Elves can never be boiled too hard. (sidenote: I am amazed at how long this series has been around, as it was never on my radar in any meaningful way.) ( )

This was recommended to me on the basis that I love the Nero Wolfe detective series and also the Dresden files. It isn't quite up to either of them, but is a fun twist on the noir detective novels from the 1930s and 1940s. This is an omnibus of the first three stories in the series, "Sweet Silver Blues", "Bitter Gold Hearts" and "Cold Copper Tears." I thought that would be a good introduction for me to find out if I liked it enough to continue.

Garrett is a P.I in the best of those traditions. The only difference is that the mobsters, gang members and shady politicians might just be elves, trolls and ogres. The women are stereotyped and mostly ineffectual, although there was a hint of promise in the third story that perhaps that might change. Not sure, because the supposedly tough gang girl kept getting herself in situations where Garrett had to rescue her. His associates are nebulously good and possibly loyal. Garrett has an unbending sense of honor, although he makes the rules for it. Generally it is: Do the job, get paid, rescue the girls.

The wise-cracking repartee is not as clever as in the Nero Wolfe books, but these are definitely an homage to that series.There never was a clear explanation of how the humans came to dominate the many other species of creatures, nor was there a magical system explained, rather, it was simply there when it served the purpose of the story. I will not pursue these stories, but would probably read more if they came my way. I could never connect/care about any of the characters too much, and I am all about the characters. The world is interesting enough to tarry in now and again though. ( )

Glen Cook's enjoyable Private Eye/Fantasy pastiche succeeds where a lot of "serious" fantasies don't: by having a detailed and multi-faceted world in which the characters are simply other, regular inhabitants. Certainly, the sly takes on both detective and fantasy genres are enjoyable, but there's actually more to these novels than simple mash-up.

Garrett, weary war veteran and inveterate cynic, works as a private eye in the bustling metropolis of TunFaire. Most of his cases start with a dame, and that's about where his troubles begin, too. But not many dames are wrapped up with unicorns, dark elves, orgres and sorcery. Tunfaire is a fantasy city, and this omnibus collection of three novels shows its underbelly.

What can I say? I enjoyed these, a lot. Aside from deft mimicry of the Chandler-esque private eye, Cook's gift for addictive pacing and unexpected elements - from plotting to pathos - make these books more than the sum of their parts.

In borrowing elements from 30s noir - nations recovering from war, grinding poverty and state corruption - Cook gives the world of Tunfaire a more realistic bent than about 70% of the fantasy out there. There's no "king of thieves" nonsense in the Garrett books, there's gangs, pure and simple. Likewise, there's no "racial enemies", but racism is endemic - as it would be in any remotely realistic fantasy setting. Cook uses his moments between cracking wise and advancing the plot to show the impacts of state-level actions on everyday life.

This view from the ground means that even when familiar fantasy tropes crop up, we're so unused to seeing them from this angle they feel quite fresh. One of the novels deals with world-ending stuff, for example - quite a typical fantasy staple - yet, there's a lot of doubt the world could even end, and the concerns involved are enjoyably quotidian. In this respect, the Garrett novels have a strong linkage with broader, small-scale "sword and sorcery", a genre very close to my heart. If you're sick of prophecies and their concomitant messiahs, omnipotent demigods and powerful wizards etc, you could very well enjoy these books even if the detective angle doesn't excite you.

It's true that Garrett's interior monologue - gruff, but hiding a heart of gold - is quite cliched much of the time, and yet in between the groan-inducing jokes, there's some genuine chuckles and also a willingness on Cook's part to just get on with it. These books are exactly as long as they need to, also a nice contrast to your typical door-stopper novel.

Is Garrett, P.I for everyone? Definitely not. Cook's writing well outside the typical sphere of interest for a fantasy reader; these books have always appealed to a niche. But frankly, it's a niche that could use a little more mining. They don't insult your intelligence by being unbearably stupid, nor by pretending to be something they aren't (literature). You don't really need to read them in order, you don't even need to read more than one. They don't waste your time by telling you how to feel every chapter, and how intensely sad, awe-inspiring, scary something is. And they have less filler than the pillow in a motel 6.

If that sounds good to you, climb on board. It's all I ask for in a fantasy, and the Garrett P.I books deliver that in Sam Spades. ( )

This is an omnibus of the first three Garrett fantasy/mystery novels. Garrett is a P.I., a human with no special magical powers, who lives in a world peopled with a variety of supernatural creatures. He lives with his partner, "The Dead Man," who's a Loghyr--450 pounds of dead flesh housing a mind that's capable of telepathy and telekinesis and tele-what-have-you... when he feels like it, anyway. He also has a butler/housekeeper/cook named Dean (who's perpetually trying to hook Garrett up with one of his innumerable personality-rich nieces), and a penchant for redheads.

* ****½ Sweet Silver Blues.

In this introduction to the series, an old marine buddy of Garrett's has died and made Garrett an executor of his will... a will in which he left a fortune in silver to an ex-flame of Garrett's, who was apparently also an ex-flame of his friend's.

So Garrett has to go back to the Cantard (where the war over silver mines is ongoing) to find her, and it rapidly gets complicated.

There's magic and mystery and espionage and action and even a little romance, though Garrett's idea of romance doesn't involve monogamy.

I had a little trouble keeping all the characters straight in the beginning, but even so, I was hooked, and very glad that I'd bought the first two omnibuses.
* ***** Bitter Gold Hearts.

Here, Garrett is hired when a Stormwarden's son is kidnapped. But he's not hired to find the son, or to deliver the ransom--he's asked his advice, then he's paid and sent on his way.

The plot thickens when a young woman of the household hires Garrett's friend Saucerhead for protection, on Garrett's advice, and ends up dead, and Saucerhead nearly so.

This story was more of a classic mystery, and I really enjoyed the twists and turns and figuring out whodunit and why. Since it was the second book, I was familiar with the characters, which made it easier to follow, as well.
* ***** Cold Copper Tears.

This one is even more twisty. We're introduced to religion and street gangs when what looked like an ordinary (read: boring) security guard job that Garrett passed off to a colleague ends up with Garrett being attacked and the colleague turning up dead after returning Garrett's advance and saying he got a better offer.

The client disappears and Garrett finds himself up against a cult headed by a would-be god. In addition to his usual allies, he has Maya, head of a street gang who he'd known as a child. But she's not a child anymore, as she keeps reminding Garrett.

I appreciated how each book seems to reveal a little more of Garrett's universe, and this one, with an abundance of intrigue, was fascinating. I was a wee bit squicked by the age difference between Maya and Garrett, but then so was Garrett.

These stories are a nice blend of fantasy, mystery, and humor, and I understand why so many fans of the Dresden Files recommended them. Garrett's voice isn't quite as vivid as Harry's--he's very much the hard-boiled private eye from those 40s movies. They also remind me a bit of the Nero Wolfe series, which is one of my all-time favorites. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series. ( )

http://yoyogodreviews.blogspot.com/2006/06/garret-files.html ( )