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66th out of 91 books
—
6 voters
She is the Darkness (The Chronicles of the Black Company #8)
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
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
July 15th 1998
by Tor Fantasy
(first published 1997)
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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
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
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
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
Finally finished this book! Sheesh. I am sick of Murghen's annals. It seems like any long series eventually goes downhill, and this is no exception. It's funny because Croaker (speaking presumably for the reader and/or author) complains to Murghen in the story about the quality of his annals. No one gives a shit about Murghen! Hear, hear! I miss the old Croaker annals. Hell, I even liked Lady's book or Case's (though his are the unofficial spin-off; whatevs).
He got me though. Much like Goodkind...more
He got me though. Much like Goodkind...more
This is the third book in a six-volume saga, begun in Shadow Games, that is richer and more rewarding than the original Black Company trilogy. Unlike those stories, these books don't stand on their own; instead, each book builds on previous volumes, slowly revealing the threat of the plain of Glittering Stone and the Company's fate. With that in mind, I think this is the best book of the series thus far. I enjoyed Murgen as narrator and am sad to see him go (by which I mean only that he's not na...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
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
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
Murgen again. His various problems mean that he's hard to identify with as a POV character, plus as a reader you're more likely to follow what's happening in the story than he is. More pieces put into place and more mysteries.
This one gets back into the swing of things and the narration is more straightforward than "Bleak Seasons." It felt again like I was reading a coherent series instead of going on a side trip like some of the previous novels.
The first half of this book is the worst Black Company I have ever read. It was slow and boring. However halfway through it really took off, and ended with a cliffhanger to make the earlier slog worth it all.
Mar 27, 2009
Ray
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Ray by:
my best friend simon
Shelves:
fiction-fantasy,
favorites
Yet another thoroughly enjoyable chapter in the (currently) ten book Black Company epic. I find it strange that the last four books in this series are already out of print... did the first publications sell out or something? Why not keep all ten of the Black Company Chronicles circulating all the time? There must be some really obvious reason why any part of such a well known and liked series is out of print ... any know why? ... anyway, this is a must read for Cook fans.
the black company series never disappoints me. this is the second of the final four volumes in the ten-volume series. if anything, I like these last four even more than the first six.
Wow - excellent climax to the Murgen timeline. They really screw everybody! This is a great plot twist for the Company and I really want to see the conclusion.
2.5 stars, it would be nice if a villain died without resurrection
It was good to get back into the Black Company world.
With Murgen as Annalist, Captain Croaker and Lieutenant Lady lead the Black Company on the final leg of their epic journey to return to Khatovar, the mysterious lands of their origin. Murgen's ghostwalking ability still seems like more of a writer's convenience than anything else, but it allows a fascinating viewpoint on the action happening over a wide area. After 3 books of building up to the Company's arrival on the Glittering Plain, the ending is a doozy that had me immediately open the next...more
Gritty epic fantasy
I would give this a solid 3 1/2 if I could.
It really seems that somewhere along the line, Glen Cook himself changed, or someone else is writing these books under his name. The narrative style and subject is almost completely different from the original Black Company books, and it really shows in this book.
It's definitely not a bad book at all, like the previous one it grew on me the further I got into it, and I was pretty riveted by the end. Something is missing compared to the originals though.
It really seems that somewhere along the line, Glen Cook himself changed, or someone else is writing these books under his name. The narrative style and subject is almost completely different from the original Black Company books, and it really shows in this book.
It's definitely not a bad book at all, like the previous one it grew on me the further I got into it, and I was pretty riveted by the end. Something is missing compared to the originals though.
This guy ROCKS! The Black Company doesn't just "grab your attention" it grabs you by the throat and squeezes, forcing you absorb every detail you can in a desperate attempt to free yourself from it's grip. Then when your exhausted and panting and wondering Cook managed to tie all those twists into such a neat bow, you realize there's a sequel. Or maybe that's just me. I read this in one night. Called in sick the next day because I hadn't slept. Got the sequel the next weekend.
Finally, another battle of the Black Company vs. Big Bad Guy book. As much as I liked this, it did seem like it took a while to get to the meat of the story. There was a lot of chasing other story lines that may or may not have something to do with the main story arc. The ending was "good", as in frustrating and made me want to delve into the next book immediately to find out what happens next.
Glen Cook's style of storytelling in the Black Company Chronicles is what makes this next series as good as it is. I rated the earlier novels at 4 and the next set at 3 because the first series of novels is just plainly superior, particularly the wonderful dynamics portrayed amongst Croaker and the main figures in the company. I may even go back and rate them higher.
Another good book in the series. I have to go out today to get the next one.
Jun 23, 2010
John
added it
as far as cliffhangers go this is painfully unforseen... if I had read this when it first came out and didn't know there was another book I would be going nuts right now. definetly going to take a short break from my unruly company of bastards.
One of the Black Company Books in the Glittering Stone. I believe that this is told from Lady\'s Point of view. Deals with the daughter of the night and Lady trying to regain some of her power
This one kind of dragged on for me. I think I enjoyed the volumes of Croaker more than the recent Murgen narration. The cliffhanger ending though has me tempted to keep going.
The book gets a tad boring at times. It turned OK at the end, but it sure made me reconsider if I should just give up on the Black Company books.
I really have nothing to say on this book, except CROAKER IS A SNEAKY, SNEAKY BASTARD AND I LOVE HIM. <3 <3 <3
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Glen Cook aka Greg Stevens is a contemporary American science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his fantasy series, The Black Company. Cook currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
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http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
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“She is the darkness.”
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“Water sleeps, but Enemy never rests.”
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