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Shadow Games (The Chronicles of the Black Company #4)

by Glen Cook

4.08 · Rating Details · 6,557 Ratings · 133 Reviews

After the devastating battle at the Tower of Charm, Croaker leads the greatly diminished Black Company south, in search of the lost Annals. The Annals will be returned to Khatovar, eight thousand miles away, a city that may exists only in legend...the origin of the first Free Companies.

Every step of the way the Company is hounded by shadowy figured and carrion-eating crows

...more

Mass Market Paperback, 311 pages

Published June 15th 1989 by Tor Fantasy

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Jan 17, 2008 Kirt rated it liked it

We return to our familiar narrator, Croaker, as he leads the Company south, back into the history of the Company, trying to find its place of origin. It's not bad, tying up some more loose ends, getting a better view of the world the Black Company lives in, and introducing some new dangers for the Company to deal with, most of which are tied up with the troubles of a pacifist city and militaristic Shadowmasters to the south, powerful sorcerers that command disturbing undead shadows.

My biggest co ...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Charles rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I thought the Books of the south tended to revitalize the series and I liked them well.

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Oct 10, 2013 Nicolas marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: guerilla, complot, guerre, rayon-fantasy-et-sf

Dans ce quatrième tome des aventures de la compagnie noire, on retrouve Toubib et ses potes quittant l'empire de la Dame pour s'en retourner, pas très joyeux, dans le lieu d'origine mythique de la compagnie : Kathovar. Et bien sûr, tout ne se passe pas comme prévu. Ce qui me plaît avec cette histoire, c'est que je n'ai finallement pas besoin de faire un bon résumé, car l'histoire est somme toute assez simple : de longues marches, des combats acharnés, confus et meurtriers avec, aussi et surtout, Dans ce quatrième tome des aventures de la compagnie noire, on retrouve Toubib et ses potes quittant l'empire de la Dame pour s'en retourner, pas très joyeux, dans le lieu d'origine mythique de la compagnie : Kathovar. Et bien sûr, tout ne se passe pas comme prévu. Ce qui me plaît avec cette histoire, c'est que je n'ai finallement pas besoin de faire un bon résumé, car l'histoire est somme toute assez simple : de longues marches, des combats acharnés, confus et meurtriers avec, aussi et surtout, des intrigues pas piquées des hannetons.
Je peux donc parler encore mieux de ce que je ressens avec ce tome en particulier : le vrai, le bon, l'authentique retour aux sources mérité par la fantasy, avec celui que je qualifierais d'héritier spirituel de Howard. Oui, vous avez bien lu, Howard, l'auteur du seul vrai héros de la fantasy : Conan. Car, à mon sens, loin de reprendre des poncifs tolkienoïdes, Cook est allé s'inspirer d'une fantasy beaucoup plus ancienne et pour moi bien meilleure, celle d'Howard, ou de Leiber, par exemple. On retrouve en effet ici des héros qui ne sont que des guerriers dans un monde où les sorciers sont rares, au talent parfois aléatoire et où, surtout, il n'existe pas d'autre race que l'homme, peu de prophéties pour guider les pas de chacun, et aucun Dieu-Démon enfermé dans une tour et sur le point de se libérer.
Au lieu de ça, on trouve de vrais guerriers tentant de survivre, exactement comme (par exemple) dans ce film de Verhoeven La chair et le sang. Et pour survivre, on peut dire qu'ils sont forts. Car, comme dans les précédents tomes, les ruses mises en place sont tout-à-fait dignes d'éloges pour le fourbe que je suis. Mais il y a aussi de la belle stratégie militaire et beaucoup de réflexions très personnelles sur l'inutilité de la guerre et l'inconstance des puissances.
Bref, que de bons moments passés le sang jusqu'aux chevilles. Et c'est ça que j'adore dans ce cycle : la capacité qu'à l'auteur à nous présenter de vrais salopards comme des héros, capables de renverser un dictateur ou de mettre à mal des sorciers, le tout en échange d'espèces sonnantes et trébuchantes.
Je ne peux donc que vous conseiller la lecture de ce qui est pour moi, à côté du Trône de Fer et peut-être même devant, l'un des meilleurs cycles de fantasy, très très loin devant toutes les saloperies qui pourrissent les étalages. ...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Robertb rated it liked it

Shelves: dark-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 06, 2011 Chichipio rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I started this one feeling a little tired of the Black Company, but it took only a few paragraphs to remind me why I enjoy this world so much.

It's never easy continuing a series after a successful trilogy, and I think the fourth—mostly unrelated—book shows that. This one, with most of the old timers back, and Croaker in the role of narrator, manages to be a nice change of direction for the series. And after that ending I can't wait to know what happens next.

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Feb 22, 2016 Evgeny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

As anybody who made it to this point knows after the events in The White Rose the Black Company split. The fate of its members left behind is described in The Silver Spike. This book starts the plot arc about the people who decided to go with its analyst Croaker to the place of the Company's origin, faraway and mysterious Khatovar. The seven survivors (yes, there were only seven people left in the beginning of the book) had no clue that they end up right in the middle of power play of some peopl As anybody who made it to this point knows after the events in The White Rose the Black Company split. The fate of its members left behind is described in The Silver Spike. This book starts the plot arc about the people who decided to go with its analyst Croaker to the place of the Company's origin, faraway and mysterious Khatovar. The seven survivors (yes, there were only seven people left in the beginning of the book) had no clue that they end up right in the middle of power play of some people/beings that could be qualified for a status of demigods because of their power.

The only ones who have any chance whatsoever of stopping them are the small group of quite mortal people who continues calling themselves The Black Company.

As Croaker leads his people further south, the number of the Company mercenaries grow, local people became more and more scared of them - their former reputation still haunts them, and more and more miracles is expected from them. As reluctant Croaker to get into local conflicts, the Company is inevitably drown into them if only to progress closer to its goals. If you think Northerners from the first trilogies were undisputed masters of backstabbing and double-crossing: people from the south make them look like really bad amateurs.

A couple of warnings for the people that have not read the series before. The plot arc that starts here will only be completely resolved 5 books later, in the last book of the series. This book ends with what has got to be the mother of all cliffhangers. I am sure if you look up the word in a dictionary there would be a picture of this book as an example for the definition.

The novel starts somewhat slow as the survivors that do not know what else to do with their lives other than being mercenaries, try to find their place outside of a big army.
The Black Company 1

Fortunately Goblin and One-Eye are back with their rivalry to liven things up. They will continue doing so through the whole book culminating in a drunk wizard fight. The pace speeds up considerably once the company took part in their first local conflict.

Strictly speaking the rating of this book is closer to 4 than 5 stars, but knowing the groundwork it laid for the future plot advancement I will round it up. I felt it is worth the highest rating during my reread. ...more

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May 28, 2013 Ronny rated it really liked it

I read this book 15 years ago, and while I remember loving every part of the series (except the first few chapters of the first book), I never did manage to find this book in a non-omnibus edition until I found it in a used bookstore now.

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Nov 19, 2015 Markus rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2014, black-company

The heart is stilled but the corpse stumbles on. The Company is dead in fact but not in name.
And we, O merciless gods, stand witness to the power of names.

After decades of fighting in the dark empire of the north, the huge and devastating battle at the Tower of Charm, and the awakening of an ancient evil in the Barrowland, the Black Company turns south in a quest to find its mysterious origins and the long lost city of Khatovar.

A couple of the most interesting characters are absent in this novel ...more

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Jun 07, 2014 Gavin rated it liked it

Shelves: historical

Shadow Games is the fourth book in The Black Company series. It's not quite as strong as the books from the original trilogy, but it's a worthwhile entry into the series.

This is the tale of The Black Company's attempts to return their vaunted annals to Khatovar, the Company's place of origin. Of course the path to Khatovar is fraught with mishaps!

I liked the story and Lady was a good addition to the team. Plenty of other familiar faces pop up as well. Croaker remains an interesting character. ...more

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May 22, 2014 Killian Weber rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 03, 2015 Athena Shardbearer rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, war, epic, audiobook, darkfantasy, re-read, buddy-read, cook-cook-cook

Actual Rating 3.5

GAH!!!! Glen Cook, what a cliff hanger.

It wasn't as great as the last three, more of the slow years. It did drag in places, loved the Lady and Croakers relationship but I have questions...and I need answers!!!

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Jul 19, 2014 Fantasy Book Addict rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Chronicles of the Black Company was one of the best fantasy novels I have read in a long time. I was excited to begin the next set of the Black Company novels in Books of the South. Even though I read the omnibus edition I will have to post these books separately because I have much to say.

According to Goodreads, Shadow Games is apparently the fifth installment of the Chronicles of the Black Company. It is preceded by The Silver Spike. However, in the Omnibus edition, Shadow Games comes first, s Chronicles of the Black Company was one of the best fantasy novels I have read in a long time. I was excited to begin the next set of the Black Company novels in Books of the South. Even though I read the omnibus edition I will have to post these books separately because I have much to say.

According to Goodreads, Shadow Games is apparently the fifth installment of the Chronicles of the Black Company. It is preceded by The Silver Spike. However, in the Omnibus edition, Shadow Games comes first, so this is the one that I read first.

The book continues where The White Rose left off and is still written in the perspective of Croaker who is the annalist, physician, and captain. I love reading in the POV of Croaker! You also read about some other characters in the third-person, who play important roles later on in the book.

It is entertaining, but a bit slower starting off than all the others. The thing that kept me going was One-Eye and Goblin with all their antics; they are hilarious! It is also interesting to see Lady as a more human character.The book raises more questions than it answers, so you will want to move right on to the next book. There is also intrigue and many surprises along the way.

Much of the novel is spent reading about who is left of the Black Company and their travels south to Khatoavr. They pick up many new recruits on the way and end up spending the last part of the novel in and around a city called Taglios. This is where they find their new “boss”, the prince Prah Drah (as I call him).

There are a few aspects of the novel I didn’t like. The names of the people and places are hard to remember and pronounce.There are also so many new additions to the Black Company so I didn’t really get to know them and it was hard to keep them straight. I will hopefully learn more about them in the next book.

I love the ending of the book and all the battle scenes! Those parts are really intense! I have to move right on to the next one! I definitely recommend reading this if you enjoyed the other books. ...more

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Sep 05, 2014 Sumant rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, the-black-company

This book was some what let down for me as it did not live up to the standards set by first three books in the series, this book basically consists of journey of company back to Khatovar where they are going to place the annals of the company.More than 25% of book consisted of traveling different regions up to Beryl, where everything actually began in the first book.I forgot to mention in my last review but got to give credit to narrator of books Mark Vietor so far he has done an awesome job and ...more

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May 22, 2015 Milda Page Runner rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, dark-fantasy

3.5 stars
Good but not as good as 2 previous books.
The pacing was a bit uneven. As Black Company travels South to mysterious Khatovar we have some slow moments especially in the first half of the book. Once they reach exotic southern towns with unpronounceable names action picks up. Mysterious and menacing enemies and no less mysterious allies with questionable motives, intrigue of Company's own past and what lies over the edge of the map, fights with the Company's signature magic and trickery a ...more

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May 25, 2015 Skaistė rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Kad jau skaičiau, tai pagalvojau, perskaitysiu iki galo, įdomu, kaip baigsis, ką čia tas vidurnaktis... :) Pabaiga tai tokia, kad vos ne iš karto norisi imti kitą knygą ir skaityti toliau. Nė viena iš kitų knygų pabaigų nebuvo tokia "cliffhanger". Nors kai kurie dalykai paaiškėjo, bet atsirado vietoj jų daugybė naujų, o dar daug kas liko neaišku. O šiaip įdomu buvo Gvardijos kelionė ir jos pokyčiai tos kelionės eigoje. Paslapčių ir intrigų kaip ir visad netrūko.

Paprastai kai skaitau knygas, ir ...more

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Jun 01, 2015 Caro M. rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-urban-fantasy, 2015-reads, buddy-reads

I'm confused and pissed!

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Dec 02, 2015 Nenad Pavlović rated it liked it

A long travel that leads only to the next part of the series, new foes that are just the shadows of the old, but still pretty entertaining at moments.

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Feb 19, 2016 Choko rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-grim

*** 4.44 ***

A buddy read with my fellow mercenaries in the BB&B company.

I can honestly say, I missed The Black Company terribly, I just didn't realized that until I started reading the forth installment in the series. Am I glad to be back on the road with my BC mercs:):):)

The Black Company is on the road to the South, trying to get beck to their legendary origins. It does not matter that at the beginning of the journey they are only 7, and that is including the now diminished Lady. Although *** 4.44 ***

A buddy read with my fellow mercenaries in the BB&B company.

I can honestly say, I missed The Black Company terribly, I just didn't realized that until I started reading the forth installment in the series. Am I glad to be back on the road with my BC mercs:):):)

The Black Company is on the road to the South, trying to get beck to their legendary origins. It does not matter that at the beginning of the journey they are only 7, and that is including the now diminished Lady. Although, even diminished, with no power what so ever, no one should ever count The Lady out!!!

Croacker has been selected as the new Captain, flanked by his ever insane and hilarious wizardly sidekicks Goblin and One-Eye, and couple of grunts... And that is it. Pathetic, right? Who could possibly take the Company seriously in this almost non-existent state? Well, I have learned through the first 4 books never to give up on them, even if only one is left to carry the standard!

This book covers only a part of their journey to the Khatovar, the origin place of the Free Companies, and it takes the a loooooooooong time... They have stops on their way, and the two crazy wizards work hard earning their money, since they have to "project" an image of the company in a bit of a better health than it actually is in... The Lady seems depressed and having a hard time adjusting to her powerlessness, while the Croacker is being his usual clumsy around a pretty woman self and is botching any chance of romance... I guess the Kristen Ashley romances Eon sent to him must not have reached him, or they plain didn't work, because if there is a manual on how to act like an assertive, possessive, alpha dude, those KA books are it!

Needles to say, there are scrimmages, new and unknown territories, potential friends and recruits, as well as a ton of new (or old???) suspicious characters, and since this is a Black Company book, you can't trust anybody!!! What we know is, they have an objective and they are going to do everything possible to achieve it.

I loved this book! Yes, it is slower than the previous ones, yes it is a setup book for a new arc, and yes, it ends on a big cliffhanger, but darn it, it feels soo good to be back among these now aging characters, which I am absolutely in love with! And yes, I still want to kill the wizards for being so stubbornly dumb at times, but their talents in battle deserve our patience, I guess...:-)

As always, I recommend this series to all who are fans of military/grim-dark/fantasy and would love to share my enjoyment of it with as many friends as I can! So, join in the fun and happy reading to all!

...more

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Nov 07, 2015 Natalie rated it it was amazing

Cliffhanger!

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Mar 09, 2016 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it liked it

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines, fantastic-fantasy, o-captain-my-captain, witches-warlocks-and-magic, awesome-audio, buddy-read

3.5 My Fair Lady Stars

I love being back with Croaker, One –Eye, Goblin and the former Lady, still called Lady but she is much diminished in power since The White Rose, I’m sure that will be rectified at some point though.

Things I like about this Series:

ͼ Everything is a little clipped. Since it is told like the annals of an army company things like scenery, excessive dialogue and descriptions are clipped. Therefore it is a short read with most of the meat of the story but not a lot of extras

ͽ Cr ...more

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Oct 03, 2016 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fantasy, kick-ass-heroines, favourite-series, absolute-favourites, buddy-read, magic, male-lead, bbb, blood-and-gore-yay, gloriously-fucked-up-characters, assholes-and-liars-everywhere-yay, br-2016, welcome-to-the-zoo, good-ol-testosterone, bring-soulcatcher-back, grimdark, it-s-war, black-company, read-2016, the-awesome-bunch, cool-chicks-harem, darker-is-cooler, this-is-perfection, mostest-awesomest-villains, machalo-tbr-cleaning-challenge-2016

Buddy read with the ever awesome BBB mercenaries

Welcome to yet another fascinating Why Did I, Why Didn't I Non-Review (WDIWDINR)! Because I don't have the time to write one of those It's Longer Than The Book Itself Non-Reviews (ILTTBINR) that you love so much! That's right, my Little Barnacles! Time for you to be glad and rejoice again! We're about to embark on a The Crap Is About To Get Cut Non-Review (TCIATOGCNR)!

Why did I almost DNF this book?

*gasps*

YES, my name is Sarah and I have a sha ...more

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Feb 29, 2016 Eilonwy rated it really liked it

I am no closer to coming up with a review than I was when I closed the covers!

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May 25, 2016 L'ours inculte rated it really liked it · review of another edition

La Compagnie Noire n’est plus, ou presque. Après le carnage des Livres du nord (attention ça va sûrement spoiler les tomes précédents, obviously) ils ne sont plus que sept sous le commandement d’un Toubib qui se serait bien passé de la nouvelle responsabilité. Il est temps pour eux de partir, de revenir aux origines de la Compagnie, à Khatovar, cap au sud.

C’est donc une mini-Compagnie qui prend la route. Otto, Hagop, Madame, Murgen, Toubib et les inénarrables sorciers Gobelin et Qu’un œil font r La Compagnie Noire n’est plus, ou presque. Après le carnage des Livres du nord (attention ça va sûrement spoiler les tomes précédents, obviously) ils ne sont plus que sept sous le commandement d’un Toubib qui se serait bien passé de la nouvelle responsabilité. Il est temps pour eux de partir, de revenir aux origines de la Compagnie, à Khatovar, cap au sud.

C’est donc une mini-Compagnie qui prend la route. Otto, Hagop, Madame, Murgen, Toubib et les inénarrables sorciers Gobelin et Qu’un œil font route vers la cité d’origine des compagnies franches. En chemin, la troupe va se remplumer en recrutant pas mal de monde, aidée par sa réputation centenaire. La joyeuse bande va visiter des contrées que leurs prédécesseurs avaient déjà traversées en sens inverse des centaines d’années auparavant, et apparemment ils ont laissé des souvenirs aux locaux. Seul problème : aucune trace de ces histoires dans les annales de Toubib, qui ne vont pas si loin dans le passé. C’est donc en aveugle que nos « héros » avancent et ils finissent par tomber sur un obstacle de taille : Les maîtres d’ombres règnent sur le pays qu’ils doivent traverser, et ils ont l’air très intéressés par la Compagnie Noire.

C’est un plaisir de retrouver Toubib et ses compagnons (enfin, ceux qui restent). Les mages se foutent toujours sur la gueule pour un oui ou pour un non, les relations entre les vétérans sont très divertissantes, oscillant entre la confiance aveugle, la méfiance, la complicité, l’incompréhension. L’analyste est soumis à rude épreuve, son baptême du feu en tant que Capitaine lui met la pression et il fait de son mieux pour pas faire de connerie. Et pour pimenter le tout, sa relation compliquée avec Madame (anciennement La Dame) lui occupe un peu l’esprit.

Dans ce 4e tome des annales (si on compte pas La pointe d’argent), Glen Cook nous fait voir du pays. Ces nouvelles contrées exotiques plongent la Compagnie dans l’inconnu, ils ne connaissent ni la langue, ni la situation politique de ces régions et doivent reformer un semblant d’armée cohérente. C’est donc l’occasion de rencontrer les nouvelles recrues qui restent finalement assez en retrait mais ne manquent pas d’intérêt pour autant. Le génie Crapaud sera crucial pour le renseignement et les Nars recrutés en chemin seront des soldats de choix. Contrairement à la première trilogie, Toubib est vraiment le centre d’attention du récit et on reste centré sur lui, il n’est plus le témoin mais le stratège. Les autres personnages apparaissent finalement comme des pions sur son échiquier. A part Madame et les deux sorciers qui font toujours les pitres, on s’attache moins au reste de la bande, on perd ce sentiment d’appartenance à une grande famille qu’on pouvait avoir avant.

Encore une fois, l’auteur nous livre une aventure dont le rythme peut surprendre, il ne suit aucune structure classique apparente et fait un peu comme il veut. Les trois premiers quarts du livre sont calmes, des dialogues, des intrigues, des messes basses et du crapahutage. On scrute, on complote, on se méfie et on fait profil bas. L’action est rare mais la tension et le suspense suffisent à tenir le lecteur, en plus du côté fun des dialogues et de l’écriture de Cook en général. En effet, le récit à la première personne présenté par Toubib a toujours ce ton rigolard et ces petites vannes qui nous attachent à cet univers et cette bande atypique. Il y a quand même une certaine confusion dans la construction qui rappelle le démarrage de la saga, quand on comprenait pas grand chose, mais on s’y retrouve finalement assez bien.

L’arrivée à Taglios sera l’occasion de démêler les intrigues politiques et de savoir qui roule pour qui, alors que les locaux ont l’air de cacher pas mal de choses. Toubib avance au jugé, il va devoir s’affirmer en tant que chef pour mener l’histoire vers une grosse baston qui vient clore ce tome en apothéose. On retrouve dans les cent dernières pages tout ce qui fait le sel des scènes de combats de la première trilogie : Des champs de bataille immenses où chaque armée a son lot de sorcier hyper-puissants dans ses rangs, qui vont faire dans la pyrotechnie pas bien subtile. Ça y’est, ça castagne et ça propulse le lecteur vers un final vraiment monstrueux, quel petit sournois ce Glen.

Un épisode au rythme pépère qui permet à la Compagnie Noire de se refaire tranquillement avant un final explosif comme on aime, des nouvelles têtes, des bonnes surprises, et toujours cette ambiance bien particulière à la série. On peine à retrouver le feeling du début de la saga mais arrivé à la conclusion on en redemande.

http://ours-inculte.fr/jeux-dombres/ ...more

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May 27, 2016 Benjamin Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-dark

The fourth book in The Black Company series is also the beginning of a new dualogy, often referred to as “The Books of the South”. After the high impact events in book # 3, The White Rose, the remaining bits of the Black Company (down to only seven people now) decide to make their way south, to locate the lost historical annals of their Company and return them to Khatovar, the Company's place of origin.

This novel is sort of a “journey” novel, as we get to experience the Company’s adventures duri ...more

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Jul 17, 2016 Elihú rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ciertamente recuperar a personajes como Matasanos, la Dama, Goblin y Un Ojo es todo un aporte a este libro, que inicia los llamados Libros del Sur. Si bien yo defendí el Clavo de Plata, Juegos de Sombras lo supera por mucho.

Las estrategias militares y las batallas finales del libro son una gozada. Ya acostumbrado en este punto al estilo directo y sin rodeos de Cook, la narración de los combates se sienten muy bien plasmados. Cook escribe lo que debe, sin florituras ni magnamidades. Además la evo ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 David Jijelava rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This first half of the book was so boring that I put it away for some time and read other books. But the ending does make it up and lays a good context for the next books.

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Sep 28, 2016 Adara rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Grimdark-fantasy lovers

Shelves: fantasy, grimdark

I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled toward absolute honesty, one person whose good opinion of us becomes a substitute for the broader opinion of the world. And that opinion becomes more important than all our sneaky, sleazy schemes of greed, lust, self-aggrandizement, whatever we are up to while lying the world into believing we are just plain nice folks. I was her truth object, and she was mine.

The gang are down to seven members with Croaker at the he

I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled toward absolute honesty, one person whose good opinion of us becomes a substitute for the broader opinion of the world. And that opinion becomes more important than all our sneaky, sleazy schemes of greed, lust, self-aggrandizement, whatever we are up to while lying the world into believing we are just plain nice folks. I was her truth object, and she was mine.

The gang are down to seven members with Croaker at the helm and they're heading south to Khovatar, where the Black Company was formed some 400 years ago. The Lady is tagging along for the adventure and will hopefully become Croaker's lover because, you know, there's nothing weird about a 45-year-old man dating a woman who's literally a 1,000 years old. :)

The long trip south is a pretty fun read. I haven't seen a map of the vast world Cook built, but I did have a fun time visualizing the gang leaving Europe (the north?) and crossing the Mediterranean (the Sea of Torments?) into Africa (the south?), then going south past the equator and into the Congo, and then even further south to finally reach Taglios (which is... India?).

I mean, all the people south of the equator are either black or brown and they've never seen white folks before, which sounds like pre-colonial Africa. Plus, there was that chapter were Cook pretty much described Zulu warriors with short spears and hide bucklers. I doubt I'm the first (I'm probably the billionth, to be honest) person to note the loose parallels between our world and the Black Company's, but I thought this type of epic world building was a great way to move past the events in the first three books.

The Shadowmasters are the new scary danger the gang has to face, but I personally found these mysterious villains to be a tad disappointing because of their almost unforgivable incompetence. I guess great power and tactical intelligence don't go hand in hand? But overall, it's a great story and a lovely continuation of the series. Onward to book 5! ...more

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Aug 30, 2016 Igor rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

As I read Silver Spike before this and it was pretty much mediocre, Shadow Games brings back Croaker and Lady, among others from Black Company, and their voyage to Khatovar from were company moved north centuries before. This is an excellent book which makes me want to read more and continue with the Black Company series.

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Aug 24, 2016 Albert Martínez rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ídolo Matasanos. Sigo con el siguiente.

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Sep 26, 2016 Fellini rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Возможно, если бы я читала всю серию, а не одну эту книгу, непонятно откуда взявшуюся в шкафу, было бы интереснее. А один эпизод, вырванный из контекста, не особенно порадовал. Увлеклась сюжетом книги только когда приблизилась к финалу.

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Fantasy Book Club...: Shadow Games, Chapters 1-45 (The Chronicles of the Black Company #5)	14	32	Aug 14, 2013 09:58AM

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About Glen Cook

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 m ...more

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Other Books in the Series

The Chronicles of the Black Company (1 - 10 of 11 books)

Books by Glen Cook

The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)

Chronicles of the Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1-3)

The White Rose (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3)

Shadows Linger (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #2)

The Books of the South (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5-5)

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Quotes from Shadow Games

“Every ounce of my cynicism is supported by historical precedent.” — 225 likes

“I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled towards absolute honesty, one person whose good opinion of us becomes a substitute for the broader opinion of the world. And that opinion becomes more important than all our sneaky, sleazy schemes of greed, lust, self-aggrandizement, whatever we are up to while lying the world into believing we are just plain nice folks.” — 12 likes

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Shadow Games (The Chronicles of the Black Company #4)

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