Book Review: Angry Lead Skies

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Angry Lead Skies     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Glen Cook
Class/Genre:   Fantasy   Mystery
Roc, Apr 2002, $6.99, 368 pp.

On TunFaire, Playmate visits private detective Garrett in order for the sleuth to protect a kid Cypres "Kip" Prose from abduction attempts. Apparently thugs hired by bounty hunter Bic Gonlitt are to snatch the kid so that his clients can use Kip to find his weird pals Lastyr and Noodles. Kip offers very little in terms of what is happening and even Dead Man with his multiple minds has trouble understanding the lad who seems more footed in his own reality than that of society. Garrett struggles to comprehend what Kip tells him about his two pals. A frustrated Garrett is ready to drop the case as a waste of his time even with Playmate pushing him to stay on. However, it turns personal when assailants snatch the lad. Garrett begins a search to find Kip and learn exactlt what is going on. ANGRY LEAD SKIES is a wild science fiction mystery that never slows down for a moment. The who-done-it plays second banana to the weird ensemble representing some of the craziest "sentient" beings to ever grace a novel. Garrett is a wonderful lead protagonist keeping the tale grounded as if he is the nucleus and everyone else is the electrons revolving around him. Glen Cook cooks up a gritty novel that will provide much gratification to those sub-genre fans who appreciate a strange but cohesive ride.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner