A Shadow of All Night Falling

Earlier Glen Cook, but still delivers on his trademark gritty genre action. The writing isn't quite up to the level of his later works, and Cook's repertoire of characters is limited, but he grasps those characters' fundamental psychology and communicates it in spare, workman-line prose. I suspected half of the final twist, but was definitely pleasantly surprised by how the last few chapters unfolded. Worth reading for Cook fans. ( )

The first Dream Empire books focuses heavily on Nepanthe and The Mocker - or whatever he wanted to call himself at the time - and their relationship.

Also the wizard Varthlokkur and his desire for the same woman.

One odd trickster-thief character, one noble, one wizard. Then the conflict that swirls around them with figures like Haroun and Ragnarson and others being introduced - and the strange, like the Star Rider.

It culminates in a different sort of bloody ending.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/02/shadow-of-all-night-falling-glen-cook.html ( )

Honestly I didn't care what happened to the characters beyond a certain natural curiousity and wouldn't hunt up the rest of the series.
Nepanthe is being sought by Varthlokkur, however she has found love elsewhere. He has been waiting for a long time for her, holding death off with magic. Intelligently crafted but nothing I would long to read the rest of. ( )