Cook - Shadow Games review

After joining with The Lady (voluntarily, this time) and defeating The Dominator, the Black Company is down to just six men: Croaker, One-Eye, Goblin, Murgen, Hagop, and Otto. They follow the ancient tradition of the Company and set out to return the Annals to Khatovar (even though no one knows where it is). They elect Croaker to serve as the Captain. They're joined on the journey by The Lady, now known only as "Lady" after having lost her powers following the defeat of The Dominator in the Barrowlands.

As the Company journeys south, they learn more of their history as they find lost volumes of the Annals left in various places as the Black Company moved north centuries ago. They also pick up recruits and are soon a formidable legion again. All the while, Croaker keeps seeing crows gathering and following their progress. No one else sees the crows, of course.

Their journey south has been foreseen, and two groups in particular attempt to use the Company for their own gains. A group of four sorcerers known as the Shadowmasters attempt to lure the Company into their territory where they can be killed and their secrets stolen. The people of the great city Taglios attempt to recruit the Company for their fight against the Shadowmasters who are encroaching on their territory.

All-in-all, this is an excellent chapter in the saga of the Black Company. It has all of the standard elements of past tales - great battles in which the Company faces impossible odds, sorcery, and (of course) the never ending rivalry of One-Eye and Goblin. It's a fun tale, but perhaps even darker than earlier volumes (even though they're not fighting for an ancient evil anymore).


/ [Viking]

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