Glen Cook | MathiasCavanaugh.com

Top 10 Books I read in 2012

December 27, 2012 Mathias Leave a comment

Comments on this list before I begin. First of all, this is not a top 10 list of books published in 2012 that I read. This is a top 10 list of books that I read in 2012, regardless of year published. Only books that I read for the first time in 2012 qualify for the list. For example, I reread The Black Company by Glen Cook. which I have rated at 4.75 stars and my #18 favorite book. However, because it is a reread, it does not qualify for this list. Lastly, these are my opinions, and my opinions alone. Read more…

Categories: Book Reviews Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Alchemist, Amp, Empire, Favorite Book, Games, Glen Cook, Grahame Smith, Heir, Hunger, Lincoln, List Of Books, Michael J Sullivan, O Malley, Rook, Seth, Suzanne Collins, Swords, Tina, Top 10 List, Vampire Hunter

Is It Me, Or Is Dark Fantasy “Just Getting Lazier”?

December 13, 2012 Mathias Leave a comment

In an episode of Family Guy, Peter is listening to the police scanner. Brian walks in and remarks, upon hearing a crime being reported, by saying, “Is it just me, or is rap music just getting lazier?”

Well, I have come to believe something similar when it comes to what is popularly known as “dark fantasy”. Dark fantasy is that sort of fantasy where you have an anti-hero with morally questionable motives. Decades ago, I read The Black Company by Glen Cook. It’s a great piece of dark fantasy, following a band of anti-heroes (The Black Company) and narrated by an analyst (named Croaker) who has a knack for coming up with really fun, yet bizarre, ways of describing common occurrences and The Company’s exploits. Read more…

Categories: Fantasy, General Things Tags: Abercrombie, Blade, Caricatures, Character Development, Clocks, Croaker, Dark Fantasy Novel, Family Guy, Fantasy Genre, Glen Cook, Heroes, Jorg, Knack, Laziness, Motives, Occurrences, Police Scanner, Prime Example, Rap Music, Thorns

Best Fantasy/Fiction/Sci-Fi Books I Ever Read (31 Through 40)

November 25, 2012 Mathias Leave a comment

This list continues my previous ones which can be found at the following links:

Best Fantasy/Fiction/Sci-Fi Books I Ever Read (Top 10)
Best Fantasy/Fiction/Sci-Fi Books I Ever Read (11 Through 20)
Best Fantasy/Fiction/Sci-Fi Books I Ever Read (21 Through 30)

31. Alice‘s Adventures In Wonderland by: Lewis Carroll (4.5 / 5 Stars)

Best Fantasy/Fiction/Sci-Fi Books I Ever Read (11 Through 20)

August 26, 2012 Mathias Leave a comment

This list is the expansion of my Top 10 list which can be viewed here.

11. Lord of the Flies by: William Golding

(4.75/5) Read more…

More Great Lines From The Black Company

August 10, 2012 Mathias Leave a comment

Yes, I confess, I love reading Glen Cook’s Chronicles of the Black Company. Croaker, the character who tells the story is just so over the top in the way he observes things. Normally, overly flowery rhetoric bores me. But, in this book it just works. I don’t know why. You just believe that he really sees things this way.

So, here are some more of my favorite overdone lines: Read more…