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16th out of 19 books
—
8 voters
Dreams of Steel (The Chronicles of the Black Company #6)
by
Glen Cook
Croaker has fallen and, following the Company's disastrous defeat at Dejagore, Lady is one of the few survivors--determined to avenge the Company and herself against the Shadowmasters, no matter what the cost.
But in assembling a new fighting force from the dregs and rabble of Taglios, she finds herself offered help by a mysterious, ancient cult of murder--competent, reliab
...more
But in assembling a new fighting force from the dregs and rabble of Taglios, she finds herself offered help by a mysterious, ancient cult of murder--competent, reliab
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
April 15th 1990
by Tor Books
(first published April 1990)
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There is only one member of the Black Company left standing, and it's the company's past employer/then enemy/then ally. If you say you saw that coming in book one, I'll call you a liar.
After hating her, wanting her dead, not liking her, not trusting her, maybe liking her a little, and now I'm cheering for her??? I haven't had that kind of change of heart towards a character since Jaime Lannister. This is her book and mostly her POV, which is really interesting - even if you still hate her. Her s...more
After hating her, wanting her dead, not liking her, not trusting her, maybe liking her a little, and now I'm cheering for her??? I haven't had that kind of change of heart towards a character since Jaime Lannister. This is her book and mostly her POV, which is really interesting - even if you still hate her. Her s...more
Croaker has fallen and, following the Company's disastrous defeat at Dejagore, Lady is one of the few survivors--determined to avenge the Company and herself against the Shadowmasters, no matter what the cost.
But in assembling a new fighting force from the dregs and rabble of Taglios, she finds herself offered help by a mysterious, ancient cult of murder--competent, reliable, and apparently committed to her goals.
Meanwhile, far away, Shadowmasters conspire against one another and the world, weav...more
But in assembling a new fighting force from the dregs and rabble of Taglios, she finds herself offered help by a mysterious, ancient cult of murder--competent, reliable, and apparently committed to her goals.
Meanwhile, far away, Shadowmasters conspire against one another and the world, weav...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
Ironic that it took a virus for me to sit down and read this. Some new year's eve, all feverish and achy and breaking out in cold sweats from time to time. Just about as pleasant as some of the unwashed characters in these books. So the second book in the Chronicles of the South, in which the Lady takes over the narration and the storyline becomes hers, as the last (almost) Black Company member left standing. Again, forces greater than them are aligned against them, but the plus side is that the...more
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This is the book I was really looking forward to re-reading. It's the one where the Lady does the narration. I enjoyed it much more than the first book of the South. It's much more spooky and menacing and the main character is probably the worst of everyone. This is where you have the first mention of the fake Kali cult of Kina. The Lady is starting to get her powers back and does some pretty dispicable things but you still like her anyway as she seems like her most human. The sad part is that h...more
I am happy that the Lady proved at least somewhat more interesting as the narrator than she did as the love interest in the previous book. That gave at least some real drama to one of the villains, the cult plot was pretty solid, and while I rolled my eyes really hard at the ongoing "why am I puking every morning? This is so weird" thing, it at least hints at interesting story to come.
I would love to find out what happened next, but it appears the next book may be a rewrite of this time period f...more
I would love to find out what happened next, but it appears the next book may be a rewrite of this time period f...more
ok! as it turns out, book #1 of the South, which appeared to be old wine in a new bottle, was really only the prelude to a whole new set of real badguys, with the 'good guys' (who are not so good) weakened. These books of the south have taken the black company through some alternative/post appocolyptic Africa & India in search of The Company's origin, which is only rumor and myth even to them...only to find that their origins are much more sinister, and outworldly, then anyone could even ima...more
One thing that is great about the black company series is just how damn resilient the black company is. The only member of the black company that isn't trapped or dead is Lady, and Lady is more of a tag-a-long or girlfriend or wildcard to the company than someone we think of as a member.
That is true no longer, however, because she becomes a personification of the Company in this book. It is fascinating to see both how she shapes the direction of the company, and how the company shapes her decisi...more
That is true no longer, however, because she becomes a personification of the Company in this book. It is fascinating to see both how she shapes the direction of the company, and how the company shapes her decisi...more
Lady just doesn't make an exciting narrator. The book starts fairly slow, and the Company itself doesn't ever feature much. The parts I looked forward to the most were those featuring Croaker, now relegated to third-person narrative for the first time in the series, which felt a little odd at first. Nevertheless, a decent entry in the series. The ending is incredibly abrupt, but taken with the time-hopping of the next book, it doesn't seem that out of place.
So Croaker fell in battle and the Black Company had its ass handed back to them even if they managed to deal a pretty crippling blow on behalf of Taglios to the Shadowmasters. After seeing Lady as a normal human in "Shadow Games" now we get a chance to really get to know her as this novel's narrator and, unsurprisingly once you think about it, the Black Company's new Captain and Annalist. Things start to get heavy again and regain their epic scope.
Je pense avoir largement trop attendu avant de lire ce cinquième volume, j’ai oublié une bonne partie des personnages et de détails. Toutefois je me suis replongée avec bonheur dans Rêves d’acier, certains éléments me revenant peu à peu en mémoire. Le personnage de Madame tient les rênes, Toubib est prétendu mort, aux prises avec Volesprit. Ce volume comporte beaucoup de manœuvres militaires, Madame reconstitue la Compagnie Noire, s’allie à une secte de fanatiques plus ou moins marginaux adorant...more
The Black Company, defeated and scattered, has to come to terms with enemies old, new and shadowy. But that's ok. They're used to that. Cook continues romping through the terrain. He clearly had been watching Temple of Doom before writing this one. Rated M for violence, supernatural themes and horror themes. 4/5
In this book Lady, once The Lady, takes up the role of narrator. I liked this book a lot... It introduces a lot of new evils and plots, none the least of which is the carrion-goddess Kina and her Strangler followers. (Think Kali and the Thugee and you're not far off. The South has a very East Indian flavor to it as it is...)
This book was very gripping, and aside from Lady being very stupid figuring out why she's getting sick every morning (a convenient stupidity I can almost forgive, given her b...more
This book was very gripping, and aside from Lady being very stupid figuring out why she's getting sick every morning (a convenient stupidity I can almost forgive, given her b...more
Alors j'ai un avis mitigé sur la compagnie noire. J'ai beaucoup aimé le début, mais j'ai trouvé que ça s'essouflait. Après il y a une explication à ça, le traducteur du premier tome était très bon, ils en ont changé à partir du tome 2, et ça se sent beaucoup. On y perd terriblement en ambiance.
Shift of POV character for this story, plus a focus on a cult which will feature in the following four books. Cook is putting pieces into place for much of this story, with the pay-off a long (and confusing) way away. Reads much better as part of the entire series.
Fave quote, from Lady, from memory: "I didn't have time to be sick. I had empires to build. Worlds to conquer."
I love the character of Lady, since the other books, and this one is narrated by her, so it's a treat. The only downside is missing Croaker's cynic comments, and the absence of Goblin/One-Eye.
This is one of my fave's from the series, maybe my fave.
I love the character of Lady, since the other books, and this one is narrated by her, so it's a treat. The only downside is missing Croaker's cynic comments, and the absence of Goblin/One-Eye.
This is one of my fave's from the series, maybe my fave.
My favorite book in the series... But I'm getting pretty tired of the way Mr. Cook ends his books... They don't make me a happy reader, just feels that he has more of a story to tell than has to wrap it up all of a sudden.
the biggest reason i gave this a 4 instead of a 5 was the book was turning out nothing like i had wanted or predicted. otherwise it was a good book just got me in a bad mood so on so forth.
More of a transitional book than anything else, Cook has set up a LOT for the next several books. Unfortunately there was much less of a thrilling climax than in books past, though the final twist proved mighty fun. If you've read up to this point you know you want to keep going. And so do I!
More awesome Dark Fantasy/Military Fiction. This book came out first, but the story parallels the follow-up, Bleak Seasons.
A strong continuation of the series, focused on its characters, it sense of history, and the doom that seems to lie over everything.
Good, but a very slow read for me.
Excellent entry in the Black Company series - really enjoyed the multiple viewpoints and various wild cards running around causing havoc.
Loved it.
An excellent account of The Black Company's ongoing campaign against The Shadowmasters, this time chronicled by Lady herself. My only complaint is that the story ends suddenly right as it seems to be picking up steam for a big confrontation. If I had known that was gonna happen I would've had the next book on hand, ready to carry on. I guess there's no avoiding that I'm fully invested in this series now and need to go buy the rest of the books.
I loved the ending of this one. The series is great.
Lady kicks butt <3
Croakers a daddy!!!
Croakers a daddy!!!
Sep 02, 2008
Eric
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Epic Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fans
Recommended to Eric by:
Rick
The cover art notwithstanding...I learned that change can be a really, really good thing! Dreams of Steel follows the path of Lady as she reassembles the tattered and broken remnants of the Black Company. Action and suspense are woven together to create a truly compelling read.
As the eTitle Suggests this is not a good jumping on point for newcomers to the series. But, fans of the series will find it well worth their time.
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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
More about Glen Cook...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
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