Even better than the first book

I generally enjoyed the first entry in The Black Company series, but this entry really built on the first. I was kept intrigued by the new setting in the city of Juniper and the mysterious goings on at the black castle!

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very good

part one was weak n bleak but this part is x10 as good. way better character development.

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Turning into something special

Different from the first story – but not in a bad way at all

Story – 4.5/5

Where the first in the series has a constant retreat from an overwhelming rebellion force and regular epic fights and battles, this 2nd novel is centered around a less epic problem, which develops into an even bigger threat throughout the story. There is also an element of setting the story up for the next novel in the initial trilogy (out of the 10 books)

The narration/story telling is split between the only narrator of the first novel (Croaker) and a new character called Shed. Glen Cook shows his skill at character development as you see Shed (a timid inn owner) develop into a new confident man. At times I thought the development was too quick, but I had to keep reminding myself that months were passing between chapters at times, and not days, and in reflection, the pace was well balanced.

There are still plenty of fights, and a larger scale battle towards the end for those of us who love the action, but this series is really developing into something special, and the more familiar with the main band of characters that we become, the more enjoyment we get out of the story. The ending of this story leads very nicely into the 3rd novel, which I won’t waste my time in downloading.

The entire story flowed smoothly and at a nice pace, with no confusion for what was going on (like the beginning of the first story). Glen cook writes in a concise way, but this does not take away from his excellent use of the English language.


Performance – 4.5/5

I had a few minor issues with Marc Vietor in the first novel, which were ironed out by the end. In this novel, I had no issues with the voice acting or performance whatsoever - which could be due to being used to him by now. His dark and dramatic tone of voice suits the style of the story quite nicely.

Overall – 4.5/5

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5 people found this helpful

Awesome book

Just down right brilliant! Great character development and plot. A great series so far, excited for next

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