''Dread Brass Shadows'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

by American writer

Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for '' The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.Garrett P.I. ''Garrett P.I.'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Glen Cook about Garrett, a freelance private investigator. The novels are written in a hard-boiled detective fiction style, with elements of traditional Mystery fiction, mystery and ...

'' series. The series combines elements of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

as it follows the adventures of

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

Garrett.

Plot introduction

Garrett is a

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

living in the city of TunFaire, a melting pot of different races, cultures, religions, and species. When people have problems, they often come to Garrett for help, but trouble has a way of finding Garrett on its own, whether he likes it or not.

Plot summary

Tinnie Tate, Garrett's girlfriend, comes to visit him and is stabbed in the middle of the street. Garrett and his friend Saucerhead Tharpe chase down the would-be assassin, but before they can interrogate him, he is killed by a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

-wielding band of hooligans. The only clue as to the villain's motive is mention of a book. Meanwhile, a big, tough, attractive bounty hunter named Winger visits Garrett; she has also been hired to look for the book. When a young woman named Carla Lindo Ramada wants to hire Garrett to find the book, at least she sheds some light on the mystery. (She looks like Tinnie, which explains why Tinnie was nearly killed.) People are looking for the Book of Dreams (or Book of Shadows), a legendary magical tome that enables the owner to take on any of a hundred different identities, along with their abilities. For example, the book's possessor could turn him/herself into a powerful magician. As word gets out, several parties join the hunt. Among the seekers are Gnorst Gnorst, head of Dwarf Town; Chodo Contague, the crime kingpin of TunFaire; Lubbock, a fat wannabe wizard and Winger's employer; and The Serpent, a witch partially responsible for creating the Book of Shadows. When his desire for the Book of Shadows grows and he is deliberately misled, Chodo turns on Garrett. In an attempt to save himself, Garrett forms an uneasy alliance with Crask and Sadler, Chodo's main henchmen, to overthrow the crime lord. (The pair had loyally served Chodo, expecting to inherit his power when he finally died, but the book would make him practically immortal.) In a confused battle at Chodo's mansion involving all the parties, Crask and Sadler manage to take over from their boss, while Garrett and Winger escape alive. When Garrett returns home, he finds that Carla Lindo Ramada has escaped with the Book of Shadows, which had been hidden at Garrett's house the entire time. He tracks Carla down and take the book. Garrett then has it destroyed before any more evil can be committed for its possession.

Critical reception

Richard E. Geis in the ''Science Fiction Review'' criticized the novel for not delivering answers to several questions raised by the plot, and for "the use of present-day slang

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

stopped me cold", calling Cook's dialogue philosophy "lazy and the equivalent of playing tennis with the net down."

Characters

Garrett Garrett may refer to: Places in the United States * Garrett, Illinois, a village * Garrett, Indiana, a city * Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, ...

The Dead Man ''The Dead Man'' was a science fiction strip in the British comic '' 2000 AD'' by writer John Wagner and artist John Ridgway, published in black and white in 1989–90. Although it was not billed as a ''Judge Dredd'' story, it featured Dredd as ...

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

* Morley Dotes * Saucerhead Tharpe * Tinnie Tate * Winger * Carla Lindo Ramada * Crask and Sadler * Chodo Contague * Gnorst Gnorst * Lubbock (Fido Easterman) * The Serpent

References

{{Garrett P.I. Garrett P.I. 1990 American novels American fantasy novels