Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Tor Fantasy (1997), Edition: First Thus, Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Description
"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 our present predicament to its inevitable end..." So writes Murgen, seasoned veteran of the Black Company. The Company has taken the fortress of Stormgard from the evil Shadowlanders, lords of darkness from the far reaches of the earth. Now the waiting begins. Exhausted from the siege, beset by sorcery, and vastly outnumbered, the Company have risked their souls as well as their lives to hold their prize. But this is the end of an age, and great forces are at work. The ancient race known as the Nyueng Bao swear that ancient gods are stirring. the Company's commander has gone mad and flirts with the forces of darkness. Only Murgen, touched by a spell that has set his soul adrift in time, begins at last to comprehend the dark design that has made pawns of men and god alike.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member TadAD
A major downturn, in my opinion. Another new narrator, who neither as enjoyable as Croaker or, at least, familiar as Lady. The plot construction is chaotic with jumps in time and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of story. It seems like a set up for later books, and not a great one, at that.
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This is the first Glen Cook I haven't really enjoyed, but I'll keep going in hopes of better. Show Less
LibraryThing member saltmanz
This book threw me for a loop when I started it. At first, it just seems to be retelling the events of last book from the perspective of those soldiers trapped in Dejagore. But then the narrative jumps to events three years later, and continues bouncing back and forth throughout. Murgen makes for
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an enjoyable narrator, and while the time-jumping is never fully explained, it's handled well. Murgen "writes" the next volume too, so hopefully there'll be more answers in that book (like what the heck is up with Smoke.) Show Less
LibraryThing member iayork
This series should be bigger than the Wheel Of Time!: An excellent read, though it might be confusing if you haven't read the rest of the Black Company series. No all-powerful characters. Characters you can relate to on some level. This isn't some flowery fantasy ala Eddings. It can be brutal.
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There is no definite line between Good and Evil...just like in our reality. An excellent series...get them all: The Black Company / Shadows Linger / The White Rose / The Silver Spike / Shadow Games / Dreams Of Steel / Bleak Seasons / She Is The Darkness (to be released Fall 1997) Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
I liked this installment of the Black Company saga. The new members added some new personalities, while the old members kept things interesting. Cook does a very good job of slowly turning over the members of the company, which is what you'd expect in such a deadly business. This isn't light
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fantasy, its very gritty and realistic. Show Less
LibraryThing member trinibaby9
My least favourite of the Black Company series so far, I found this one difficult to get into. It failed to maintain or build on the momentum of the previous book. It does serve it's purpose, as it gives a bit more detail of the happenings in dejagore during the siege, as well as the members of the
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company trapped in the siege. I just found this to be lacking in flow and it never really grabbed my attention. This is an excellent series, I'm really enjoying it. I'm glad though that this book is not one of the first three though, if it was it may have put me off of reading the rest of the series completely. By now though I'm hooked so I'll continue on with the rest, despite my disapointment with this installment. Show Less
LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
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
There's a lot more hinting at the True Nature of the Company, but not much is revealed, and otherwise it's a Black Company novel like all the rest - grittiness, sneaking, bickering, and bloodshed. It's fine, if that's what you're into.
Bleak Seasons is a bridge book of sorts. Cook took six years off after Dreams of
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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's a bit gimmicky, but it works, and actually becomes very useful in the suceeding volumes.There's a lot more hinting at the True Nature of the Company, but not much is revealed, and otherwise it's a Black Company novel like all the rest - grittiness, sneaking, bickering, and bloodshed. It's fine, if that's what you're into.
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LibraryThing member AshleyMiller
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
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!
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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!
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
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
Anyway, I like it. It stands out compared to standard genre fare but doesn't try to do to much. Maybe that is Cook's secret. He does a few things well, but doesn't try to do too much.
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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 purpose unless they are lying or crazy. It's a bleak and dismal series, in that sense, but in the middle of that bleak and dismal moral setting the choices of the characters have a better chance of being meaning full than when the white-hats smite the black-hats.Anyway, I like it. It stands out compared to standard genre fare but doesn't try to do to much. Maybe that is Cook's secret. He does a few things well, but doesn't try to do too much.
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LibraryThing member Lucky-Loki
Unlike the first four Black Company books, these later ones seem less like standalone (if subsequent and related) novels and more like episodes in a longer tale. This isn't something I mind, really, but it does mean evaluating a single volume on its own merits is difficult, there not being much in
And the new narrator, Standardbearer Murgen, is indeed what gives this book its own identity. He's admittedly as cynical as Croaker (though he himself, perhaps, doesn't think so), if less paranoid, but his perspective is very much that of a much younger man. Adding further idiosyncrasy to the change in narrator voice, Murgen's consciousness is also being cast back and forth in time throughout the novel due to mysterious forces unexplained. In these flashbacks (which make up the bulk of the novel) we follow him during the long siege that took place during the previous book, while in the later time frames the story continues forward. There is also a small, but vital, subplot of Murgen's falling in love and getting married over the course of this span of time, and I found this well executed (though I would have liked to learn a little bit more about his eventual wife's personality).
The tough guy humour, sardonic remarks and cutting comebacks is as present as with Croaker's books, if not more so, and the pace of the novel -- the odd time jumps aside -- is rather fast, considering most of it is spent stuck in a city under siege. The progressions to the overall storyarc of the series are small but essential, and as the book ends with little to no closure, I'm still on the edge of my seat to continue into the next one. And I expect that to be the case throughout this series until I finally arrive at the last volume, where the ending will retroactively taint or glorify these earlier novels depending on how satisfying I will find it.
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the way of an ending -- or indeed, a beginning -- to this book. It picks up where the duology "Book of the South" left off, its only real claim to being a new series at all being a change in narrator.And the new narrator, Standardbearer Murgen, is indeed what gives this book its own identity. He's admittedly as cynical as Croaker (though he himself, perhaps, doesn't think so), if less paranoid, but his perspective is very much that of a much younger man. Adding further idiosyncrasy to the change in narrator voice, Murgen's consciousness is also being cast back and forth in time throughout the novel due to mysterious forces unexplained. In these flashbacks (which make up the bulk of the novel) we follow him during the long siege that took place during the previous book, while in the later time frames the story continues forward. There is also a small, but vital, subplot of Murgen's falling in love and getting married over the course of this span of time, and I found this well executed (though I would have liked to learn a little bit more about his eventual wife's personality).
The tough guy humour, sardonic remarks and cutting comebacks is as present as with Croaker's books, if not more so, and the pace of the novel -- the odd time jumps aside -- is rather fast, considering most of it is spent stuck in a city under siege. The progressions to the overall storyarc of the series are small but essential, and as the book ends with little to no closure, I'm still on the edge of my seat to continue into the next one. And I expect that to be the case throughout this series until I finally arrive at the last volume, where the ending will retroactively taint or glorify these earlier novels depending on how satisfying I will find it.
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LibraryThing member Vitaly1
nothing happened
Subjects
Original publication date
1996-04
Physical description
320 p.; 6.74 inches
ISBN
0812555325 / 9780812555325