The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "This here journal is Raven's idea but I got me a feeling he won't be so proud of it if he ever gets to reading..." (more)
Key Phrases: talking buzzard, wicker man, silver spike, Toadkiller Dog, Old Man Fish, Timmy Locan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

...embedded in the trunk of the scion of the godtree, it contains the essence of the maddest of the Ten Who Were Taken...The Dominator. Defeated by the Lady and cast from this world, all that was left of him was a foul trace of lingering evil. But the graveyard that was once the Barrowland contains more secrets than dead. All who would possess the power of the Dominator are drawn to the spike. A foolhardy band of thieves is the first to reach it, and a rapacious and malign spirit is unleashed on an unwary world. The forces gather, sides are drawn, and mortal men can only die as the Dark Lords battle for domination.

About the Author

Born in 1944, Glen Cook grew up in northern California, served in the U.S. Navy, attended the University of Missouri, and was one of the earliest graduates of the well-known "Clarion" workshop SF writers. Since 1971 he has published a large number of SF and fantasy novels, including the "Dread Empire" series, the occult-detective "Garrett" novels, and the very popular "Black Company" sequence that began with the publication of The Black Company in 1984. Among his SF novels is A Passage at Arms.

After working many years for General Motors, Cook now writes full-time. He lives near St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife Carol.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (September 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812502205
• ISBN-13: 978-0812502206
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #549,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Black Company Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loose ends tied up, September 29, 2000

By	Stephen M. Bainbridge "www.professorbainbridg... (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Silver Spike is the fourth book in a series on the the Black Company, a mercenary band in a sword and sorcery world. The Black Company is one of the great creations of modern fantasy. In a genre in which most stories are starkly black and white--really great good guys and really bad villans--the Black Company (contra its name) lives in grey. In a genre in which heroes are all-knowing and all-powerful, the Black Company is filled with fallible, vulnerable humans. Yet, they nevertheless are the baddest outfit around. Remember how we reworked Psalm 23 back in the '60s? "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil--for I am the baddest SOB in the valley!" That could be the Black Company motto.

One of the things I like best about Cook's novels is that the story line is more important than the individual characters. There are no Gandalfs here--no powerful wizards (who never seem to do anything with their power) that are all-good and all-powerful. Characters die--just like in real life. Good guys turn bad--just like in real life. Bad guys turn out to have socially redemming qualities--just like in real life.

The first three novels told the story of how the Company came into the service of Lady, a sorceress of great power who rules a purportedly evil empire in the northern part of the Company's world. Eventually the Company rebels against the Lady and joins the White Rose, a reincarnated hero who opposes the empire. At the end of book three, the Rose, the Lady, and the Company join forces to defeat an older evil known as the Dominator. A long (nine-plus) series of sequels follows the subsequent adventures of the Company.

In contrast, the Black Company is off the stage in Silver Spike, which follows the subsequent adventures of the Rose. The initial trilogy introduced a number of characters and plot lines that were not resolved. Here, Cook wraps up many of those loose-ends. Fans of the series will definitely want to read Silver Spike. Those who have not yet discovered the Black Company should NOt start here--you'll never get it. But I envy those folks--they get to discover the Black Company for the first time. My advice: buy this book, but pick up the first 3 Black company novels and read them first.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark as Night, May 12, 2000

By	Zeta Thompson "Zeta Thompson" (USA) - See all my reviews

Poor Raven. That was one of my fist thoughts as I finished this book. I must agree with some of the other reviews here. If you have not read the first part books of the Black Company series at least, don't pick this one up. If you have, read it, but be forewarned: this is one of the darkest books Cook has written yet.

The book is sort of an aside to the series up to this point. It answers the questions of what happened to Darling and Raven. Raven has become a tragic figure. He has drunk himself into oblivion for many years straight. His companion begins to keep a journal inspire by Raven's stories of Croaker. Raven, Silent and Bomanz are the main subjects of this journal. Of course something happens to cause Raven to clean up and act the part of the hero to defend Darling, with the usual unusual twist to it.

In the meantime, Cook also follows Toadkiller Dog and his sometimes unwilling allies in a purely narrative style. As usual evil is relative and the reader finds themselves favoring one over the other. The reader, like Raven hears rumours and catche glimpses only of Croaker. This is not about the Black Company per se, but rather a wrap up of some characters and their futures and the beginning of a mystery for later. I personally liked the book a great deal, but missed the rest of the Company.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect companion story, April 30, 1997

By A Customer

This book is perhaps the perfect example of the parallel story line, as it happens between two of Cook's impeccably executed Black Company novels. I damn near died from enjoyment as I revisited Mighty Events from a totally different perspective. The story was so well matched to the mainline that it significantly strengthened the fabric of the whole. Once again, Cooks' considerable skills are used to elevate unlikely candidates to hero status, whether they like it or not. And once again, we see absolute evil (or madness, as the case may be) pitted against far less than absolute good. If you've even HEARD of the Black Company, then you absolutely must read this book. Preferably after reading the First Book of the South, to get the context right