Fantasy literature is oft dismissed as whimsy best suited for children. With wizards and witches, wands and wights, the fantasy genre has long fought the same tiresome battle: as children grow into ever more pragmatic adulthood, they’re just not buying it anymore. While Tolkien’s works are rightfully classics, the never-ending stream of Lord of the Rings clones has left the genre feeling stale, and in serious need of a maverick author or two to come in and wipe the fantasy canvas clean. Enter Glen Cook, the mold-breaking fantasy author I’ve long been searching for.
Glen Cook was born on July 9, 1944. Nurturing a love for writing at an early age, he wrote his first novel while in the seventh grade. After taking a break to work his way through college at the University of Missouri and later serving in the United States Navy, he began his professional writing career in earnest in 1970, with the publication of his first novel The Heirs of Babylon in 1972. Cook has since produced over 40 Science Fiction/Fantasy novels.
Glen Cook’s reinvention of the fantasy genre is apparent in his original take on setting, character, and theme. In place of traditional fantasy elements, Cook prefers to blur the line between protagonist and antagonist, resulting in vivid characterizations that are gritty and real, and generally more appealing to the adult fantasy reader. His settings borrow from real human histories rather than imagined ones, and though magic plays a role in many of his works, it is never pivotal to the story in such a way that it detracts from the sense of believability he ingrains in each novel.
The majority of Cook’s body of work lies in several rich and original series, described in some detail below.
The Black Company
Cook’s most acclaimed series, The Black Company follows an elite mercenary unit through several decades of their history. Setting a benchmark for grit and realism, the series has become a favorite of real-world soldiers serving overseas. When asked in an interview with Strange Horizons why the series is so popular among soldiers, Cook responds “I’m told that it rings true. The characters act like the guys actually behave. It doesn’t glorify war; it’s just people getting on with the job.” The Black Company series, true to Cook’s unique style, throws convention to the wind in its characterizations. Each reader will be hard-pressed to separate characters into categories as trite as “good” and “evil”, and will usually be forced to settle on a more realistic amalgam of the two.
Garrett P.I.
Glen Cook’s Garrett P.I. series features a protagonist with a penchant for women and beer, and a work ethic that he regards with considerably less interest. In these novels, infused with humor and Cook’s trademark “flawed hero” characterizations, Garrett is a freelance private investigator who solves cases and has fantastic adventures in his home city of TunFaire and surrounding areas. The Garrett P.I. body of work could be likened to a contemporary version of Sherlock Holmes meets Narnia, with all the humor of the former but none of the canned fantasy elements of the latter.
Instrumentalities of the Night
Cook best describes the setting of this series in his own words: “… a sort of alternate 13th century Europe shaped by counter-factual geography and the presence of ambient magical energy that makes possible the existence of all gods and devils.” This series, though not overtly stated, begins with the premise that the Mediterranean Sea is a landlocked body of water, and an ice age is encroaching into Europe. Add the element of magic to Cook’s alternate reality view of the region, complete with the real-world political and religious factors it struggled with at the time, and you’ve got a rich fantasy setting with a solid foundation of plausibility.
Glen Cook’s novels offer the reader a refreshing break from the tired old fantasy formula. Rich in prose that is not often matched in contemporary literature, his work strikes a chord of believability that I’ve been seeking for some time. His novels uniquely blend gritty characters with conceivable settings, and are a pleasure to read.
Sources:
Fantasy-Fan.org – Glen Cook Biography
Strange Horizons – Glen Cook Interview