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glencook-fans-digest    Wednesday, January 30 2002    Volume 01 : Number 162




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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 23:44:21 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (glencook-fans) Re: glencook-fans-digest V1 #161

< "David Farland", for example, is a pseudonym for an author who was a B-list
< SF writer; he and his publisher sat down and concocted "The Runelords"
< precisely to get a piece of the brick-shaped fantasy tome market.  Art
< could not have been a significant concern in that endeavor.

While I can't comment on the behind-the-scenes machinations to which you
allude, I can say that I have read some of "Farland's" SF works and can say
without a doubt that it was some of the most compelling and moving SF that I
have ever read.   Book 1 of his Runelords series isn't too bad either (Book 2
bored me to tears.  I took one look at the cover of Book 3 and realized that
there's no way I would ever pick it up).

S. Klobas

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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 00:23:40 -0800
From: "Brooke A. Wheeler" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook

Hmmm... OK, I think that David Drake's _Hammer's Slammers_ series has a lot of
similarities to Glen Cook's _Black Company_ series.

1) Both are about a mercenary company
2) Both deal with the moral issues of war from the perspective of the grunts at
the "sharp end"

I dunno...anyone else have an opinion on this one? I've seen Cook's work
compared to a number of other FANTASY series in my time on this list, but his
writing style, or at least some of the moral questions he raises, also has a lot
in common with some military SF stuff. Harry Turtledove? S. M. Stirling?

Eric Herrmann wrote:

> on 1/28/02 8:27 AM, PrimalChrome at [e-mail] wrote:
>
>
>>Is that Troll I smell, or do you honestly feel that any story written should
>>fit between the bindings of a single book?  I like it when a book closes an
>>aspect of a storyline, but I also realize that an author's work shouldn't be
>>constrained by the requirements of his publisher.  Sure, a fair amount of
>>epic fantasy is drek....or meat coated in a lot of filler....but condemning
>>an entire style of storytelling seems a bit myopic.  Martin's series may not
>>close the curtains with the final page, but it does do a good job of dimming
>>the lights until the next one appears on the shelves.  It's far from
>>perfect, but no where close to the cookie cutter story you're attempting to
>>make it out to be...
>>
>
> Let's remember what the main topic of this list is. Compare and contrast
> authors of authors is acceptable as long as one of them is Cook.
>
>



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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:25:24 -0600
From: "PrimalChrome" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook

True, Drake's stories are much like the early Black Company novels in both
tone and the fact that they tend to be short and to the point....with little
room for author self-gratification.  The characters in both series are well
developed and do a good job of realistically walking the tightrope of the
moral gray.  (or not in the case of Mercy or Joachim Steubin)  Drake's
fantasy work feels more like the late Black Company books, except worse...a
bit bloated and as much fat as meat.


- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Brooke A. Wheeler" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 2:23 AM
Subject: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook


> Hmmm... OK, I think that David Drake's _Hammer's Slammers_ series has a
lot of
> similarities to Glen Cook's _Black Company_ series.
>
> 1) Both are about a mercenary company
> 2) Both deal with the moral issues of war from the perspective of the
grunts at
> the "sharp end"
>
> I dunno...anyone else have an opinion on this one? I've seen Cook's work
> compared to a number of other FANTASY series in my time on this list, but
his
> writing style, or at least some of the moral questions he raises, also has
a lot
> in common with some military SF stuff. Harry Turtledove? S. M. Stirling?
>


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 12:02:59 +1100
From: "A Turner" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook

SPOILERS (Shadows Linger)









Brooke A. Wheeler wrote

>Hmmm... OK, I think that David Drake's _Hammer's Slammers_ series has a lot
>of
>similarities to Glen Cook's _Black Company_ series.
>
>1) Both are about a mercenary company
>2) Both deal with the moral issues of war from the perspective of the
>grunts at
>the "sharp end"
>
>I dunno...anyone else have an opinion on this one? I've seen Cook's work
>compared to a number of other FANTASY series in my time on this list, but
>his
>writing style, or at least some of the moral questions he raises, also has
>a lot
>in common with some military SF stuff. Harry Turtledove? S. M. Stirling?
>
Re writing style and moral issuesà

I certainly haven't seen another fantasy writer who manages to change both
form and characterization of the people narrating like Glen does in the BC
series. I'm just rereading Shadows Linger, and right from the start of the
second book you can see people changing. Raven becomes as morally black as
the Dominator and his creatures, all in order to protect Darling, while
Croaker and co. start to question what they're doing more and more, even
though they keep on doing it (until the end that is). I don't think you
could get that broader moral perspective in the straight first person
narration of the original book - you really need to look at characters like
Marron Shed and Asa in their grubby surroundings in order to understand why
they act like they do.









_________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 10:14:22 -0800
From: "Brooke A. Wheeler" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook

To what book are you referring specifically? The only fantasy by Drake that I
have read is his Mistress of the Isles series, and I thoroughly enjoyed all
three of those books. I found them to be thoughtful, engaging and original.

PrimalChrome wrote:

> True, Drake's stories are much like the early Black Company novels in both
> tone and the fact that they tend to be short and to the point....with little
> room for author self-gratification.  The characters in both series are well
> developed and do a good job of realistically walking the tightrope of the
> moral gray.  (or not in the case of Mercy or Joachim Steubin)  Drake's
> fantasy work feels more like the late Black Company books, except worse...a
> bit bloated and as much fat as meat.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brooke A. Wheeler" <[e-mail]>
> To: <[e-mail]>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 2:23 AM
> Subject: (glencook-fans) David Drake <--> Glen Cook
>
>
>
>>Hmmm... OK, I think that David Drake's _Hammer's Slammers_ series has a
>>
> lot of
>
>>similarities to Glen Cook's _Black Company_ series.
>>
>>1) Both are about a mercenary company
>>2) Both deal with the moral issues of war from the perspective of the
>>
> grunts at
>
>>the "sharp end"
>>
>>I dunno...anyone else have an opinion on this one? I've seen Cook's work
>>compared to a number of other FANTASY series in my time on this list, but
>>
> his
>
>>writing style, or at least some of the moral questions he raises, also has
>>
> a lot
>
>>in common with some military SF stuff. Harry Turtledove? S. M. Stirling?
>>
>>
>
>
> =======================================================================
>  To unsubscribe, subscribe, or access the archives of this list,
>  visit <http://www.xmission.com/~shpshftr/GC/GC-Mail.html>.
>
>



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------------------------------

End of glencook-fans-digest V1 #162
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