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Bleak Seasons (The Chronicles of the Black Company #6)

by Glen Cook

3.95 · Rating Details · 5,120 Ratings · 113 Reviews

"Let me tell you who I am, on the chance that these scribblings do survive....I am Murgen, Standard bearer of the Black Company, though I bear the shame of having lost that standard in battle. I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead. One-Eye won't, and hardly anyone else can read or write. I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force ...more

Mass Market Paperback, 316 pages

Published January 15th 1997 by Tor Fantasy (first published April 1996)

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

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Jan 17, 2008 Kirt rated it did not like it

This book was a slog. It introduces a new narrator, the new Annalist and standardbearer, Murgen. The author is obviously experimenting with an odd narrative style, connected to some strange, sorcery-induced fits Murgen is having. However, since these fits cast him into the past, they push him back into plot points already covered in Dreams of Steel, albiet with more detail.

This detail becomes important in later books, including establishing the wired swamp-dwelling people that Murgen marries int ...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Troy G rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

The Black Company series is really easy reading. Small words. Short sentences. Consistant Narrator. Linear story telling. Bleak Seasons changes that a bit. There is a new narrator, Murgen. Murgen is 1/2 crazy, and undergoing a very stressful situation, so the story is fragmented and disordered.

Some people are going to be turned off by these narrative choices. I admit I was taken aback for a bit. But once you are into this book, you will find that it is akin to the other stories of the black com ...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Brian rated it did not like it

The narrator(s) you know and love are gone, and Murgen steps in to do his best. One snag - Murgen's unstuck in time, so it takes a long time before you get used to what's going on and are able to tell one time period from another. One other snag - even the present day is technically in the past, reliving the main event from Dreams of Steel from another perspective. It's just confusing. It doesn't help that this is yet another book in the interminable slog down south, where the Company's goal of ...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it liked it

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

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May 24, 2012 Jeremy Preacher rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, military

I almost didn't go on after the last book. The Black Company is just not aimed at me. But these last few books turned up in the used bookstore, and it is hard for me to abandon a plotline, so I finally dug in again.

Bleak Seasons is a bridge book of sorts. Cook took six years off after Dreams of Steel, and Bleak Seasons is an alternate viewpoint of much of that time period, as well as a little bit after - introducing a new Annalist, Murgen, who has a tendency to come unstuck in time and space. It ...more

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Mar 29, 2016 Evgeny rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Most of this book take place in parallel with the events of the previous one with only a minor part talking about the events after that. Considering the tone with which Dreams of Steel ended this makes for a somewhat frustrating read as the small part taking place in the "present" poses more questions than answers.

Besieged City 3

So this time a Standard bearer of the Company, the youngest of the survivors of the events in the North called Murgen is the Company's annalist. The poor guy has no hope whatsoever to Most of this book take place in parallel with the events of the previous one with only a minor part talking about the events after that. Considering the tone with which Dreams of Steel ended this makes for a somewhat frustrating read as the small part taking place in the "present" poses more questions than answers.

Besieged City 3

So this time a Standard bearer of the Company, the youngest of the survivors of the events in the North called Murgen is the Company's annalist. The poor guy has no hope whatsoever to be as awesome as the previous narrator, but he really tries and grows on readers with time. Murgen keeps reliving the siege of Dejagore being one of the guys who made it inside during the fatal battle in the end of Shadow Games. The guy also comes back to live his life after the siege ended. This poses an important question: does he go back in time, or forward; in other words which part is real and which is not? This makes for a somewhat confusing start.

As you can imagine, life in a besieged city is not exactly unicorns and rainbows and for this reason this is probably the bleakest installment of the series, exactly as the title warns.

Add to this different groups of people inside ready to jump at each other even with the common big threat outside the city - and you have a real explosive combination. To his own surprise Murgen found himself a reluctant unofficial Captain of the Old Guard (the people of the Company who joined before the Nar). This includes Goblin and One-Eye whose shenanigans deserve their own paragraph.

These two second-rate wizards can and do make the bleak atmosphere a little more lighthearted. I missed these guys in the previous book and welcomed their return here. In addition to their hilarious rivalry they (One-Eye in particular with his black spear) delivered a couple of really intense moments.

Besieged City 2

The events after the siege pose quite a few questions and deliver practically no answers. They also contain a scene which will reap out your heart and invite a herd of wild elephants to stomp on it, so beware.

I already mentioned this book being frustrating and the reason for this. I would give it 3 stars on my first read, but on the reread my opinion greatly improved as I knew the reason why it is written this way. Murgen really grows as a character and a narrator and the book introduces quite a few people that will be important in the future. It is also safe to say if you finished this one you are bound to finish the whole series as from this point on each following book is better and more exciting than its predecessor. ...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Robin Wiley rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Wasn't I just bitching about how I wanted to get back to this storyline? I didn't even want to read Silver Spike because it took me away from the group that went south with Croaker.

What the hell happened?

Mergen is narrating. Mergen starts out entertaining, but is my least favorite narrator of the bunch. We're back in Dejagore during the seige WHICH ALREADY FINISHED in the last book. Croaker is dead, Lady is dead, city going down, etc.

No. Wait. Mergen is shifting back, forth and across time like ...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Nicholas rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, fantasy

The Black Company is on one level, standard genre fantasy fare. There isn't much going on other than straight plot exposition (Well, in this particular novel #7 in the series, the time-line is non-linear, but the point holds.) Not much to recommend it other than solid craft and a definite twist on standard good vs. evil morality plays. I consider the Black Company to be epic fantasy that is influenced by Vietnam. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, but no one is fighting for a higher p ...more

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Sep 29, 2013 Maggie K rated it liked it

This one was too confusing for me....The story is good but too hard to figure out with Murgen going back and forth in time...

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Jan 29, 2014 Patrick Tiffany rated it liked it

I have very mixed feelings about this book. As a stand alone novel, it really doesn't hold up very well. It's cluttered, vague, and lacks a substantial climax. However, it is certainly a necessary addition to the Black Company series, despite the books faults.

The siege of Dejagore was something I wanted to explore more in Dreams of Steel, so it was fulfilling to finally have an in depth look at the events which took place within the city. Mogaba's descent into madness and the squalid conditions ...more

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May 10, 2014 Phillip Berrie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sword-sorcery

This should read 3.5 stars, but I'm giving it 4 because some of the things that I didn't like about this book were nothing to do with the author.

This is what I like to call a sorcery & sword book as it is high fantasy with not a lot of graphic violence, but lots of interesting magic. The story is mainly written from the point of view of the temporary leader of the Black Company during a siege in which the enemies are not all on the outside of the walls. However, as this character seems to be ...more

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Nov 19, 2015 Markus rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2014, buddy-reads, black-company

Buddy read with Athena & Gavin!

Once more we’re brought back to the siege of Dejagore, where the Black Company faces the armies of the Shadowmasters in battle. But this time our point of view is from within the city. With Murgen, the Standardbearer of the Company who aspires to take over Croaker’s role as annalist. Croaker and Lady are thought dead, Mogaba tries to seize power in the Company and the city both, and Murgen’s dreams are haunted by strange visions, bringing him back and forth bet Buddy read with Athena & Gavin!

Once more we’re brought back to the siege of Dejagore, where the Black Company faces the armies of the Shadowmasters in battle. But this time our point of view is from within the city. With Murgen, the Standardbearer of the Company who aspires to take over Croaker’s role as annalist. Croaker and Lady are thought dead, Mogaba tries to seize power in the Company and the city both, and Murgen’s dreams are haunted by strange visions, bringing him back and forth between past, present and future.

Bleak Seasons was a drastic improvement after the spectacular disappointment that was The Silver Spike. However, this book also has its problems. Taking place simultaneously with Dreams of Steel, this book adds little new to the overall storyline of the series. The absence of all the most fascinating characters also had a rather negative impact on my experience with the book.

Even so, Bleak Seasons is another enjoyable addition to the Chronicles of the Black Company, despite not being as good as previous instalments like The White Rose and Dreams of Steel. The most interesting part is the insight the reader gets into the events occurring within the walls of Dejagore while war rages outside them, and also a lot of revelations surrounding Mogaba and the Nar, the mysterious warrior class of Gea-Xle inspired by the Company’s ancestors.

Last, but not least, it has to be said that when referring exclusively to the writing, this book may very well be the best book Cook has written so far. I will leave off by quoting a particularly interesting passage:

Within that fastness nothing moves, though at times mists of light shimmer as they leak over from beyond the gates of dream. Shadows linger in corners. And way down inside the core of the place, in the feeblest throb of the heart of darkness, there is life of a sort.

A massive wooden throne stands upon a dais at the heart of a chamber so vast only a sun could light it all. Upon that throne a body sprawls, veiled by shoals of shadow, pinioned by silver knives driven through its feet and hands. Sometimes that body sighs softly in its sleep, impelled by bitter dreams acrawl behind its sightless eyes.

This is survival of a sort.

In the night, when the wind no longer licks through its unglazed windows, nor prances along its untenanted halls, nor whispers to its million creeping shadows, that fortress is filled with the silence of stone.
...more

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Sep 15, 2014 Fantasy Book Addict rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I read the previous book in this series quite a while ago so I had to go back and see how it ended. Definitely on a big cliffhanger, but this book didn’t really satisfy me. I would have to say that Bleak Seasons is the worst of the Black Company books so far. I am hoping that book two of the Glittering will be better. We will see.

This is the first book written in Murgen’s point of view, and I can say that I really didn’t enjoy reading from his perspective. I enjoyed Croaker the most and Lady was I read the previous book in this series quite a while ago so I had to go back and see how it ended. Definitely on a big cliffhanger, but this book didn’t really satisfy me. I would have to say that Bleak Seasons is the worst of the Black Company books so far. I am hoping that book two of the Glittering will be better. We will see.

This is the first book written in Murgen’s point of view, and I can say that I really didn’t enjoy reading from his perspective. I enjoyed Croaker the most and Lady was a great narrator too, but I just couldn’t get into Murgen’s story. I guess I just don’t know him well enough to make him feel as important as Croaker and Lady, if you know what I mean. Not enough character development before switching to him as a narrator. Reading from his point of view just wasn’t that interesting, not to mention that it was incredibly confusing. Apparently, Murgen is under some sort of spell, which forces him to jump though time (back to events that take place in Dreams of Steel) and I thought it was really complicated to figure out in which time I was reading. It was constantly back and forth. Ugh! I guess this was also why I didn’t like reading from Murgen’s perspective. This time shifting just interrupted the flow of the story. Maybe it would have helped if these two different time periods were in separate books. I think that would have made it a little less confusing and an opportunity to add more to the story.

Except for One Eye and Goblin, none of my favorite characters play much of a role in this novel. It was pretty disappointing not being able to read about them. :( Also, One Eye and Goblin weren’t as entertaining as they usually are. Don’t get me wrong. They were still up to their shenanigans, but not like the first few books in the series.

The book does add a little to the story of the Black Company, but this particular book was rather slow and complicated. There were of course some good parts, but most of it was actually kind of boring. I am hoping the pace picks up a little in the next book.

If you are enjoying the series so far I would still suggest reading this one if you want to continue on. I will let you know if the next one is any better!

...more

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Dec 01, 2014 Athena Shardbearer rated it liked it

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

This is immortality of a sort but the price is paid in silver of pain.

Oh the pain that Murgen and all the others go through in this book. This one was such an improvement from Silver Spike. I have a few of my favorites back and Murgen was such a better Annalist than Case. It was much better but not the best. I still miss Croaker and The Lady, and hope for narration from them in the future..which I think will be unlikely.

What I really enjoyed was Murgens spells. You never knew where he would wak ...more

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Dec 10, 2014 Janice Bonczek rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of fantasy

Shelves: fantasy, dark, fiction, war, survival, action-adventure, supernatural, love, read-2014, religion, time-travel, magic, military, series, epic-fantasy, male-pov, moral-ambiguity, character-memoir, siege, 1st-person-narration

This is the official 6th book in the Chronicles of the Black Company series, by Glen Cook. It's a little confusing, because you would think that The Silver Spike was the 6th book, (or possibly the 5th), as that is where it is chronologically, but it actually doesn't have a number. I'm not sure as to the publication order, but I assume it was an add-on book or something, since it gives us information about what is happening in the north during books 4 and 5, while we are following our characters This is the official 6th book in the Chronicles of the Black Company series, by Glen Cook. It's a little confusing, because you would think that The Silver Spike was the 6th book, (or possibly the 5th), as that is where it is chronologically, but it actually doesn't have a number. I'm not sure as to the publication order, but I assume it was an add-on book or something, since it gives us information about what is happening in the north during books 4 and 5, while we are following our characters actions in the south.

Anyway, now to my actual review for Bleak Seasons. I give it 3.5 stars. I read a lot of reviews where people who didn't like it because of the narrative style. But it didn't bother me. The narrator in this one is Murgen, the company's Standardbearer, and de facto leader of the "Old Crew" while they are under siege in Dejagore.

The siege in Dejagore was also mentioned in book 5, Dreams of Steel. However, we never really got an inside look at what was happening. Up until now, we only saw the siege from the eyes of those who were outside.

This book takes place chronologically after the events in Dreams of Steel, but Murgen has something wrong with him, and keeps having blackouts during which he travels back in time and relives his past. So for some parts of the book we get to relive the siege of Dejagore through Murgen's eyes. Croaker and One Eye are quite worried that Murgen is having these episodes, but cannot find any suitable explanation for their occurrence.

So the narration goes back and forth between Murgen in Dejagore, and Murgen back in Taglios, after the siege has ended. And although Murgen did keep annals of his own during the siege, those are not what we are reading. We are in Murgen's dream/time-travel, and he narrates to us what is happening on the fly, as he experiences it. We find out later why we aren't reading from the Book of Murgen (at least for the events that occur in the past). We get to learn a lot of interesting details that we didn't know were happening (including events with Mogaba, and some brand new players in the war, the Nyueng Bao.)

I like Murgen as narrator, he has the same dry humor as Croaker, and it's nice to see things from a different perspective sometimes. Although I hope in some of the later books we get to hear from Croaker again. (Although I'm not sure if that will happen...Croaker has now named Murgen the official Annalist, since he is too busy being the Captain to keep up with the workload).

I'm off to read the next book now, I'm getting closer & I can't wait to see what awaits the company in Khatovar! ...more

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Sep 21, 2014 Gavin rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Bleak Seasons was an enjoyable read. It was not the same high quality as Dreams of Steel, but was a massive improvement on the disappointing The Silver Spike. Murgen takes over as annalist of The Black Company and focuses on telling the tale of the siege of Dejagore, and then the early parts of The Black Company's war against the remaining Shadowmasters and the Deceivers.

Murgen proved a very down to earth, humble, and likable annalist. I liked his voice and loved his differing views on some of ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Sumant rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, the-black-company

This is until now biggest audio book in the black company series but also this is one of the most confusing book in the series so far.I guess erikson got inspiration from this book to write malazan books of fallen. The confusion is due to the fact that we do not know in which time our narrator is currently present is it the past ? or the present ?if that fact can be ignored the book continues to show us how the battle of dejagore was the one of the main events in this series, this is the third b ...more

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Feb 15, 2015 Xan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

No se puede puntuar un libro que es parte de una serie sin juzgar el conjunto, y es difícil llegar al sexto libro sin ser un fan de la misma. Así que empezemos por lo obvio: me sigue gustando la serie de la Compañía Negra. Cometí el error de leer el séptimo libro antes de "Estación de penurias", pero por suerte son relatos independientes a partir de una situación común y se complementan a la perfección.
El cambio de narrador anuncia un cambio en la dirección de la Compañía, nuevos objetivos y nue ...more

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Jun 05, 2015 Milda Page Runner rated it liked it

Recommended to Milda by: Evgeny

Shelves: snarky-sarcastic-hero, dark-gritty-fantasy

Welcome to the House of Pain

The book of Murgen

The name is here for a reason: this must the bleakest book of the Black Company Chronicle so far. It is interesting enough, but... not very optimistic or exciting.
Book consist of 3 intertwined storylines:

The Visions of the Plain of the Glittering stone - not much of a storyline really mostly the haunting images revealing more of the picture with each one of them.

The present - spans over 3 years after the events of the Lady's book. We get glimpses of ...more

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Jul 14, 2015 Skaistė rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Kaip ir su visomis kitomis Juodosios Gvardijos knygomis - kai skaitau, atrodo, kad ne tiek daug perskaičiau, dar daug liko, o kai knyga baigiasi, norisi, kad ji dar tęstųsi toliau. Nors ir kitoks pasakojimas, ne visai ankstesniojo tęsinys, bet man patiko. Patiko naujas pasakotojas, kuris nors kalba ir apie niūrius dalykus, bet pasakojime yra šmaištumo, o dar pateikia kiek kitokį požiūrį į veikėjus, atskleidžia nepasakotos istorijos pusės detales (skaitydama ankstesnę knygą pagalvodavau, kad būtų ...more

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Jul 05, 2015 Blagoy Nikolov rated it liked it

Една леко излишна ретроспекция, препълнена с излишна загадъчност, намеци за съдбовност, предопределеност и пророчества - все изтъни похвати, когато се заиграят божествените сили в едно фентъзи. Тук според мен е евентуално мястото, където поредицата зацикля, разчитайки на утвърденото си име в полза на продажбите - спира разширяването на познатата на нас част от света и действието блокира в една точка за години, главните действащи лица от предните части тук деградират до пълна праволинейност, липс Една леко излишна ретроспекция, препълнена с излишна загадъчност, намеци за съдбовност, предопределеност и пророчества - все изтъни похвати, когато се заиграят божествените сили в едно фентъзи. Тук според мен е евентуално мястото, където поредицата зацикля, разчитайки на утвърденото си име в полза на продажбите - спира разширяването на познатата на нас част от света и действието блокира в една точка за години, главните действащи лица от предните части тук деградират до пълна праволинейност, липса на развитие и схематичност. При друг тип писане една подготовка за грандиозен сблъсък, отделена в цяла книга като тази, не би била проблем, но не в това е силата на автора. Стилът му не подхожда на елегантно описано, увлекателно бездействие. Напротив, силата му е в безкомпромисното налагане на унищожително бързо темпо на събитията с епизодични, жестоки сблъсъци на враждуващите страни, които да оставят читателя без дъх. Това все пак е военно фентъзи.

Все пак някои въпроси намират отговори, но това е твърде малко за нивото, зададено от предните книги. Слагам средна оценка, само защото няма опция за половинки, иначе 2.5/5. ...more

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Sep 12, 2015 Emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-own-this

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First off, a couple things about the printing of the book itself hindered my enjoyment of it: there were more typos than usual and my book had a page printed twice, leaving off a page. Losing a whole page of a novel is jarring. I won't take these into consideration with my rating though.

Some likes:
- Murgen as a narrator. I thought I would miss Croaker's like I did in the last two books, but here I didn't. And considering his coldness, and change since the Croaker I came to love, I'm rather glad ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Choko rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-grim

*** 4 ***

A buddy read with the mercenaries at BB&B!!!

Every time I finish one of the books in this series I promise myself I am not going to write a review. After all, why bother... We have already established that Glen Cook is a genius and his writing is this elusive mixture of military jargon, historical journaling, and at times such lyrical and haunting prose, that I want to wrap my whole being around some of the books passages, even just sentences, and worship them for eternity... He ca *** 4 ***

A buddy read with the mercenaries at BB&B!!!

Every time I finish one of the books in this series I promise myself I am not going to write a review. After all, why bother... We have already established that Glen Cook is a genius and his writing is this elusive mixture of military jargon, historical journaling, and at times such lyrical and haunting prose, that I want to wrap my whole being around some of the books passages, even just sentences, and worship them for eternity... He can set up a mood and lead you by the heartstrings, despite the seemingly distorted timelines and random information... As I said, the dude is a genius and rarely is there a sentence which does not connect with the overall story through all the books... Sometimes while I am reading, I feel like I am on a hunt for clues, small hints which litter the text throughout and keep me on my toes at every moment of the read...

Just as I KNOW his writing is amazing, so do I KNOW it is NOT for everyone. His military stile of Epic Grim Dark Fantasy is very much an acquired taste. There is a lot of violence, a lot of dissolution and despair... There are no "good" or "bad" guys - they are all thoroughly flawed and all of them are bound to disappoint you, or break your heart one way or another...

This particular book gave us a warning as what we were getting involved with straight from the beginning with the title - "Bleak Seasons"... And boy, is it bleak!!! When I first began reading it I felt like I was on some very potent hallucinogenic drug and could see parts of everything, but never the whole picture - it was fuzzy, jumpy, chopped and distorted... And very trippy!!! And as confused and lost as you feel the first 40%. everything crystallizes by the end, but it still lives plenty of questions for the next installment...

Murgen wrote the annals this time around. He was Croacker's apprentice for a while before the company was faced with restructuring due to being split in a battle... It is hard to convey the Black Company's trials and tribulations without spoiling it for those who want to read the books... Grrrr! Well, the time covered in this book mostly corresponds with the time of the annals written by the Lady. At this time the part of the company where Murgen is seen as a impromptu leader, is behind the walls of the besieged city of Dejagore. The company inside the walls has split into two factions - those who call themselves the "old" company, and those under the leadership of the self-proclaimed new captain Mogaba, the Nar. The conditions in the city are miserable and those who have access to food have the power... The different cultural and religious factions who have been forced to coexist create a very interesting and potentially explosive atmosphere... And Glen Cook takes full advantage of it:)

Murgen is a very different persona then the two previous annalists. He has the ability to ghost-walk/dream and this makes us feel as if we are looking through a camera attached to a balloon, which is being poked and bumped from one place and vantage point to another, which could make you dizzy, but still gives you glimpses of things you would have never seen otherwise! Many things happened, much violence ensued, and more craziness prevailed... Nothing was truly accomplished in this volume, but it did give us new clues and more questions for which answers we will be looking in the next installments...

Once again, this series is not for everybody and if you attempt it, start from the beginning, because every book connects clues from the previous ones.

I wish you all happy reading and many wonderful books to come!!! ...more

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

Recommends it for: Barnacles everywhere

Shelves: kindle, books-i-own, fantasy, 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, assholes-and-liars-everywhere-yay, br-2016, welcome-to-the-zoo, good-ol-testosterone, i-want-it-yesterday, grimdark, it-s-war, black-company, read-2016, the-awesome-bunch, darker-is-cooler, this-is-perfection, mostest-awesomest-villains

All Bleaked Out buddy read with my fellow mercenaries Evasive, Slowpoke, Cleaver and Lost One (if she ever makes it back from the Plain of Fear)

Proceed with caution! This is one of the crappiest reviews you will ever read, and an insult to the greatness that is this series. If you want to read ~~mostly~~ sensible reviews for the utter awesomeness that is this book, go ahead and click on one of those links up there These ~~lovely~~ despicable mercenaries' reviews aren't that fantastic, but at least th ...more

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Mar 30, 2016 Eilonwy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: good-worldbuilding, character-driven, fast-paced, good-mythology, just-brilliant, heartbreaking, suspenseful

Ah! Dejagore! Those halcyon days, slouching through Hell with a smile on.
Welcome to the house of pain.

I wasn't really expecting to be very involved in this installment of The Black Company, since it doesn't carry the action forward, but instead covers the same time period as Dreams of Steel, and is narrated by Murgen, the Company standardbearer, who mostly seemed like a nice-enough side character, but not terribly interesting. No way could he follow the Book of Lady without seeming utterly ...more

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Jul 15, 2016 Dave rated it it was ok

A lot of rambling, skipped right over the one big battle inthe entire book, getting a little old =(

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Sep 16, 2016 Igor rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Battle of Dejagore once again but from Murgen's point of view. Everything we missed from Lady's perspective about battle and Company we get to know in this book. Personally, It felt like deja vu but still interesting enough to enjoy the read.

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Aug 13, 2016 Maureen rated it really liked it

The ending of this book, in my opinion, was it's saving grace for me. I found it hard to understand in the beginning with all the jumping back and forth. I tolerated Murgens POV in the beginning, but then grew to like him by the end. Let's not forget the return of my two favorite BC mercenaries. One-eye and Goblin. A solid lead into She is the Darkness. Onto the next. Happy reading everyone :)

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Aug 16, 2016 Matt Nykamp rated it liked it

What a mind trip this books timeline is. if you can catch onto what is going on its pretty good.

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Oct 17, 2016 Brian Ackermann rated it liked it

Recommended to Brian by: Sam Armstrong

What on earth is going on with Murgen? Entertaining book, all in all. Though, by the end of it, I didn't really feel like the explanation matched the descriptions given. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I am NOT supposed to feel that way. Perhaps this is a hook for some 'future' plotline,and all will be made clear in time.

At any rate, I rather liked it, and it was interesting to see some familiar events retold from Murgen's perspective, as well as some first hand reports of other things we'd ...more

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Fantasy Book Club...: Bleak Seasons: Book One of the Glittering Stone (Chronicles of The Black Company #7) Chapters 1-101	9	24	Sep 20, 2013 09:17AM
Will I be horribly confused if I read this one first?	7	19	Feb 28, 2013 06:59AM
Is it possible to skip this one?	6	15	Feb 08, 2013 01:10PM

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

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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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