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A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire Paperback – August 1, 2007

by Glen Cook (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 306 ratings
“Glen Cook is a rare beast of a writer – he can vacillate between military fantasy, space opera, epic fantasy, mystery, and science fantasy with great ease. His writing is often marked by a purity; that he is depicting life in its most real sense, from the thoughts in a character’s mind to the wind rushing across his or her face.”—SFFWorld

A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire collects the legendary Dread Empire trilogy: A Shadow of All Night Falling, October's Baby and All Darkness Met.

The war that even wizards dread begins with A Shadow of All Night Falling. Across the mountains called Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Wind Tower, from which the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread. A war fought for a love. The love of a woman called Nepanthe, princess to the storm kings. . . .

When the leaves turn blood and the wind turns bone, it is time. A time for doing things dark and strange; the time of October's Baby. The princess bears a child to the winged thing and the cries are heard far beyond the peaks of Dragon's Teeth. Nepanthe and Mocker wait, but for what, they do not know.

At Empire's end, Mocker finds old friends in the halls of death. Nepanthe finds new lovers in the fields of blood and bone, while the war-child wields the sword of truth. The Star Rider's dread secret is at last revealed, where All Darkness Met. And so it ends. Though end is but a wizard-word for new beginnings. . . .
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  1. Print length
    600 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Night Shade
  4. Publication date
    August 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1597801046
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1597801041
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Glen Cook is the author of dozens of novels of fantasy and science fiction, including The Black Company series, The Garrett Files, and The Tyranny of the Night. Cook was born in 1944 in New York City. He attended the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 1970, where he met his wife, Carol.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Night Shade; Revised edition (August 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 600 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1597801046
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597801041
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.56 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 306 ratings

About the author

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Glen Cook

Glen Cook

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Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is a contemporary American science fiction and fantasy writer, best known for The Black Company fantasy series.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Harmonia Amanda (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
306 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's storytelling pace, with some finding it good while others find it boring and senseless. The writing quality and character development also receive mixed feedback, with some praising the writing while others find it lacking, and some appreciating the character development while others describe them as cookie-cutter. The pacing receives mixed reactions, with some appreciating its gritty nature while others find it rough around the edges.

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23 customers mention "Storytelling quality"12 positive11 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the storytelling quality of the book, with some praising its good pace and plot, while others find it boring and senseless.

"...Never a dull moment...." Read more

"...dozen or so battles at meaningless locations with various unknown, irrelevant, and forgettable people. The plot, itself, is barely developed...." Read more

"...reader is attached to the characters by now, and he concludes the tale in spectacular fashion...." Read more

"...But the plot is so fractured that I wondered if Cook ever did an outline. He seems to just write and let the plot go where it will...." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing quality"7 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some finding it surprisingly good while others disagree.

"...It's a decent book (good technical writing, interesting world, interesting plot), but it's really dragged down by one element: the characterizations...." Read more

"...His powers of description are weak. Characters come in and out of the plot without much prior introduction...." Read more

"...attention, but honestly his 'Dread Empire' series is a better example of his writing ability...." Read more

"...The writing here is neither sympathetic or pretty. This is not a work of gentility...." Read more

10 customers mention "Character development"4 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some praising it while others find the characters to be cookie-cutter.

"...The characters lack some dimension, and Cook did not do the best job in navigating alternate time periods...." Read more

"...He never sacrifices plot movement for character development, and yet both flow together seamlessly...." Read more

"...Characters take turns that are drastically in opposition to what we know of their back story...." Read more

"...Great character development. finished it yesterday and bought the next book in the series immediately." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with several noting it is not a work of gentility.

"The item was as described and arrived quickly and in good condition...." Read more

"...at meaningless locations with various unknown, irrelevant, and forgettable people. The plot, itself, is barely developed...." Read more

"Fantastic, gripping and very very gritty, as Mr Cook tends to be. No good vs evil here...just shades of grey...." Read more

"...His technique is rough around the edges, but you can see him refining it as the book progresses...." Read more

Kindle publishing issues combined with an uninteresting story
2 out of 5 stars
Kindle publishing issues combined with an uninteresting story
This book did not live up to my expectations after reading The Black Company series. I read about 15% of the novel before deciding it wasn't for me. There are multiple issues with the Kindle version. Every italicized phrase is surrounded by line breaks. This appears to be an artifact of the conversion process. The chapter titles are also broken by line breaks after the first letter of each sentence. Overall it appears to be a poor conversion and I am disappointed in the quality of it compared to many other books I have purchased from Amazon for Kindle.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Ashton Bridges
    5.0 out of 5 stars An epic so daunting I can't decide
    Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I've read all the Annuals of the Black Company. And several of Glen Cooks' epics, The Sword Bearer, The Dragon Never Sleeps tec. And tears are almost always shed, laughter always dot the mood, gasps are met between drama romance and intrigue. Never a dull moment. I might be biased after so many pages under my belt, but so far the Dread Empire has been a treasure that has kept me buried nose deep even during breaks at work. 15 minutes in during those periods make me want to keep reading. Would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy with flavor of everything you want in a book.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Woofdog
    4.0 out of 5 stars First Dread Empire trilogy, a must read, as well as the rest of the series
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    The dread empire series is one of the best I have ever read. Cook pulls absolutely NO punches in depicting the gritty reality of human life, death, ambition, callousness, and realpolitik. Unlike nearly every other novelist, even military novelists, Cook has no problem developing a character for half a book or 2 books or more, then simply killing him in the most incidental or non-dramatic fashion if that is what the plot calls for. This realistic depiction of things is his hallmark in both this and the black company series.

    The first novel in this book is the weakest of all. There is a lack of focus or ability to draw the reader into the various characters presented here; Varthlokkur is very hard to empathize with in this book, and other major characters only get limited page-time. I believe the second novel began to address these issues, and by All Darkness Met, Cook has found his voice, the reader is attached to the characters by now, and he concludes the tale in spectacular fashion.

    After this Cook wrote 2 prequels dealing with the origins of some of the characters in this trilogy as well as that of El Murid, then he began a second trilogy following a few years after this omnibus, the first 2 books of which both occured mostly in the same time period, presenting intersecting events and events from 2 view points. They are excellent as well, and end on a note with obviously is set up for the third novel, though with cook there is no telling which way that novel would have gone. Unfortunately, the third volume, 'The Wrath of Kings,' was stolen in manuscript form from his house in the late 80's and has never been recovered. This series has never been finished. When/if you finish the final published volume, An Ill Fate Marshalling, and realize what is lost with that manuscript, you might want to scream.

    In response to a question on another review - google glen cook and wrath of kings...SFsite has an interview with him up. I doubt they would fabricate something like that but who knows.

    To recap - While the first book is somewhat dry, and October's Baby less so, getting through it to All Darkness met and then the four other dread empire books is 100% worth it.
    37 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not as consistent as Black Company, but still Glen Cook
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    If you haven't read The Black Company series, I recommend reading that first. It is my all time favorite. That being said, if you have read it and enjoyed it, I would highly recommend the 3 books in one here. Cook wrote these before BC and the first one is not quite up to the same level he consistently hits in his later works. However it is by no means bad, and each book following it is noticeably better. By All Darkness Met, he is in top form, IMHO unparalleled excellence
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  • illiandantic
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Omnibus of Three Books
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Cook's "A Cruel Wind" is an omnibus containing the three main sequence books of his "Dread Empire" series. The first thing I'll mention is that the formatting of the Kindle version I read suffered from consistent problems: every chapter header and comment was rendered in large, bold text with the first letters separated from their words by one line. Also, every italicized word in the book (and there were quite a few (most of them mistakenly italicized)) was also separated from the text by a blank line before and after. Quite irritating. But, I'm not considering it as a factor in my rating. Essentially, I've rounded up my average rating of the three component books and give this omnibus a Decent rating of 3 stars out of 5. Here are my reviews of the individual books:

    ... "A Shadow of All Night Falling" (which I read in the Kindle edition of his omnibus A Cruel Wind) is the first of the main sequence books in his "Dread Empire" series (the other two books in the main sequence ("October's Baby" and "All Darkness Met") are also in that omnibus). This book is a very early example (1979) of Glen Cook's writing. It's a decent book (good technical writing, interesting world, interesting plot), but it's really dragged down by one element: the characterizations. Most of the book (the first 3/4) is written with descriptions instead of with dialog. Thus, instead of living the story with the characters, we're distanced from the characters and see the story more as a history. Of course, since Cook jumps back and forth across four centuries during the book, maybe that's what he intended. Also, as the book progresses and the timelines merge, the writing focuses more and more on dialog (it's still sparse at the end, though). I did enjoy the book, though, and am rating it at an OK 3 stars out of 5.

    ... "October's Baby" is the second of the main sequence books in his "Dread Empire" series (I read the version contained in his A Cruel Wind omnibus). Unfortunately, the book isn't very good. In one sense, it's slightly better than its predecessor (A Shadow of All Night Falling): much more of the book is composed of dialog instead of mere description. But, there are two areas that got worse: the actual plot and the flow from event to event. The problem with the plot is that it's almost non-existent. Essentially, the vast majority of the book consists of blow-by-blows of the dozen or so battles at meaningless locations with various unknown, irrelevant, and forgettable people. The plot, itself, is barely developed. Regarding the flow between events, it's ok near the start of the book, but after a while, things just happen out of the blue. It's almost as if Cook sketched out what was going to happen and then got impatient and pushed the book out unfinished. So, overall, I'm rating the book at a Not Very Good 2 stars out of 5.

    ... "All Darkness Met" is the best of the three main sequence books in his "Dread Empire" series (I read the version contained in his A Cruel Wind omnibus). Unfortunately, that's faint praise. One big point in this book's favor is that Cook finally overcame his tendency to write using descriptive text instead of using dialog. So, this book read just like the novel it is instead of like an historical description. Another plus is that the plot is much better developed in this book than it was in the previous one. But, like the previous book, this one suffers from too-many-names-and-placesitis. Trying to keep all the major and minor characters straight was a chore in itself. The plethora of places described (mostly for battles) became irritating enough that I stopped trying to keep them straight. So, even though this is the best of the three books, I'm still only rating it at an OK 3 stars out of 5.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Charles H. Rose III
    5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best work Glen Cook has ever written!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    One of the absolute best "dark" fantasies from a first person grunt on the ground perspective I have ever read. This is a must read for anyone serious about dark epic fantasy. Glen Cook is the fountainhead from which an entire generation of post Tolkien epic fantasy flows. He never sacrifices plot movement for character development, and yet both flow together seamlessly. Somewhat less known than some of his other works, it is my absolute favorite! You must read these books!
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Top reviews from other countries

  • George D W Smeltzer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not your average fantasy novel.
    Reviewed in Canada on June 18, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Not your average fantasy novel.
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  • AKAF
    1.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favour and buy something else
    Reviewed in Germany on October 5, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    I love Glen Cook as an author. Chronicles of the Black Company or The Books of the South are truly excellent, and I'd recommend them to anybody. This is just plain bad though. I'll admit that I struggeled through The Silmarillion, because I loved the lord of the rings, but I would never have read it first. This is the Silmarillion for some wierdo world. There's some power struggle, which is completely unenlightened by any sort of character-building or storyline, outsige a purely strategic look at which army was where when. Maybe there would have been some characters later, but I gave up after about half the book (350 pages or so?). I couldn't care less. Buy something else.
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  • Adam Mac
    4.0 out of 5 stars As advertised
    Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2018
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    As advertised
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