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...
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.
What do You think about The Silver Spike (1989)?
The Black Company series, as envisioned by Glen Cook, was supposed to be a fantasy plot and world done with gritty, realistic characters. Personally, I think he hit the mark, especially with the first half of the series.The Silver Spike is not technically part of the series, as all the action takes place after the Black Company exits the scene, but it is contiguous with the third book of the series, and most of the characters are old Black Company members. Despite the fact that it isn't technically part of the series, I think it exemplifies best what Cook was trying to do. It is at one and the same time the most fantastic and most realistic of the first few Black Company books, from its insane, determined villain to its pedophilic, unexpectedly heroic main character. It hits the Lord of the Rings genre like old-style blues hit the popular big band music in the twenties. I think I can honestly say that there probably aren't any characters in the book that you will unreservedly like, just like you'll find something you can sympathize with in each of them, even the Limper.
—William Greig
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 Black Company series in my eyes. The story was not particularly interesting, and there was nothing new about the setting. All the characters are either completely unlikeable or hopelessly boring, even those who were fascinating to read about in previous instalments. The obvious example would be Raven, one of my favourite characters in the first trilogy, and a cravenly drunkard who has stopped caring about anything in this one.Croaker is missing, the Lady is missing, One-Eye and Goblin are missing, the antagonists are less interesting than ever, most of the old humour is gone and even the writing style took a different turn in this one. For the worse. In the end, about the only thing there was to like about this book was the ending, which was a lot better than the rest of the book, but there was little in this one that could compare to the other Chronicles of the Black Company.
—Markus
"I told myself it had been an exiting past year and now it was time to die." - CaseFor 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 assCharacters - Come on, it's the Black Company!Cool Places - The Barrowland, the Tower of Charm, a pretty major battle at a monasteryCreatures - 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...
—Robin Wiley
