Glen Cook biography
Glen Cook was born on the 9th July 1944 and is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy novels.
Glen Cook first began writing in high school, providing the occasional article for the school newspaper. After high school Cook spent time in United States Navy before working full time at a General Motors assembly plant. It was while he was at GM that Cook began writing in earnest, producing as many as three books a year. Outside of writing Glen Cook is an avid stamp collector and enjoys watching the Cardinals play baseball.
Cook's work is known for its realism, Steven Erikson once said that Cook was responsible for single-handedly changing the field of fantasy by removing the stereotypes and cliches that were previously inherant in the genre, replacing them with real, human characters and believable situations. Erikson also went on to say that the Dread Empire trilogy was the biggest influence on his own writing with its grim reality and historical complexity.
Cook was able to call upon his own experiences in the US Navy when writing The Black Company series, making sure that the military characters behaved as they would in real life.
Glen Cook books
Glen Cook writes both science fiction and fantasy books; below is a selection of his best and best known fantasy works.
The Black Company
- The Black Company - Books of the North (1984)
- Shadows Linger - Books of the North (1984)
- The White Rose - Books of the North (1985)
- Shadow Games - Books of the South (1989)
- Dreams of Steel - Books of the South (1990)
- Bleak Seasons - Books of the Glittering Stone (1996)
- She Is The Darkness - Books of the Glittering Stone (1997)
- Water Sleeps - Books of the Glittering Stone (1999)
- Soldiers Live - Books of the Glittering Stone (2000)
Dread Empire
- The Fire in His Hands (1984)
- With Mercy Toward None (1985)
- A Shadow of All Night Falling (1979)
- October's Baby (1980)
- All Darkness Met (1980)
- Reap the East Wind (1987)
- An Ill Fate Marshalling (1988)
Latest news: Glen Cook
Wood Elves are for wimps
July 28, 2009 will see the release of The Light of the Burning Shadows : Book Two of the Iron Elves (Pocket Books). The Iron Elves series is written in the grand tradition of such fantasy luminaries as Terry Brooks, JRR Tolkien, and Glen Cook, as well as military adventure author Bernard Cornwell. [...]
The Black Company by Glen Cook reviewed
After reading that Glen Cook was a huge influence on the fantastic Steven Erikson I felt compelled to find out more about the man that Erikson says changed the face of the fantasy genre. After reading The Black Company you can certainly plainly see the Cook influence in the Malazan magnus opus. Glen [...]
Glen Cook interviews
SFSite.com interviews Glen Cook in 2005 and they discuss his writing process, how he makes his fantasy work so realistic and what books he likes to read and much, much more. Glen Cook interview on SF Site.
Book of the Month
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
On the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen. The fate awaiting the Bonehunters is one no soldier can prepare for, and one no mortal soul can withstand - the foe is uncertainty and the only weapon worth wielding is stubborn courage.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
