The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company: Amazon.ca: Glen Cook: Books

Product Description

...embedded in the trunk of the scion of the godtree, it contains the essence of the maddest of the Ten Who Were Taken...The Dominator. Defeated by the Lady and cast from this world, all that was left of him was a foul trace of lingering evil. But the graveyard that was once the Barrowland contains more secrets than dead. All who would possess the power of the Dominator are drawn to the spike. A foolhardy band of thieves is the first to reach it, and a rapacious and malign spirit is unleashed on an unwary world. The forces gather, sides are drawn, and mortal men can only die as the Dark Lords battle for domination.

About the Author

Born in 1944, Glen Cook grew up in northern California, served in the U.S. Navy, attended the University of Missouri, and was one of the earliest graduates of the well-known "Clarion" workshop SF writers. Since 1971 he has published a large number of SF and fantasy novels, including the "Dread Empire" series, the occult-detective "Garrett" novels, and the very popular "Black Company" sequence that began with the publication of The Black Company in 1984. Among his SF novels is A Passage at Arms.

After working many years for General Motors, Cook now writes full-time. He lives near St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife Carol.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
This here journal is Raven's idea but I got me a feeling he won't be so proud of it if he ever gets to reading it because most of the time I'm going to tell the truth. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting (but weak) epilogue to the trilogy, Feb 13 2004

By

Magin (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company (Mass Market Paperback)

In many ways, this is my favorite Black Company novel, because I found Case to be the most believable and sympathetic narrator in the series. I am in no way trashing on Croaker... I just couldn't put myself in his shoes most of the time.

In many other ways, this is the weakest of the books, because the writing is (as other reviewers have noted) a bit spotty. Its reliance on Raven as a central character is a distinct weakness, as he was always the most one-dimensional character in the Company.

On the other hand, he was developed MUCH more thoroughly in the Silver Spike than in previous novels, so maybe using Raven ain't all bad.

Also, it was nice to see a bit more of the Black Company's world; things we wouldn't have seen if the story had revolved around the full Company, or around Croaker's, Murgen's or Sleepy's broken Companies.

On the whole, great concept! I can't re-read this book enough! But I really wish it had been stronger on its own merits, and not simply as an addendum to a fantastic series.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Just when I thought it couldn't get better..., Oct 4 2003

By

Aeronomer "Aeronomer" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company (Mass Market Paperback)

...Cook surprises me. I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. Let me just say that I think The Limper is one of the most unique characters Cook has ever created. He's ruthless, purely evil, self-serving, and incredibly powerful. But at the same time he was most definitely human once. The is a comic tragedy to his trials and tribulations, to his unwavering tenacity born of hate. An almost comic bumbling in his antics and frustrations. We almost feel empathy for him. And the plot by the cabal to steal the Spike was as morbidly fascinating to me as the stories of Maron Shed and Bomans in the previous two books. Toadkiller Dog, the Plain of Fear, the Tree God, the cabal intent on stealing the Silver Spike, the tragic end of Raven, ...this book is just bursting at the seams. The only criticism I can relate to is that Croaker is not the narrator in this one. But to me, it doesn't detract from the book at all. As a matter of fact, considering the last line of the book, it makes perfect sense...

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3.0 out of 5 stars Silver Spike (spoilers), Aug 2 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company (Mass Market Paperback)

This sideshow to the Black Company main show didn't work quite so well for me.

I like Raven, and was glad to read a book following up with him. It didn't surprise me that he comes to a bad end, though I would have liked a bit more characterization along the way.

I had some issues of believability with this one. The whole windwhales/menhirs thread has never been my favorite -- a bit too whimsical and surreal for me. As well, I struggled to believe that the layabout Smeds could somehow become a hardcore assassin, killing person after person with a single stab.

There was something more than usually vague and skipped-over about the writing, too. Exile, a potentially interesting character despite coming out of nowhere, gets only a scant glance before he's taken out (killed or wounded? we aren't told). More than once, Cook left it unclear whether a character had actually died in a scene.

To sum up, the book has interesting elements but feels a bit sloppy and rough. However, people who have been following the series will want to have a look at it.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing offshoot of the series
Another great tale of the North, typically sparse but action-packed. The tenacity and malevolence of the Limper are epic. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2003 by Dave Price

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome series
It's best to start at the beginning of the series with the first book "The Black Company". This series is well written, with excellent characterization, and well thought out... Read more

Published on Feb 18 2003 by J. Carpenter