The Dragon Never Sleeps
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
Glen Cook (The Black Company, The Dread Empire) delivers a masterpiece of galaxy spanning space opera! For four thousand years, the Guardships ruled Canon Space with an iron fist. Immortal ships with an immortal crew roaming the galaxy, dealing swiftly and harshly with any mercantile houses or alien races that threatened the status quo. But now the House Tregesser believes they have an edge; a force from outside Canon Space offers them the resources to throw off Guardship rule. Their initial gambits precipitate an avalanche of unexpected outcomes, the most unpredicted of which is the emergence of Kez Maefele, one of the few remaining generals of the Ku Warrior race — the only race to ever seriously threaten Guardship hegemony. Kez Maefele and a motley group of mysterious aliens, biological constructs, and scheming aristocrats find themselves at the center of the conflict. Maefele must choose which side he will support; the Guardships, who defeated and destroyed his race, or the unknown forces from outside Canon Space that promise more death and destruction. 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.
Reviews with the most likes.
A fine piece of sprawling space opera by Mr. Cook. Sharp character development, deviously plotted politics, classic gunfights between unspeakably large space armadas, and sturdy, overarching thoughts regarding the history of seemingly invincible empires and the complex revolutions that seek to overthrow them as seen through the lens of an unfathomably immense space-time context. The struggle between the righteous species warrior Turtle, the underhanded, self-assured Lupo Provik, and duty-driven WarAvocat Hanaver Strate make for page-turning reading across the story's one hundred and fifty chapters; a large host of well-attuned subsidiary characters lend the tale a broader “human” depth and Cook has a keen eye for developing each one just enough to find a unique attachment for each. Glen keeps the pacing brisk whilst never losing sight of the dense (perhaps too much so in parts) plot threads. The ending seems just the slightest bit too inconclusive (though almost necessarily so) and some of the characters' motivations could have been outlined more clearly in the broader context of what is a tectonically shifting, galaxy spanning narrative. Still, this is a must-read for Cook fans; hardcore science fiction fans will also find plenty to love in this mammoth saga.
