‘The Cold Commands’ – Richard Morgan (Gollancz/Del Rey)

It was way back in 2008 (2008...? Now I feel old) that I read ‘The Steel Remains’;  a book that , for me, was a welcome return to the kind of books that Richard Morgan can write when he’s on top of his game (he’d done the same with ‘Black Man’ the previous year, the last two ‘Takeshi Kovacs’ novels hadn’t done it for me though). ‘The Steel Remains’ might not have done anything new for the fantasy genre but what it did do was eye catchingly brutal along with an intriguing storyline that drew me in almost without my realising. I had a great time reading ‘The Steel Remains’ and was all geared up for the sequel pretty much as soon as I’d finished reading. It was a bit a shame, for me, then that (what with one thing and another) the sequel was three years in coming. Oh well, it wasn’t like I didn’t have enough books to be going on with in the meantime :o)
Three years later then and I’ve got to admit that I was surprised when a copy of ‘The Cold Commands’ came through the letterbox; look, an awful lot has happened since 2008 (I’ve read a lot of books in the meantime as well)... It didn’t take long for that surprise to replaced by excitement though and I got stuck right in. ‘The Cold Commands’ might not be the easiest book to get into (more on that in a bit) but it was everything that ‘The Steel Remains’ was, perhaps even a little bit more...

Life hasn’t been too kind to Ringil Eskiath of late; once a hero of renown he is now reduced to a life on the edges of society, fighting for a cause that may well be just but has set an entire nation against him. Things are about to get a lot worse for him though, not only is Gil about to come down with a nasty case of plague but it appears that the gods themselves have plans for him...
Egar the Dragonbane isn’t having a great time of it either. Left to his own devices while his mistress entertains her husband, Egar hears tell of an unusual trade in slaves that will not only set him against the city’s dominant religion but will also uncover the machinations of an old enemy and land him with an execution order...
The half Kiriath agent Archeth also has problems to contend with as one of the Helmsmen has fallen from orbit with word of a new danger to humanity; the Ilwrack Changeling stirs from his slumber and when he wakes the forces of the Dwenda will return to claim their heritage. An expedition is being organised but who can Archeth rely on to make sure her fractious crew doesn’t tear itself apart...?
It looks like Ringil might just be in a position to help his friends out but what about the demands made by the gods? Well, Ringil isn’t a man who takes too kindly to demands but it looks like he might just have to go along with these...

‘The Cold Commands’ was a tough nut to crack for me, at least initially, although I found it easier to get into as I went along. The simple reason here is that ‘The Cold Commands’ relies on you having read ‘The Steel Remains’ fairly recently in order to get it straight as to who is who and what the differences between the League and the Empire are. Morgan has a story to tell (dammit!) and there’s no time for him to make sure that everyone is caught up with what has already happened. That’s fair enough really so do yourself a favour and re-read ‘The Steel Remains’ before taking on ‘The Cold Commands’; I didn’t and made things a whole lot more difficult for myself...

Once I got my head around it all though, ‘The Cold Commands’ swiftly became an absorbing read where (more often than not) I literally couldn’t take my eyes away from the page. I’m hoping that I won’t have to wait as long for the next book, as I did for ‘The Cold Commands’, but any wait will be worth it. Morgan’s story is shaping up to be a fine one indeed.

If there was one thing that you could say about ‘The Steel Remains’ it was that Morgan perhaps had to find his feet in a genre that he hadn’t written in before. That’s no longer the issue here with Morgan well and truly settled in; the result being that he is able to tell a compelling tale with his usual passion and honesty. It also doesn’t hurt that the sci-fi influence is a little more overt that it was last time.

Morgan tells a tale of Sword and Sorcery (or is it merely forgotten technology...?) that is propelled forwards at a ferocious rate not only by Ringil’s sword, the Ravensfriend, but also by the way in which Egar’s tribal ways constantly clash against the ‘civilized’ ways of the city. Morgan has already proved that he can ‘do ultra-violence’ and he shows once again that he is very comfortable making you feel very uncomfortable reading just how Ringil takes his enemies out of the game. I winced, you’ll wince too...
The action starts early and just doesn’t stop (I really enjoyed the raids on the temple), intrigue is piled upon intrigue and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily seemingly disparate plot threads came together at the end. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into the plot and Morgan remains in control of it throughout the book; it’s a tight, breathless affair that pulls you along effortlessly in its wake.

Morgan also appears a little more comfortable this time round in that he is able to let you really know what he thinks about some of the things happening over the course of the book, slavery in particular. His opinions won’t surprise you but you will be more than a little taken aback at how forcefully he puts them. One of the things that I love about Richard Morgan, as a writer, is just how honest he is and that really comes through in his writing here. I wouldn’t want to make him angry!

The characters in ‘The Cold Command’ are all well drawn individuals whose quick temper is just as likely to send the plot in strange new directions as their desire to do the right thing. None of them are perfect (Ringil in particular, you really won’t like what he has done to a female slaver at the beginning of the book...) but that just made me want to hang out with them all the more. Despite Morgan’s tight rein on the plot, you really get the sense that Ringil and co are running the show and that’s just the way it should be.

It’s hard to see how Richard Morgan can top what he has come up with in ‘The Cold Commands’, here is a writer clearly on top of his game and revelling in the energy of his writing. I’ll be around to see what Morgan pulls out of his hat for the next instalment.

Nine and a Half out of Ten