Review: Surrender to the Will of the Night by Glen Cook

Surrender to the Will of the Night is the third book in The Instrumentalities of the Night series by Glen Cook. 

Plot:

The world is changing. Instrumentalities of old are awakening. Winter is on its way, and everyone knows to fear it. Praman are fighting Praman, the Wells of Power are weakening, and allies plot against one another at every turn. In the midst of all this, Piper Hecht – or Else Tage – is trying to keep himself and his family alive. He’s known to the Night as the Godslayer, and their attentions are turned upon him whenever they are near.

He’s trying to keep his army employed, even if he has to take the offer of the Grail Empire to become the leader of an army readying itself for a crusade. A crusade that would strike his homeland, and may reveal who he truly is.

But while Piper is juggling politics, family, base urges and his own men, his sister Heris is taking on an task of an even more humongous size.  Kharoulke the Windwalker, the dark god from ancient times, is awake. And he’s coming.

Review: Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook

Lord of the Silent Kingdom is the second book in the Instrumentalities of the Night series by Glen Cook.

Plot:

The Wells of Power are weaking and a supernatural cold is slowly spreading throughout the lands. The Instrumentalities of the Night are more numerous, awakening, and growing in power. Piper Hecht, a.k.a. Else Tage, is tasked with leading a religious campaign against heretics in the Connec, while trying to keep his identity as a Praman hidden from his enemies, and his friends. there are only a few people who know who he truly is – though he will come to find out they number more than he thought.

He and the Deves in his employ are trying to find ways to more efficiently kill the Instrumentalities of the Night, which means he has another target on his back. Because the gods of old are aware of Piper Hecht, and what he can do, and they will not let him destroy them.

Review: Dishonored

Once upon a time I asked r/Fantasy for game recommendations based on the games I liked (Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Gold of War 4 and Horizon Zero Dawn among others) and Dishonored was one of the games recommended to me. So I put it on my wish list for when I got through my backlog of video games I was currently playing. And while there was one big  personal drawback that I only realised would mar my experience when I popped it in my PS4, in general I’m glad that I was recommended this game.

Review: Way of the Househusband vol. 2 by Kousuke Oono

This is the second volume of Way of the Househusband manga series by Kousuke Oono.

Plot:

This slice-of-life manga follows Tatsu, an ex-yakuza nicknamed “the Immortal Dragon” who has left that life behind and is now a househusband to his designer wife. In this volume we see Tatsu in many more slice-of-life situations where his being an ex-yakuza comes into play.

New Additions #121

The first batch of 2021!

Review: The Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook

I absolutely adore Glen Cook’s The Black Company series and his Garrett P.I. series, so I figured I’d tackle some of his other works. I had already bought some of his other books, but I was really interested in his The Instrumentalities of the Night series. I couldn’t find physical copies of all his books, so I bought it as an omnibus e-book instead.

The Tyranny of the Night is the first book in the four-book series.

Plot: 

The Patriarchy of the West and the Pramans – followers of The Written – have always warred about the control of the site of the greatest magics; Wells of Ihrain in the Holy Land. These days an uneasy truce keeps war at bay – but not for long. The Patriarchy is itching for another crusade, while the Pramans too are scheming. And all the while the Instrumentalities of the Night are swirling around the dark places, eager for a taste of ruling again.

A Praman warrior named Else Tage is tasked with infiltrating The Patriarcy and learning of their plans, and does so with shrewdness and abandon. But what he doesn’t know if that The Instrumentalities of the Night have sent their chosen after him. After all, they couldn’t let him live after he killed one of their own. After he killed a god.

New Additions #120

Christmas 2020 edition.

Review: Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the direct sequel to Tomb Raider – Definite Edition and picks up some time after those events.

Review: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Anyone who has ever read one of my reviews on this blog knows that I have a preference for certain fiction genres. General fiction – and non-fiction – usually aren’t included. But I saw Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams mentioned on the internet and figured “why not?” I am trying to read more contemporary works (as lit agents love comps and comps to old works are apparently frowned upon), and more widely, so I bought it.

Plot:

Queenie is a twenty-five-year-old British woman with Jamaican roots working for a newspaper in London, trying to adjust to life as she and her white boyfriend Tom have decided to go on a break. She’s wallowing in heartbreak, making bad choices, and neglecting her work. Being away from Tom is causing her to spiral out of control, and her catastrophist nature is slowly but surely destroying the life she’d built for herself.

Review: The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig

The Blue Blazes is the first fiction novel by Chuck Wendig I’ve read, and is the first book in the Mookie Pearl series. I did read his first book on writing, which gave me a bit of a taste of his writing style. I got The Blue Blazes as a free e-book, as well as the sequel, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Plot:

In modern New York city we follow Mookie Pearl, strongman of “The Organization”, who are in control of the illegal substance Blue. Blue allows people to see the true forms of the denizens of the darkest pits of hell, though most think they’re just hallucinations. Nothing and no one cans top Mookie when he’s on the job. He’s impossible to deceive – except when it comes to his daughter Nora. And she has plans for him.