Glen Cook, The Tyranny of the Night

The Tyranny of the Night

Glen Cook

Tor, Jun 2005, $25.95

ISBN: 0765306840

For the past century, the Patriarchs of the West have sent crusaders to claim the Wells of Ihrain and the surrounding holy land as there right under God. The Wells, the source of all magic, are controlled by the Pramans. An uneasy truce exists but everyone expects that to be broken soon once Patriarch Sublime V decides it is time to try again.

Naive Praman Captain Else Tage battles a brogan Tyranny of the Night; shockingly not knowing he cannot triumph, he kills an immortal God. The impossible has happened; a human has killed an invincible supernatural creature. Else's reward is a new mission. He is sent to the West to prevent Patriarch Sublime V from organizing the next crusade. However, in the Realm of the Gods, the immortals are shaken by Else's blasphemy. He must die as an example that humans must remain in their accepted places. Two soulless warriors, prisoners of the Gods for centuries, are given a chance for atonement. They must kill the traveling Godslayer.

The opening entry in The Instrumentalities of the Night Saga is a fantastic fantasy that combines plenty of action with introducing the readers to this realm reminiscent of the medieval crusades world. The fast-paced story line begins the epic journey of Else, but does it with a backdrop of warring religions and realms with supernatural creatures so that though a new world is created for the audience to journey within, the tale never slows down to do so nor neglects the key characters especially the heroic bewildered raw Godslayer. The author cooks up a fantastic epic fantasy with a clear antiwar message that will have his audience hungering for more.

Harriet Klausner