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She is the Darkness (The Chronicles of the Black Company #7)
by
Glen Cook
The wind whines and howls with bitter breath. Lightning snarls and barks. Rage is an animate force upon the plain of glittering stone. Even shadows are afraid.
At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure. From the heart of the fastness comes a great deep slow breath like
...more
At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure. From the heart of the fastness comes a great deep slow breath like
Mass Market Paperback, 470 pages
Published
July 15th 1998
by Tor Fantasy
(first published September 1997)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
Buddy read with Athena & Gavin!
"Darkness is our time. And darkness always comes."
With the Siege of Dejagore a distant memory, the Black Company goes relentlessly on in the quest for Khatovar and the lost tales of its origins. And while all kinds of enemies rally against them, the Company marches on the fortress of Overlook, last stronghold before the mythic Plain of the Glittering Stone...
She Is the Darkness is definitely the best Black Company book so far, beating even the spectacular Dream ...more
"Darkness is our time. And darkness always comes."
With the Siege of Dejagore a distant memory, the Black Company goes relentlessly on in the quest for Khatovar and the lost tales of its origins. And while all kinds of enemies rally against them, the Company marches on the fortress of Overlook, last stronghold before the mythic Plain of the Glittering Stone...
She Is the Darkness is definitely the best Black Company book so far, beating even the spectacular Dream ...more
Jun 12, 2016
✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of fluffy bunnies and pastel-colored rainbows
Shelves:
kindle,
books-i-own,
fantasy,
kick-ass-heroines,
series,
favourite-series,
absolute-favourites,
buddy-read,
magic,
male-lead,
back-off-people-he-s-mine,
what-a-lovely-addition-to-my-harem,
bbb,
blood-and-gore-yay,
gloriously-fucked-up-characters,
br-2016,
good-ol-testosterone,
grimdark,
it-s-war,
black-company,
read-2016,
the-awesome-bunch,
darker-is-cooler,
so-amazing-i-could-die,
this-is-perfection,
mostest-awesomest-villains
Glen Cook Please Have Mercy on Us Buddy Read (GCPHMoUBR) with my fellow mercenaries Evasive, Slowpoke and Cleaver
Actual rating: 18 freaking stars. Yes, intergalactic amazement is me again.
A quick recap for theclueless people Little Barnacles who had the terrible misfortune to miss the previous episodes:
Glen Cook is a GENIUS.
Glen Cook is inhumanly TALENTED.
Glen Cook is a GOD.
Glen Cook, I worship thee.
Glen Cook, I am naught but a lowly barnacle in utter awe and complete amazement of yo ...more
Actual rating: 18 freaking stars. Yes, intergalactic amazement is me again.
A quick recap for the
Glen Cook is a GENIUS.
Glen Cook is inhumanly TALENTED.
Glen Cook is a GOD.
Glen Cook, I worship thee.
Glen Cook, I am naught but a lowly barnacle in utter awe and complete amazement of yo ...more
This installment of the Black Company series was the most enjoyable since the original trilogy. The likable Murgen is back as narrator and a host of familiar faces reappear as the Black Company continues their relentless march towards Khatovar.
I continue to like Murgen's "voice" and his ability to ghost walk is also pretty interesting as it gives the reader a glimpse at the happenings of all the parties involved in the story.
The villains are plentiful, and each has their own valid motivations ...more
I continue to like Murgen's "voice" and his ability to ghost walk is also pretty interesting as it gives the reader a glimpse at the happenings of all the parties involved in the story.
The villains are plentiful, and each has their own valid motivations ...more
Buddy Read Gavin & Markus
In the night, when the wind no longer whines, through a fortress that was there before the plain that was there before the first Free Company marched, stone whispers. Stone sprouts. Stone grows. Stone buds and stone flowers. A thousand pillars rise where no-pillar has stood before. Moonlight sweeps the plain, setting aglitter the characters taking form, remembering a few of the fallen.
It is immortality of a sort.
SOOOOOO much better than the last..I need the next boo ...more
In the night, when the wind no longer whines, through a fortress that was there before the plain that was there before the first Free Company marched, stone whispers. Stone sprouts. Stone grows. Stone buds and stone flowers. A thousand pillars rise where no-pillar has stood before. Moonlight sweeps the plain, setting aglitter the characters taking form, remembering a few of the fallen.
It is immortality of a sort.
SOOOOOO much better than the last..I need the next boo ...more
Just because you’re paranoid does not mean they’re not out to get you.
A group read with my fellow GR mercenaries Choko, Eilonwy, and Sarah (by the way, thank you for the picture idea).
I will try to give a very general idea about this installment of The Black Company to the people completely unfamiliar with it. Imagine unicorns and rainbows,
My Little Pony,
and Teletubbies.
Well, these are not even remotely close – they are so unlike each other they might come from different galaxies. How about ...more
A group read with my fellow GR mercenaries Choko, Eilonwy, and Sarah (by the way, thank you for the picture idea).
I will try to give a very general idea about this installment of The Black Company to the people completely unfamiliar with it. Imagine unicorns and rainbows,
My Little Pony,
and Teletubbies.
Well, these are not even remotely close – they are so unlike each other they might come from different galaxies. How about ...more
Oct 31, 2015
Milda Page Runner
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Milda by:
Evgeny
Shelves:
dark-fantasy
Wow! What an ending! Dark and haunting - just perfect for Halloween! :D
Much more positive book than Bleak Seasons. If that one invited to the House of Pain - this one is all about paranoia. Just as I felt my interest is starting to dwindle due to too many mysteries and hidden plots and agendas - twists started unravelling. Few I could see coming and few were pleasant surprises. Second half of the book doesn't lack in action and has some good scary moments with the shadows. I have to say shadows ...more
Much more positive book than Bleak Seasons. If that one invited to the House of Pain - this one is all about paranoia. Just as I felt my interest is starting to dwindle due to too many mysteries and hidden plots and agendas - twists started unravelling. Few I could see coming and few were pleasant surprises. Second half of the book doesn't lack in action and has some good scary moments with the shadows. I have to say shadows ...more
*** 4.75 ***
A buddy read with the mercenaries at BB&B!!!
Holy-Glittering-Balls, What the Hell Happened???? WTF?!?!?!
Another Black Company adventure on the road to Khatovarm and another absolutely insane ending!!! What, How, Who, all of those are questions that flashed like a disco ball in a club in the 70's through my mind, as the book got closer to its ending... So many people back-stabbed one another, that I am not sure if all the main players were not stabbed by a different blade dozens ...more
A buddy read with the mercenaries at BB&B!!!
Holy-Glittering-Balls, What the Hell Happened???? WTF?!?!?!
Another Black Company adventure on the road to Khatovarm and another absolutely insane ending!!! What, How, Who, all of those are questions that flashed like a disco ball in a club in the 70's through my mind, as the book got closer to its ending... So many people back-stabbed one another, that I am not sure if all the main players were not stabbed by a different blade dozens ...more
At the beginning of and throughout the entire previous Black Co. book, Bleak Seasons, I was not too impressed that Murgen, the Standarbearer, had taken over for Croaker as the new company Annalist. I had been very attached to Croaker, long time Black Co. Annalist and overall narrator for the reader, since the very 1st Black Company chronicle. Very shortly into this installment I finally accepted the fact that Murgen now filled the position and grew almost as fond of him as I had been of Croaker
...more
Definitely five stars, even though at the moment I'm not sure what hit me with the ending. My brain is still squawking "What? What?! WHAT?!" I think I may need to reread the last few chapters when the shock wears off.
I'm not sure what I can say about this installment without spoilers. But wow, it's clear now just which "She" is the Darkness, and the reveal was utterly chilling. I'm still shaking. The imagery and atmosphere of the final fifth or so of this book are just amazing -- incredibly cre ...more
Holy fucking mother of fuck shit, the ending!
I am finally done! It took me forever to read this book...
OK, Im going off topic for just a second here...
See, I am a Libra, the Cardinal air sign. In most people this doesn't matter, but I seem to be the epitome of a cardinal air sign. I flit around, I have trouble focusing, I always want to be in the next place...I can even dreamfly.
So in this book, Murgen slips back in forth in time, learns to dreamfly, and basically runs around not focused on anything....So I liked it (what's not to like?) b ...more
OK, Im going off topic for just a second here...
See, I am a Libra, the Cardinal air sign. In most people this doesn't matter, but I seem to be the epitome of a cardinal air sign. I flit around, I have trouble focusing, I always want to be in the next place...I can even dreamfly.
So in this book, Murgen slips back in forth in time, learns to dreamfly, and basically runs around not focused on anything....So I liked it (what's not to like?) b ...more
This book is a definite improvement from the last two books in the series, although Bleak seasons was a good book but I definitely thought that it lagged in some parts and main issue with it was our narrator i.e. Murgen just kept jumping from past to present and it was hard to identify where he was exactly each time, the previous book ends with a earthquake occurring which has devastating consequences especially for shadow masters side.Cook is on his own turf when he writes about soldering becau
...more
Dec 10, 2014
Janice Bonczek
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of fantasy
Shelves:
fantasy,
dark,
fiction,
war,
survival,
action-adventure,
supernatural,
love,
read-2014,
suspense,
religion,
time-travel,
magic,
military,
series,
epic-fantasy,
male-pov,
moral-ambiguity,
battle,
character-memoir,
1st-person-narration,
gods
Nooo! Oh man. I am so glad I did not read this book when it first came out. Because if I had to wait a year or more before I could read the next one...I might hurt somebody. This ending was a crazy cliffhanger.
So, this is the 6th Black Company book, She is the Darkness. It is also "Book 2 of Glittering Stone". It is narrated, like the previous book, by Murgen, the standard bearer of The Black Company. In the last book, there was a lot of time travel, as Murgen kept getting pulled into the past ...more
So, this is the 6th Black Company book, She is the Darkness. It is also "Book 2 of Glittering Stone". It is narrated, like the previous book, by Murgen, the standard bearer of The Black Company. In the last book, there was a lot of time travel, as Murgen kept getting pulled into the past ...more
After lukewarm feelings about the previous installment in the Black Company series, I debated whether to keep going with it. Based on the user reviews, I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did!
The Company is back, with gusto. Croaker is grumpier and more paranoid but still as tricky as ever. One-Eye is grumpier and just as irreverent. Come to think of it, they're all grumpier. Guess that's life as a soldier in the Black Company.
There were no bad parts. There were some times when I thought t ...more
The Company is back, with gusto. Croaker is grumpier and more paranoid but still as tricky as ever. One-Eye is grumpier and just as irreverent. Come to think of it, they're all grumpier. Guess that's life as a soldier in the Black Company.
There were no bad parts. There were some times when I thought t ...more
WOW............ I'm mostly speechless. Glen Cook, wtf man, you're breaking my heart :( So good though.
There's really nothing bad at all that I could say about this book. I enjoyed every page, every character, every moment. It was a great ride from beginning to end.
There's really nothing bad at all that I could say about this book. I enjoyed every page, every character, every moment. It was a great ride from beginning to end.
I enjoy this series, usually to the tune of four or five stars, but this book would have benefited from an aggressive editorial hand. It was twice the length the actual plot could support.
Maybe I'm just impatient to see how the story ends, but this one was a slow read. Also, narrated by a character I don't really care about, does not make it any easier. But whatever, the story is still good:)
that ending tho
A far more straightforward tale than it's predecessor, She is the Darkness finally brings all the members of the Black Company back together in the same storyline. And, more importantly, this book actually advances the main plot instead of lingering on events past to fill in gaps.
Murgen is a much better storyteller in this volume, though he still suffers from his random fits of time-jumping and a depressing attitude. Unlike in Bleak Seasons, this facet of Murgen does not come to dominate the sto ...more
Murgen is a much better storyteller in this volume, though he still suffers from his random fits of time-jumping and a depressing attitude. Unlike in Bleak Seasons, this facet of Murgen does not come to dominate the sto ...more
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She is the Darkness was a much better read than the previous book. It was much more understandable and interesting. I still don’t like Murgen much as a narrator. There just isn’t much dialog anymore, at least not as much as there was with Croaker. Murgen’s story is a little more intersting now, however, so I am starting to get to know him a little better. Hopefully, I will learn to enjoy his narration.
The plot finally moved forward a little in this book inst ...more
She is the Darkness was a much better read than the previous book. It was much more understandable and interesting. I still don’t like Murgen much as a narrator. There just isn’t much dialog anymore, at least not as much as there was with Croaker. Murgen’s story is a little more intersting now, however, so I am starting to get to know him a little better. Hopefully, I will learn to enjoy his narration.
The plot finally moved forward a little in this book inst ...more
On paper, She is the Darkness is the weakest of the books of the south. In practice it is probably the strongest. The difference between those two points is all about Glen Cook's voice. Cook is a master story telling, and solidifies himself as one of the greatest ever with this book.
The thing is, my job, and the places I go daily, and the rules of my world are all very mundane. I don't pause to consider the lampost I pass by on my way to work. I will admit that I don't understand how the light b ...more
The thing is, my job, and the places I go daily, and the rules of my world are all very mundane. I don't pause to consider the lampost I pass by on my way to work. I will admit that I don't understand how the light b ...more
От фокусирането на събитията единствено през погледа на Мъргън, един толкова невзрачен образ, че още се чудя какво си е мислил авторът като го е създавал, продължава да страда цялото действие. „Дневникът на един отегчен мрънкач” би било по-добро заглавие за книгата. Просто тя наистина се превърна в мемоарите на Мъргън кога какво е ял, пил, къде се е размотавал и за какво е мрънкал, че не иска да направи. И всичко истински интересно се случва без негово участие. Дори в един момент самия капитан о
...more
Me repito más que el ajo pero no tengo otra opción: me gusta la saga de la Compañía Negra y no puedo diferenciar la calidad de un libro a otro. EL ciclo de Murgen empezó de una forma un tanto extraña, provocando un sentimiento de confusión según avanzaba la lectura. Era imposible saber hacia donde se dirigía la trama más allá dela acción inmediata. Los saltos en el tiempo de Murgen en "Sueños de acero" formaban una imagen caótica. Con "Estación de penurias" las cosas fueron encajando y cobró sen
...more
The wind whines and howls with bitter breath. Lightning snarls and barks. Rage is an animate force upon the plain of glittering stone. Even shadows are afraid.
At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure. From the heart of the fastness comes a great deep slow breath like that of a slumbering world-heart, cracking the olden silence.
Death is eternity. Eternity is stone. Stone is silence.
Stone can ...more
At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure. From the heart of the fastness comes a great deep slow breath like that of a slumbering world-heart, cracking the olden silence.
Death is eternity. Eternity is stone. Stone is silence.
Stone can ...more
Much of the secrets of the Company, not to mention of various other characters, are illuminated by this book, and some of the characters introduced in the slog become more interesting, connected to the overall plotline.
The book is fairly good -- the author is obviously getting his stride back -- but there are a couple of instances of people being conveniently stupid (particularly in terms of not killing people who blatantly need to be killed), not to mention that Murgen remains a rather bland na ...more
The book is fairly good -- the author is obviously getting his stride back -- but there are a couple of instances of people being conveniently stupid (particularly in terms of not killing people who blatantly need to be killed), not to mention that Murgen remains a rather bland na ...more
Series: 11/27/2005 5/10
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensiona ...more
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensiona ...more
She is the Darkness was a bloody slog. It follows a long, boring, mostly uneventful military campaign from the eyes of the recently-bereaved and endlessly whiny Murgen. I know you're sad, dude, but I don't want to hear it any more. There's yet more hinting and mincing around the mystery of the Company's origins, but it still doesn't really go anywhere - even at the end, when they're presumably on their way home. They do idiotic things like keeping terribly dangerous enemies around in handcuffs i
...more
(for full review see Book #9 - just cutting/pasting portion that applies to this one)
Good thing about reading an older series is that you can binge and not have to wait the requisite year or so (atleast it seems that way lately) until the next one comes out. That's about all I have on this series. From the 1st book to the last my ratings for it have steadily declined (5 stars for 1st; 4 stars for next three; rest have been 3 stars). Major gripe would be that it is one thing for characters to evo ...more
Good thing about reading an older series is that you can binge and not have to wait the requisite year or so (atleast it seems that way lately) until the next one comes out. That's about all I have on this series. From the 1st book to the last my ratings for it have steadily declined (5 stars for 1st; 4 stars for next three; rest have been 3 stars). Major gripe would be that it is one thing for characters to evo ...more
This was a return to the Black Company books I have come to love.
Hurray! The WTF factor of the last book was a freakish anomaly!
Murgen narrates. This was better than the last book, but he's still my least favorite of the narrators.
We finally get to head past the Shadowgate!!!!! Biggest cliff hanger of the series.
Some romance, and lots of strategic battle sorcery.
The long list of bad guys needing to die increases by one and decreases by the same amount for a very unsatisfactory net gain of ZERO. ...more
Hurray! The WTF factor of the last book was a freakish anomaly!
Murgen narrates. This was better than the last book, but he's still my least favorite of the narrators.
We finally get to head past the Shadowgate!!!!! Biggest cliff hanger of the series.
Some romance, and lots of strategic battle sorcery.
The long list of bad guys needing to die increases by one and decreases by the same amount for a very unsatisfactory net gain of ZERO. ...more
Loaner from Andy
Started
I guess I finally got my answer about Longshadow and which taken he was. I still enjoy the storyline but it's just ok. Worthy reading but no longer something I think about while at work and can't wait to see what happens next. For sure though it conveys a heavier sense of reality to the tale than most fantasy novels.
Spoiler?
Longshadow's character was a bit anticlimactic. He never seemed to do anything of value despite how much menace he imparted with the idea that he coul ...more
Started
I guess I finally got my answer about Longshadow and which taken he was. I still enjoy the storyline but it's just ok. Worthy reading but no longer something I think about while at work and can't wait to see what happens next. For sure though it conveys a heavier sense of reality to the tale than most fantasy novels.
Spoiler?
Longshadow's character was a bit anticlimactic. He never seemed to do anything of value despite how much menace he imparted with the idea that he coul ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question about ending (spoiler) | 1 | 14 | Jan 07, 2015 02:20AM | |
| Fantasy Book Club...: * She is the Darkness (The Chronicles of the Black Company #8) Chapters 1-55 | 11 | 31 | Nov 09, 2013 06:19PM | |
| Fantasy Book Club...: * She is the Darkness Ch 55-107 | 6 | 15 | Oct 24, 2013 05:22PM |
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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“Water sleeps, but Enemy never rests.”
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“Combat is fear and management of fear far more than it is organized murder. Those who manage fear best will seize the day.”
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