Please read my post from May 2009 to learn about Glen Cook’s style of writing.
My rating: 5/10 (low re-reading value)
I read this book long time ago and I can remember only the outlines of the main plot. It was quite interesting at first, with hints about very powerful and creepy enemies. The ending however was a little strange to me. Yes, the enemies were powerful, but more like powerful alchemists than sorcerers. Why the Dead Man was
at some moment paralyzed by them is beyond me.
SPOILERS about Garrett's private life !!!
SPOILERS about Garrett's private life !!!
SPOILERS about Garrett's private life !!!
SPOILERS about Garrett's private life !!!
SPOILERS about Garrett's private life !!!
OK, you have been warned.
I can’t remember the details of the main plot, but I remember exactly how I felt when I finished this book. I felt sad and pissed off about the way Garrett (or should I say Glen Cook) treated Tinnie Tate.
It was much worse than killing her.
Tinnie Tate was Garrett’s love throughout the series. Yes, Garrett had some other women, but he always came back to Tinnie. At the end of the previous book (Cruel Zinc Melodies) Garrett and Tinnie got engaged (sort of) and it was great. I felt proud of Garrett – he finally realized that being forever a single is not a good idea.
At the start of this book Garrett and Tinnie had already lived together for some time. After Tinnie Tate was almost kidnapped and Morley Dotes got badly cut Garrett returns to his previous job. But suddenly he behaves like he is really fed up with Tinnie. Just like that. Glen Cook just states that her behaviour was bad, without ever giving any examples. That’s no way to handle a character who was really well described in earlier books. Tinnie Tate was never a harpy. She was a woman with a typical, unpredictable behaviour, but never a harpy. She loved Garrett and was caring about him. Obviously every serious relationship has its ups and downs, but it takes two people to handle a relationship, not just one.
What’s worse throughout the book Garrett hangs out with another woman – a sorceress from the previous book. At first there are only some hints that Garrett cheats on Tinnie, but in the second part of the book it is clear that he really does that. Without ever talking with Tinnie about their problems. And without breaking up with her, first. Garrett behaves like a moron and an asshole. I hated it. I REALLY hated it.
I hated even more the behaviour of other characters who are close to Garrett. They all approve of or simply ignore Garrett’s affair. All of them: the Dead Man, Pular Singe and even Dean – a family kind of guy. It makes no sense to me. They ALL approved of Tinnie before, so why they should change their minds so quickly is beyond me.
I was REALLY pissed off when I finished Gilded Latten Bones. What kind of example does Glen Cook give to young people about relationships? That you can easily give up and run away when some problems arrive? That you can cheat on your woman? That you can break up a relationship without even talking to your partner? Unthinkable to me.
I was doubly disappointed, because the end of the previous Garrett book signalled a totally different continuation. I thought that Garrett finally matured up, but in this book he reversed to being a teenager, not even a young adult.
I try to retain some objectivity and that’s why I rate Gilded Latten Bones as an average book with low re-reading value. No way I could rate it any higher.
(5/10)
PS. I’ve read some reviews of the next Garrett book – Wicked Bronze Ambition. Some people point out that this new novel is mostly sad and dark.
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