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Cook, Glen

(1944-    ) US author who began his sf career with orthodox stories like his first, "Song from a Forgotten Hill" for Clarion (anth 1971), edited by Robin Scott Wilson, and with the sf novel The Heirs of Babylon (1972), in which an authoritarian religious government takes over in the Post-Holocaust era. However, he soon became best known for his high Fantasy, especially the Dread Empire series, beginning with A Shadow of All Night Falling (1979), which was notable for its concerted military set-pieces, moderately complex plotting, violence, and a sense of undue haste – he has been exceedingly prolific. His succeeding series are usually fantasy. The more significant of these include the Chronicles of the Black Company, beginning with The Black Company (1984); the Book of the South, beginning with Shadow Games (1989) and set in the same world, as is the Glittering Stone sequence beginning with Bleak Seasons (1996); and the P I Garrett sequence of humorous fantasies, starring a Chandleresque private eye named Garrett, and beginning with Sweet Silver Blues (1987) (all titles take off from those of John D MacDonald's Travis McGee books). Of his singletons, A Matter of Time (1985), a Time-Travel tale starring detective figures, and The Tower of Fear (1989), a strongly plotted fantasy, are the most notable. Cook is a writer of considerable energy but little patience; along with David Drake, he remains one of the relatively few writers of military fantasy whose sympathies are strongly with the grunts and the sergeants, and his storylines reflect a suspicious dis-ease with the officer class, and with those who instruct the officer class from safety. [JC]

Glen Charles Cook

born New York: 9 July 1944

works

series

Dread Empire

• A Shadow of All Night Falling (New York: Berkley Books, 1979) [Dread Empire: pb/Kinuko Y Craft]
• October's Baby (New York: Berkley Books, 1980) [Dread Empire: pb/Kinuko Y Craft]
• All Darkness Met (New York: Berkley Books, 1980) [Dread Empire: pb/Kinuko Y Craft]
  • A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2006) [omni of the above three: Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• The Fire in His Hands (New York: Berkley Books, 1984) [Dread Empire: pb/Kevin Eugene Johnson]
• With Mercy Toward None (New York: Berkley Books, 1985) [Dread Empire: pb/Dawn Wilson]
  • A Fortress in Shadow (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2007) [omni of the above two: Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Reap the East Wind (New York: Berkley Books, 1987) [Dread Empire: pb/Ken W Kelly]
• An Ill Fate Marshalling (New York: Berkley Books, 1988) [Dread Empire: pb/Ken W Kelly]
• An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2009) [coll: Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• A Path to Coldness of Heart (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2011) [Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]
  • Wrath of Kings (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2018) [omni of the above three: Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]

Starfishers

• Shadowline (New York: Warner Books, 1982) [Starfishers: pb/John Berkey]
• Starfishers (New York: Warner Books, 1982) [Starfishers: pb/John Berkey]
• Stars' End (New York: Warner Books, 1982) [Starfishers: pb/John Berkey]
  • The Starfishers Trilogy (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books/Skyhorse, 2017) [omni of the above three: pb/Daniel Dociu]
• Passage at Arms (New York: Popular Library/Questar, 1985) [Starfishers: pb/John Berkey]

Black Company

• The Black Company (New York: Tor, 1984) [Black Company: pb/Keith Berdak]
• Shadows Linger (New York: Tor, 1984) [Black Company: pb/Keith Berdak]
• The White Rose (New York: Tor, 1985) [Black Company: pb/Keith Berdak]
  • Annals of the Black Company (Garden City, New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1986) [omni of the above three: Black Company: hb/Tom Kidd]
    • Chronicles of the Black Company (New York: Tor, 2007) [omni: vt of the above: Black Company: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Shadow Games (New York: Tor, 1989) [Black Company/Book of the South: pb/Keith Berdak]
• The Silver Spike (New York: Tor, 1989) [Black Company/Book of the South: pb/Keith Berdak]
• Dreams of Steel (New York: Tor, 1990) [Black Company/Book of the South: pb/Keith Berdak]
  • The Black Company Goes South (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2002) [omni of the above three: Black Company/Book of the South: hb/Koveck]
    • The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company (New York: Tor, 2008) [omni: vt of the above: Black Company/Book of the South: pb/Raymond Swanland]
• Bleak Seasons (New York: Tor, 1996) [Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
• She Is the Darkness (New York: Tor, 1997) [Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
  • The Black Company: Glittering Stone I (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2000) [omni of the above two: Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Donato Giancola]
    • The Return of the Black Company (New York: Tor, 2009) [vt of the above: Black Company: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Water Sleeps (New York: Tor, 1999) [Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
• Soldiers Live (New York: Tor, 2000) [Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
  • The Black Company: Glittering Stone II (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2000) [omni of the above two: Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Donato Giancola]
    • The Many Deaths of the Black Company (New York: Tor, 2010) [vt of the above: Black Company: pb/Raymond Swanland]
• Port of Shadows (New York: Tor, 2018) [Black Company/Glittering Stone: hb/Raymond Swanland]

Darkwar

• Doomstalker (New York: Popular Library/Questar, 1985) [Darkwar: pb/Barclay Shaw]
• Warlock (New York: Popular Library/Questar, 1985) [Darkwar: pb/Barclay Shaw]
• Ceremony (New York: Popular Library/Questar, 1986) [Darkwar: pb/Barclay Shaw]
  • Darkwar (San Francisco, California: Nightshade Books, 2010) [omni of the above three: Darkwar: pb/Raymond Swanland]

P I Garrett

• Sweet Silver Blues (New York: New American Library, 1987) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
• Bitter Gold Hearts (New York: New American Library, 1988) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
• Cold Copper Tears (New York: New American Library, 1988) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
  • The Garrett Files (New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1988) [omni of the above three: P I Garrett: hb/Bryn Barnard]
• Old Tin Sorrows (New York: New American Library, 1989) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
• Dread Brass Shadows (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1990) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
• Red Iron Nights (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1991) [P I Garrett: pb/Tim Hildebrandt]
  • Garrett, PI (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2003) [omni of the above three: P I Garrett: hb/Alan Pollack]
• Deadly Quicksilver Lies (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1994) [P I Garrett: pb/]
• Pretty Pewter Gods (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1995) [P I Garrett: pb/]
• Faded Steel Heat (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1999) [P I Garrett: pb/Alan Pollack]
  • Garrett Investigates (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2004) [omni of the above three: P I Garrett: hb/Alan Pollack]
• Angry Lead Skies (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2002) [P I Garrett: pb/Alan Pollack]
• Whispering Nickel Idols (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2005) [P I Garrett: pb/Alan Pollack]
  • Garrett on the Case (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2005) [omni of the above two: P I Garrett: hb/Alan Pollack]
• Cruel Zinc Melodies (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2008) [P I Garrett: pb/]
• Gilden Latten Bones (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2010) [P I Garrett: pb/Alan Pollack]
• Wicked Bronze Ambition (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2013) [P I Garrett: pb/]

The Instrumentalities of the Night

• The Tyranny of the Night (New York: Tor, 2005) [The Instrumentalities of the Night: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Lord of the Silent Kingdom (New York: Tor, 2007) [The Instrumentalities of the Night: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Surrender to the Will of Night (New York: Tor, 2010) [The Instrumentalities of the Night: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Working God's Mischief (New York: Tor, 2014) [The Instrumentalities of the Night: hb/Raymond Swanland]

individual titles

• The Swap Academy (San Diego, California: Publisher's Export Corp, 1970) as by Greg Stevens [pb/]
• The Heirs of Babylon (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1972) [pb/]
• The Swordbearer (New York: Timescape, 1982) [pb/Carl Lundgren]
• A Matter of Time (New York: Ace Books, 1985) [pb/Barry Jackson]
• The Dragon Never Sleeps (New York: Warner Books, 1988) [pb/Richard Courtney]
• The Tower of Fear (New York: Tor, 1989) [hb/Tony Roberts]
• Sung in Blood (Framingham, Massachusetts: NESFA Press, 1990) [hb/David A Cherry]

collections and stories

• An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat (San Francisco, California: Night Shade Books, 2009) [coll: Dread Empire: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• Winter's Dreams (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2012) [coll: hb/Raymond Swanland]
• The Best of Glen Cook (New York: Night Shade Books, 2019) [coll: most stories linked to various series above: hb/Raymond Swanland]

about the author

• Roger C Schlobin and Glen Cook. A Glen Cook Bibliography (xxxx: privately printed, 1983) [bibliography: chap: pb/]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Picture Gallery

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight.
Accessed 14:13 pm on 16 April 2024.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cook_glen>