The Griffin or the Agate

    So, who should get the blame, Glen Cook, his editor, or his publisher? There's a problem with The Tyranny of the Night, the first novel in Cook's new 'fat book' series, one that needs to be addressed. The writing? Nope, as solid as ever. The characters? No, Cook still knows how to gain the reader's empathy in a matter of pages. The plot? Hardly. This one is full of more twists and turns than a switchback on the side of a mountain. So what's the issue, then?
    A map. This book needs a map.
    That may sound trifling, but The Tyranny of the Night is an extremely complex and involved work, with copious amounts of travel done by the leads and a multitude of nations weighing in as war begins to break out. Is a map necessary to enjoy the work? Absolutely not. Would it have been a big help? Absolutely.
    The Tyranny of the Night is not an easy book to read, but that isn't meant as a detraction. Rather, the plot is so intricately weaved, with countless back stabbings and betrayals occurring that the reader is forced to pay close attention to the text so as not to miss something important. Cook's political machinations, which range from those at the top of the heap down to the lowliest foot soldier, keep the reader off balance and uncertain of what's going to happen next, pitting church against state, friend against friend, brother against brother. Several disparate threads are slowly brought together, each step creating more answers than are being answered. Else Tage, a holy warrior who trusts his ruler about as far as he can throw him, is rewarded for his victory against a monster of the Night by being sent far away to go undercover. As his success and stature grows among the very people he is supposed to consider to be his enemies, Else is faced with a bevy of difficult decisions. Can he trust the Devedians, his downtrodden allies, or are just using him? From another time and place two brothers, pawns of the gods, set out on a sketchy quest that leaves them wondering as to the motives of divine beings. And Brother Candle, a member of the Clergy known as the Perfect, is using his influence for reasons only he can explain. And Candle isn't talking.
    For fans of Cook's Black Company series who may have held hope that a member or two from that mercenary crew would find their way into The Tyranny of the Night, well, it doesn't happen, although the banter between Else as his small squad of soldiers will seem very familiar (perhaps this world is one of the gates off the Glittering Plain - or perhaps not). In any case, Cook doesn't need to make allusions to the past, as The Tyranny of the Night is a fine, solid bit of work, and an intriguing beginning to the new series.
    Just make sure to stick a map into book two, okay?   §

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