Garrett for Hire (Garrett, P.I.)

I enjoy the Garrett series. I'm reading it for the first time in this Omnibus series of books. It has been a couple months since I read it, and I'm not good at book reviews, since I am always worried of giving anything away from plot or story (I hate when people ruin things for me in this way. No spoilers here).This has the same feel as the previous omnibuses, and it is obviously of the same style. The story is a continuation of the previous books, with constant character development that I really enjoy in an ongoing series. I enjoy the pulp-detective in a fantasy setting, which is something that I personally have not encountered before. Some of the quips between the main character (Garrett) and his companions are getting a little bit stale, but I think that might be purposeful. Showing that while the characters change and develop, they keep some things unchanging. A foundation of sorts, on which these character relationships are based. But, the humor that was there the first few times those quips were made has faded, leaving a desire to get on with it.I will continue to read these novels, as the writing is still good, the adventures are still interesting, and the characters continue to develop. That being said, with some of the novelty of this setting starting to wear off, I can't rate this at five stars.

So far I am 6 books into the Garrett, P.I. series and I am really enjoying them. The stories are fun and interesting. I also am a fan of Glenn Cook after reading all of the Black Company books. These stories mix fantasy with gritty detective stories and it works great. The books are easy to read and are fairly short. The chapter set up is also nice because it lets you pick up and put down the books, but I have a habit of saying "one more chapter" until 2 in the morning.Do not get these if you are looking for a mystery novel that makes you try to figure out the overarching story or villain. These stories are not really built as mysteries like Sherlock Holmes but are ore about entertainment.

I had read the latest Garrett P.I. book, "Wicked Bronze Ambition" without reading any of the prior 12 in the series. OK...got addicted to the fantasy private investigator noir and all things redheads. I've been working my way through the early books via the 3 Garrett Trilogies out now. Garrett For Hire covers books 6-9. All 13 books follow a serialized time line, though each book within all the Trilogies is a complete story. Garrett for Hire reflects Garrett maturing and politics becoming an extensive web he has to work through. Glen Cook does great, engaging characters whether good or evil. Good plot twists. Very believable reflection of a society coping with a war ending and the economic realities affecting all levels of society. Some good pokes at commercialism, and politics involving the lower class and upper class society. Enjoy!

the admixture of fantasy and noir is pretty difficult to get right. Cook, of course, blends the two with such grace and humor and sexiness -- its hard to believe it is difficult at all. the best part about Garret -- and what sets this series apart from other fantasy noir -- is Garret is plain-jane. a vanilla mortal. his friends, sidekicks, and paramours may be fantastical creatures, but that doesn't mean Garret walks around with superhuman protection all day long. more often than not, he's gotta sneak around under cover of night, thump a few heads to get information, and make a quick fade when things get out of hand.and he always gets to the bottom of things. no matter how odd or magical or supernatural.the writing -- as most of Cook's can be described -- is short, direct, and wonderful. like Hemingway, he uses little ornamentation. and so emotion and action and setting may seem a bit muted at first, but once you swallow a whole novel, you get a sense for how they are actually made even more gut-punchy.love these books. and i tend to be leery of un-ending serials. Garrett PI? anytime, anywhere.

This book re-taught me to read reviews before ordering, as it is a compilation of three of his earlier books. That being said, Garrett books are always a fun read. It had been quite a while since I had read these so it has been entertaining to re-read them. If you have never read any Garrett books I would advise starting at the beginning, though they are a fun read even if you pick them up in the middle. Great detective tales with wizards, elves, vampires and much more thrown in.

I've read the paperback versions so many times they are wearing out. I'm glad that they are finally offering the compilation books on the Kindle. Hopefully now they will go back and offer the prior omnibuses as well.The Garrett series is one of my all time favorites. I still haven't found another writer able to blend the Fantasy & P.I. genres as well as Cook does in these books. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series comes close, but my personal preference is a Fantasy setting with P.I. elements instead of having supernatural features in an otherwise real world setting.

Proviso.. My Kindle copy was missing about 5 pages from book three. The Stories as is the author ... beyond reproach except for playing around with spatial definitions. Read em. Laugh. Read em again.. I did!

In his Garrett novels, Glen Cook invented the fantasy noir genre. A little bit of Dashiell Hammet, a little more Rex Stout, and a good dash of J.R.R. Tolkien. Mix well with some Terry Pratchett, and let simmer for about twenty novels. Serve cold.

Loved this series very funny and well written in the style of chandler etc in a fantasy world imaginatively peopled

This is a three-book compilation, the third in a long series of books about Garrett. Garrett is an ex-marine turned private eye in a fantasy city call TunFair. There are elves, trolls, vampires, dinosaurs, etc. aplenty. Although the action generally remains firmly fixed on the main character and his cast of misfit allies. The three books in this compilation are:Deadly Quicksilver Lies: A killer is on the loose. A sadistic one at that. The killer is the brother of a woman who's daughter is in danger. But all is not as it appears. Frankly, I found this story rather confusing in its narrative and overly reliant on forced plot mechanisms. While Garrett frequently blunders through mysteries as a technique for solving them, he was particularly dense in this story. So I'd give it two or three stars.Petty Pewter Gods: In this story, Garrett is asked to help out some petty minor gods who need to get some spiritual help or face oblivion. This story is by far the most "fantastic" of the Garrett series with lots of magic and mythical creatures. It's a light-hearted romp for the most part, but a definitely dark sprinkling of Lovecraftian mythology sufficiently darkens the tone. I quite enjoyed it, and would give it five stars as pulp fantasy.Faded Steel Heat: Features beer, politics, and shapeshifters. It was an interesting story, even if it did drag a little here and there. The way a couple of major bad guys are dealt with left me a little flat, but overall it was a fun story. Garrett is a touch dense at times, but not as bad as in other stories. I liked the giant keg idea. So a good four stars, maybe five in a generous mood.Overall then, this is a good continuation of the series. If you're new to them, you really need to read them in order to fully enjoy the series and its characters. As a collection, I'll give this four out of five stars.

read it as a child. read it again recently. SOOOO GOOOD!

... if you like fantasy with a funny / rough.. not to say "vulgar" touch, this is a must read for you. This collection contains 3 Novels, all of them good to very good. For details on the single novels, you may read my recensions there.

Fantastic! Three of my favourite Garrett books in one. Good mix of humour and mystery for anyone who likes either.