
If there is any downside to the series it is that there are more characters and places with unpronounceable names then a Russian novel and I have yet to have been able to build a mental map of the geography. A map and a flow chart of all the major places and players is begging to be done. I've given up and am just settling back and enjoying the ride.
Whats next? Guess I'll have to try on Mr. Cook's "Chronicles of the Black Company" while I wait for the next book in this series.
Very Similar to the 1st Book, But a Tad Better 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.
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