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Port of Shadows

(The Chronicles of the Black Company #1.5)

Glen Cook

3.88 · Rating details · 1,415 ratings · 179 reviews

The father of Grimdark returns…

The soldiers of the Black Company don’t ask questions, they get paid. But being “The Lady’s favored” is attracting the wrong kind of attention and has put a target on their backs, and the Company’s historian, Croaker, has the biggest target of all.

The one person who was taken into The Lady’s Tower and returned unchanged has earned the special ...more

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Hardcover, 397 pages

Published September 11th 2018 by Tor Books

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Start your review of Port of Shadows (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1.5)

Apr 25, 2017 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: black-company, br-2018, lickable-covers, favourite-series, 2018, feminism-just-committed-suicide, wtf, aw-hell-no, awakens-the-homicidal-maniac-in-me, someone-please-pass-the-booze

💀 ~~Slightly Catastrophic~~ Buddy read with my mercenary brothers and sisters Elena, Maria, Mark, and the Black Company Overlord Himself (BCOH™) 💀

Warning: I was recently told that my reviews read like they were written by a 13-year-old on ~~acid~~ Tumblr. So proceed at your own risk and stuff. Oh, I’m not 13, by the way, I’m 12. In case you were wondering.

Warning #2: I wanted to make this short but failed miserably. The Black Company is my favorite Fantasy series, so it was impossible for me not to talk ...more

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Aug 06, 2018 Markus rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, black-company

A welcome return.

The long-awaited addition to the series does appear to have become somewhat controversial, at least in my circles. I have several female friends whose reactions to the book were less than enthusiastic. While I can understand claims of misogyny in certain scenes, I must admit I did not find anything beyond what is almost a given in the crude military fraternity that the Black Company is (to the extent that I was wondering if sections were missing from my copy). I do, however, rec A welcome return.

The long-awaited addition to the series does appear to have become somewhat controversial, at least in my circles. I have several female friends whose reactions to the book were less than enthusiastic. While I can understand claims of misogyny in certain scenes, I must admit I did not find anything beyond what is almost a given in the crude military fraternity that the Black Company is (to the extent that I was wondering if sections were missing from my copy). I do, however, recognise that others found it to be so. And indeed, one could certainly include several trigger warnings tied to sexual violence, and as such it might be a tad worse than the less explicit older books, though for the most part the difference is extremely minor. But at the end of the day, we read books through our own lenses, genders, life experiences and attitudes while reading included.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed Port of Shadows as a chance to venture forth with the men of the Black Company once again, to see them on another strange mission for the Lady, and to peak into what in previous books has only been the mythic past. For this book provides glimpses of the history of the Domination, the making of the Barrowland and the developments between then and the Company’s present. Perhaps most intriguingly of all, it shows the Dominator and the Senjak family and their early scheme-ridden tense relationship.

All this is muddled up by the notion of voluntary repeated name-changing and potentially body-swapping. It is heavily implied that the now infamous Senjak Sisters from their early youth change names as a protective measure against the Dominator, each other, and anyone who could attempt to do them harm. We have seen the power of names in the series before. This means that anyone who is not familiar with the characters will have a hard time figuring out who’s who. But if you work at it, you get to enjoy the Postscript where in-world scholars fuck it up completely.

Even if left confused for large swathes of the reading experience, you can also take solace that Glen Cook’s writing is as good as ever. As one might reasonably expect, it has developed and changed, but just as in the main series, it seizes you and brings you in, deep into the twisted and gritty world, even after many years:

The night was silent but for the clop of hooves on wet cobblestones. A sliver of moon winked at the world from behind straggler wisps of cloud, silhouetting the grim spires of Grendirft. No light shone anywhere from that fortress.

The air was still and nearly chill now that the rain had gone away. A hint of corrupting flesh tainted the air of imperial Dusk.

Conclusively, while it certainly isn’t flawless, it certainly is a Chronicle of the Black Company.

Now it’s simply about waiting for A Pitiless Rain...

Series review from the beginning
Series review from the ending ...more

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Mar 28, 2018 Elena C. rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, epic-fantasy-and-grimdark

So. Port of Shadows. Long-awaited throwback to the Company's happier times. For fans and readers who followed the ragtag gang in its journey to the South, I suppose the book was meant as a heartfelt reunion with old friends; for those who are approaching the series in chronological order, this is an occasion to get to know a bit better most of the players in the game before the general plot starts its crazy, heart-stopping gallop towards the epic finale.

I only recently discovered Glen Cook and h ...more

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Sep 24, 2018 Sean rated it it was amazing

Jesus, after reading some of these reviews I had to write my own.

Here, I'm going to make this easy for you.

Are you someone that gets offended by every little thing that doesn't agree with your world view? Are you a Social Justice Warrior? Are you more concerned about what color to dye your hair prior to going to your Resistance meeting than actually having a conversation with someone that might disagree with you? Is everything wrong in your life not your fault, but due to someone hurting your fe ...more

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Mar 25, 2018 Mark rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, own, buddy-reads

In the past year, Glen Cook has quickly become one of my favorite authors; I consider books like The White Rose and She is the Darkness to be among my favorites in the fantasy genre.

That said, I didn’t enjoy this book...at all.

The story starts out on a promising note, with some One-Eye and Goblin antics, as well as a backstory that hints at exciting revelations about the Senjak family. At around the 20% mark, things started to fall apart.

First, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way In the past year, Glen Cook has quickly become one of my favorite authors; I consider books like The White Rose and She is the Darkness to be among my favorites in the fantasy genre.

That said, I didn’t enjoy this book...at all.

The story starts out on a promising note, with some One-Eye and Goblin antics, as well as a backstory that hints at exciting revelations about the Senjak family. At around the 20% mark, things started to fall apart.

First, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: the sexually-perverted and misogynistic content. The specifics of this have been addressed in other reviews far better than I could accomplish, and so I’ll try not to spend too much time rehashing that here. But let’s just put it this way: one of the major plot points of the book revolves around (view spoiler)

The frustrating thing is that Glen Cook has written many strong female characters in this series, and generally seems to show a respect for women. Without going into spoiler territory, much of the book is supposed to be offensive as part of a plot device. That said, authorial intent doesn’t make it any more enjoyable to read, or any less infuriating. The problematic content goes on for far too long, and is wrapped up in a manner that doesn’t do enough to reverse its damaging impact. Too little, too late. I understand that Glen Cook likes to experiment in his novels...Bleak Seasons comes to mind immediately. I just think this experiment failed, and it feels particularly tone-deaf in the midst of the #MeToo movement. Whatever point he was trying to make was taken way over the top, and didn’t feel to me like it was trying to explore some complex theme; it felt like shock value. This novel also deeply offended some people I care about, and of course I will stand by them...I’m not sure what Cook was trying to do by purposely angering a portion of his readership.

Beyond the above-referenced issues, the story itself wasn’t even that compelling to me. It lacked the excitement and epic undertone that I’ve come to expect from a Black Company book. I found myself getting bored and zoning out on multiple occasions, something which has never happened to me in a BC novel; Cook usually writes the most gripping, page-turning stories.

Finally, nothing that happens in this novel actually matters within the larger scope the series. Yes, it was obviously written years after the main books so we can’t expect it to fit in 100% seamlessly, but I assumed it might try to retcon some things or expand the overall world-building. Because of the way it ended, everything kind of just starts back to square one. Even the confusing “revelation” in the epilogue that (view spoiler)

There you have it. The latest Black Company book is, by far, my least favorite. I still recommend the series as a whole; new readers will find some of the best the fantasy genre has to offer. But this volume didn't add anything new or exciting, and was honestly just not enjoyable to read. ...more

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Sep 19, 2018 Jon Adams added it

Fuck it. DNF at 96 pages. No rating.

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Nov 14, 2018 Bookwraiths added it

Shelves: own, fantasy, d-n-f

It pains me to say this, but I could not finish this novel. It isn't bad, but it isn't very interesting either. The term "meh" comes to mind. I'll definitely incorporate it into any future reread I have of the Black Company series, but as a stand alone book, this is a huge dud for me personally. Glad others enjoy it of course, just not for me, I guess. ...more

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Sep 25, 2018 Maria Dimitrova rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, buddy-reads, br-bbb, br-bbb-2018

Buddy read with the Mercenaries of BB&B.

I wish I never read this book. I should have DNFed this weeks ago. But the masochist in me reared her ugly head and made me finish this atrocity to the greatness that is the Chronicles of the Black Company. There were a lot of problems with this book but the one that destroyed my enjoyment was the inconsistent characterization with the other volumes of the first story arc. And it kills me because I loved Croaker's voice and his minimalistic narration. As f ...more

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Jul 24, 2014 Athena Shardbearer marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy, not-out-yet-but-want, do-want, war, high-fantasy, epic, darkfantasy

I need this more than air

I need this more than life

I need this more than anything in the world....

OH, HOW I NEED THEE!!!!!

I need my boys back, and I need them so bad!!!

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Sep 26, 2018 Joseph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

So back in 1984, Glen Cook published The Black Company, the first in a series of (eventually) ten novels -- nine directly following the exploits of the Company (mercenaries, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar, very competent and not always very choosy about their employers) and one (The Silver Spike) telling a sort of side-story about some of the wreckage they left in their wake. And in 2000 came Soldiers Live, the final volume in the story of the Black Company.

And now, 18 years later, we ha So back in 1984, Glen Cook published The Black Company, the first in a series of (eventually) ten novels -- nine directly following the exploits of the Company (mercenaries, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar, very competent and not always very choosy about their employers) and one (The Silver Spike) telling a sort of side-story about some of the wreckage they left in their wake. And in 2000 came Soldiers Live, the final volume in the story of the Black Company.

And now, 18 years later, we have Port of Shadows, which actually falls chronologically between the first two books (The Black Company and Shadows Linger). And let me start by saying: It's pretty great!

And let me continue by saying: If you've never read any Black Company books before, this is probably not a great place to start (it presupposes a fair amount of familiarity with the Company and their associates); and, in fact, if you're reading the series for the first time, I might recommend holding off on this book at least until after you've read the initial trilogy because it will reveal things that are better learned over the course of the original books.

So having said all of that: As mentioned, this book takes place shortly after the events of the very first novel -- the Black Company is in service to the Lady (the Big Bad who, after being inadvertently resurrected by a not-very-bright wizard, hired them to rout the Rebels who oppose her because she is, in fact, not a nice lady, and the Resurrectionists, who oppose her because they want to bring back her husband, the Dominator, an even Bigger Bad still sleeping wrapped in chains and spells in his barrow). They have been sent to the city of Aloe, first to capture a Rebel general, Tides Elba; and then, when she comes back as the Taken Mischevious Rain, to deal with what appears to be a major Resurrectionist plot (the titular "Port of Shadows" being something or someone that would allow the Dominator to manifest).

Most of the book is written, as per usual, by our old friend Croaker, who is both the company medic and the company Annalist (responsible for writing & maintaining records of their action); although there are also interstitial sections (labeled "Once Upon a Time" or "Long Ago and Far Away") that tell of events that happened, well, long ago and far away but with impact on the events the Company is dealing with in the here & now.

And the entire story is a bit ... odd. It turns out that there are very good in-universe reasons why nobody seems to remember these events in subsequent volumes, and there are revelations (or are there?) that might cause some major rethinking of characters we thought we knew. But it takes place in such complete isolation that it's hard to say.

But still: I was very happy to hear more from Croaker -- he's still not nearly as cynical and world-weary as he pretends to be -- and to read about Goblin and One-Eye and Silent and the Lieutenant and the Captain and the rest, and to see the Taken doing their thing; it was a joyous sitting down with old but extremely disreputable friends.
...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Patrick St-Denis rated it it was ok

Port of Shadows is the first Black Company installment in seventeen years. This more or less stand-alone tale was meant to be the perfect place to start for newbies not familiar with Glen Cook's signature series and an opportunity for long time fans to rejoice. Unfortunately, this new book failed to deliver on basically every front. The father of Grimdark Cook may be, but his latest effort was a total failure to launch.

Readers who have yet to get acquainted with the motley crew that is the Black Port of Shadows is the first Black Company installment in seventeen years. This more or less stand-alone tale was meant to be the perfect place to start for newbies not familiar with Glen Cook's signature series and an opportunity for long time fans to rejoice. Unfortunately, this new book failed to deliver on basically every front. The father of Grimdark Cook may be, but his latest effort was a total failure to launch.

Readers who have yet to get acquainted with the motley crew that is the Black Company should give this novel a wide berth and go for The Chronicles of the Black Company omnibus instead. And existing fans should simply try to forget that Port of Shadows was published. Indeed, it was that underwhelming.

Here's the blurb:

The soldiers of the Black Company don’t ask questions, they get paid. But being “The Lady’s favored” is attracting the wrong kind of attention and has put a target on their backs, and the Company’s historian, Croaker, has the biggest target of all.

The one person who was taken into The Lady’s Tower and returned unchanged has earned the special interest of the court of sorcerers known as The Ten Who Were Taken. Now, he and the company are being asked to seek the aid of their newest member, Mischievous Rain, to break a rebel army. However, Croaker doesn’t trust any ofthe Taken, especially not ones that look so much like The Lady and her sister…

The chapters "Tides Elba" and "Smelling Danger" and "Bone Candy" first appeared in various SFF anthologies between 2010 and 2014. Glen Cook fans were happy to see the author write new short fiction pieces featuring the endearing members of the Black Company. Personally, I thought that this particular story arc would continue to be explored through short stories every once in a while. But I reckon it was inevitable that a novel-length project would one day see the light. Problem is, I'm not sure the author had enough material to warrant a full novel at this point and it shows in several portions of Port of Shadows. This definitely was a case of all filler and no killer.

As far as I'm concerned, Croaker has always been the true voice of the Black Company. As a narrator, his witty and sardonic observations remain one of the highlights of the entire saga. The man is aware of his strengths and his flaws, and it's always a joy to follow his narrative. Hence, to have Croaker back as the narrator in Port of Shadows was, at least early on, a lot of fun. It felt as though Mischievous Rain would be a great new addition to the cast, but she soon became a dead end character. In many ways, it's the interaction between the members of the Black Company that has always made the characterization so special in this series. Unfortunately, fan favorites such as Goblin and One-Eye play very limited roles in the plot of this new book, and the focus remains more on the new faces comprising the supporting cast. Which would have been no problem had Cook taken time to develop them a bit. Alas. . .

Split into three distinct timelines that come together at different junctures in the plot, the structure of Port of Shadows takes a while to get used to. The "Once Upon a Time" section features the perspective of a necromancer who may have been nearly as powerful as the Dominator. The "Long Ago and Far Away" section features the point of view of young Credence Senjak. "In Modern Time" features Croaker's narrative, as the Black Company enjoys some downtime in Aloe until things take a turn for the worse.

There is no way to sugarcoat it. The pace is often absolutely horrendous. It feels as though Glen Cook is making everything up as he goes along. Port of Shadows is a meandering and occasionally downright boring work that has little in common with previous Black Company installments. Add to that all the misogynistic content, the rape, and the sexually perverted stuff like incest and necrophilia, and you can understand why this novel has many a fan, especially female readers, up in arms. There also appears to be continuity errors regarding the Senjak sisters that fans are not pleased with.

Finally, having everyone's memory wiped following the events of Port of Shadows to explain how no one can recall what happened in Aloe and in the Ghost Country was a half-assed plot device. In the end, like Croaker and the rest of the crew, I just wish I could forget about everything found within the pages of this novel. It was a chore to go through and took everything I had to reach the end. The endgame and the finale offer little satisfaction, so here's to hoping that no other Black Company novel-length projects are in the pipeline for the near future unless they can live up to the hype generated by their predecessors.

A major disappointment. . .

For more reviews, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Cross777 rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is not the Black Company you are looking for. Skip it.

There are two narratives. One deep in the past, one current told by Croaker.
The past involves a necromancer, Papa, the dead body of Dorotea Senjak and her sister Credence and the centuries they spent together and what became of them.
Croaker tells the story of the Port of Shadows, a way to awaken the Dominator.

Not much happens in the book which takes place in Aloe for about 4 years.
The Company is in a peaceful town, the rebels destroyed a ...more

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Sep 23, 2018 David rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I first discovered Glenn Cook 30 years ago. I've read everything he has published and loved nearly all of it. This book, by far is the worst he has ever produced. No, really this could be considered Did Not Finish material. If you loved the characters of the Black Company, you will not find them here. Sure the names used are the same but the personalities and actions of those characters do not come across at all. All interactions are very superficial and half of it is just a straight rehash of t ...more

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Sep 25, 2018 Jeremy Jackson rated it it was ok

Alas!
Glen Cook is a fine writer, and the prose is certainly Glen Cook's. The nostalgia of returning to one of my favorite series (penultimate to the best period of that series) was keen.
Unfortunately, this revival should have remained buried. I labored through far too much harkening back to banter better written in the original volumes; I pressed on past filler that, if cut, would have left the remainder a serviceable short story; I held my nose and skimmed an unsettling amount of misogynistic ...more

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Sep 16, 2018 Darren McGowan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I want more

Wow, just like your favorite jeans. This book reminded me of catching up with an old friend, everything just seemed perfect. It's been way to long since we've heard from Croaker and the Company, characters were just as you would expect,the writing was in line with the rest of the books and the plot was unique. Although there was not as much action as I would of liked,there is some very interesting back story that reveals a lot about the Lady and family. A must read for any Black co fa ...more

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Sep 16, 2018 Chez rated it it was amazing

The easiest, no brainer, 5 stars I’ve given this year

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Sep 20, 2018 Ned Lud rated it it was amazing

74 years young and still kicking ass! Cheers to you Mr.Cook!

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Feb 27, 2018 S.E. Lindberg rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-se

This Black Company installment from Glen Cook (chronologically #1.5, but published >#10) will be enjoyed by long-term fans much more than newer folk reading the books in order. I came from reading only the first book and recommend skipping it (I am still intrigued to read Shadows Linger eventually). As part of group read in the Goodread's Sword & Sorcery group, series fans suggest reading the original trilogy first (Chronicles of the Black Company) and reaffirm that the other books are more enga ...more

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Sep 23, 2018 Bentgaidin rated it really liked it

This was interesting to read as a return to the Black Company; the series was originally published in the 80s/90s as dark military fantasy about a mercenary group that signs on to work for the evil empire and gets caught up in the sorcerous crossfire between the various factions of evil overlords ruling the place. It's very much a progenitor of the Grimdark fantasy genre, about fighting being bloody and awful, self-interest being rewarded far more than good intentions, and the overall dog-eat-do This was interesting to read as a return to the Black Company; the series was originally published in the 80s/90s as dark military fantasy about a mercenary group that signs on to work for the evil empire and gets caught up in the sorcerous crossfire between the various factions of evil overlords ruling the place. It's very much a progenitor of the Grimdark fantasy genre, about fighting being bloody and awful, self-interest being rewarded far more than good intentions, and the overall dog-eat-dog nature of the world; it's also vaguely mysogynist in that way where women are good for something, over there off the page, and we can just think of them as sex objects, and a woman with enough power to not be a sex object is objectively terrifying. So this is the world we're returning to, in a story set in the middle of events that we've already known how they turn out, which makes for an interesting challenge; there are some things the characters worry about that we know can't happen, and others that they discover that the reader already knew going in. It's not predicated on any foreknowledge -- it'd probably be a decent entry-point for new readers, with a bit of extra suspense and a bit of extra confusion and revelation for those not familiar -- but it's certainly an experience to come back to the characters, knowing where they'll end up in a few books. I'd probably recommend the old books as a start instead, though, if only because this doesn't get up to quite as many tricks and surprises as the original trilogy. Also. it's very true to those characters, which makes it strange to read their dismissal and objectification of the women at the heart of the story here in 2018; I'm not sure how you could correct that given the very close first-person nature of the writing, but I wish Cook could have somehow. If you have nostalgia for the Black Company this is worth a look, or if you've heard of the series but don't want to actually embark on a, granted, short by modern fantasy standards, ten-book read (and there's omnibuses now, too) it does hit all the major beats. Other than that, it won't necessarily astound you, but it's a competent dark fantasy. ...more

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Sep 21, 2018 Michael rated it it was amazing

After many years Glen Cook returns to his hugely popular Black Company series. This book goes back to a time when the Black Company is still in service to the Lady. It takes place between book one, "The Black Company", and book two, "Shadows Linger". This one is once again told from the perspective of Croker, the Black Company's Annalist. He has stated many times that some of the Annals are missing and parts of the Company's history are unknown. Little did he know that part of his own history wi ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 George Harris rated it really liked it

A story that takes place during the Company's service to Lady, before the destruction of the Dominator. Fans of the Annals of the Black Company will almost certainly enjoy it. I have no idea if people unfamiliar with the series would understand it, but they're in luck! They get to read the Annal of the Black Company for the first time. It gives the most in-depth look at the time of the Domination yet. ...more

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Oct 01, 2018 Chip rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

WTF, Glen? This ... this was not a Black Company book. I dunno what this was. Reminiscent of one of Brust’s time-bending, who knows wtf is actually going on, later Taltos books. And just, really, not great. NOT Black Company. Unfortunately (and I thought this with his later (prior to this one) Black Company books too), seems Cook has really lost the thread with this series.

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Jan 03, 2019 Ryan St george rated it it was amazing

If you’re big time in BC lore and characters, this is the book for you! To others this book may just seem like “filler” to me it’s a treat! I greatly enjoyed going back to this world and getting to know these awesome characters again!
Highly recommended for BC fanatics like me!

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Oct 23, 2018 Lanko rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018, rc2018-ne, bingo18

I was really up for this. It has been what? Almost 20 years since Soldiers Live? And to make thinks even better, this starts really well... but it became boring pretty quickly. Took me a month to read it. And a month was also the time to read the entire series last year.

It starts with the Company guys we all love and cherish, there is banter between One-Eye and Goblin, even the long sections of playing tonk that appeared in the other novels. The Captain, Lieutenant, Silent, Elmo, the guys are a I was really up for this. It has been what? Almost 20 years since Soldiers Live? And to make thinks even better, this starts really well... but it became boring pretty quickly. Took me a month to read it. And a month was also the time to read the entire series last year.

It starts with the Company guys we all love and cherish, there is banter between One-Eye and Goblin, even the long sections of playing tonk that appeared in the other novels. The Captain, Lieutenant, Silent, Elmo, the guys are all there.

Heck, the guys even pull one on the Limper right at the beginning. Good times.

Then the plot "starts" and... it's a really non-sense one, not to mention not packed with much action, barely any military incursion and descriptions like in the previous books. Believe it or not, it's mostly focused on Croaker playing at "hard-boiled-and-violent-mercenary-but-cutesy-and-clumsy-family-man" with a fake wife and children.

Well, near the very end (at about 98%) comes the bomb and everything makes sense about this and it'll probably make you wonder a lot about some things... but still, it didn't make the story up until that point any more enjoyable to go through.

There's a backstory featuring characters back in the Domination, with the Dominator himself and some of the Senjak sisters at the front.
I think Cook totally nailed the personality of the crazy but genius mage, but I really wanted more story on the Domination, not the direction it took.

There's also some random stuff thrown in, like lots of Asian names (Kuroneko, Shironeko, Baku, etc) and clones of magical asian girls (yes, seriously) coming out of nowhere, even yukatas suddenly appear (and how does Croaker know what one is?) Or why people were using it at that place? Considering these clones are based on sisters of a certain someone, it made it even more confusing.

It all becomes focused on this, the Company itself and its other great members pretty much vanish into the background, along with the other Taken, the Domination or anything that could've been explorer.

Anyway, after almost 20 years, it was good to see some of the guys back, but at the same time wondered if they deserved a little better. ...more

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Sep 24, 2018 James rated it it was ok

I wanted this book to be better than it is. The original Black Company gave us hardbitten mercenaries, difficult moral choices, and musings on the nature of evil. This book seems to just unfold with the Company as a sort of decoration. Croaker and friends watch and make crude jokes through the story but they don’t really have much influence on events. The ending is ambiguous and confusing in ways that I don’t think were necessary. The overall impact is deeply unsatisfying.

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Sep 22, 2018 Terence rated it liked it

Shelves: sf-fantasy

The Black Company is one of my favorite fantasy series; Croaker is in my top five of all-time favorite characters. But...I've felt Cook has been coasting for too long. The final chapter in the Dread Empire series felt tired - there was no energy and the series deserved a better ending. And even the later books of this series often felt like Cook was just writing for the paycheck.

But...seeing that this incorporates "Tides Elba,"* we're back in the North under the Lady's dominion, and Croaker appe ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 E.R. R Burgess rated it really liked it

Excitedly read through this new Black Company book since it's the first one in ages. Cook is the same guy he was before, lots of excellent plotting (if they are sometimes more complex than they need to be), names that are sometimes awesome and sometimes ludicrous (and he goes full Russian Novel here with people going by three names), and the often lazy writing (the anachronistic phrases members of the Black Company slide into and the tendency to leave all the voices sounding the same. This was a Excitedly read through this new Black Company book since it's the first one in ages. Cook is the same guy he was before, lots of excellent plotting (if they are sometimes more complex than they need to be), names that are sometimes awesome and sometimes ludicrous (and he goes full Russian Novel here with people going by three names), and the often lazy writing (the anachronistic phrases members of the Black Company slide into and the tendency to leave all the voices sounding the same. This was always a bit of a problem but it's maybe worse here than ever before. A good editor could make Cook's books all the more wonderful but he's never found his own Maxwell Perkins. I'd also caution readers who are sensitive about his treatment of women (others have commented on it and his racially-insensitive language in the past), but he's fully writing about a society with a different attitude that is in line with historical views. My 2018 sensibility made me cringe at times, but I cringed at A Column of Fire earlier this year, too, which is a historical novel. I don't think Follett or Cook advocate these views, they just write about them. Anyway, word to the concerned.

While it's nice to have Croaker back after Murgen's fussiness, the narrative takes some odd turns and there is more focus on an intriguing history than there needs to be (it's good, but less of it would have been better). There's also a truly bizarre epilogue that kind of gives Cook the option to kind of dismiss things he brought up that sounded kind of problematic for the lore. Insurance for inconsistencies that hardcore fans might find? Perhaps so.

All in all, a fun read and I hope the next book is also earlier in the timeline like this one. The grittiness of the series (which I re-read this year in anticipation of Port of Shadows) reminds me of the strong influence he was on GRRM's Game of Thrones. Even a lot of his language goes directly into phrases used in GOT, although Martin does a finer job of turning that language into a real vernacular where Cook just spits out tough-guy talk.

If you love the Black Company (as I do, warts-and-all), you will enjoy it for sure - which is why this decidedly three-star review has a fourth one up there. Pure nostalgia, folks - uncut and effective. ...more

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May 18, 2019 Richard rated it liked it

Shelves: series, fantasy, fantasy-epic

Port of Shadows is an insert into the chronology of the author’s long Chronicles series.

It is a combination of several apparent experimentations, some of which failed, yet demonstrated some intriguing innovation on the part of the author.

The original trilogy was pretty good. Those are the first three, written in the mid 1980s, and later became collectively known as the “Books of the North”.

That trilogy was apparently a pioneer in what is now known as the grimdark subgenre of fantasy “speculativ ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Joshua Castleman rated it really liked it

A new entry in The Black Company series? Yes please!

I wasn't sure what to expect since the book falls between books 1 and 2 of the series, and it's been awhile since Glen Cook worked on anything Black Company related. I was a little worried it might be one of those terrible 'going back to the well for a quick paycheck' disappointments. My fears were quickly silenced, as this was yet another wonderful book in Cook's trademark straight-forward, no frills style. The writing and content leaned a bi A new entry in The Black Company series? Yes please!

I wasn't sure what to expect since the book falls between books 1 and 2 of the series, and it's been awhile since Glen Cook worked on anything Black Company related. I was a little worried it might be one of those terrible 'going back to the well for a quick paycheck' disappointments. My fears were quickly silenced, as this was yet another wonderful book in Cook's trademark straight-forward, no frills style. The writing and content leaned a bit more towards crude than I remembered from most of the rest of the series (not that the rest of the series was ever fit for a nun to read in the first place), and I had mixed emotions on that. Having been in the military, it definitely rang true and was by no means forced, just different.

Also trademark Cook, he spins two somewhat parallel stories for the first half of the book, leaving the reader in the dark, wondering what the heck is going on and why, which perfectly mirrors the feelings of the main character, who also has no idea what's going on. Rest-assured, he will tie things together wonderfully, and it will all make perfect sense.

One of the things I love about his writing is how the stories focus much more on the grunts-eye view of the day to day, and the bigger story is almost told in the background, instead of the vice versa often seen in epic fantasies. So while this is an epic fantasy world, it feels very real because I can so easily relate to the characters in their day to day struggles and feeling like I have no control over all these things going on around me.

An interesting element he brought in was some...well, not quite romance, but feelings of fondness towards someone, and even possibly a family. It's hard to explain without giving some things away, but I will say he hit some new emotions that are often left undisturbed in most other Black Company books, which was quite a pleasant surprise.

He worked in a lot of new characters too, which surprised me since, this being between two established books, and we already know who is still around afterwards, I wasn't expecting such a huge addition to the cast. I was borderline alarmed by the midpoint too, since I did not want Cook to just kill them all off a la Rogue One. Without giving too much away, I will say he handled it about as well as possible and I feel he gave them their due respect and justice, given the confines he had to work within.

Overall, it was such a fun little cul-de-sac story, a dip back into my favorite fantasy series. I had already been considering a re-read of the entire series, and spending some time with the characters again bumped that possibility way up my list.

Glen Cook, give me more Black Company! ...more

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Sep 17, 2018 Joel Mitchell rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Note: if you haven’t read at least the first 2-3 Black Company books, this review might not make a whole lot of sense. There are no spoilers, but I am assuming that you have a basic idea of the characters & world (I would recommend skipping this your first time through the series).

This book takes place between the original books one and two, so the original gang’s all here. It was great to see Croaker, One-Eye, Goblin, the Captain, and the rest back in action…sort of. Unfortunately, they spend a ...more

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About Glen Cook

Glen Cook

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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

Other books in the series

The Chronicles of the Black Company (10 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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Quotes from Port of Shadows

“Order was what regular people wanted. Order and security were necessary before prosperity could take hold. The political crap, the who is going to be in charge, did not matter to most folks.” — 1 likes

“an iron law of warfare. No matter how clever you are at finding a new tool, your opponent will come up with a counter long before that can possibly be convenient for you.” — 0 likes

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