Whispering Nickel Idols by Glen Cook

Whispering Nickel Idols by Glen Cook centers around Garret, a private eye who lives within a chaotic fantasy city and his giant entourage of strange allies and creatures. I have read dozens of Glen Cook books so when I saw one at Bookman’s I grabbed it. I read the first half while battling covid in Colorado on our family road trip, so quite understandably I had to finish the book at home.

Genre:  Fantasy/Comedy  

Publisher: Roc

Released:  2005

Stars:  4 Stars

Reviewer: Michael D. Griffiths

Most of the Cook novels I have read were dark and quite serious, although they do contain many funny moments, so this was a change in how he got his ideas on the page for me. And… I enjoyed it. It started slow and honestly barely had a plot, but this almost made it funnier Like Seinfeld in a goofy fantasy world full of drunks, villains, and fairies.

The plot, such as it was, involved foreign temples, missing crime bosses, Roc eggs, and kittens. I, the reader, didn’t need to spend a lot of mental effort following a complicated investigation because the main character barely did. Mostly he dealt with numerous issues and just tried to stay alive and on the good side of the law.

Possible downsides to this one might be the plethora of characters. Do not get me wrong, Cook is a great writer and brings the characters into the spotlight again and again and many are there for a reason, but damn, there are a lot of people involved. In the beginning it gets a little overwhelming, wait, I must remember four more characters. Okay, a different member of the guard is messing with him now and not one of the first two we met.

Conversely, the upside on this novel, is all the funny characters Cook tosses in front of the reader. Many of these are his side kicks, such as a dark Elf bartender, a drunk pixie, and his wererat pals. He also has a dead partner who takes long ‘naps.’ This book is funny, inventive, and not like many other books I have come across. Garret is a likeably person and certainly not some superhero. He is believable and at best is only half a move ahead of the danger.

This would be a great relaxing vacation or easy read for a holiday break. All fans of Glen Cook or fantasy comedy in general should give this one a try.

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Grab my Cyberpunk novel here. Dak has been hired to chase down the Skinjumper clones, he biggest problem, he’s dating one.

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