And yet this is a different book altogether. Most of what I’ve written in my review of the first book holds for this sequel too. Cook was a very busy writer, but so far The Black Company remains very, very readable. That might be on the strength of The Black Company: the series that had a profound influence on Steven Erikson and The Mazalan Book of the Fallen.

Most of those seem to have gotten only one print run in the 80ies, and yet around 2010 Night Shade Books did reprint them. In 1985, when the third Black Company title appeared, Cook put out no less than 6 novels. That same year Cook also published The Fire in His Hands, which started the Dread Empire series. Shadows Linger, the second book of the first trilogy, appeared a few months later in October. The Black Company would spawn 11 novels and a bunch of short fiction. Glen Cook was already an experienced writer when he published The Black Company in May 1984: I counted 9 novels. Still, the great story gets through despite the unpolished style, and is so good that it creates an addiction: I feel I have no choice now but to read the next books in the series, as soon as possible (good thing I already have all 9 of them). I have just 2 minor complains: the first will probably get twists/changed in the next books (the side the Company goes to in the end, I disliked that) and the writing, which is very straight forward, with an endless stream of very short sentences (I find that tiring, not to mention unartistic - no Gene Wolfe here). It is a great mystery, noir and espionage book, less so a war one (similar to the first, it has very little actual combat for what is supposed to be a military fantasy). The psychological evolution of the main character (Shed) is extremely credible, well-done and fulfilling, the events evolve in surprising and captivating ways, the bigger picture is skilfully drawn-up, the very dark atmosphere succeeds in creating a grim and oppressive feeling. It starts a little slow and confusing, since it uses a new setting and completely new characters, but then everything starts to fall into place in surprising ways - and some of the known (anti)heroes gradually show up to interfere with the apparently independent events. Amazing for a book written in the early 80s! So far, definitely the best fantasy series I have ever read.

Glen cook shadows linger