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comuni's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mysticwarden's review against another edition
4.0
I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled toward absolute honesty, one person whose good opinion of us becomes a substitute for the broader opinion of the world. And that opinion becomes more important than all our sneaky, sleazy schemes of greed, lust, self-aggrandizement, whatever we are up to while lying the world into believing we are just plain nice folks. I was her truth object, and she was mine.
The gang are down to seven members with Croaker at the helm and they're heading south to Khovatar, where the Black Company was formed some 400 years ago. The Lady is tagging along for the adventure and will hopefully become Croaker's lover because, you know, there's nothing weird about a 45-year-old man dating a woman who's literally a 1,000 years old. :)
The long trip south is a pretty fun read. I haven't seen a map of the vast world Cook built, but I did have a fun time visualizing the gang leaving Europe (the north?) and crossing the Mediterranean (the Sea of Torments?) into Africa (the south?), then going south past the equator and into the Congo, and then even further south to finally reach Taglios (which is... India?).
I mean, all the people south of the equator are either black or brown and they've never seen white folks before, which sounds like pre-colonial Africa. Plus, there was that chapter were Cook pretty much described Zulu warriors with short spears and hide bucklers. I doubt I'm the first (I'm probably the billionth, to be honest) person to note the loose parallels between our world and the Black Company's, but I thought this type of epic world building was a great way to move past the events in the first three books.
The Shadowmasters are the new scary danger the gang has to face, but I personally found these mysterious villains to be a tad disappointing because of their almost unforgivable incompetence. I guess great power and tactical intelligence don't go hand in hand? But overall, it's a great story and a lovely continuation of the series. Onward to book 5!
gyttja's review against another edition
3.0
Tycker inte att boken kom igång eller var speciellt spännande. Det som var bra med boken är att precis som de tidigare böckerna känns världen fortfarande väldigt gammal och mystisk. Ser verkligen fram emot att läsa nästa då det kändes som att den här boken på många sätt byggde upp för nästa bok, kanske lite för mycket.
fryguy451's review against another edition
3.0
Good read. I can hardly wait for the next in the series.
shaekin's review against another edition
4.0
The ending felt pretty abrupt after the types of endings I've become accustomed to for this series. Still really good though. I'm impressed at how the series has continued to feel continuous even with major changes each book. I'm curious if that will continue.
stphfrmn's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.5
Not my favourite instalment, it dragged in a few places. Croaker can drag on a bit. Some really interesting developments, the last third got exciting then ended all too abruptly ! It was satisfying to see the relationship between Croaker and the Lady develop.
mbs1236's review against another edition
4.75
Reread Update: Loved it even more on the reread and I had loved it the 1st time too!