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The Silver Spike (The Chronicles of the Black Company #3.5)

by Glen Cook

3.95 · Rating Details · 5,236 Ratings · 121 Reviews

...embedded in the trunk of the scion of the godtree, it contains the essence of the maddest of the Ten Who Were Taken...The Dominator. Defeated by the Lady and cast from this world, all that was left of him was a foul trace of lingering evil. But the graveyard that was once the Barrowland contains more secrets than dead. All who would possess the power of the Dominator ar

...more

Mass Market Paperback, 313 pages

Published September 15th 1989 by Tor Fantasy

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By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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silver buckles on my shoe...

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

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Dec 15, 2009 Donald rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, read-in-2009

A great addition to the series. Makes tracking these down at the library or used book stores totally worth the effort.

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May 03, 2010 Jared Millet rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, dark-fantasy

While there are many, many things to like about this book, I'm forced to admit that it's my least favorite of the Black Company novels so far. Probably because the Black Company isn't in it.

The Silver Spike is a coda of sorts to the original Black Company trilogy, which ended with the Dominator defeated and buried in the Barrowland and the remaining survivors of the Company riding off into the sunset. This book opens up with a gang of scummy bastards digging the Dominator's soul back up again an ...more

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Jun 29, 2015 robyn rated it did not like it

Shelves: magic, quest

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

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Dec 15, 2015 Evgeny rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The blurb on the cover says it all: The Black Company has parted ways, and the world may suffer the consequences. This time I have practically nothing to add without giving spoilers. This can be considered to be a side story as the major part of the surviving main characters do not appear here at all.

Quite a few familiar faces appear though and this book gives a nice final closure to the northern tale of the Company. As such it is better read right after book 3 of the main storyline.

One of the ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Robin Wiley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, love-it-more-than-puppies

"I told myself it had been an exiting past year and now it was time to die."
- Case

For Book Six, we return to the Barrowlands (from Book Three), where evil just won't stay buried. After parting ways with Croaker and Company at the end of that book, Darling and company now have to return to wipe up the mess.

I started off pouting and protesting. In Book Five, we had just left Lady and Company back in the south, not necessarily on a cliff hanger, but certainly with a fat ton of unfinished business. "I told myself it had been an exiting past year and now it was time to die."
- Case

For Book Six, we return to the Barrowlands (from Book Three), where evil just won't stay buried. After parting ways with Croaker and Company at the end of that book, Darling and company now have to return to wipe up the mess.

I started off pouting and protesting. In Book Five, we had just left Lady and Company back in the south, not necessarily on a cliff hanger, but certainly with a fat ton of unfinished business. I didn't want to catch up with Darling and her gang - not now, dammit!

But timewise, it had to be done. And once I got that through my head. I embraced.

As in Books 2 and 3, we get introduced to some characters not with our beloved Black Company, though their story and fates become intertwined by the end of the book. This crew (Smeds, Fish, Timmy and Tully) and their story reminds me of the movie "A Simple Plan". They plan to nip The Silver Spike, which is the essence of the once BIG BAD (Dominator), and sell it to the highest bidder. It's just stuck in a tree. Easy job, spend a few days, get it, sell it and we're set for life. HA!

Elsewhere in the giant necropolis of the Barrowlands, something buried is dug up. It's alive, and really pissed off.

This one was just super fun. The final battle is BEYOND Narnia with all the creatures from the Plain of Fear, an imperial army, a city Guard, plus 5 wizards/sorcerors throwing down. And our little crew is right in the middle of it. LOVED IT!

Philodendren Case is our narrator, and I didn't think I could love anyone else narrating besides Croaker - but Case is just great. I think he's actually funnier.

Action - As it used to be said, it was an E Ticket!
Magic - Sorcery - big, dark and bad ass
Characters - Come on, it's the Black Company!
Cool Places - The Barrowland, the Tower of Charm, a pretty major battle at a monastery
Creatures - Toadkiller Dog is back, plus every crazy critter from the Plain of Fear on a bigger scale than you've seen before - YAY!

For Book Seven, we rejoin our scheduled story... ...more

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Sep 28, 2015 Christopher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Silver Spike follows the adventures of some of the characters that split off from the Black Company following the events in the Barrowlands and covers what they got up to following these events! :D For the length of the book the narrative structure changes different character telling the story one way or the other so this gives the book a very different feel to what we have seen in the previous books! :D Though this of course lends the book to a much more sarcastic tone that really suits the The Silver Spike follows the adventures of some of the characters that split off from the Black Company following the events in the Barrowlands and covers what they got up to following these events! :D For the length of the book the narrative structure changes different character telling the story one way or the other so this gives the book a very different feel to what we have seen in the previous books! :D Though this of course lends the book to a much more sarcastic tone that really suits the events that are taking place! :D

We also get some more things happening on the Taken and White Rose front that gives the impression that things have move on satisfactorily for many of the characters though as with the previous books it is often hard to discern whether this is actually the way things are going to be in them from now on as many of the characters have a habit of returning as they are a 'little' power mad! :D

There a few new characters as well that could conceivably make an appearance in future books as well as they are left in a state that would allow them to return! :D In addition the non human creatures through feature very strongly and this would indicate that at some point they could also play a significant role as some of them always seem to turn up when they are needed! :D

We are also introduced to new areas in the books and this is the same with the city of Oar as well as getting some no human biology in on what is out there on the plains some more so this supports a huge palimpsest of what is throughout the book a big mish mash of events that keeps you guessing all the time as to what is going on but still edge of your seat working out what is going on! :D

Everything is on large canvas throughout and the world is huge and this is illustrated with the forces that the White Rose commands where the storyline has been among the cholera laden streets the storyline suddenly switches to a large scale plains battle with a some siege war with wizards battling and skulduggery thrown in at the same time and has your wondering where that all came from! :D Not to mention the ultimate weapon that you would not expect! :D This really does come as a big surprise that this many separate elements can all come together in the way but at the same time it seems that is where the storyline was going from the outset but this really only becomes clear later! :D

As ever the characters are very three dimensional warts and all with this causing some very surprising turns of events and they way that things happen as ever as a very visceral and sharp focus one moment things can all be going fine and then then everything hits the fan! :D This of course keeps the storyline moving on a very big clip giving some of the character no breathing space at all and before you know it the situation for all sides has changed again! :D

The big battles as well all have this quality as well and there is a slight tone of comedy through the endeavours of some of the good characters to overcome things that will have you laughing out hard! :D This all the lends itself to a roller-coaster edge of your seat ride that will keep you guessing about what is going on and what is going to happen in the book and if there will be a meet up with many of other characters that are not in this one! :D

Brilliant and highly recommended! :D ...more

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Aug 04, 2013 Andreas rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed, 2013

This series definitively has got a starting problem in each book. The previous books needed 50 pages each to draw me in and made that up quite good.
It is different with this one, where I even started skipping pages after 100 pages - which I normally wouldn't do - the story was plain boring at times and I didn't have the feeling that I missed anything by skipping a few pages here and there.

Once again, Cook flips from sending his characters 1000s of miles from here to there every couple of pages. This series definitively has got a starting problem in each book. The previous books needed 50 pages each to draw me in and made that up quite good.
It is different with this one, where I even started skipping pages after 100 pages - which I normally wouldn't do - the story was plain boring at times and I didn't have the feeling that I missed anything by skipping a few pages here and there.

Once again, Cook flips from sending his characters 1000s of miles from here to there every couple of pages. That was ok for the first one or two books to learn about the world. But right now, you don't learn anything new at all but revisit the same places just to return to the previous place.

And I have the impression that Cook hasn't got the timing right - going such fast distances takes lots of time - which we don't see passed in the narration at all.

The main narrator this time is Raven's friend Case who replaces Croaker role writing a kind of diary. Case's chapters' style might work for native English readers. But I'm not sure about that style: It seems like a silly trick with all it's wrong plural/singular forms and tenses. It somehow doesn't read ... true. They were really difficult to bear for me.
I don't know how long it would take to learn Darling's sign-language fluently. But Case needed only a couple of weeks to be able to discuss and argue in a perfect way. That felt like the wrong passing of time.

And there is the stand-up comedian troup of Tully and Smeds and the mysterious Old Bear. Their disorganised try of stealing the spike is so uncool, non-ocean's 11-style and foreign-embarrassing, that it's nearly good again. I liked the way Smeds' character changed and the role he became later on. But the whole story of those thieves seemed implausible.

Limper being game again is really great. I find his return as a scarecrow in a kind of horror faery style awesome. It remembers me of the "Candyman" movie (though I hate horror).

But in contrast to the other books, I found the showdown of this book quite lame and uninteresting. So, no upgrade this time. ...more

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Nov 19, 2015 Markus rated it it was ok

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

Buddy read with Athena & Gavin August 27th!

When the Black Company marched south in a quest for its origins, there were those who chose to stay behind in the northern empire. When a gang of petty criminals get their hands on the Silver Spike, holding the essence of the Dominator, all hell breaks loose as all the wizards in the north with the slightest desire for power attempts to get their hands on the spike and the dark magic within it.

The Silver Spike was definitely the weakest book in the ...more

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Jul 19, 2014 Fantasy Book Addict rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The Silver Spike follows Darling, Raven, Case, and Silent, and what happens to them after the battle at the Barrowlands. You also get to follow Toadkiller Dog as well as the Wicker Man (identity unknown at the beginning). Other than being able to find out what happened to Darling, Raven, and Silent, the book wasn’t that good.

The book is mainly written in the point-of-view of Case, who was a companion to Raven when he was in hiding in of of the other books. You don’t get to know him too well unti The Silver Spike follows Darling, Raven, Case, and Silent, and what happens to them after the battle at the Barrowlands. You also get to follow Toadkiller Dog as well as the Wicker Man (identity unknown at the beginning). Other than being able to find out what happened to Darling, Raven, and Silent, the book wasn’t that good.

The book is mainly written in the point-of-view of Case, who was a companion to Raven when he was in hiding in of of the other books. You don’t get to know him too well until this book. I would rather read the point-of-view of Croaker or Lady, though Case wasn’t too bad. Some people complain because of the writing, but if you read carefully you find out that Case just learned how to read and write, so it makes sense that some of the grammar isn’t right.

The Silver Spike is probably the worst of all the Black Company novels I have read so far. I really didn’t enjoy this one much. I found the plot to be pretty boring. It parallels the main plot and answers some of the “what happend to…?” questions you might have. The focus of the book is pretty simple: someone is out to steal the silver spike and sell it to the highest bidder. Obviously, everyone gathers to stop anything evil from getting their hands on the spike and a big battle breaks out at the end.

There are no surprises or intrigue that really kept me reading, and it is way more predictable than any of the other books. I just did by best and pushed through it. It feel like I could have skipped quite a few pages and not have missed anything.

There are new characters introduced in the book. I like some of them including Fish (who becomes creepy) and Smeds. They are pretty well developed, and Smeds undergoes some major changes throughout the story. Although I like these characters, there seem to be other characters that are underdeveloped and almost non-existent including Raven’s children and Exile (who could be an interesting character).

I really like hearing about Raven from Case’s perspective. He seems to have become an entirely new person. Raven talks a lot more than in the other books and you get to know more about his feelings towards Darling and his children. He becomes more human when reading about him from Case’s perspective.

After reading this I am hoping that some of the characters actually stay dead. If you have read any of the other books you will understand.

I do recommend reading this novel before Shadow Games. It was the last of the books in the omnibus edition, but should have been the first. It deters from the main story line and after reading the ending in Dreams of Steel this book isn’t what you wan’t to read.

Although I did not enjoy it much, I recommend reading it anyway if you have read the others just because it ties up some loose ends. But definitely read it before Shadow Games! You may enjoy it more than I did if you read this one first.

...more

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Dec 03, 2015 Athena Shardbearer rated it it was ok

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

Hmmm..I didn't love it. This has to be the weakest of the entire series. I went in wanting answers from Raven and didn't get them...or at least the ones I wanted. Darling wasn't that interesting and I just wanted to get this book over with. I hope the next in the series is good. I miss Croaker, The Lady, One-Eye and Goblin! I want them back!!!

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Sep 05, 2014 Gavin rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The Dominator may be dead but the evil essence of his power lingers on trapped in the Silver Spike. The spike is a rich prize for those that covet such a powerful artifact and it's not to long before it is liberated from its prison, in the young sapling tree God, by an enterprising group of thieves. This book follows the thieves as the try to sell their prize to the highest bidder, and Darling and her White Rose companions as the try to return it to a secure resting place.

Sadly, this was the wor ...more

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Sep 26, 2014 Nate rated it liked it

Even though this is probably one of the lesser lights in the Black Company saga, Cook is a gifted enough writer to always keep me enjoying the story. In a genre that tends often tends to the stale he really is a unique voice writing unique stories. The Silver Spike starts right after the momentous events of The White Rose, hanging around the same area with some of the same characters while the actual Black Company heads south and thusly out of this book. I can guarantee that every fan of the Com Even though this is probably one of the lesser lights in the Black Company saga, Cook is a gifted enough writer to always keep me enjoying the story. In a genre that tends often tends to the stale he really is a unique voice writing unique stories. The Silver Spike starts right after the momentous events of The White Rose, hanging around the same area with some of the same characters while the actual Black Company heads south and thusly out of this book. I can guarantee that every fan of the Company (including myself) is gonna do some mental whining and bitching about the resulting lack of familiar characters like Croaker or One-Eye and Goblin but we're still working with some old names like Raven, Silent and Darling, as well as an old antagonist. There was plenty here to like, at least for me. This does indeed seem to be a controversial entry in the series, so take that for what you will.

Cook continues to spend almost no time on worldbuilding in favor of advancing plot and characterization, which was jarring at first but I've long come to like it. The author isn't worried about the details and you shouldn't be either. As much as I do love minutiae in fantasy it is an old trope of the genre and it can be very refreshing to see an author ditching the maps, bloated cast and stuff like that in favor of telling a lean but gripping story. Another thing I love is how American it all feels, and I really don't mean that in a jingoistic way. Most fantasy does derive from a European setting, but the characters seem to have American sensibilities and certainly talk like Americans. This certainly enforces that refreshing feeling, even if these stories are hardly light and fluffy, especially this one. No character here even approaches a Mary Sue. It's pretty much just people looking out for their own well-being and safety, which is hardly an unimaginable way for humans to act.

Silver Spike also felt very much like a heist/crime film/novel in a fantasy setting, which reminds me of some parts of Shadows Linger. We have the rough-and-tumble crew, the plotting and planning, the heist itself and then the shit hitting the fan in the fallout. In all of these crime movies/books, the thing that sets everything in motion is usually a lot of money. In this, it happens to be the titular spike. Smeds, Tully, Old Man Fish and Timmy were the perfect heist gang in that their temperament and personalities varied pretty widely. Watching them try to escape the ever-closing net of people looking for the spike was really the meat and potatoes of this story for me, although the more military-focused second thread of the book was compelling. Cook's magic feels genuinely dark and dangerous and a lot of times the action feels less like rote fantasy battles and more like 20th century military engagements played out with fantasy monsters taking the place of troop carriers, fighter planes, etc. It's very cool.

I really do like Glen Cook's stuff. He seems to genuinely not really care about the standard fantasy tropes while still telling a story that is full-blooded fantasy, and also pulls this off without ever seeming like he's forcing it or mailing it in. If this is the worst he has to offer we're gonna be just fine, him and I. It's an added bonus that I get back to some old acquaintances in Shadow Games. This is a series that I continue to recommend highly to people that enjoy fantasy but get sick of the same general paradigm, values and ideas that the genre consistently features. Cook's sparse and even dry prose can be offputting, but it can be very rewarding as well. I wonder if his other fantasy series is any good... ...more

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May 17, 2015 Milda Page Runner rated it really liked it

Recommended to Milda by: Evgeny

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

Supposedly the weakest part of the Books of The South yet I really enjoyed it.
Tells us the story of the group that split up from the Black Company after the events in the Burrowland - Darling, Silent, Raven and Case. The narrator is Case and I really liked his voice. Possibly even more than Croaker's. (don't judge me -.-) He is less educated and his language is simpler, on a plus side he is less romantic and more sarcastic, funny. His humour surprised me and made me laugh out loud in the most in ...more

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Jun 23, 2015 Skaistė rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lop-2015-yearly-challenge-aeiouy

Skaitėsi gana lengvai ir buvo įdomu. Kiekviena iš skaitytų serijos knygų truputį skiriasi istorijos pasakojimo būdu. Šioje buvo netikėta, kad nebėra įprasto pasakotojo, o atsiranda naujas. Iš dalies buvo gaila, kad trūksta tokio pasakojimo apie įvykius, prie kokio buvau pripratusi. Tačiau naujas pasakotojas atskleidė kiek kitokį požiūrį, o be to, jo pasakojama istorija buvo smagi, šmaikšti, leido geriau pažinti patį veikėją, jo mintis, įvairius pastebėjimus, kurie ne kartą prajuokino, o ir kelio ...more

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May 19, 2015 Caro M. rated it really liked it

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

What I learned from this book:
- potatoes grow everywhere, even in the fantasy lands with talking rocks, and it's great! If I won't conquer Avalon (or else) I will know what to do next, at least.
- sign language is so easy to learn, everybody should try it and they should probably teach it at school instead of English. :P
- you can be a simple peasant girl with rather manly looks, but if you've got that "something" men will be happy to die for you, to deal with scary stinky creatures, talking rock ...more

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

Shelves: fantasy, favourite-series, magic, male-lead, bbb, wtf, blood-and-gore-yay, set-sail-for-disappointment, lame-a-saurus, gloriously-fucked-up-characters, assholes-and-liars-everywhere-yay, badass-turned-compliant-wimp, welcome-to-the-zoo, bring-soulcatcher-back, grimdark, it-s-war, black-company, darker-is-cooler, this-is-perfection, mostest-awesomest-villains, machalo-tbr-cleaning-challenge-2016

Buddy read with the BBB mercenaries

Warning #1: I'm mad as hell right now. Just thought I'd let you know.

Warning #2: there will be spoilers in this review. Got a problem with that? Too bad.

Okay, this non-review thing is going to be a mess because I'm really pissed right now. I wish I was pissed because too much vodka, but that is unfortunately not the case. I might down a few bottles when I'm done writing this thing, though. It might help deal with the anger and disappointment. But I digress. W ...more

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Feb 13, 2016 Aida rated it it was amazing

خیلی وقت پیش تموم شد ولی گذاشتم دور دوم هم بخونم بعد پایان بزنم.

با توجه به نظرات انتظار داشتم کمی ضعیفتر از باقی جلدها باشه و اندکی هم شک داشتم که لزوم ترجمه اش چقدر زیاده اما الان نظرم کاملا عوض شده. داستان عالی بود، پایان غیرمنتظره بود و مطمئن شدم که حتما این کتاب باید قبل از جلد چهار خونده بشه وگرنه کلا خوندن جلد چهار گیج کننده میشه!

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Jan 26, 2016 Choko rated it really liked it

Shelves: advanture, fantasy-grim

I have been thinking about this and I believe my anger at some of the characters turned my objectivity off and giving this book anything less than 4 stars is just not right... So, I am changing my rating because this is a very good series!!!

*** 4 ***

*** 3.45 ***
A buddy read with BBB buddies:-)

This is a the story of Raven, Case, Darling, Limper, Silent and the monster Killer Dog immediately after the battle conclusion in the North from book 3 in the series. Mr. Cook just couldn't leave that o ...more

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Dec 22, 2015 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-5-stars, fantastic-fantasy, awesome-audio, buddy-read

Why do you break my heart so???

This is a book that after the end you have to take a step back to really appreciate where it ended up. I both hated and loved the end and could definitely see why this book has some very conflicting reviews. Not everyone makes it out alive (this is Grimdark Fantasy what did you expect) and when you care about the characters that is always a hard thing. But I really loved how true to the story Cook stayed and how he made me respect and root for characters even when ...more

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Dec 29, 2015 Eon ♒Windrunner♒ rated it liked it

2.5 Stars

Mmm. Not The Black Company I have become used to. I did enjoy some of it, but mostly a disappointment for me.

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Jan 28, 2016 Eilonwy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a-bit-dark-for-me, fast-paced, good-mythology, just-brilliant, heartbreaking

There wasn't no place in the world you could put that silver spike that somebody couldn't get it back from except maybe if you dropped it in the deepest part of the ocean. And that probably wouldn't do the job neither. Some damned fish would probably gulp it down before it sunk ten feet, then the fish would beach itself or get hooked by some goddamned fisherman with a hidden talent for sorcery and a secret lust for conquest. That's the nature of evil talismans.

What happens when the greatest ev ...more

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Mar 23, 2016 L'ours inculte rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ah, quel bonheur de retrouver la Compagnie Noire. Vite, dévorons ce nouveau tome ! Mais… Mais… Ils sont où ces cons ? Ils sont pas là… Ah zut, c’est vrai, La pointe d’argent est un spin-off de La Compagnie Noire, mais sans La Compagnie Noire (warning : si vous n’avez pas lu la première trilogie et avez une phobie du spoil, il serait bon de zapper cette chronique).

En effet, l’histoire de ce présent tome démarre après la fin du 3, les mercenaires ayant survécu à la bataille des Tumulus s’en sont a Ah, quel bonheur de retrouver la Compagnie Noire. Vite, dévorons ce nouveau tome ! Mais… Mais… Ils sont où ces cons ? Ils sont pas là… Ah zut, c’est vrai, La pointe d’argent est un spin-off de La Compagnie Noire, mais sans La Compagnie Noire (warning : si vous n’avez pas lu la première trilogie et avez une phobie du spoil, il serait bon de zapper cette chronique).

En effet, l’histoire de ce présent tome démarre après la fin du 3, les mercenaires ayant survécu à la bataille des Tumulus s’en sont allés vadrouiller vers le sud, laissant l’essence du Dominateur enfermée dans une petite pointe d’argent protégée par un arbre divin. Pas de bol, quatre petits malins parviennent à déjouer la surveillance du gardien et volent la pointe pour essayer de la revendre. Ce qu’ils n’avaient pas prévu, c’est que la libération de cet artefact puissant allait attirer vers eux tout ce que le pays compte de sorciers et d’êtres malfaisants, en tête de liste on retrouve le Boiteux, dernier asservi fraichement ressuscité accompagné de Saigne-Crapaud le Chien.

On va également retrouver la Rose Blanche, qui va revenir en vitesse essayer de calmer tout ça avant que ça dégénère. La pointe d’argent fait le point sur tous ceux qui ne sont pas repartis avec Toubib (et ne sont pas morts) : D’un côté nous avons donc Chérie accompagnée de Silence, de l’autre Casier qui essaye de sortir Corbeau de sa cuite permanente, plus quelques surprises. Tout ce beau monde va converger vers les voleurs qui vont devoir redoubler de prudence et d’astuce pour que leur plan merveilleux ne leur pète pas à la figure. Ces quatre-là sont de nouveaux personnages qui fonctionnent très bien, Smed, Poisson, Timmy et Tully se retrouvent traqués et doivent jouer avec les forces et les faiblesses de chacun pour s’en sortir, et c’est pas tous de grands génies.

Glen Cook réussit encore une fois à poser une ambiance sombre et fataliste, à assembler toutes ses pièces en un piège hors de contrôle. Le lecteur appréciera énormément de retrouver certains personnages même s’ils ont parfois perdu en importance et en charisme par rapport aux livres précédents (Silence et Corbeau, deux de mes personnages préférés, m’avaient l’air un peu fades dans cette aventure). J’ai souvent eu un sentiment de déjà-vu en lisant certaines scènes à dos de baleines, ou les rencontres avec le boiteux, ou l’ambiance générale d’Aviron occupée. C’est agréable de retrouver cet univers mais j’avais l’impression que l’auteur revenait sur ses acquis avec un peu de facilité.

Pourtant ça fonctionne toujours aussi bien, il y a toujours cette efficacité et cette noirceur très maitrisée. La dynamique du groupe de quatre voleurs est un des points forts du roman, elle fonctionne à merveille. On est plongés avec eux dans leur merde, ils essayent de s’en sortir après avoir réalisé dans quel pétrin ils s’étaient fourrés. Ils vont devoir se cacher de l’armée, des sorciers, des rebelles, et essayer de se débarrasser de la pointe sans trop de casse. Ils vont devoir se faire confiance aussi, pas facile quand on est une bande de glands pas bien malins. Le personnage de Pépé le Poisson est certainement le plus réussi du livre pour moi, il reste très énigmatique aussi, on n’en saura pas beaucoup sur lui à part qu’il a la classe.

J’ai lu ce tome après la première trilogie, pourtant il est parfois présenté comme le sixième livre de la saga (notamment chez J’ai Lu). Au final vous faites un peu comme vous voulez, les tomes 4 et 5 (ou 5 et 6), Jeux d’ombres et Rêves d’acier, se passent en parallèle donc c’est au choix, Goodreads le fiche même comme tome 3,5. Pour ma part j’ai toute la série dans l’édition simple de L’Atalante parce que j’aime beaucoup ce format (qu’on retrouve aussi sur Alvin le faiseur, tiens faudra que je parle de cette série un jour…), mais vous pouvez retrouver la série dans des intégrales poche bien mastoc éditées par J’ai Lu, la troisième vient de sortir.

Malgré un petit sentiment de répétition et quelques personnages sous-exploités, j’ai beaucoup apprécié de retrouver l’ambiance de la compagnie noire dans ce spin-off qui se lit vite, j’ai maintenant bien envie de repartir vers Toubib et ses potes pour voir ce qu’ils deviennent.

http://ours-inculte.fr/pointe-dargent/ ...more

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Jul 04, 2016 Ahmad Sharabiani added it · review of another edition

The Silver Spike (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5), Glen Cook
عنوان: سرگذشت گروهان سیاه؛ کتاب چهارم : سرنیزه نقره ای؛ نویسنده: گلن کوک؛ مترجم: آیدا کشوری؛ ویراستار: گودرز پایکوب؛ تهران، کتابسرای تندیس، 1395؛ در 432 ص؛ شابک: 9786001821967؛
...more

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Jun 07, 2016 Eric rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, action, war, adventure, drama, dark-fantasy, epic-fantasy, suspense-thriller

4 1/2 stars

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Sep 17, 2016 Nariman rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

تموم کردنش با وقفههای طولانی مواجه شد، ولی خط داستانی خوبی داشت. هر چند کسی مثل من که جلد رو خونده و شدیدا دنبال بود، کمی شروع این داستان توی ذوقم زد، ولی نویسنده ابتکار خوبی به کار برده بود.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Sep 28, 2016 Adara rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, grimdark

While I appreciated learning about what eventually happened to the Silver Spike, I was left feeling a tad disappointed by this book. The Raven arc kinda just fizzled into nothing. Actually, the whole of the last third of this book kinda fizzled into nothing. That ending was . . . a choice.

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Aug 08, 2016 Maureen rated it liked it

Another book without my favorites. The story was just ok. I was kind of bored and just plodding through to get onto the next that hopefully will have Croaker, one-eyed and Goblin in it. Raven was irritating in this book. Got his ass kicked more than not. The last 30 pages saved the book for me. Onto the next one. Happy reading everyone :)

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Sep 03, 2016 Gabriel Osborne rated it liked it

I really loved the first book (The Black Company) in the series. Running deeper in the series now...they're still entertaining reads, but they just don't grip me as much.

The last part of the book read great, I'm hoping series picks back up now that I've finished reading "The Books of the South" compilation.

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Sep 12, 2016 Jackvanc3gmail.Com rated it it was amazing

You could read glen cook's silver spike in isolation.

Its that good.

Very D&D, palladium fantasy rpg, jack vance the dying earth!

Then you can go back and enjoy the black company 1-3 spike is 3.5

after that its downhill, I never liked rest of cooks stuff...maybe I should re visit.....

other gems:

In Yana, the Touch of Undying
by Michael Shea
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit

it was amazing
Read in January, 2014

Pretty wild n raw series of adventures in jack vance dying earth univer ...more

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Oct 13, 2016 Jack rated it it was amazing

This is the fourth book I’ve read in The Black Company series, and it did not disappoint. Fantastic plot, full of subterfuge and reminiscent of the second book in the series, Shadows Linger. Outstanding characters, pacing, and resolution.

Other reviews show some stark disagreement about the occurrences surrounding the book’s climax.

But first:
SPOILERS FOLLOW!
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(view spoiler) ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Fantasy Book Club...: Chronicles of the Black Company > Silver Spike, Chapters 40-79 (The Chronicles of the Black Company #4)	13	18	Aug 04, 2013 10:45AM
Fantasy Book Club...: Silver Spike, Chapters 1-39 (The Chronicles of the Black Company #4)	15	27	Jul 30, 2013 06:36PM

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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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“I was never really a girl, or a woman, or a human being to Raven, Case. Even though he did awful things for me. I was a symbol, an expiation, and when I insisted on becoming a person he did the only thing he could do to keep on serving the symbol and not have to deal with a flesh-and-blood woman.” — 3 likes

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