Shadowline [Paperback]

Glen Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1983

PAPERBACK

Product Details

• Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446305782
• ISBN-13: 978-0446305785
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,349,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a travesty..., January 18, 2005

By 

D. Becker "Festung Todesangst" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadowline (Paperback)

that this book has been out of print for so long. In my opinion this is Glen Cook's best book (although at times I think that The Dragon Never Sleeps may be almost as good).

This is the story of the Storms - a family of mercenaries in the far distant future and their generation-spanning vendetta against Norbon w'Deeth - the head of a massive criminal syndicate who blames the Storms for the deaths of his family and the near destruction of their criminal empire in a raid on his homeworld. The book can be enjoyed on a deeper level than as just a straightforward military sci-fi story, however. I don't want to give everything away but, for those who are interested, I recommend checking out the dedication. Also, I highly recommend the book The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley - Holland. Every time I reread the book I enjoy looking for parallels I haven't noticed before.

One of the main strengths of the book is in the characters. The story is very effectively told through multiple points of view and you really come to care about each of the characters, Even the villains are, if not likeable, at least understandable and compelling, doing what they do because of their carefully detailed histories and psychologies.

All - in - all, this is not just one of the best ever one of the best military sci-fi novels ever, but one of my all time favorite books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a travesty..., January 18, 2005

By 

D. Becker "Festung Todesangst" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadowline (The Starfishers Trilogy, Volume 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

that this book has been out of print for so long. In my opinion this is Glen Cook's best book (although at times I think that _the Dragon Never Sleeps_ may be almost as good).

This is the story of the Storms - a family of mercenaries in the far distant future and their generation-spanning vendetta against Norbon w'Deeth - the head of a massive criminal syndicate who blames them for the deaths of his family and the near destruction of their criminal empire in a raid on his homeword. The book can be enjoyed on a much deeper level than as just a straightforward military sci-fi story, however. I don't want to give everything away, but for those who are interested, I recommend checking out the dedication. Also, I highly recommend the book _The Norse Myths_ by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Every time I reread the book I enjoy looking for parallels I haven't noticed before.

One of the main strengths of the book is the characters. The story is very effectively told through multiple points of view, and you really come to care about each of the characters. Even the villains are, if not likeable, at least understandable and compelling, doing what they do because of their carefully detailed histories and psychologies.

All-in-all, this is not just one of the best military sci-fi novels ever, but one of my all time favorite books.

4.0 out of 5 stars Deep, strange and political., September 29, 2011

By 

Marshall Lieberman (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadowline (Paperback)

If you are into stories of back-stabbing, butt kissing, poison pill, ungrateful family members and political intrigue this is for you. There are several stories going on here that center around Black World, yeah, a planet of mostly black people from earth that are the descendants of miners; Obadiah is the ruler of Black World and he answers to some mysterious corporate goons. These dudes mine precious metals for the corporations that get rich off of their work while (you guessed it) paying them very little. This planet is in a fixed orbit where the sun always shines on one side, making it extremely hot... like over a thousand degrees! Now there are a few crazy miners that drive these mammoth train-like vehicles into the sun in order to retrieve melted metals. One such tractor driver is a man called Frog; a veteran miner and stepfather to an orphaned white girl that the story eventually centers around. There's a lot going on here and it is the first part of the Starfishers Trilogy... a good read if you are into detail.