Customer Reviews

Dreams of Steel (The Fifth Chronicle of the Black Company)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The last "Book of the South" is really not a conclusion at all, but a segue into the four books comprising to date "The Glittering Stone." Despite arguments between earlier reviewers as to whether this book represents a departure from his earlier novels, I found this to be fairly typical Black Company fare, regardless of the introduction of Indian religion or who was keeping the Annals. Cook has previously written from multiple perspectives, and the increase here only offers the potential for a richer character development and perspective, complaints of not caring for characters other than Croaker, One-Eye and Goblin speaking more to the limitations of interest in individual readers than a desire on the part of the writer to enliven or enrich his narrative. The same might be said of the recent inclusion of Southeastern Asian mythology and religion, were Cook not so bald in his borrowings. I can think of other authors who have recently drawn from this source---Steven Erikson or more pointedly Martha Wells in "Wheel of the Infinite---who have done a far better job recontextualizing their sources. But if concerns over derivatives primarily influenced our thinking, it is doubtful any of us would be reading The Black Company.

There are other reasons one turns to this series---the delightful if by now typecast crew of scoundrels, the fast-paced and action-driven narrative and Cook's not to be undervalued ability at rapidly stringing us along through a sequence of events direct if relatively uncomplicated in their presentation. True, the author does mix it up with intrigue, but all the various plots stay relatively at the surface, what mystery that is present most often due to a lack of information than a true building of suspense. But for those moments when one wishes sheer, unadulterated avenues of escape guised as heroic fantasy, more often than not Cook delivers.

However, in this entry Cook fails to resolve his narrative even as a credible cliffhanger. Instead he summarily and loosely ties up the various threads, even while rushing leaving most of them still dangling, and, without giving too much away, introduces certain new dramatic developments from a distance, announcing them and then simply discarding them in a couple of pages. There is a sense here that the author suddenly wished to wrap up this chapter of the saga and move on to other narrative pastures, even while leaving as well as adding things hanging. The fact that a six-year hiatus followed before the author again picked up the story reinforces this conclusion. However, this is sheer speculation. All I can say is that the end of this novel is abrupt and very dissatisfying, as much so if for different reasons as the extreme cliffhanger that concluded "Shadow Games." I have come to accept that Cook plays fast and loose with his plots and characters, often resurrecting them, remining earlier storylines or conventions, or introducing elements without clear explanation or motive. Nonetheless, in the past these failings have largely been able to be submerged by the author's relative strengths in story telling and non-stop management of action. This however left me cold and questioning the author's investment in his story and audience, unavoidably raising questions as to my own continued participation.

But for the conclusion, this is typical Cook fare, with all the usual rewards and weaknesses. For that reason I have given it the same marks I've given to his previous novels, in the main not seeing a substantial shift, either for better or worse, in what is being offered. However, were I to weight the ending, this book would not be the equal, nor would "Shadow Games," of what has preceded. While I am not abandoning the series, the next book will need to prove to me that the author is once again committed to the Company.

Take the other reviews of this book with a grain of salt. Yes, it's a bit slower and yes, the narrative is split between more characters, but it's written that way for a reason. 'Shadow Games' and 'Dreams of Steel' taken together are meant to be a transition between the old Company of the "Books of the North" trilogy and the new Company of the "Glittering Stone" trilogy.

The Company is scattered and nearly ruined after their defeat at Dejagore, so DUH! of course it's going to take them time to get their act together. (Be glad that they pull it off in just one book.) Everyone is still alive and kicking -- Croaker, Lady, One-Eye, Goblin, Murgen, Mogaba, even a few of the Taken -- but they're all changed for the experience.

And that's the whole point: things change -- including the Black Company. If you're expecting the same old same old missions and schemes from the first book, you'll be disappointed. We already know who they are and how they operate, so it's time for them to take on something new.

I`ve read some reviews that were less than glowing about this title. But in a series that runs through ten volumes some effort has to be expended to hold all the plot lines together. The first few times I read Tolkien's Two Towers, it was my least favorite volume of the Lord of the Rings. Because it mostly just maintianed a multitude of plot lines. Over the years, Two Towers has become my favorite. Dreams of Steel has a similar function in the Black Company series. It tells a necessary part of the story. It also demonstrates Cook's ability to develop a character. Lady may not have been the ideal analyst, but then, neither would One Eye. So Dreams of Steel is presented as the work of a less than perfect chronicler. Dreams of Steel is a great read and an important part of a great epic tale. I recommend it for any Glen Cook / Black Company fan.

The Black Company saga continues as Lady, assuming that Croaker has died, becomes Captain of the Black Company. She assembles legions of cast-offs and wannabes and molds them into a fierce fighting force. Unfortunately, she unintentionally adds members of a mysterious murder cult to her ranks. Ultimately, they will betray her and rob her of a most precious gift.

Good story and it is fun to finally have a Black Company novel told from someone else's point of view besides Croaker (the Silver Spike did this but is it really a Black Company novel?). Lady tells the story and author Glen Cook does an excellent job of distinguishing her from Croaker.

Be warned: The murder cult portrayed in this novel will give you nightmares. It did me.

Tired of Tolkien-esque epic fantasy? Does it all read the same after awhile? Try Glen Cook and the Black Comapny novels. Good stuff. Dark fantasy told from the soldiers' point of view. The first one in the series is titled the Black Company. Shadows Linger is second followed by the White Rose, the Silver Spike (even though this one doesn't deal with the Black Company directly), Shadow Games and then Dream of Steel. Bleak Seasons, She is the Darkness, Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live finish off the series--so far.

Glen Cook's fifth Black Company novel, Dreams of Steel, is a nice change-up from his previous novels. If you haven't read those previous novels, check out the Black Company (or the omnibus the Chronicles of the Black Company, which contains the first trilogy). You don't really need to read those first to appreciate Dreams of Steel and its predecessor in the Books of the South set, but it certainly helps.

The biggest difference is that we have a change in narrators, adding some much needed variety to the series. We do get some chapters from Croaker's point of view, but the majority of the book is told from the perspective of the Lady who, for reasons I won't give away, has taken over the role as Company annalist. As much as I have enjoyed Croaker's narrative (indeed, Croaker has become one of my favorite literary characters), the Lady adds a much needed perspective to the story.

Speaking of the story, the novel is a continuation of its predecessor, Shadow Games. The Black Company has been hired to fight a war against a bunch of strange, unknown sorcerers called the Shadow Masters. The plot isn't as gripping as that of the original trilogy, which featured a great spin on the standard evil empire fantasy fare. Aside from the somewhat dull story, Dreams of Steel also suffers from the lack of a conclusion. Although this is the last book in the Books of the South series, Dreams of Steel lacks a real ending. The characters and basically left in limbo, the plot undecided. Although the plot will certainly continue with the next book in the series, it's hard to get excited when the conclusion of a mini-series is completely inconclusive.

That being said, a lot of the strengths of the Black Company series return here. Mr. Cook is a very good writer. He isn't as verbose as a Martin or an Erickson, particularly since he writes from a first person perspective. But when Cook wants to, he can turn some beautiful phrases. Because he doesn't try to turn every paragraph into an epic, the effect is much more pronounced when Cook does go for eloquence. His dialogue is as strong as it has been in previous novels.

The characters remain some of the most interesting ones in the fantasy genre. It's hard not to care about the members of the Black Company. And, as I mentioned before, the addition of the Lady as the major narrator really adds some excitement to the novel. Cook's world is a cold, hard one. There are magical creatures, but they aren't your typical elves, orcs, unicorns, etc. They're strange, unique and fascinating. And these are not "good" people. The Black Company are not your typical heroes. They're mercenaries. Murderers, thieves, some are even rapists. For those of us who are tired of the great prophecy, the young, honest, goodhearted hero, and the great quest to stop the evil of the world, well, this is your series.

I'd give this a 3.5 if I could. The plot trails off at the end. The magic of the series is wearing off a little. Cook added some variety with the Lady's narrative, but the series is going to need something more in the future. I certainly hope Cook manages it.

After four volumes in which she has played a major, is somewhat silent, part the inevitable has occurred. With Croaker missing in action after the disastrous battle for Degajore and presumed dead, Lady has taken over. Welcome to Dreams of Steel -- Lady's own book. Once a cruel empress and once of the most powerful wizards of the north she is the now leader of that part of the Black Company that did not get trapped in the city. It is up to her to rally and bring the battle back to the shadowmasters.

Just as important as the struggle for Degajore is the introduction of several new characters. In fact, a whole sect of new characters -- the Stranglers, who are more than a little reminiscent of the thuggee. Instead of Kali their goddess is called Kina, but she is just as many-armed and malevolent as her equivalent in this world. Somewhere she sleeps while her followers dedicate their kills to her and work to bring about the Year of Skulls. Now one of the leaders of this sect, Narayan Singh, has attached himself to Lady. She sees an opportunity to use Kina's followers to further the goals of the Black Company regardless of whether the Stranglers might have an agenda of their own.

Nothing in this volume is as it seems. The story picks up some twists that are unusual, even for a Cook novel. Enough to keep the story interesting and convolute. Followers of the series will actually find little difference between Lady as narrator and Croaker. Her established character isn't one that would come naturally to being an annalist, so Cook defaults to his regular style. The result is that this volume works as well as its predecessors and has none of the weaknesses of the next few narrators. I found the book enjoyable, although the end is a little chaotic and sudden.

Love the Black Company, plain and simple. If you're going to read one, you've got to read them all and in order. If you haven't read the books prior to this one in the series, you need to. And if those don't convince you to read the entire series, there is nothing I can say in this review that will.

If you are a fan of Glen Cook and the Black Company you will find this book a bit different than most of those which have come before. With the exception of the Silver Spike, Cook's protagonist Croaker has been the POV (by and large). In this edition, it's Lady who does most of the talking. I enjoyed a chance to learn more about this fascinating character and found that the writing took a much different direction and had a different pace than most of the other Black Company novels.

The end is another cliff-hanger and the book is definitely not to be read out of sequence. If you are looking for a stand-alone, you should look elsewhere.

Croaker is missing, so Lady takes over control of the Black Company and the narration of this book of the series. In order to rebuild the Company and the armed forces of Taglios, Lady poses as an avatar of the goddess Kina, who seems basically equivalent to the Indian Kali, who is dedicated to bringing about the Year of Skulls, which entails a lot of death and destruction.

The book feels like it has more of an independent plot than the previous one, but it still leaves a lot unresolved for future books. The character of Lady is not that well developed. Having her narrate the story is not much different from having Croaker do it, and you don't get much sense of her as a very powerful, very old being. This is still a good read, but doesn't live up to the earlier parts of the series, or other similar fantasies that are out there.

Though most of the narrative in "Dreams of Steel" is written from the viewpoint of (The) Lady and Croaker is relegated to a secondary role, I highly enjoyed it. Though that change in "voice" seems pretty drastic, the book is is really only slightly different from the previous books in the "Black Company" series (The Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company #1), Shadows Linger: A Novel of the Black Company (The Second Chronicle of The Black Company), The White Rose: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company), and Shadow Games: The Fourth Chronicles of the Black Company: First Book of the South). In fact, I found the change to be very interesting in what it reveals of Lady's personality as well as her past. My complaints with the book mostly echo the recurring ones voiced in other reviews here: the wholesale transplanting of Kali worship into it is a bit ham-handed, and the ending, though nowhere near as abrupt as in the previous book, feels rushed. One other quibble I had regards the "message" that Lady gets near the middle of the book. Since the information in that message was only ever known by a handful of people, her mere location and any thought toward motivation should have told her the author. But, regardless, as a "Black Company" book, I rate it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.