Karsa Orlong Posted June 23, 2013 Author Posted June 23, 2013 Book #34: The Silver Spike By Glen Cook From Amazon: The Silver Spike . . . 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. Thoughts: The is sort of a spin-off from the main Black Company story, but it is the last story included in the 'Books of the South' omnibus edition, so was next on my list. The first of the 'Books of the South', Shadow Games, began with the remainder of the Black Company splitting in two and heading in different directions. That book and its sequel, Dreams of Steel, were probably my faves of the series so far, following the adventures of Croaker and The Lady as they headed, well, south. The Silver Spike goes back in time, to the very beginning of Shadow Games, and picks up the story of what happened to Raven and The White Rose, as the evil the Black Company fought in the first trilogy stirs back into life. Bit of a cheat really, resurrecting old foes, but it's done in an effective and amusing way, particularly with regard to the return of The Limper, one of the Ten Who Were Taken (his severed head - still alive - is dug up by Toadkiller Dog . . . long story . . . ). The Silver Spike is great fun, laugh out loud funny at times, but it also manages to deal with some serious, uncomfortable matters. As usual, Cook's version of fantasy comes off like an otherworldly version of the Vietnam War (he's a veteran), kind of like Platoon in a fantasy setting. It's interesting in that it ends up shadowing events in the previous two books in a kind of 'this is what happened off-screen' way, and the antics of the group of thieves - Smeds, Tully, Timmy and Old Man Fish - are both amusing, horrific and sad. If you've seen the movie A Simple Plan you'll have an idea what it's like (I spent most of that movie shouting "Noooo, don't do that!" at the screen ). If I have a complaint about the book, it's that the ending seems very abrupt, perfunctory even. He obviously wanted to deal with what happened to these characters after they left the Company, but it feels like he got to a particular point and then thought 'I've had enough of this, I want to get back to the main story'. Of course, I'm saying that not knowing what the next book is actually about, but that's the way it feels. Kind of a shame, because the journey up to that point had been up to Cook's usual high standards. I missed the irrepressible presence of Goblin and One-Eye, too. 7/10 Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 Plan update: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - finished 13/06/13 Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden Prophecy by S. J. Parris - finished 18/06/13 The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - started 23/06/13 The Odyssey by Homer Something by David Gemmell, to be decided (probably either Hero in the Shadows or The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend) A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge The Technician by Neal Asher Pompeii by Robert Harris The Silver Spike by Glen Cook - finished 22/06/13 The one no-one saw coming: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Really into The Black Dahlia already. It's so long since I read one of his books, I'd almost forgotten what a great writer Ellroy is Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 A friend has just loaned me three more books (I'm not putting them on the TBR list! ): The Venus Throw (Roma Sub Rosa series book 4) by Steven Saylor Hannibal by Ross Leckie The King's Gambit (SPQR series book 1) by John Maddox Roberts I was only aware that he was going to lend me the first one! Not sure when I'll get to them as I'm kind of on a mission to get the TBR list down to 50, but my friend has been suitably warned that it may be a while Quote
Janet Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 (I'm not putting them on the TBR list! ) Cheater!! Quote
pontalba Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Karsa Orlong wrote: I think I probably read this at completely the wrong time, straight after such a masterpiece, but I looked back at my comments on Heresy and realised that nothing had changed. You would, perhaps, expect there to be an improvement and evolution in both the characters and writing between the first and second books but I didn't really get that feeling. I did like that it was set in London this time, though. Maybe, maybe not. I haven't read either one, but my husband, whose taste is most similar to mine started Heresy, but didn't finish. He said it just didn't live up to the hype. Now, with your review, I seriously doubt I'll try either one. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 Maybe, maybe not. I haven't read either one, but my husband, whose taste is most similar to mine started Heresy, but didn't finish. He said it just didn't live up to the hype. Now, with your review, I seriously doubt I'll try either one. Glad it's not just me then Problem is, I'd already bought the third book, Sacrilege, so I guess I'll have to read it sooner or later Quote
pontalba Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Glad it's not just me then Problem is, I'd already bought the third book, Sacrilege, so I guess I'll have to read it sooner or later Yeah. I have Revenger, on the way. Second hand, off Amazon. Thanks. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 Yeah. I have Revenger, on the way. Second hand, off Amazon. Thanks. Yay - I hope you like it! It's actually the second book in the series, but I don't think it'll suffer from being read first Quote
pontalba Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Yay - I hope you like it! It's actually the second book in the series, but I don't think it'll suffer from being read first I saw the five books, but will read this one first, then onto the next ones. lol I love series. Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 A friend has just loaned me three more books (I'm not putting them on the TBR list! ): What next - you give Pixie the Cat all your books, then she `loans` them back to you, thus cutting your TBR list to zero ? Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 My thread, my rules No arguing with that. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 25, 2013 Author Posted June 25, 2013 What next - you give Pixie the Cat all your books, then she `loans` them back to you, thus cutting your TBR list to zero ? Now there's an idea I've never put loaned books on the list - they're not mine Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 Now there's an idea I've never put loaned books on the list - they're not mine What about Kindle books - if you can`t actually see them, are they really there ? They could be like Schrodinger`s cat. Quantum, innit. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 25, 2013 Author Posted June 25, 2013 What about Kindle books - if you can`t actually see them, are they really there ? They could be like Schrodinger`s cat. Quantum, innit. My Kindle books are on the list. Pay attention at the back! Quote
Janet Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 I only put Kindle books on my list if I've paid for them! Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 My Kindle books are on the list. Pay attention at the back! Shan`t. So nurr. Is it the Kindle or the Kindle Fire which you have ? I`m wondering what to eventually plump for. Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 I only put Kindle books on my list if I've paid for them! Ooh, controversy. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 25, 2013 Author Posted June 25, 2013 I only put Kindle books on my list if I've paid for them! And you call me a cheater. For shame! Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 25, 2013 Author Posted June 25, 2013 Shan`t. So nurr. Is it the Kindle or the Kindle Fire which you have ? I`m wondering what to eventually plump for. Mine's a Kindle Keyboard If you want it just for reading I'd suggest staying away from the Kindle Fire, as it's a tablet and doesn't use e-ink technology. The Kindle Paperwhite is the one to go for these days, although it's probably worth waiting till the end of the year, when they inevitably bring out the next model and iron out any kinks in the first one Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 Mine's a Kindle Keyboard If you want it just for reading I'd suggest staying away from the Kindle Fire, as it's a tablet and doesn't use e-ink technology. The Kindle Paperwhite is the one to go for these days, although it's probably worth waiting till the end of the year, when they inevitably bring out the next model and iron out any kinks in the first one Aha, thank you, that`s really helpful. I just assumed that the Kindle fire was the normal kindle plus you could watch films on it oslt. Now I know what to go for. Shall see if there`s something in the Jan `sales`, or a discounted kindle just before Xmas. And this gives me plenty of time to get through my TBR list. Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted June 25, 2013 Author Posted June 25, 2013 And this gives me plenty of time to get through my TBR list. I meant the end of this year, not 2033 Quote
Little Pixie Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 I meant the end of this year, not 2033 I`d call you cheeky, but I fear you could be right. And not just `cos I`m currently working through last Sunday`s papers..... Quote
Janet Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 Ooh, controversy. And you call me a cheater. For shame! My list, my rules! Quote
blackwhiteandgray Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 There are so many good books listed here. My own list is growing substantially. Quote
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