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Title: Water Sleeps (Chronicle of the Black Company, Number 8) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0-8125-5534-1 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 (39 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Still Good But The First 5 Books Were Better
Comment: This series peaked with Shadow Games and has been interesting, but rather meandering and lacking focus ever since. It's interesting to note that Glittering Stone was originaly intended to be one book (the 3rd Book of the South) following Steel Dreams, but Cook decided to expand it into 4. I think he would have been better off sticking to his first idea.
I agree with everything Patrick said below me. There is actually one other plot hole that is even bigger and more irritating than those he pointed out. Namely: After capturing the Black Company leadership with some spell at the end of She Is The Darkness (an event that was never really explained very well), why the heck doesn't Soulcatcher just kill them? Instead, she goes to the great bother of dragging them all down into that cave to enter some suspended animation. Seems to me the only reason she would do this is so Cook can write more books about the Black Company. Even more puzzeling is where Cook writes that Soulcatcher thinks the company is all dead rather than asleep. Excuse me? She hauled them all down there thinking they would die, despite the fact that everyone else down there was in suspended animation? As I stated before, if she wanted them dead she would have just stuck a knife in each one before she left and end of story. I hate to belabor the point, but Cook ought to fire his editor, and then maybe fire himself for thinking his readers wouldn't notice these gaping holes in his plot.
I'm still giving it 3 stars because Cook still has a knack for making us care about his characters, even though almost all of the old ones are dead now or strangly sidelined (Lady and Croaker). I've even pre-ordered Soldiers Live to see how it all ends. Maybe he'll redeem himself at the end...
Rating: 5
Summary: Is there a better series of novels with heroes this nasty?
Comment: I am always surprised when a new Glen Cook novel hits the stands. Outside of the success of his "Garrett" novels (which are a lovely blend of Raymond Chandler meets J.R.R.), he has to be the most overlooked writer in the fantasy genre. His "Dread Empire" series of novels (of which there were seven (7) published) combined political machinations with big-time wizardry, meddling immortals and believable ordinary characters (with ordinary flaws) into a grand mesh set on a world scale. He had planned at least two more novels in the series but poor sales forced its "retirement". Let us all hope that this does not happen with The Black Company. My greatest fear is that the latest book will be the last and the story will not yet be finished. Water Sleeps is another example of Glen's gritty storytelling at his best! Best of all, there is room for more novels with the hooks and unanswered questions that he leaves us with! The presence of Croaker and Lady (or lack of presence would better describe it) is the one thread that has bound the entire series together. Having them restored will allow Mr. Cook to tantilize us with further tales - should enough people purchase the novels - and also allow for the development of the newest wizard in the group - Murgen's son. Write on.
Rating: 2
Summary: Water Sleeps
Comment: The second to last Black Company installment.
This one did not work so well for me as some of the others.
Sleepy, the narrator, is a less than successful character for me: snappish, intolerant, periodically mentioning a dark past which never gets revealed enough to create sympathy for her. Many of the other important characters are either imprisoned in this volume or getting old, and the new upcoming ones don't hold a lot of interest for me. It's hard to see here how anyone could have ever fallen in love with Sahra, and Murgen, a favorite of mine, gets pushed to the perimeter. Only the return of Willow Swan, whom I've always liked, gives this book character interest for me.
The plot progresses, though I found the resolution of one fairly long-term suspenseful thread anticlimactic, accomplished easily and almost offstage. Particularly at the end, events become hard to follow and jump around. There's a sense of ennui about the whole thing, of "so what?". Followers of the series will nevertheless want to see what happens and progress to the (so far) final volume.
I really like the way the catchy title of each book is foreshadowed in the preceding volume; a clever touch by the author.
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Title: Dreams of Steel (Chronicle of the Black Company) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0812502108 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1990 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Shadow Games (Chronicle of the Black Company) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0812533828 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Silver Spike (Chronicle of the Black Company) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0812502205 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1989 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: White Rose (Chronicle of the Black Company) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0812508440 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1990 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Shadows Linger (Chronicle of the Black Company) by Glen Cook ISBN: 0812508424 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1990 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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