The Tower of Fear

(Originally posted on Thursday, 22 October 2009)

My rating: 9/10 (high re-reading value)
Please read my post from April 2009 to find out about my rating.
Please read my post from May 2009 to learn about Glen Cook’s style of writing.

[Short review]

What’s bad:
1. The final confrontation was lacking something for me (but it’s hard to tell what).
2. The fact that the knowledge of how to access the Tower of Fear was known to a number of servants “working” there (too much risk that some of them could be captured or betray this knowledge for a price).

What’s good:
1. Glen Cook style of writing.
2. Complex and thought out plot.
3. Many different viewpoints telling the whole story are easy to follow.
4. Great atmosphere about the city, where the action takes place.
5. Interesting idea about the way this city is ruled and controlled.
6. The world-building is quite rich (for Glen Cook), but not boring.
7. A lot of scheming from all the sides of the story.
8. All the characters are interesting, complex and life-like.
9. It's hard to tell who's good and who’s not (the reader has to decide).
10. The use of magic is quite low and very specific.

This is arguably Glen Cook’s best book considering the “art of writing”. It’s a little different from his better known books, but his style of writing is at its best. The story is very complex and well thought out. Glen Cook himself said in an interview, that this is one of his favourite books (from what he had written).

I don’t rate The Tower of Fear as a perfect book, because it has too little humour and the action is a little slower than usual. This book is enjoyable on a different level than Glen Cook’s other books. That’s why the fun factor is not perfect for me. It’s “only” very good.
(9/10)