Серебряный Клин

The Chronicles of the Black Company #3.5

by Glen Cook

Властелин Зла, которого бойцы Черного Отряда знали под именем Господин, погиб - но зло, переполнявшее все его существо, уничтожить невозможно. Оно воплотилось в Серебряный Клин, используя который можно повелевать силами, превосходящими по масштабам всю магию, доступную людям. И вновь Повелители Зла требуют, чтобы смертные проливали кровь во исполнение воли бессмертных… Действие романа «Серебряный Клин» разворачивается в уже знакомом читателям мире Черного Отояда.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Audiobook, High Fantasy, Military Fiction

512 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1989

About the author

Glen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with malicious intent to publish in 1968, eventually producing 51 books and a number of short fiction pieces.
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Previous rating: 4 stars.
New rating: 4.5 stars. (I'm fairly certain it'll be 10 stars by my tenth reread.)

➽ And the moral of this rerereread is: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Glen Cook is the most gifted romance writer of all time. Also, I think He Who Shall Not Be Named For Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Reasons and Case should either get married or get their comedy show on the road. Also also, I'm sacking Fleet Admiral DaShrimp and hiring Garbagemouth Virgil the Talking Buzzard as my head minion.

👋 To be continued and stuff.

P.S. Why did I give this book a despicably low rating the first time I read it? Because I'm a moron, that's why.



💀 The Black Company is Recruiting Again Buddy Rereread (TBCiRABR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 💀

Previous rating: 2.558694258 stars.
New rating: 4 stars. I kid you not.

➽ And the moral of this rereread is: and finally, after reading this book a mere THREE times just like that, I saw the light, read this installment right at long last and gave it a proper rating! This most definitely calls for a celebratory dance, methinks.



P.S. Philodendron Case, your narration is everything.
P.P.S. There's nothing like pressure-cooking, just so you know.
P.P.P.S.S. Potato-digging might have its merits after all. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Just kidding.

👋 To be continued and stuff.



[May 2018]

💀 Buddy reread with the clueless new mercenary recruits Elena, Maria and Mark over at BB&B. Under the wicked supervision of our Ever-Stalking Black Company Overlord (ESBCO™), of course 💀

Previous rating: 2 stars.
New rating: 2.558694258 stars.

➽ And the mathematical moral of this reread is :

✔ He of the Awesome Plant Name's (HotAPN™) narration: +3 stars
✔ Fido the Super Cute Puppy (FtSCP™) and his best buddy the Ever Pissed Off Wicker Man (EPOWM™): +6 stars
✔ My über cuddly Plain of Fear pets: +15 stars
✔ Spoiler spoiler spoiler: +4 stars
✔ Verbal vandals (aka aggravating menhirs R Us): +15 stars
✔ The 24-karat Lunatic (aka Old Daddy Tree): +5 stars
✔ The Bright as Light Bulbs Gang (BaLBG™): +3 stars
✘ Raven (aka no bloody fishing comment): -16.235698743 stars
✘ The Telelenova-Worthy Drama Llama of Spontaneous Self-Combustion (TWDLoSSC™): -12.935879489 stars
✘ The Potato Digging Trap of Doom and Oblivion (PDToDaO™): -14.528421768 stars
✘ Let's make a stew why don't we: -4.741305742 stars

= 2.558694258 stars Ha!



Yep, pretty much.

P.S. Still pretending this one never happened and stuff.



[Original review]

● Buddy read with the BBB mercenaries ●

Warning #1: I'm mad as hell right now. Just thought I'd let you know.

Warning #2: there will be spoilers in this review. Got a problem with that? Too bad.

Okay, this non-review thing is going to be a mess because I'm really pissed right now. I wish I was pissed because too much vodka, but that is unfortunately not the case. I might down a few bottles when I'm done writing this thing, though. It might help deal with the anger and disappointment. But I digress. Why am I pissed right now? This book. And you, Glen Cook. Damn, I'm so pissed at you I could punch something.



Yeah, that feels slightly better. But I'm going to need a lot more than that to release all that pent-up anger.

So we have this FREAKING AMAZING series packed with FREAKING AMAZING stuff: devious wickedness paradise, completely amoral bastards heaven, backstabbing nirvana, most awesomest evil chicks ever, coolest battles in the history of cool battles, blood and gore yay, hell-yeah magic, ever awesome creatures, gruesome fights, assholes and liar everywhere, boom-wow-damn-blow-my-mind everything. Basically the kind of stuff that usually turns me into this type of slightly deranged person:



That is obviously not the case here. Why? Damn. I have so many thoughts going through my head right now I don't know where to start. You know what this reminds me of? The Sirantha Jax Disaster of Epic Proportions. Let's rewind for a bit here: right after I finished reading Aftermath, I rated it 5 stars. The more I thought about the book, the more my rage and disappointment grew. And the more I lowered my rating. That is exactly what happened here. As I was reading the book, some things annoyed the hell out of me but my undying love for the previous installments in this series tricked me into thinking I would go for a 4-star rating. For once, I knew exactly what I was going to say in my review. Half of it was already written. Then the last chapters happened. First I was shocked. Then dumbfounded. Or maybe I was dumbfounded first, and then shocked. Who the hell knows? Anyway, at that point I was still going for a 4-star rating. What can I say? I'm an idiot. Then I started writing a pre-review, and this glorious thought came to me: WHAT THE BLOODY HELL, Glen Cook?! So I decided to knock a star off my rating. Then I thought about it some more, and the next thing that went through my little head was: WHAT THE FLYING FUCK, Glen Cook??!! So I decided to knock another star off my rating. And that's when I decided to stop thinking about it because I didn't want to go the Sirantha Way and end up giving this book a 1-star rating.



Right. Calm and relaxed. That's me.

» Okay, this is where the Spoilers from Hell are going to happen. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Want to know what ruined this story for me? Here goes:

① Raven
You have got to be kidding me. What happened? Did the guy get a personality transplant while I wasn't looking? What the hell, Glen Cook?! How could you take such a cold-hearted badass character and turn him into a pathetic, weak, lovesick, woe-is-me drunken fool? What sense does it make? None whatsoever. We get a glimpse of the old Raven we used to love towards the end of the book, but it was way too little, way too late. Besides, we get the old Raven back and what does Cook do? Okay, I'm going to use spoiler tags here because I'm freaking pissed but I still have a heart BIG BIG BIG SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER AHEAD. He fucking kills him! Once second he's there and the next, boom! Dead! Unbelievable. This smells so much like manufactured drama it felt like watching a freaking telenovela. Which takes us directly to…

② The Black Company: Soap Opera Version
You have got to be kidding me. A lame love triangle? In this series? Somebody please kill me. Raven and Silent, fighting over Darling? And freaking out whenever Case speaks/is with her? PLEASE tell me you're kidding. To make things worse, Darling is the blandest, flattest, dullest female character ever. She is about as emotional as a brick. Or a barnacle. If only The Lady had been around to kick her ass once and for all. And the lovesick puppies, aka Raven and Silent? *shakes head in utter desperation* As I've mentioned before Raven behaving like a lovesick puppy makes as much sense as me reading Historical Romance novels until the end of days. And Silent? The guy is so freaking silent here he becomes invisible. He could have died in the first few pages of the book and it wouldn't have made a difference. It would have made one big difference, actually: it would have made most of the whole soap opera bullshit go poof. And that might have saved the book from total disaster. But Silent didn't die and a disaster it was. And finally, we have my man Philodendron. Which takes us directly too…

③ THE POTATO DIGGING HEA:
You have got to be kidding me. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. WHAT THE HELL, Glen Cook?! I can't say I was surprised when Case and Darling hooked up. It was pathetic, but I had seen it coming from hundreds of miles away. What bugged the hell out of me is that after all that happened, after all the gruesome fights and battles, and after all the irrelevant sub-plots Cook put us through, it's all over in about 5 seconds. Case and Darling take the spike, throw it into the tree god's abyss or whatever, and off to get it on they go: "Somehow we ended up doing what men and women seem unable to avoid." Lame, lamer, lamest. And then what? Darling dresses as a peasant woman, and they set off to "check out the progress of the potato industry". End of story. I kid you not.



↑↑ This is the gif I use whenever I read suicide-inducing PNR crap. The fact that I'm using it for this book should tell you something.

And the moral of this mess of a review is: this sucks because THIS SUCKS, but it also sucks because I loved Philodendron Case's character. He was an awesome addition to the cast. Besides, how can you NOT love a guy who's named after a plant? And this also sucks because we have the ever-amazing-ever-gruesome-battles with the Plain of Fear menagerie. And this also sucks because there are evil assholes and devious, backstabbing liars everywhere. And this also sucks because I love Toadkiller dog. And The Limper (non-stewed version). And this also sucks because up until Cook decided to BIG BIG BIG SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER (I'm done having a heart, to hell with the spoiler tags) kill Raven, the last chapters were pretty amazing. But then it all ended in a blaze of fucking potato digging glory. And that is just not done.

I wanted to read Shadow Games right after this one, but I'm in no hurry to do so now. Even though Croaker and The Lady-OMG-I'm-SO-In-Love-With-You await. Yes, that's how bad the situation is. I'm going to need some time to digest this. And when I say time, I mean TIME. Glen Cook, I don't like you very much right now.



· Book 1: The Black Company ★★★★★
· Book 1.5: Port of Shadows ★ ← I have no idea where this book came from, or what it's about. Pretty sure I never read it.
· Book 2: Shadows Linger ★★★★★
· Book 2.2 (short story): Shaggy Dog Bridge ★★★★★
· Book 2.3 (short story): Bone Eaters ★★★★★
· Book 2.4 (short story): Letha of the Thousand Sorrows ★★★
· Book 3: The White Rose ★★★★★
· Book 4: Shadow Games ★★★★★
· Book 5: Dreams of Steel ★★★★★
· Book 6: Bleak Seasons ★★★★★
· Book 7: She Is The Darkness ★★★★★
· Book 8: Water Sleeps ★★★★★
· Book 9: Soldiers Live ★★★★★
· Book 10: Lies Weeping ★★★★

[Mayim de Vries · Rating 2 out of 5]

”The grandkids wouldn’t believe a word of our stories but they’d fight anybody who didn’t agree that we told the most exciting lies in the world.”

“Silver Spike” is a chronicle written down by Case (Philodendron Case, to be precise), a young soldier who is a friend of Raven. It describes the fates of those members of the Black Company who are trying to find the artefact in which the evil essence of the defeated Dominator was deposed. Their fates are intertwined with a group of cut-throats. We also see old acquaintances: Bomanz, Limper and the Toadkiller Dog. And so, while it is supposed to be Case’s chronicle, there are also chapters narrated by other characters which disrupt the very Croaker-like “dear-diary” narrative.

The novel beautifully closes the story of those who left the Black Company and after defeating Dominator remained in the north. Can a spin-off about people who are, essentially, merely side characters in the main series (where they do not play too big a role) be interesting? Perhaps. But the Silver Spike is not one. Whereas there are remnants of the unique ambiance so typical for the previous books, the story is even more chaotic than it used to be and the characters lost their allure. You can read it, but you can equally skip the queue. Fortunately, the book is very short.

I was wondering if my disgruntlement was caused by a considerable break I took from the series. But the Silver Spike is not confusing in terms of who does what and why. To the contrary, the plot is simplistic and if it staggers at times, it does so only because the protagonists either have to travel nonsensical distances or do nothing when hiding (thus giving those travelling the time to arrive).

Case is a Croaker wannabe (bless him, he tries so hard) but lacks Croaker’s distinctive voice and (perhaps because of his age) instead of sarcastic, he comes across more jaded than anything else. What has been done to Raven requires reparations. Bomanz, while entertaining in his own way, was never a protagonist that could carry the story, and the “bad” guys… well, those are Cases too. Nut Cases, to be specific. Somewhat hard to relate if you ask me.

You’d expect Mr Cook to support this cast with a new character that would be able to spice up things. Somebody akin to Marron Shed from Shadows Linger. Sadly, Mr Cook’s idea for spicing things up is a fellow whose hobby is having sex with 11-year-old girls (and that is even before he starts wading into a serious moral quagmire!). Apologies, but this is not somebody I can empathise with or follow with interest (any other than seeing the guy mutilated which from the beginning is rather obviously improbable). The worst thing is that as the novel unfolds Smeds grows into a tragic (!) figure and we are forced to delve into his psyche as he undergoes a change.

I finished queasy like a Sunday morning.

And now, I’d like to ask Sarah not to spike me.

Yours, very silvery,
May.

---

The other Chronicles:

1. The Black Company ★★★★☆
2. Shadows Linger ★★★☆☆ (and a half, Goodreads!)
3. The White Rose ★★★★☆
4. Shadow Games ★★★★☆
5. Dreams of Steel ★★★☆☆
6. Black Seasons ★★★☆☆
7. She is the Darkness ★★★★☆
8. Water Sleeps RTC
9. Soldiers Live RTC
10. A Pitiless Rain RTC

[Zahra · Rating 2 out of 5]

این کتاب درواقع کتاب فرعی مجموعه محسوب میشه و در حد همون کتاب فرعی هم هست و قابل مقایسه با سه گانه شمال نیست.
با وجود این که اتفاقات مهمی تو این کتاب میفته اما متاسفانه بدترین کتاب مجموعه تا اینجائه. سرعت داستان از اول تا آخر به شدت پایینه، شخصیت ها جذاب نیستن و بیش از اندازه سعی میکنن شبیه شخصیت های قدیمی و دوست داشتنی باشن، ویلین داستان رو اصلا نمیشه جدی گرفت و انگار نویسنده هم می‌خواسته دارک بودن داستان رو تو چشم خواننده بکنه که به شدت تو ذوق میزنه.
بدتر از همه اینکه راوی داستان هم تغییر می‌کنه و متاسفانه راوی جدید به شدت خسته کنندس!
"There's always a bad apple. Let's hope this was the only one in this bunch!"

[HaMiT · Rating 4 out of 5]

چیزی را از مردی خردمند شنیده بود. درباره ی سه مرحله ی امپراطوری، سه نسل: ابتدا فاتحانی می آیند که در جنگ ها بی رقیبند؛ سپس مجریان می آیند، کسانی که همه چیز را به عمارتی به ظاهر تزلزل ناپذیر و فناناپذیر متصل می سازند؛ سپس مسرفان می آیند، کسانی که هیچ مسئولیتی نمی پذیرند و سرمایه ی میراثشان را با هوا و هوس هدر می دهند و به دستان فاتحانی دیگر می سپارند

گروهان همیشه در مورد جنگ بوده و جدال نیروهای مختلف بر سر قدرت و آثار جنگ بر روی مردم
سرنیزه ی نقره ای نماد چیزهایی هست که انسان رو فاسد میکنه و اصلی ترینشون قدرته
به قول رگنار: قدرت خطرناکه، بدترین ها رو جذب میکنه و بهترین ها رو فاسد

من نمیدونم چقدر با کتاب بعدی ارتباط داره ولی اگه سه تا کتاب قبلی رو خوندید، دلیلی نداره این یکیو نخونید
داستان به اندازه ی کافی جذابه، چندتا از شخصیت های خوب قبلی هستند و یه گروه دزد با شخصیت پردازی عالی هم بهشون اضافه میشه

حق کلاغ نبود اینطوری بمیره.. اشک و فاعک

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do you break my heart so???

This is a book that after the end you have to take a step back to really appreciate where it ended up. I both hated and loved the end and could definitely see why this book has some very conflicting reviews. Not everyone makes it out alive (this is Grimdark Fantasy what did you expect) and when you care about the characters that is always a hard thing. But I really loved how true to the story Cook stayed and how he made me respect and root for characters even when they were apposing each other. So even though so many people died throughout this book in both fantastical and ordinary ways overall I like the story that was told.



Cook does not have a single character that is perfect. They are all so hopelessly flawed and I love that. Raven has been a favorite character of mine since the beginning of the series. But he is somewhat diminished in this. I still love him for a lot of reasons

“Many men admire Raven. He fears nothing concrete. He takes no crap from anyone. People who mess with him get hurt, and the hell with the consequences. But those are the only dimensions he has. They are the only dimensions he permits himself.

While Raven is so smart in tactics, killing and how to be a badass in general he severely lacks in how to deal with emotions. He might be able to kill a man with a devastating blow but he has no idea how to make amends to the girl he ran away from when she admitted her feelings for him. It was a little difficult to see Raven in this new lackluster light. Most of the time in this book I wanted him to suck it up and reclaim his badass nature but I understood his struggle and so his arc was the most heartbreaking for me.

Chase gets some new exciting page time and I loved his devotion to Raven but also I liked how he was able to take on the role of storyteller and give some separate insights into Darling, Raven and Silent. He made their story incredibly interesting and somewhat darkly funny at times.

Raven wasn’t going to talk to Darling unless she made the first move. Silent wouldn’t have nothing to do with Raven on account of he thought Raven was going to try to steal his girl. A girl he never really had. Darling wasn’t talking to Raven because she figured he owed her about twenty giant apologies and he had to pay off before she gave him the time of day. And she was pissed at Silent because he was being presumptuous, and maybe at herself some, too, for maybe having given him grounds for his presumptions. Just between you and me and the pillow book, I don’t think she’s no blushing virgin.

Like GRRM and the Game of Thrones series (I use that reference since it is widely popular and most people have seen the show at least) Cook made me care about characters on all sides of the conflict. Sure I’m always rooting for Darling and crew but he also made me like some of the characters that got us into this mess along with Toadkiller Dog. Even when they are fighting against each other there are people that I really want from both sides to overcome and hopefully not kill each other in the process.

An unlikely crew went to steal the silver spike and from that crew I have to say that I both loved and hated Smed and Fish. Fish because while he is an older guy he is smart manipulative and I knew how he stayed alive all this time. He was fantastic as a character, but he was also in opposition to Darling and so when they clash it is really tense. Smed has survived against all odds and so I have to respect the tenacity with which he finds new ways to keep himself alive.

The fight at the end was intense and when everything starting coming together I couldn’t read it fast enough to see what happened and how it would all resolve. If you like grimdark and you’re not afraid of no HEAs then by all means pick up a Glen Cook book.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been thinking about this and I believe my anger at some of the characters turned my objectivity off and giving this book anything less than 4 stars is just not right... So, I am changing my rating because this is a very good series!!!

*** 4 ***

*** 3.45 ***
A buddy read with BBB buddies:-)

This is a the story of Raven, Case, Darling, Limper, Silent and the monster Killer Dog immediately after the battle conclusion in the North from book 3 in the series. Mr. Cook just couldn't leave that one be and had to sower the joy of victory somehow... Well, he succeeded thoroughly and struck another blow to my faith in the goodness of humanity! It is not enough I try to give the benefit of the doubt to stupid people with selfish modes of life and excuse them as uneducated, now I had to spend a whole book yelling at the idiotic greed stupid characters imposed on the Black Company World...

Obviously I was upset with how things progressed through the book, but that does not mean the book was bad. Come on, it is Mr. Cook, people! He is close to brilliant in creating characters which are so real, they jump out of the page and invade your reality. He is one of those talented people who can weave a tale knowing exactly how much description, dialogue, or inside into their thoughts is needed to let us perceive the make belief in a most realistic and visceral way! Yes, after only 4 books, I find myself among the number of his legions of fans!!!

I would usually like to say more about the story, but other than it does not disappoint in its potency and imaginativeness, I think you guys should discover it on your own!

Thanks once again to my buddies at BBB, and keep on reading!

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
“Pese a que hizo cosas horribles por mí, yo era un símbolo, una expiación, y cuando insistí en convertirme en una persona, él hizo lo único que podía hacer para seguir sirviendo al símbolo y no tener que enfrentarse con una mujer de carne y hueso”.

Ha sido una lectura que en parte necesitaba. Me ha gustado mucho, me ha merecido mucho la pena, la verdad, sobre todo haber releído la rosa blanca.

"-Básicamente todos somos gente infeliz y solitaria buscando nuestro lugar. Solitarios que realmente no desean serlo, pero no pueden evitarlo. Cuando lleguemos a la puerta que nos dejaría entrar, o salir, no podemos imaginar como accionar el pasador que nos permita el paso".

Esta es una historia que podría considerarse como un “puente” para la siguiente saga. No tenemos al protagonista sino a personajes que eran secundarios en la trilogía principal. La verdad es que este nuevo enfoque me gustó; sin embargo me esperaba algún punto de vista de la Rosa Blanca, espero que en los próximos libros vuelva a salir.

La escritura siento que mejoró en comparación con el resto de la trilogía, no me daba la sensación que fuese tan densa e incomprensible. Aunque al mismo tiempo siento que esto se debe a que conozco un poco todo.

Por otro lado, a pesar de que me ha gustado la historia, ha habido algún personaje que deje de sentir respeto por el debido a su comportamiento, es más me dio un poco de asco. No sé que por qué el autor lo vio necesario.

A por el siguiente. Si sigue esto así se va a convertir en una de top 10 de sagas.

"Sus negros corazones estaban lastrados por el miedo, pero también albergaban una chispa de perversa esperanza".

[Eilonwy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There wasn't no place in the world you could put that silver spike that somebody couldn't get it back from except maybe if you dropped it in the deepest part of the ocean. And that probably wouldn't do the job neither. Some damned fish would probably gulp it down before it sunk ten feet, then the fish would beach itself or get hooked by some goddamned fisherman with a hidden talent for sorcery and a secret lust for conquest. That's the nature of evil talismans.

What happens when the greatest evil in the world is contained in an object anyone can touch or carry away?

I don't think I want to ever find out for real. But Glen Cook explores the possibilities in this story, and wow, it's intense and horrifying. But it's also a crazy-good read, with action, emotional tension, and surprising twists on every single page. I could hardly put this book down, and I was haunted by it while I wasn't reading.

I may manage an expanded review later, but I'm making no promises since I owe about five reviews already. But the short version is, this book was a creepy, fantastic achievement. I think it's going to stick with me for a while.

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buddy read with Athena & Gavin August 27th!

When the Black Company marched south in a quest for its origins, there were those who chose to stay behind in the northern empire. When a gang of petty criminals get their hands on the Silver Spike, holding the essence of the Dominator, all hell breaks loose as all the wizards in the north with the slightest desire for power attempts to get their hands on the spike and the dark magic within it.

The Silver Spike was definitely the weakest book in the Black Company series in my eyes. The story was not particularly interesting, and there was nothing new about the setting. All the characters are either completely unlikeable or hopelessly boring, even those who were fascinating to read about in previous instalments. The obvious example would be Raven, one of my favourite characters in the first trilogy, and a cravenly drunkard who has stopped caring about anything in this one.

Croaker is missing, the Lady is missing, One-Eye and Goblin are missing, the antagonists are less interesting than ever, most of the old humour is gone and even the writing style took a different turn in this one. For the worse. In the end, about the only thing there was to like about this book was the ending, which was a lot better than the rest of the book, but there was little in this one that could compare to the other Chronicles of the Black Company.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dominator may be dead but the evil essence of his power lingers on trapped in the Silver Spike. The spike is a rich prize for those that covet such a powerful artifact and it's not to long before it is liberated from its prison, in the young sapling tree God, by an enterprising group of thieves. This book follows the thieves as the try to sell their prize to the highest bidder, and Darling and her White Rose companions as the try to return it to a secure resting place.

Sadly, this was the worst book in the Black Company series so far. It started slowly and suffered from pacing issues, a lack of interesting and likable characters, and a weird absence of humor. The most interesting part of the book was the parts of the story that followed Smeds and his gang of thieves as they tried to sell the silver spike and stay alive as the battle for it intensified. Unfortunately it was hard to root for such an unlikable group of characters. The returning characters that I was looking forward to reading more about such as Darling, Silent, Raven, and Bomanz were disappointingly underutilized or pale shadows of the characters we met in the original trilogy.

The first person perspective came from the journal of Case, Raven's friend. He was a likable enough guy, but extremely boring. Cook's irritating choice of language while writing these journal entries did Case no favors.

Having the Limper as the main villain of the story was a mistake in my opinion as we have seen him defeated so often in previous books that it is hard to take him seriously as a threat in this one.

Despite my complaints this was not totally awful.

Rating: 3 stars.

Audio Note: Jonathan Davis was our narrator for this instalment of The Black Company series and while he was not as good as Marc Vietor he did do a decent job.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I learned from this book:
- potatoes grow everywhere, even in the fantasy lands with talking rocks, and it's great! If I won't conquer Avalon (or else) I will know what to do next, at least.
- sign language is so easy to learn, everybody should try it and they should probably teach it at school instead of English. :P
- you can be a simple peasant girl with rather manly looks, but if you've got that "something" men will be happy to die for you, to deal with scary stinky creatures, talking rocks and to learn sign language, and that's what I call sex appeal, baby! ;)

[Abdollah zarei · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
حقیقتا گلن کوک نویسنده ی جستور و نترسیه. هیچ وقت از معرفی شخصیت های جدید اعبایی نداره. این جلذ باز هم شخصیت های جدید و پرداختی عالی داشت. از جلد سوم خیلی بیشتر به دلم نشست. باز هم عسل کلاغ و سایلنت دوست داشتنی. اما با گروهی فسوده و به نوعی تاریخ گذشته طرفیم. به جز عسل. کلا گروهان سیاه جزو مجموعه هایی هست که بشدت برام راضی کننده است. همه ی چیزهایی که از یک کتاب حماسی میخام این مجموعه داره.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

چیزی را از مردی خردمند شنیده بود. درباره سه مرحله امپراتوری، سه نسل: ایتدا فاتحانی می‌آیند که در جنگها بی‌رقیبند، سپس مجریان می‌آیند، کسانی که همه چیز را به عمارتی به ظاهر تزلزل ناپذیر و فناناپذیر متصل می‌سازند؛ سپس مسرفان می‌آیند، کسانی که هیچ مسئولیتی نمی‌پذیرند و سرمایه میراثشان را با هوا و هوس هدر می‌دهند به دستان فاتحانی دیگر می‌سپارند.

ضعیف ترین کتاب مجموعه با اختلاف زیاد، تا الان به نظرم بهترین سایه‌های ابدی بود.

spoiler alert

نه طبیبی، نه گابلین و تک چشم، اونم از کلاغ که تمام تصوراتم رو از شخصیت با خاک یکسان کرد، آخرشم که فاجعه بود... آخه اولشم فاجعه بود، کلا ایده داستان انگار برای گلن کوک نبود :(
سه ستاره فقط برای ماجرای اسمدز و کل کلای کیس

[Hossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

به هیچ عنوان نمیتونم به این کتاب به عنوان یه کتاب فرعی(اسپین آف) نگاه کنم
اتفاقاتی که تو این کتاب می افتن تاثیر مهمی حداقل تو اوایل کتاب بعدی داره
گلن کوک نویسنده ی فوقالعاده ایه
نویسنده ای که توانایی عجیبی در خلق شخصیت ها و پرداختن به اونها داره به صورتی که انگار هرجا کم میاره با خودش میگه: خب خب، بیا یه شخصیت جذاب دیگه به این داستانا اضافه کنیم
قدرت شخصیت پردازی گلن کوک رو میشه تو جلد دوم برای شخصیت شد و این جلد برای کیس دید
شخصیت هایی که از ناکجا آباد پیداشون میشه و مارو جذب خودشون میکنن
نظم داستانی گلن کوک هم بینظیره. همیشه موقع خوندن کتابها یه نگرانی ته دلم هست که آیا نویسنده توانایی رسوندن خطوط داستانی مختلف رو تو داستانش داره و میتونه داستانو جمع و جور کنه؟؟ گلن کوک کاملا این توانایی رو داره

حذف شخصیت هایی که تو جلدهای قبلی نقش اصلی رو بر عهده داشتن مثل طبیب اولش باعث شد بهش به دید کتابی که مجبورم بخونمش نگاه کنم اما یکمی که جلو رفتم عاشق کتاب شدم و خداحافظی با بعضی شخصیت ها مثل کلاغ و عسل و ... ناراحت کننده بود

ترجمه خانم کشوری هم که مثل همیشه بی نقصه

[Allen Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This used to be one of my least favorites, but this time through, I enjoyed it way more. To be fair, it's the thieves and their desperate attempts to avoid detection that are the highlights of this book. Raven sucks in this book even worse than the other ones, if that's possible. I love the Black Company so much.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I've been thinking, Case," Raven said as we came down off the knee of the most northerly of those goofy humped hills, headed northeast, chasing that drifting windwhale fragment.

"Brooding is the word I would have picked, old buddy. And you been at it since the day they finally put the Dominator down. Looks like that explosion a while back was the last one."

The fragment was drifting on a course that would intercept ours. A few fires flickered on one end. It was turning end for end slowly but had stopped its fall.

"Maybe. But you say something definite like that, the gods will stick it to you. Let's just hope it clears the woods. Be rough landing in there."

"What were you thinking?"

"About you and me, Croaker and his gang, the Lady, Silent, Darling. About all the things we had in common but still couldn't get along."

"I didn't see all that much you had in common. Not once you got past having the same enemies."

"Neither did I for a long time. And none of them saw it, either. Else we all might have tried a little harder."

I tried to look like I gave a shit at three in the morning.

"Basically we're all lonely, unhappy people looking for our place, Case. Loners who'd really rather not be but don't know how. When we get to the door that would let us in-or out-we can't figure out how to work the latch string."

I'll be damned. That was about as open-up-and-expose-what's-inside a remark as I ever got out of him. Filled with longing and conviction. Well shave my head and call me Baldy. I been right up here beside him since a couple years ago. You don't see the changes going on in people when you're standing up close.

This wasn't the Raven I'd first met, before his ego and misadventure had gotten his soul trapped among the shadow evils of the Barrowland, before its cleansing. He had returned from the prison of the heart dramatically altered.

Hell, he wasn't even the same man who had spent all his time drunk on his ass in Oar, neither.

I had kind of mixed feelings. I'd admired and liked and gotten along pretty good with the old Raven.

Maybe I would again once he got through his transition.

I did not know what to say to him, though I was sure he wanted a response. His knack for befuddling me never changed. "So did you figure out how to work it?"

"I have an unsettling premonition, Case. I'm almost paralyzed by a dread that I'm about to find out if I've learned anything."


4 1/2 stars

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5

To be honest I spaced out during most of the book. There was too much build up to the final confrontation and I always dislike that. The lack of Croacker is another thing that worked against it. But hey at least there was Raven. Who acted like a love sick moron. *sigh* Why did he turn out this way? He had so much potential. Now I just feel pity for him.

The main story again deals with the Dominator and what utter evil he is and how bad it will be if his spirit is set free. And I kept wondering why people still do dumb shit that could potentially set it free. But then I look at the world around me and see all the idiotic things real people do and I stop wondering. Greed will always motivate people and when they dream of $ they will ignore the consequences up until the moment these consequences come and bite them on the ass. And sometimes not even then.

Hopefully book #4 will be better. Because I really enjoyed the first three of the series.

[Milda Page Runner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supposedly the weakest part of the Books of The South yet I really enjoyed it.
Tells us the story of the group that split up from the Black Company after the events in the Burrowland - Darling, Silent, Raven and Case. The narrator is Case and I really liked his voice. Possibly even more than Croaker's. (don't judge me -.-) He is less educated and his language is simpler, on a plus side he is less romantic and more sarcastic, funny. His humour surprised me and made me laugh out loud in the most intense and grim moments.
A solid read. Recommended to any grim-dark fans.

[Layla ✷ Praise the sun ✷ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to say, but while I loved Cook's other books, I can only really recommend the Silver Spike if you absolutely want to know what happens to Raven, the White Rose and Silent after the events of the third book.
The reasons why this was the weakest book in the series for me were that the story was repetitive, the writing lacked the humor of the other books and I found the characters (even those I loved in the first two books, namely Raven) unlikeable.
On to the next.

[Sina · Rating 2 out of 5]

همونطور که طبق نظرات بقیه انتظار داشتم سطح کتاب یه سر و گردن از بقیه کتابا پایین تر بود.
البته این از ارزش خوندنش چیزی کم نمیکنه .چون وقایعی در این کتاب رخ میدن که عملا صرف نظر کردن از اونا به داستان لطمه وارد میکنه.
ایندفعه گلن کوک روند صعودی تعداد راوی ها رو حفظ کرد.و همچنین کوتاه تر شدن فصل ها.بعضی جاها انقد سریع دوربین رو میچرخوند رو یه پلان دیگه که به ادم وقت نمیداد صحنه قبلی خوب تو ذهنش نقش ببنده. و همچنین یک شتابزدگی خاصی تو متن دیده میشد مخصوصا تو پایان بندیش.
وای از ذهن مریض و خیال پرداز گلن کوک.
بعضی جاها انقدر سطح خیال پردازی این بشر زیاد میشه که ادم می خواد با وال پرنده بره تو صورتش.درسته فانتزی و خیالی بودنش.ولی دیگه با ید تناسبات رو هم رعایت کنه .اخه یه دیگ غول پیکر وسط مهلکه جنگ چیزی جز جمله "قیمه تو ماست" رو به ذهن متبادر نمیکنه.
و به خاطر همین قضیه هست که همچنان برای من چیزی رو دست نغمه یخ و آتش نیومده.چون خیلی واقعی و باور پذیر تر از تصور سفره ماهی های صاعقه افکنه.
و چیز دیگه یجورایی تقلید گلن کوک از تالکین بود.اون از ده تن تسخیر شده و بانو که به صورت چشم در میومد.(کتاب اول)و این هم از سرنیزه نقره ای و ذات پلید و شیطانی و افسونگرش که به چیزی جز حلقه یگانه شبیه نیست.
ولی گذشته از همه این حرف ها از قهرمان کشی گلن کوک خوشم میاد.

[Silvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoa, this book is even brutal than the first trilogy. The book started slow, just like the Black Company (first novel) but it picked up the pace for me after halfway.

I might not like one POV (the thieves) but the rest were enjoyable. Indeed at first, the absence of Croaker was really palpable and I really missed him, but Case (the main POV) was not that bad (there were some minor character development at least) and Toadkiller Dog, oh I just loooove his POV.

Another I liked is that the book discussed interesting points such as what happened after a victory over a dictator/evil lord or whatnots. It does not mean the work is done. Especially when the machines are still functioning, the regime was still standing, and that evil is never really gone and is always lurking in the shadows, working its way back.

The ending was bloody, with a bit too many casualties for my preference but overall I think the whole book is not as weak as I thought at first. Onward to The Shadow Games!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with my new pals Sarah and Elena, with wisdom and guidance from Evgeny.

The biggest strike against this book is that it is a Black Company novel that doesn’t feature most of the prominent characters from the previous installments in the series. Marketed as a spin-off (technically numbered 3.5 in the series), it nonetheless carries the weight of books like the amazing The White Rose on its shoulders.

Overall, this is not a bad novel. It is a fun read filled with the same adventure, dark humor, and memorable characters we’ve come to expect from Glen Cook. However, there are a few reasons why I felt this was a weaker installment. Primarily, the ending. Raven has been slowly developed over the course of four books; while remaining mysterious, he has become an unexpectedly complex character. To suddenly turn him into a stereotypical mustache-twirling-”muahaha” villain IN THE LAST FEW PAGES and then have him get killed almost as quickly felt completely off. Not to mention, his death seemingly eliminates the point of introducing his children earlier in the book...I really thought more was going to come out of that encounter.

Additionally, the death of Fish felt unnecessary. He became a really interesting character over the course of the story, but was pretty much written off with an ending that was along the lines of “by the way, he died”.

Silent was another problematic character. He was great in the previous Black Company books, and I was happy to see him included in the cast of The Silver Spike. Unfortunately, his role has been reduced to Annoying-Jealous-Fake-Boyfriend of Darling. I suppose his sacrifice at the end of the book helps redeem him as a character, but not completely.

And then there’s The Limper. He has gone from a fearsome antagonist to a comical parody of his former self. From the Limper-As-Stick-Figure sections to the fact that he fails at almost every turn (and usually embarrassingly so), I just couldn’t take him seriously in this book.

So what are the good points? For one, the story itself was entertaining and filled with action. The plot wasn’t quite as tight as the prior installments, and it dragged for a bit around the 60% mark, but then it picked up again quickly enough. I’m finding that Glen Cook is one of those authors where the journey is just as important as the destination; his prose style is easy to read and follow along with, and except for the aforementioned brief period of boredom, I always looked forward to reading the next chapter(s).

Also, Toadkiller Dog. How can you not like him?

Another highlight...Darling really shines here, in my opinion. I liked her in the other books, but in The Silver Spike she feels more like a real person as opposed to the symbol of a movement. That may have been Glen Cook’s point now that she has lost her powers, and if so, it worked. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the way her arc ended, it did hammer in the point that she is a regular person, like anyone else. It just needed less potato farming.

I also enjoyed the plotline following Smeds, Tully, Fish, and Timmy. Frankly, none of these were likable characters, but in Cook’s deft hands, that didn’t matter. They were still fun to read about as their greed unwittingly set off the chain of events that became the overall plot of the novel.

It was a good book, just not great. I wouldn’t recommend skipping over it during an initial read-through of the Black Company series; after all, it happened, it’s part of series canon, and it’s good to know the fate of some of these characters.

[Hosein · Rating 5 out of 5]

این کتاب رو برای بار دوم در چندین ماه اخیر خوندم، زمانی که شنیدم بالاخره جلد چهارم رو نشر تندیس چاپ میکنه خوشحال شدم که دوباره فرصتی پیش اومد تا جلد سه و نیم یا همون، سرنیزه نقره ای رو باز هم بخونم:D

این کتاب بر خلاف کتاب های قبلی، از همون صفحات اول ریتم تندی داشت، کاراکتر ها جا به جا میشدن، اتفاق های مختلف می افتاد، جنگ ها و درگیری های زیادی اتفاق می افتادن و همشون به حدی زیبا و با برنامه پیش می رفت که آدم دلش نمیخواست یک دقیقه هم کتاب رو زمین بزاره.

توی این کتاب، گلن کوک کاراکتر اصلی جلد های قبلی رو کنار گذاشت و هیچ جای داستان ما اون رو شخصا ملاقات نمیکردیم(البته، در موردش کم حرف زده نمیشد) در عوض، راوی اول شخص جدیدی داشتیم که مثل طبیب خاطرات و اتفاقات رو به صورت واقعه نگاری مینوشت و به نظر من، لحن صحبتش هم خیلی شبیه به طبیب بود.

نکته جالب دیگه، این بود که تصویر سازی گلن کوک توی این کتاب، باز هم پیشرفت داشت و به حدی زیبا بود که من حس میکردم اتفاقاتی که می افته رو به چشم میبینم و مشکل "الان چی شد؟" رو هیچ جا نداشتم چون بر خلاف جلد های قبلی، توی این جلد گلن کوک توی توصیف هاش نقاط تاریک و نامفهوم نداشت و تقریبا میشه گفت کامل توضیح داده بود.

و ریویو رو بهتره با دیالوگ زیبای کتاب تموم کنم:D

-این درس تاریخ بود. حکومت های جدید برای اطمینان از بقای خود، همیشه از حکومت پیشین پلید تر اند.

[Jake Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is technically not a novel of The Black Company, but it is kinda dumb that this is book 3.5. It is just as long as the 3 books before it, and takes place pretty close after, and follows a bunch of the same characters, and directly continues some storylines.

Basically it is book 4, but doesn't have the protagonist, so is called book 3.5.

Once again I enjoyed it quite a lot, although my enjoyment was less even.

I really liked the start right of the bat, but then there was a pretty decent section of the middle that is my least favorite section of Black Company so far. One bit that felt totally unnecessary , and an antagonist who I am just over. Please stay dead, you stopped being initiating 3 books ago.

But then this book has a convergence, and it is glorious, and some really fantastic stuff is in there.

Also in the bind up this is after books 4 and 5, and I am glad I listened to people and read it before, because there is some stuff that happened in here that I feel like has to be important, and has to be spoiled by books 4 and 5. My biggest worry was that because this was book 3.5 it would be a book were the status quo in the main characters lives doesn't change, and that is very much not the case.

8.1/10

[Hella · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی قشنگه نمیدونم چرا با وجود اینکه کتاب های سرگذشت گروهان سیاه ایراد های زیادی دارند ولی بازم میخونم لذت میبرم. این جلد که در واقع جلد و سه و نیم حساب میشد بعد از جلد یک ضعیف ترین جلدی بود که خوندم ولی با این حال دوستش داشتم.

[Aida · Rating 5 out of 5]

خیلی وقت پیش تموم شد ولی گذاشتم دور دوم هم بخونم بعد پایان بزنم.

با توجه به نظرات انتظار داشتم کمی ضعیفتر از باقی جلدها باشه و اندکی هم شک داشتم که لزوم ترجمه اش چقدر زیاده اما الان نظرم کاملا عوض شده. داستان عالی بود، پایان غیرمنتظره بود و مطمئن شدم که حتما این کتاب باید قبل از جلد چهار خونده بشه وگرنه کلا خوندن جلد چهار گیج کننده میشه!

[Eon Windrunner · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Mmm. Not The Black Company I have become used to. I did enjoy some of it, but mostly a disappointment for me.

[Bobby Merryman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and skip this one. The story drags and has no real value. Disappointed because I really like this series. It will be awhile before I pick up the next one, if I ever do.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this is probably one of the lesser lights in the Black Company saga, Cook is a gifted enough writer to always keep me enjoying the story. In a genre that tends often tends to the stale he really is a unique voice writing unique stories. The Silver Spike starts right after the momentous events of The White Rose, hanging around the same area with some of the same characters while the actual Black Company heads south and thusly out of this book. I can guarantee that every fan of the Company (including myself) is gonna do some mental whining and bitching about the resulting lack of familiar characters like Croaker or One-Eye and Goblin but we're still working with some old names like Raven, Silent and Darling, as well as an old antagonist. There was plenty here to like, at least for me. This does indeed seem to be a controversial entry in the series, so take that for what you will.

Cook continues to spend almost no time on worldbuilding in favor of advancing plot and characterization, which was jarring at first but I've long come to like it. The author isn't worried about the details and you shouldn't be either. As much as I do love minutiae in fantasy it is an old trope of the genre and it can be very refreshing to see an author ditching the maps, bloated cast and stuff like that in favor of telling a lean but gripping story. Another thing I love is how American it all feels, and I really don't mean that in a jingoistic way. Most fantasy does derive from a European setting, but the characters seem to have American sensibilities and certainly talk like Americans. This certainly enforces that refreshing feeling, even if these stories are hardly light and fluffy, especially this one. No character here even approaches a Mary Sue. It's pretty much just people looking out for their own well-being and safety, which is hardly an unimaginable way for humans to act.

Silver Spike also felt very much like a heist/crime film/novel in a fantasy setting, which reminds me of some parts of Shadows Linger. We have the rough-and-tumble crew, the plotting and planning, the heist itself and then the shit hitting the fan in the fallout. In all of these crime movies/books, the thing that sets everything in motion is usually a lot of money. In this, it happens to be the titular spike. Smeds, Tully, Old Man Fish and Timmy were the perfect heist gang in that their temperament and personalities varied pretty widely. Watching them try to escape the ever-closing net of people looking for the spike was really the meat and potatoes of this story for me, although the more military-focused second thread of the book was compelling. Cook's magic feels genuinely dark and dangerous and a lot of times the action feels less like rote fantasy battles and more like 20th century military engagements played out with fantasy monsters taking the place of troop carriers, fighter planes, etc. It's very cool.

I really do like Glen Cook's stuff. He seems to genuinely not really care about the standard fantasy tropes while still telling a story that is full-blooded fantasy, and also pulls this off without ever seeming like he's forcing it or mailing it in. If this is the worst he has to offer we're gonna be just fine, him and I. It's an added bonus that I get back to some old acquaintances in Shadow Games. This is a series that I continue to recommend highly to people that enjoy fantasy but get sick of the same general paradigm, values and ideas that the genre consistently features. Cook's sparse and even dry prose can be offputting, but it can be very rewarding as well. I wonder if his other fantasy series is any good...

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is sort of a side story in the Black Company Chronicles, departing from the larger story line that has been occurring thus far. Goodreads has it listed as number 3.5 which tends to imply a short story or novella that has been tacked on afterwards to fill in a blank area or cash in on the success of the series. But this is a full-length novel and is simply a story of events that are occurring separately from the main plot line.

Like most Black Company novels, there are several points-of-view characters or groups of characters in this one. One of them is a group of adventurers who are intent on stealing the titular silver spike and selling it for huge profit. Unfortunately for them, there is far more to what this silver spike actually is than they are aware. We also get to follow along on the further adventures of Raven, one of the primary characters from the first several books.

The novel is still very much in the style of other Black Company books. By that I mean the reader is dumped in the middle of a situation, and not always clear on who is who or what their motivations are. We are left to figure out such things for ourselves. This doesn’t make for easy reading nor is it for everyone. I see quite a few reviews for this book remarking on the ending, or even just the nature of the plot in general, and it seems to irk some readers or even piss them off. For me it is exactly what I have come to expect from Glen Cook and in fact, the plot departure was a welcome switch up for me.