Shadowline

Starfishers #1

by Glen Cook

The vendetta in space had started centuries before "Mouse" Storm was born with his grandfather's raid on the planet Prefactlas, the blood bath that freed the human slaves from their Sangaree masters. But one Sangaree survived—the young Norborn heir, the man who swore vengeance on the Storm family and their soldiers, in a carefully mapped plot that would take generations to fulfill. Now Mouse's father Gneaus must fight for an El Dorado of wealth on the burning half of the planet Blackworld. As the great private armies of all space clash on the narrow Shadowline that divides inferno from life-sheltering shade, Gneaus' half-brother Michael plays his traitorous games, and a man called Death pulls the deadly strings that threaten to entrap them all—as the Starfishers Trilogy begins.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1982

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]

☠ We are the Glen Cook Cult and We Shall not Stop until We Have Read All the Glorious Books our Wondrous Senpai Has ever Written Buddy Read (WatGCCaWSnSuWHRAtGBoWSHeWBR™) with my dear wife Choko , Grand Master Evgeny and Lee The Noob ☠

Friendly warning: this review is particularly shitty uninteresting. Just so you know. And loooooong. Way toooo looooong. Jut so you know. I love you too.


The Special Glen Cook Rating System (SGCRS™) applies here. Meaning that in Glen Cook Wonderland (GCW™) this book deserves a pathetic 3-star rating. But in Most Books I Read are Super Crappy Land (MBIRaSCL™)? We got ourselves a 4-star rating, my Little Barnacles!


Okay. I've been growing something resembling a heart these last few days (don't worry, it won't last), so instead of submitting you to the usual Glen Cook is a God Litany (GCiaGL™), I'll present you the Glen Cook is a God Express Recap (GCiaGER™). Here goes:

① Glen Cook is a God. Duh.
② Glen Cook is slightly amazing.
③ Glen Cook is somewhat awesome.
④ Glen Cook is fairly marvellous.
⑤ Glen Cook is considerably super uber cool.



Now that I have so undeniably proven what a Wondrously Remarkable Human Being (WRHB™) Glen Cook is a God is, let's talk about this A Teensy Little Bit Better than Average Book (ATLBBtAB™):

① This book is slightly amazing.
② This book is somewhat awesome.
③ This book is fairly marvellous.
④ This book is considerably super uber cool.

Funny, I could have sworn I saw that list recently. Weird. Must be Alzheimer's kicking in early or something.



Now that I have so undeniably proven what an Astonishingly Superior Creation (ASC™) this excellent book is, let's talk about why this excellent book is an ASC™.

➽ It features all the usual Magnificent Cook Components (MCC™):
✔ Exquisitely complex characters.
✔ Cunning bastards and slippery assholes everywhere.
✔ Non-stop delicious scheming.
✔ Glorious backstabbing. Although I must admit this story rates pretty low on the Cook Treachery Scale (CTS™). But more on that later. Yay
✔ Manipulation galore.
✔ Devious everything.
✔ Ruthless everyone.
✔ Yay.

➽ It features one of the most enchanting families ever, the Storms. Aka the Spatial Brady Bunch (SBB™):
✔ Daddy is so beautifully kind-hearted and full of love he has received numerous Father of the Year awards.
✔ His wonderful children are a delightfully supportive bunch. Always there to back up, assist, encourage and help each other (especially when it comes to –hum- entertaining their sibling's wife). It's really quite touching.
✔ His dear brother will sacrifice anything to protect the SBB™ from the scum of the universe.
✔ His in-laws and extended family will stop at nothing to safeguard the harmony, unity and peace the clan has been bathing in for centuries.



Warmth, affection, understanding, loyalty. That's the Storms for you. Pretty much the mostest perfectest family, if you ask me. I really wish they'd adopt me.

➽ It features a whole bunch of awesome stuff I could describe at length to your utter delight but I have Below Zero Inspiration (BZI™) today so I'll just make a list you're welcome thank you very much:
✔ Mercenaries and greedy SOBs.
✔ Delightfully ignominious slavers who breed humans like they would animals.
✔ Alien races and spaceships and no atmosphere planets and other generally awesome space crap things. Which seems kinda sorta logical since this is sorta kinda a space opera but I'm a reformed space hater and this stuff is pretty exciting to me these days so there.
✔ Fights and battles and Machiavellian strategies and war and dead bodies.
✔ The Legion of the Dead. Beats recycling, if you ask me.
✔ Bloody Hell I didn't See that One Coming Moments (BHIDStOCM™).



Why this gif? Dunno, because I thought you wouldn't see it coming? Or maybe I just thought we needed an intermission or something. My pleasure.

✔ Ravenshrikes, aka nocturnal flying, spying lizards. I want a couple of those for Christmas. They'd be a lovely addition to my murderous shrimpy army. They'd roam the skies over my undersea kingdom, and warn Fleet Admiral DaShrimp at the first sign of intrusion.
✔ Shadow masters who manipulate the crap out of puppets who thought they were manipulating the crap out of the shadow masters whom their thought were puppets.
✔ Rrrrrrrrrrrevenge!! Yum.
✔ Stuff.

Now. There is a reason why this book only rated 3 stars on the Glen Cook Wonderland Scale (GCWS™): this is Glen Cook, decaffeinated {insert cries of horror and dismay here}. Yes, that is the awful truth. I'm afraid we've got diet backstabbing, sugar-free treachery, and low-cal ruthlessness here please don't tell anyone I said this, I might get kicked out of the Glen Cook Cult if you do. Thank thee kindly . It's quite confounding, really. But you know what the most unsettling thing about this book is? The lack of confusion is downright confusing ← does this confuse you? Good. It should Why? Because this is a Glen Cook book. So? So you're supposed to feel like a complete retard while you're reading it. And only start understanding what the shrimp is going on around the 95% mark. That's right, the beauty of Glen Cook is that he brings out the moron in all of us. And since we members of the Glen Cook Cult are slightly masochistic, we luuuuuurrrrve it. So imagine my surprise when I realized everything was crystal clear, and that my two little grey cells were actually able to follow the story. Despite its constant jumping back and forth in time.



I know, right? I'm telling you, my Little Barnacles, this was one of the most dumbfoundationing experiences of my life, and I still haven't really recovered from the shock.

This lack of bafflement, bewilderment and utter befuddlement was quite disappointing. And so depressing. I mean, what are you supposed to do when your God fails you, and doesn't make you feel like a harebrained nitwit as expected? Commit suicide? To be honest, I briefly considered it. BUT. Glen Cook being, you know, a God and stuff, his writing tends to be slightly amazing. Which somehow manages to make up for the dispiriting lack of, you know, usual Glen Cook Awesomeness (GCA™). I don't know how he does it, but my Lord and Master here manages to express more with his simple, unadorned style than a truckload of Disgusting Flowery Prose Prone Authors (DFPPA™) would. I'm pretty sure some very dark magic is at work here. Cook creates a tangled web of a world, pulls its string one by one, and weaves a fascinating tale, using the least descriptive style ever. It should feel dry and emotionless. But it doesn't. Why? Because Cook's writing is like a punch to the gut. And it feels positively orgasmic wonderful to be manhandled by the guy. Okay, so it seems some Barnacles don't really like his writing, but you know what? Some Barnacles need to have their little heads examined, if you ask me. And even if you don't. Ask me, I mean. Ha.

Aaaaannnnndddddd…I think I'm done here.



Oh will you please cut it out with the ridiculous cheering?! Don't you think I know how painful this review was to read?! I bloody wrote it, for shrimp's sake! I suffered twice as much as you lot of silly decapods did!

» And the moral of this Bloody Hell this is the Most Pathetically Crappy Review Ever Crappy Non Review is (BHtisMPCRECNR™): how the fish would I know? Hey, why don't you tell me, for a change? Why the shrimp should I always be in charge of the Extremely Enlightening Pontificating (EEP™) around here, anyway?! So get on with it, my Little Barnacles, and let me know what Gloriously Fascinating Morals (GFM™) you come up with ← good luck with that.



✎ Book 2: Starfishers ★★★★
✎ Book 3: Stars' End ★★★ ← you never saw this. This never happened.
✎ Book 4: Passage at Arms ★★★ ← are you seeing a 3-star rating here? I knew it. You're drunk again. Damn, how many times have I told you alcohol was bad for you?!

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4 ***

A buddy read with all the Cook Mercenaries at BB&B! This time in space:):):)

This is another story in the life of a major mercenary family, which in the years of 2950-3052 is in war with another major mercenary empire in space. That is at least the set up. In reality, it is a big space opera told from different POV's with non-linear time progression, jumping back and forth in time, all somehow connected with the Shadowline War. It also concentrates on the Storm dynasty, of which the two sons seem to have different ideas as to what is good for the family. The Family is full of very dysfunctional, screwed-up, devious, scheming bunch of folks, who have very little to do with love or cuddling (unless it is with your relatives' wife) and much more comfortable with backstabbing and cutting throats...

The most "normal" member of the family, the youngest of the Storm sons, Mouse is the main POV, and the story is mostly told by him, explaining who and what helped mold his character as he was growing into the man he becomes. Needless to say, the four men he considers to be his life tutors are some of the most viscous, ruthless, and smart men one could possibly meet. Add to it a life formed at a time of constant conflict, violence, slavery, species war for domination, and the responsibilities that come with being part of a conglomerate or a family empire, this young man was doomed to have a very difficult life from the very day of his birth.

Cook is once again Cook, love it or hate it. His stile of writing is as always deceptively plain, very understated, while crafting a very complex world with characters which paint themselves in your mind with barely any description - we learn who they are, we are not told or spoon fed their weaknesses and strengths - we discover them very much the way we discover the people around us - we do not get someone narrating their thoughts and feelings to us, we just see them unfold!!! GC is still a genius of character writing in my estimation!!! Once again, most of the players as as flawed as we could imagine - there are no GOOD or BAD guys - only the specter in between. And I love it!!!!

This is not for everyone - you have to have the patience to go into the story and give it a chance to unfold in order to trully orient yourself as to what is happening. If you love Sci-fi, you should give it a chance!!! And if you are a fan of Cook, it is a good way to get your dose of his magic:):):)

I wish you all Happy Reading and may you never give up on your dreams!!!

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars - Roast Pork without the crackling.

First off, let me say that it was great being back into Cooks writing. It has been far too long for me and I am excited to find a whole series to look forward to.

This was a buddy read with the Cook Fan Club. Which was fun in itself and I certainly find that group reads can certainly add to a read, especially since I hardly ever discuss books with anyone at work.

Shadowline is ............ well, its Cook. It is like being on a roller coaster. The time period jumps forwards and backwards with each chapter, but I never lost where I was in time, the action scenes can be either fully on descriptive mayhem or a one line sentence leaving you gobsmacked. It works, but it isn't for everybody. I can see how some people would be frustrated with his writing. I do get the feeling that Cook writes for himself, he wants to get the story out, how he see's it and stuff the editors. I like that.

This is certainly not the best Cook I have ever read. There are certainly parts in the world building, where Cook couldn't be arsed to give you more info and being the inquisitive type that I am, I was asking questions about the rotation of the planet, the suns ambient temperature (freakin hot), how the shadowline is in relation to the city domes. all that kind of stuff. Not seeing the world in my head is what dragged this just out of the 4 star rating for me.

Character wise, you couldn't pick a nastier hard, tough, cynical Mercs. Without Mouse, (a character being set up for the lead role in the series you'd imagine) there wasn't a compassionate bone to be had.

This is also one of the most incestious stories I have ever read. at times I wasn't sure if someone wasn't a son in law, to his own sons, daughter. One of the downsides of keeping blood pure when you live a long age eh?

The only other thing that I felt Cook was a bit lasy with, was the main other species, the Sangaree. They are alien to humans and actually breed humans for slaves and call them animals. Yet, the only way to tell a Sangaree from a human was via DNA. I think that needed to be built out a bit more. Maybe in the next installment.

So all in all, a good read. Wouldn't call it fun but definitely enjoyable.

[Eilonwy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-1/2 stars, rounded down

Not really a review, just some rambles:

This was an interesting read, as it's an early Glen Cook work that predates the Black Company novels. It features all of his trademarks: complex characters with strong motives, a fascinating world, and of course lots of backstabbing and plot twists, with no safe characters. And yet it was to the Black Company as a bare winter tree is to its leafy summer self, as everything was much more obvious to me as a reader. It wasn't bad by any means, but I was a little surprised to find so many of the threads to be fairly easily predictable. At the same time, I'm finding it comforting to see that even Glen Cook didn't just start writing as **Glen Cook!!** , but really did require some honing of his brilliance.

Having read The Dragon Never Sleeps and now this one, I'm finding that the worldbuilding in Cook's science fiction novels feels a little sterile to me compared to the breadth and detail of the treks the Black Company. Space ships all feel alike, fairly little time is spent on any planets, and the descriptions of the places and cultures is even more spare than in the Black Company books.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series, especially to learning more about the Starfishers it's named for -- there's tantalizingly little of them in this opening volume.

As always, this was a Buddy Read with my dedicated gang of mercenaries, whose reviews are more detailed:

Choko
Evgeny
Lee
Sarah

I'm the outlier here, as everyone else rated this higher!

[David H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a retelling of Ragnarok cast into space with mercenaries serving in the roles of the various gods--complete with interfamily drama and squabbling. It's kinda fun? It took me way too long to realize it was a retelling, but the Baldr-killed-by-mistletoe scene was really hard to miss (let's ignore the fact that the book opens with a one-eyed man communing with his psi-ravens). It's got that Cook-esque writing style (also don't ask how many women show up), and while there are some neat twists and revelations, I knew it'd be a story of doom, as the Twilight of the Gods always does.

[Art · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dang, I had high hopes for this one. It is written in the space opera format ala Dune with many worlds, politics, and many characters. But after about 100 pages I had to put it down. It wasn't holding my attention and since the chapters bounce back and forth across characters AND across many decades I was often lost as to who I was reading about. Maybe if it could be read in long sittings. Alas, I won't be reading like that for about 15 more years.

Had been recommended from library mail list.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update, Dec 8th 2021:

Extraordinary visuals from the latest Dune movie resonated with me a lot, it was like I already saw it somewhere. And then it hit me - minus the sword fighting, entire dynamics and utter destruction during the attack scene were for me echo of the Shadowline and fight between the mercenaries on Blackworld.

In this truly remarkable space opera we follow how actions from the past can echo in the present (also one of the parallels with Dune). What started as slave liberation on one of the alien Sangaree worlds will end up as a full scale vendetta between surviving Sangaree and future mercenaries captains (then Federation officers tasked with liberating slaves) and their forces - vendetta of such a scale that entire families will be exterminated by the end of the book. And unfortunately that is not the end - vendetta continues in follow up novels in never-ending circle of blood as feud between Storm's and Sangaree of Noborn gains ever more momentum.

Book itself reads like an old time tragedy - heroes greater than life confronting monsters from within and without, great (Epic! :)) battles and as epic losses. Characters are so fleshed out, some of them so damaged that at some point you will hope they will turn the page and join the good guys.

I wont go into details here, this book needs to be read to be fully appreciated. I am a fan of revenge stories and mercenary/freikorps like heroes so this book truly resonated with me. Nevertheless I am sure that space opera and action adventure fans will like it a lot too.

Highly recommended.

Original review:

Story of a hardened mercenary Gnaeus Storm brought into an unwanted conflict by schemes of both his brother Michael and mysterious Sangaree Deeth. Soon old grudges will surface and families will clash, brother against brother, family against their own, revealing plot within plot resulting in death of almost entire Storm family and most probably end of standalone mercenary armies. Masato Storm The Mouse will survive the onslaught only to continue this never ending vendetta against the Sangaree who brought death to his family.

Reads like a classic Greek tragedy story of revenge that only brings doom to participants. Glen Cook is great as always.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the Starfisher trilogy #2 and #3.

Great book, recommended.

[Joey Simeroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Glen Cook's fantasy novels have a sharp edge and unique style, with dark undertones flowing throughout even the most lighthearted bits of the story. I really like that. In his science fiction he tries something similar. It doesn't QUITE work as well though...

In the back of my mind I was comparing this to the recent Battlestar Galactica series. Despair fills this novel from almost the first chapter. One of the most compelling characters dies very early in the book, and it left a bit of a sour taste that none of the others for the rest of the story were quite as interesting. There ARE strong, larger-than-life characters though, and Cook writes these personalities well enough to keep my interest.

I had my suspicions as to how the book would end, and for the most part I was right. Although the "how" of it caught me a bit off guard at points. My final thoughts? I've read a lot of science fiction in my life, and this was something very different. Flawed. Interesting. And for as negative as this review may sound, I am itching to read the next in the series. My excitement for what happens next negates the quibbles I have with the book. I know enough about Glen Cook to know to expect the unexpected, there's a surprise around every corner, and why am I sitting here writing this when the next book is sitting here next to me?

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told from 4 separate view points in a non-linear fashion - each chapter has dates and it skips backwards and forwards from the narrative "now", the time of the shadowline war, on a chapter by chapter basis.

The plot superficially concerns the fighting of "the last merc war" ... but is really focused on the cycle of violence, revenge, obligation and obsession that lead to this final show-down, hence all the flashbacks...

The writing style is terse, even for Cook, and I can't help wonder if it’s a deliberate attempt to capture a particular style or feel (if so it’s not a form that I immediately recognise). The problem is that the "clipped" style doesn't leave a lot of scope for building any real sympathy with or feeling for the characters.

Epic in scope and stylishly executed but initially quite confusing and hard to connect with

[Eric H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid.

The characters are well crafted, Gneaus Storm and Cassius particularly. I also enjoy Mouse as a character. The plot is dry in the beginning and its set up feels slow, but it culminates in several enjoyable, interesting, and surprisingly profound scenes.

The book is plot driven, not character driven, so it moves like a quickly paced history of fatalistic events rather than a ponderous, wandering character based narrative. I tend to prefer the latter, so that may have had something to do with my enjoyment of the novel being milder.

I rate it 3. I liked it, I don't regret reading it, but it's not something that I think was excellent. Glen Cook's style, I suspect, is an acquired taste, so it's possible I just haven't acquired it yet.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this trilogy years ago, and I recalled that I had really liked it, but couldn't remember anything further. I reread this first book while on vacation and enjoyed it a great deal. Cook does a good job in a relatively short book of painting the picture of a group of mercenaries whose time is drawing to a close. The first book did not leave me with the overwhelmed feeling of impressiveness I recalled from the trilogy as a whole. I'm not sure if this is because I'm now older and seeing it in a different light, or because I haven't read to the third book yet. I intend to read forward and find out. Regardless, Shadowline is a worthwhile read.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so it starts out as standard military sci-fi...but then you read deeper. And, with a few well-placed references, Cook leads you to what he's really telling: Gotterdammerung, but in space. The setting of space replacing the frozen north is a great idea, to me, as Cook conveys the utter coldness and harshness of the place.

Cook also manages to make his book (the first of three; as far as I can tell, the other two don't continue the Norse-mythology-in-space storytelling device) thoroughly modern...a feat, considering the book was written in 1982.

One of the better sci-fi books I've read in years.

[Geoffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of the grim and cynical tone that I've come to love from Glen Cook. While difficult to follow at first with the shifting timelines and the very brief and general descriptions of things, I started to enjoy the book more as all the plots came together and hit the fan, as it were. It has a very bitter ending, but I am curious as to where it goes from here in the next book.

[Sarah S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally I don't bother recording books I don't finish: it wasn't for me, move on. But others might be interested to know that there are no worthwhile female characters in this book.

[Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cook does ok fantasy, but he does surprisingly good sci-fi.

It has some weak moments, but overall it's pretty epic, and keeps the reader engaged.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware, you are entering a dark and scary universe. (Well, of course you are, it’s a Glen Cook book ;) ) We’ve got: an empire of slave raiders, mercenary captain-kings, space warfare, planetary surface warfare, betrayals and more betrayals, lovely back-stabbing families, torture and more torture, cold-blooded murder, just plain “I hate you, you bastard” murder, cycles of vendetta that take years and years to complete. Did I get it all down? Phew.

I always like that Cook’s writing is so deceptively plain and simple. But it’s masterful, really – just a few strokes of a pen, and there is your character, and there is nothing simple about her or him; there is your battle, unfolding, and you can feel it all happening.

It’s been a while since I read anything by Glen Cook, so it was nice to revisit his work. I still like the Black Company books best of all, but I ended up enjoying this one a lot. I had trouble getting into the story at first and decided that it was going to be a three star read, at most – I was annoyed by Pollyanna. “Is this character misogyny personified, author, what are you doing?” As the novel progressed, it turned out that Cook was messing with the readers (of course he was). Pollyanna was frighteningly damaged, complex, and badass when it mattered. Well done, author, well done. There were a couple of instances of very weird gender stuff, and the book as a whole is very male-centric. But I am usually able to cut older sci-fi some slack.

Imagine my happiness when a lightbulb lit up in my head: OMG, Glen Cook is retelling Norse mythology as a space opera!!! Cool! Awesome! I love this kind of literary game, I was jumping for joy. It’s all there: Odin and his ravens, Thor, Loki and his many treacheries, Fenrir the wolf, Balder’s death, etc etc etc. Is there Ragnarök, too? Of course.

The ending was a bit rushed, but I am very curious about the rest of the series. I am not in a hurry, though – the story of Shadowline is complete.

I’ll end with one of the best quotes:

“How we love to play at being paladins,” he thought. “Hired killers pretending to knights of the Round Table. Dragons slain. Maidens rescued. Ogres dismantled. No, no, that’s not really innocent blood taking the shine off the old armor. Just a spot of rust.”

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadowline tells the story of Gneaus Storm; told reflectively by his son Masato, it is the first book in a military sci-fi space opera, but it really stands on its own as a complete book. Gneaus is one of the last mercenary leaders who have an army for hire. He knows the time of mercenary armies for hire is coming to an end and this story helps move that thought along.

Gneaus was hired to free human slaves from the planet Prefactlas from a Sangaree leadership. The slaughter was complete and efficient, although one boy from a royal family was hidden to recoup his family when the time came. This story tells of that boy “Rhafu” growing up and planning his revenge on the Storm family and restoring his family. To Gneaus this was another military operation like any other and he has forgotten what happened in the past, but when Gneaus is called to the Shadowline to fight a war against another mercenary army led by Richard Hawksblood, who he soon finds out that is not the only people he is fighting against, and will he survive this unexpected development?

This is a darker sci-fi tale and borders on horror as it holds the same dark themes from that genre. The ending isn’t happy but it is conclusive and very enjoyable. I was very entranced with what was going on in this world made up by Cook. I look forward to reading the other two in the trilogy.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space opera. A little bit confusing because of multiple time lines. This book traces the fall of the Iron Legion. It is allegedly roughly based on Norse mythology. The basic universe consists of Earth which is in decline having sent all of its adventurers out into the universe earlier. The time frame is about a thousand years from now. On the periphery of the galaxy, large families of mercenaries conduct warfare. One of the greatest of these is the Storm Family, headed by a 200 year old. His Iron Legion is hired to fight over precious power minerals on a brutal planet close to a white dwarf. The planet is locked with a bright side and a darkside. All the minerals are in the brightside exposed to tremendous heat and radiation.
The Sangaree are a people who sell drugs and humans. They have a vendetta against the Iron Legion related to the Iron Legion's invasion and capture of one of their planets. Long range revenge planning. Some good military SF.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about revenge and the death of a way of life. It is a tale is old as time progress makes professions die as new force act to take away their purpose. The book gets interesting as it is a story of two private mercenary armies fighting for a valuable resource worth a lot of currency used in it. What made this book interesting is the rise of modern PMC that are often seen fighting in resource rich nations as trainers, guards, and even soldiers for the various factions. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys good scifi or has an interest in Norse myth because the majority of the characters are based on the Norse Gods.

[Heath Lesjak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, if a bit scattered: the timeline jumps forward and backward constantly. I enjoyed how some big events happened 'off screen', and you only got a glimpse of their impacts. I very much enjoyed the gritty/grim tone. Reminded me a lot of his Black Company series in both tone and general outline: not-so-great mercenary group for hire with some super skilled individual members. It just so happens to be set in space.

The ending felt kind of rushed and not quite put together the way the rest of the novel was leading, but I can see how it's probably structured to lead to the next in the series. I'm definitely going to keep reading through the series.

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the first book of 2024 is Shadowline, the latest entry in my longrunning attempt to read all of Glen Cook's books aka The Cookening.

And it's pretty bloody good!

Military sci-fi (rather than his more typical dark fantasy), Shadowline is basically a stellar retelling of the Ragnarok myth, replete with epic battles, murky characters and dark betrayals. Actually a lot more straightforward than some of his other work, Shadowline is nonetheless chockers with bluntly delivered action and frequently surprising twists and turns.

Perhaps not Cook's best, but defo a great example of his versatility and deft touch.

[Boulder Boulderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Glen Cook, he has written some amazing books - not least the Black Company series. This one is not quite up there. I haven't checked the dates, but it feels like one of his early ones, and it is a bit confused/ over complicated compared to the lean style of the Black Company.

OK, I went and checked the dates, and it is an early one. Don't get me wrong, it's very good, and develops into something better as it goes along, it just lacks the assurance of later novels. If you like Cook, and want to see something a bit different from him, this is recommended.

[Gregory Wallsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wish I could do 3.5 stars.

The book was enjoyable. I liked the main characters, for the most part, but I also felt their were a few things that were a bit too glossed over to fully understand.

The books pace was also interesting, at time going into intense detail, then suddenly summarizing entire decades. At first it was a bit confusing to follow all the characters, the strange family relations, and the timeline hopping but it came together in interesting ways as the book progressed.

I’m likely to pick up the next book in the series, but unlikely to put it at the top of my list.

[Liutauras Elkimavičius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kažkoks keistas jausmas, kad skaitai ne pirmą, o kokią ketvirtą ciklo knygą. Niekas nesivargina nieko labai aiškinti, stačia galva įmeta į kosminį dviejų šeimų (klanų ar gal net rasių) konfliktą ir visą knygą jame prievarta pralaiko. Bus daug pavardžių ir atsiminimų. Bus gana detalių mūšių aprašymų, karo institucijų papročių ir statutų. Bet herojai šalti kaip žuvys, turinys chaotiškas ir aš taip ir nesupratau iki pat knygos galo už kurią pusę man sirgti. Soso man šita space opera. #LEBooks #Shadowline #GlenCook #Starfishers

[MrsAReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about the cycles of revenge, the cruelties and loyalties of men who lead armies, and how we are shaped by the events in our lives.

This book tells the story of a war taking place on the planet Blackworld, and its role in the tangled web of revenge between an heir, a mercenary warlord, and a cunning man playing with their loyalties.

This was a slow read for me because I sometimes felt confused about characters and places, or this would have been a 5-star read.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not my first Glen Cook book so I know that they can be a struggle in the beginning but the payoff is always worth it. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't put the puzzle pieces together until immediately after I finished. He literally calls it out for what it is but my baby-tired brain missed it.

I'm hopeful he expands in the world in the sequels. But knowing Cook, it's not likely. He teases these entire other parts of his worlds that make them feel lived in and never addresses them again.

[BjornAgain Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

My jaw dropped when I realized that this is Norse mythology in space. It was the point when the douchebag non blood related family member gives the sickly son a poisoned wooden dart and to help test out the favored son's new nearly impenetrable force field. The story is a retelling of Ragnarok.

Very enjoyable.

[Drew McCaffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all of Cook’s work, Shadowline is a sparsely written but surprisingly deep novel about the ways in which emotions drive war. The disparate threads, spread across hundreds of years, come together in an eminently satisfying manner.

[Medusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Some good ingredients and atmosphere, some memorable characters, balanced by an inbred plot line, some unhelpful ellipses, and very poorly drawn female characters. Possibly I’ll read the next one, but if I do it’ll be a while.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good on second read but Cook has distasteful depictions of women that I think I didn't noticed when I was younger. Shame.