A Fortress in Shadow: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire

By Glen Cook

Book Overview

Once a mighty kingdom reigned, but now all is chaos. In the vast reaches of the desert, a young heretic escapes certain death and embarks on a mission of madness and glory. He is El Murid - the Disciple - who vows to bring order, prosperity and righteousness to the desert people of Hammad al Nakir. El Murid incites rebellion against the godless kingdoms and tribes as he plots to execute the justice of the desert. After four long centuries, El Murid is the savior who is destined to build a new empire from the blood his enemies. Or so it seems. El Murid has victory in his grasp, the desert tribes of Hammad al Nakir are rallying around him, and the last remaining thread of the royal lineage wanders the desert with only Heathens to help him. But all is not as it seems, and the sinister forces pulling the strings of empire come into the light. Who and what lies behind El Murid's vision of a desert empire?

The Dread Empire, a gritty world of larger-than-life plots, nation-shattering conflict, maddening magic, strange creatures, and raw, flawed heroes, all shown through the filter of Glen Cook's inimitable war-correspondent prose. The Dread Empire, spanning from the highest peaks of the Dragon's Teeth to the endless desert lands of Hammad al Nakir, from besieged Kavelin to mighty Shinshan, the Empire Unacquainted with Defeat, with its fearless, masked soldiers, known as the Demon Guard... An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat collects all of Glen Cook's short fiction set in the vast world of the Dread Empire, from "The Nights of Dreadful Silence", featuring the first appearance of Bragi Ragnarson, Mocker, and Haroun bin Yousif, to the culture-clashing novella "Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat"; from "Silverheels", Cook's first published work of fiction, to "Hell's Forge", a haunting tale of cursed pirates and strange lands, appearing here for the first time. Also including a detailed introduction and extensive story notes by Glen Cook, An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat charts the development of this influential American author and the massive, multifaceted world that he created.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597800805
• ISBN13: 9781597800808
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Night Shade Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

One of Cook's best

I thought the start was a little slow with the development of El Murid (and to a lesser extent Bragi, Mocker and Haroun), but the story really takes off after that. I may feel that way since the narrative is so compelling, you aren't drawn into the characters backstories as much. Having read a lot of Cook, I can't think of too many other times where he has delved as far into the early years of his characters. Generally the early years are referred to casually, almost as asides. As good as the orignial Dread Empire stories are, the prequels are even better.

It is wonderful, but it is not new.

Unless I am badly confused, this was originally published as "The Fire in His Hands". My copy was printed in 1984. I am glad to see it reprinted and available, but when I saw the title I thought it was a new book, so I am annoyed that the publisher decided to change the name. I am sure they will sell a few more books to Cook fans that don't recognize it, but it is a slimy trick. If you have not read it, and like strong characters and complex plots, you are in for a treat.

It doesn't get any better than this, though it is pretty short.....

I reread the Dread Empire prequels recently in this omnibus volume, and the only bad thing I can say is that average book size used to be quite a bit shorter (200 pages or so) when Cook was writing much of his stuff in the 80's. This would apply to the shadowline trilogy, the darkwar trilogy, and other stuff as well. Cook provides a fair amount of backstory for Haroun, Bragi Ragnarson, and Mocker as well as introducing El Murid (referred to in third person in the original trilogy) and describing much of the early conflict between Haroun and El Murid and illustrating how Bragi and Mocker came into contact with Haroun. This story tell of the appearance of a fervent religious leader who first takes over his own native areas, and begins to export his crusade into smallern westernized kingdoms. It isn't hard to figure out the archetypes for this conflict are in the near and middle-east in contact with central and western europe in what I best gather to be the early middle ages, but, as in other Cook works which draw heavily on real-world historical situations and cultures, it becomes more backdrop than a story-driving force. Several battles are described, the early role of the Star Rider in the conflict in Hammar al Nakid is illustrated (this isn't a spoiler - it happens on like page 3 or so), and overall you are left wishing there was more. Epic Military Fantasy doesn't get any better than this, in my opinion. I think it is wonderful Night Shade is putting much of Cook's out-of-print work back in print, and cannot recommend this series highly enough.

Outstanding book for Glen Cook fans

This book actually is set prior to the first Dread Empire book. It discusses the roots of Bragi, Mocker, and Haroun. In the same tradition of the Dread Empire series, it describes an epic conflict of world scale where the forces of the Western cultures fight the cultures of the MiddleEastern desert tribes. Classic Glen Cook that requires thought to follow the complexity of the storyline and strong character development. The characters are neither good nor bad, rather they are amazingly human and you can see your own actions and decisions in the choices that have been presented. You may need to read the book several times to pick up on many of the nuances missed in a casual read. I have been a fan of Glen Cook for over 20 years. I read these first books as a teenager and enjoyed them. 20 years later I have re-read them and enjoyed them every bit as much as I did the first time. The concepts and situations are timeless and applicable to any generation.