On Sat, Feb 7, 2009 at 4:28 PM, Jerry Kalayjian <jkalayjian@yahoo.com> wrote:

Finding out of print Cook can be an adventure in and of itself. Other than The Swap Academy (which I haven't looked for) and Sung in Blood (which I read and didn't care for) I completed my collection a few years back. After exhausting every used book store I knew of at the time, I finally got a copy of the Dragon Never Sleeps (his best work, I think) several years ago by emailing someone who had written a review online in what would now be called a blog, and asked for suggestions. He had two copies and actually mailed me one. Random acts of kindness and all that.

I recently read The Dragon Never Sleeps, and I have to agree it is a wonderful book. Full of betrayal, and characters who look to their own self interest rather than giving everything to The Cause.

For those who haven't read it:

The Fleet rules space. They have X ships (I forget the number - but it's two digits), no more, no less. They also have impressive ground forces stored away in stasis. They rule all known space, simply because when they encounter a new race that might be a threat they conquer it (or blast it out of existence - whichever). Of course this leaves them a bit stretched, but they can handle things.

On the other side are the rich and powerful houses who would like it if the Fleet went away and allowed them to do whatever they wanted. Some want to take a more active role in seeing the Fleet go, and at least on of them has made contact with an alien force Outside the Fleet's control.

I can't really say much more about the plot or the setting, not without giving things away, but it is a good book. While reading it I wanted to see a sequel, but when I hit the ending I decided that a sequel would ruin things.

Richard