Fantasy

Port of Shadows

Port of Shadows

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  • Create Date：2021-04-14 14:55:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Glen Cook
  • ISBN：1250174589
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Glen Cook， the father of Grimdark， returns to the Chronicles of the Black Company with a military fantasy adventure in Port of Shadows。

The soldiers of the Black Company don’t ask questions， they get paid。 But being “The Lady’s favored” is attracting the wrong kind of attention and has put a target on their backs--and the Company’s historian， Croaker， has the biggest target of all。

The one person who was taken into The Lady’s Tower and returned unchanged has earned the special interest of the court of sorcerers known as The Ten Who Were Taken。 Now， he and the company are being asked to seek the aid of their newest member， Mischievous Rain， to break a rebel army。 However， Croaker doesn’t trust any of the Taken， especially not ones that look so much like The Lady and her sister…

The Chronicles of the Black Company
#1 The Chronicles of The Black Company
#2 The Books of the South
#3 The Return of The Black Company
#4 The Many Deaths of the Black Company

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Reviews

Evan ，

5。9/10“Port of Shadows” was a weird book to read after finishing “Solders Live”。 I think that if I had read this book directly after “The Black Company” like it was intended to be read that I would have gotten much more out of it。 The characters in this book did not really feel that real to me。 I am not sure if this is because Cook wrote these characters differently or if the characters really did act like that at the beginning of the series。 It has been quite a while since I have read the first 5。9/10“Port of Shadows” was a weird book to read after finishing “Solders Live”。 I think that if I had read this book directly after “The Black Company” like it was intended to be read that I would have gotten much more out of it。 The characters in this book did not really feel that real to me。 I am not sure if this is because Cook wrote these characters differently or if the characters really did act like that at the beginning of the series。 It has been quite a while since I have read the first trilogy and the Croaker from the first books versus the Croaker from the last few books are completely different people for sure but the characters just didn’t feel completely right to me。 I did enjoy the story and I actually liked how Cook， even at the end， never really fully explained to the reader what happened but rather the reader had to think for himself and find out what was going on。 I felt Croaker’s annoyance sometimes as being a “mushroom man” as a reader but ultimately， I have no real complaints about the plot。 What did bother me is the way this book ended。 I know that Cook wrote this book after the entire series was completed and that this book had to fold in nicely between books 1 and 2 without causing any continuity issues， but similar to “The Silver Spike” I just feel like this book wasn’t necessarily needed。 I still enjoyed the fact that it was another entry into the amazing world of “The Black Company” and this definitely did not put a damper on the series as a whole。 Instead after finishing it I was just left with a “meh” feeling。 。。。more

Kossie ，

This is a side story of the great stroy of the Black Company。 It does not dissapoint， told from the perspective of Croaker， between book1 and 2/3 and ends with a twist and food for thought。The only downside this book had for me is that after finishing， I was done with all the Black Company books。 Would recommend it notheless haha。

Kelvin ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I went into this book with low expectations after finishing the incredible Soldiers Live， and came out very happy upon finishing。 Port of Shadows sees old beloved characters returning and up to their usual antics， with a mysterious， gradually unfolding plot thats interspersed with an interesting subplot set in past during The Domination。 What Port of Shadows does differently from the other books is that it's plot is almost entirely left up to the reader's interpretation; details are left incredi I went into this book with low expectations after finishing the incredible Soldiers Live， and came out very happy upon finishing。 Port of Shadows sees old beloved characters returning and up to their usual antics， with a mysterious， gradually unfolding plot thats interspersed with an interesting subplot set in past during The Domination。 What Port of Shadows does differently from the other books is that it's plot is almost entirely left up to the reader's interpretation; details are left incredibly vague or are straight up misleading。 This isn't necessarily a bad thing however， and I have enjoyed all the speculating and piecing of things together to figure out truths， and also reading other fan's theories about the book。 However I can understand why some people wouldn't like it and found this book disappointing。 All in all I feel like Port of Shadows is a unique and worthwhile addition to the Black Company series and I highly recommend reading it ONLY AFTER finishing Soldiers Live。 。。。more

Bart ，

Really， really wonderful。 The story is both an unrealistic comedy and a horrifying and terrifying tale at the same time。 Sometimes even in the same sentence。 The soldier dialogue is wonderful too。 And the ending was brilliant too。 Really great！

Psychophant ，

The rating is almost arbitrary。 If you are thinking of reading it you must have read and enjoyed all the other Black Company books， and nothing I write will keep you from it。 If you have not read the whole series， it is better to wait till you do。It lies between “The Black Company” and “Shadows Linger”， but refers to many details that we find out much late， such as the Senjak sisters and their names。 The style is different， as Cook wrote those books more than 35 years ago。 But Croaker is still a The rating is almost arbitrary。 If you are thinking of reading it you must have read and enjoyed all the other Black Company books， and nothing I write will keep you from it。 If you have not read the whole series， it is better to wait till you do。It lies between “The Black Company” and “Shadows Linger”， but refers to many details that we find out much late， such as the Senjak sisters and their names。 The style is different， as Cook wrote those books more than 35 years ago。 But Croaker is still an unreliable narrator， and we at times see what he does not， which is quite satisfactory。 And it is also a small pleasure to see some favorite characters before their different fates， still as I remembered them。 Once again， compulsory for fans， avoidable for others。 。。。more

J。 Scott Marlatt ，

About 2/3 to 3/4 through， the book becomes almost entirely exposition。 Perhaps intentionally to mimic the progressive memory problems everyone had， but it makes for a boring， un-engaging slog to the end。 Other readers' comments about Croaker's voice being off are sound， as well。 About 2/3 to 3/4 through， the book becomes almost entirely exposition。 Perhaps intentionally to mimic the progressive memory problems everyone had， but it makes for a boring， un-engaging slog to the end。 Other readers' comments about Croaker's voice being off are sound， as well。 。。。more

Hui Lang ，

Terrible。

Martin R。 Kotomski ，

I don't know what the critics are really talking about ！？？！This book leaves room for another stories。。。 it could be one of the best so far from Black Company omnibus。 All comes together in the last 20 pages so please 🙏 have patience and indulge yourself in this amazing story。 I don't know what the critics are really talking about ！？？！This book leaves room for another stories。。。 it could be one of the best so far from Black Company omnibus。 All comes together in the last 20 pages so please 🙏 have patience and indulge yourself in this amazing story。 。。。more

Jay ，

It reads like a Black Company fanfic， so a non-fan wouldn't get much out of it。 I enjoyed it， mostly due to nostalgia for the characters。 However， the ending is unsatisfying as the book must contrive to reset things in order to fit between book 1 and book 2 of the original series。 It reads like a Black Company fanfic， so a non-fan wouldn't get much out of it。 I enjoyed it， mostly due to nostalgia for the characters。 However， the ending is unsatisfying as the book must contrive to reset things in order to fit between book 1 and book 2 of the original series。 。。。more

Kati ，

Tabavaid ja leidlikke võrdlusi ja tähelepanekuid oli oluliselt vähem， need olid asendatud meeletu koguse lihtlausetega。 Nt "Vaip maandus metsa lähedal。 Seal oli palju sõdureid。 Nad tegid tööd。 Töö oli raske。 Leedi astus vaibalt maha。 Tüdrukud järgnesid talle。 Kõik kolm pöördusid mind vaatama。" Nagu loeks lapsega pildiraamatut， krt。Croaker oli kohutav viripunn ja muidu ei olnud tore。 Hea， et kõik selle loo lõpus ära unustavad， ma juba ei mäletagi。 Tabavaid ja leidlikke võrdlusi ja tähelepanekuid oli oluliselt vähem， need olid asendatud meeletu koguse lihtlausetega。 Nt "Vaip maandus metsa lähedal。 Seal oli palju sõdureid。 Nad tegid tööd。 Töö oli raske。 Leedi astus vaibalt maha。 Tüdrukud järgnesid talle。 Kõik kolm pöördusid mind vaatama。" Nagu loeks lapsega pildiraamatut， krt。Croaker oli kohutav viripunn ja muidu ei olnud tore。 Hea， et kõik selle loo lõpus ära unustavad， ma juba ei mäletagi。 。。。more

José Alejandro Vázquez ，

Un libro interesante y en el que el autor juega con la memoria de los personajes y sus nombres， mientras nos cuenta una historia que podría haber sucedido o no。

Macha ，

3 and a half stars

David Palazzolo ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 As different as the original Black Company books were to its contemporaries， this volume is as different to its predecessors。 Part of it is simply the natural development of Glen Cook’s skill as an author over the span of nearly 35 years and part was a deliberate choice that was story driven （Croaker would make mention of mysterious outside influences affecting him in ways he hadn’t noticed until he had an occasion to review recent entries in the Annals）。 There’s a lot of mystery here， such as w As different as the original Black Company books were to its contemporaries， this volume is as different to its predecessors。 Part of it is simply the natural development of Glen Cook’s skill as an author over the span of nearly 35 years and part was a deliberate choice that was story driven （Croaker would make mention of mysterious outside influences affecting him in ways he hadn’t noticed until he had an occasion to review recent entries in the Annals）。 There’s a lot of mystery here， such as why were these events not talked about—the events here took place within the span of the first three books， and there are characters that were introduced that I’d love to see again like Buzzard Neck， Mischievous Rain， Blessed Baku aka Firefly， Beloved Shin， Ankou and more。 Eighty percent of the book is fairly episodic， punctuated by tiny interludes that take place in the deep past which eventually。 Ultimately everything ties into each other firmly and there are revelations made about who certain characters really are at the end。 Unfortunately， the climax doesn’t have the punch the story deserves which is why I only gave it four stars， but don’t let that stop you from reading it especially if you’re a Black Company fan。 。。。more

mark ，

I'd like to forget as much of this story as Croaker did。 This is a complete departure from the Black Company you've grown to love。 I think his writing style moved towards lazy and creepy for shock value。 The problem is that it fell flat and made me wonder if he's been around Goodkind too much。 Cook forced dialogue that was entirely inconsistent with his characters before。 Given that this takes place in the North between the first two books， it makes zero sense。 I have to ask myself why？ To remai I'd like to forget as much of this story as Croaker did。 This is a complete departure from the Black Company you've grown to love。 I think his writing style moved towards lazy and creepy for shock value。 The problem is that it fell flat and made me wonder if he's been around Goodkind too much。 Cook forced dialogue that was entirely inconsistent with his characters before。 Given that this takes place in the North between the first two books， it makes zero sense。 I have to ask myself why？ To remain relevant？ Make it darker？ Collect a paycheck？ Who knows， I sure don't。 I wouldn't care if they'd always been written this way， but it's such a drastic difference that I dont blame anyone who stopped early。 I did press on and finish because I'm a sucker for a good origin story。 All that kept me reading was the hope of a big payoff with the Senjak back story。 Wow was I underwhelmed。 This read like poorly constructed fanfiction from the depths of the internet。 。。。more

Nyssy ，

I feel the cover is misleading for the story haha I figured they’re tough soldiers but they’re not and almost are kiddish 。。。

John ，

A 3。5I liked the first half a little better then the second。 The story gets a bit strange， and then hides its incoherence behind a wall of "we magically forgot。" The story also gets dangerously close to misogynistic。 The plausible plot development walked a close line to going too far。 I like Cook's writing。 It rings of Cormac McCarthy。 It is bleak and harsh， as are the lives of the characters。 The characters are beyond flawed。 They have been marred by war and life。 They are not lovable， but they A 3。5I liked the first half a little better then the second。 The story gets a bit strange， and then hides its incoherence behind a wall of "we magically forgot。" The story also gets dangerously close to misogynistic。 The plausible plot development walked a close line to going too far。 I like Cook's writing。 It rings of Cormac McCarthy。 It is bleak and harsh， as are the lives of the characters。 The characters are beyond flawed。 They have been marred by war and life。 They are not lovable， but they are endearing。 。。。more

Joe Davis ，

I really enjoy this series of books。 Cook is able to weave the fantastical with realism in such an entertaining fashion。

Kevin ，

I feel like I got the same memory alterations the rest of the Black Company got after reading this book。 I think the fact that it is a bunch of short stories， strung together to try and find some posthumous sense of order is why this book was so hard to follow。 And I still don't know what the hell happened in the end。 I feel like I got the same memory alterations the rest of the Black Company got after reading this book。 I think the fact that it is a bunch of short stories， strung together to try and find some posthumous sense of order is why this book was so hard to follow。 And I still don't know what the hell happened in the end。 。。。more

Stephen Harrison ，

I love the Black Company books， but his was an odd one。 It is second in chronology of the series， but tenth in the order in which Cook wrote them。 It has almost no action （Cook usually prefers developing the plot and character， so doesn't have a lot of action， but this was even less than usual）。 Instead， he focuses on the main character and his "family"， a wife， daughter and son who are wizards， that he doesn't remember。 The book plays with time and memory a lot， including that the empress of th I love the Black Company books， but his was an odd one。 It is second in chronology of the series， but tenth in the order in which Cook wrote them。 It has almost no action （Cook usually prefers developing the plot and character， so doesn't have a lot of action， but this was even less than usual）。 Instead， he focuses on the main character and his "family"， a wife， daughter and son who are wizards， that he doesn't remember。 The book plays with time and memory a lot， including that the empress of the region wants all memories of the episode erased。 She succeeds in that in the end， so the company doesn't remember anything more than the vaguest snatches of details。 The book finishes with an analysis of the events by a historian， who basically shows that the empress was successful and historians were completely fooled。 This is clever but also annoying。 Cook had to work this in without including things that would affect later books， so essentially， if you skip this book， you haven't missed much in the overall storyline。 But it was fun anyway。 。。。more

Thau ，

Hmm…TBC 1。5， published more than 30 years later。Still a TBC book at first but it’s not bitter tar， more of liquorice bubblegum。 Like crapsaccharine trope reverted。The whole romantic shebang feels out of place。 To me， the book ended at the badger situation and spiraled down from there。

Siah ，

Definitely the most mind-fuck of a journey I've ever had in fantasy。 Definitely the most mind-fuck of a journey I've ever had in fantasy。 。。。more

Hristo Simeonov ，

Ужасно много се развълнувах， когато научих за новата книга на Глен Кук в любимата ми поредицата за "Черният отряд"。 Уви - това е най-слабия роман излизал в близо четиридесет годишната история на поредицата。Всъщност "Port of Shadows" e компилация от няколко по-стари истории/разкази касаещи Отряда （ хронологически се нарежда точно след събитията в първия оригинален роман ）， преразказани от маесто Кук。 Стилът е на познатото високо ниво。 Историите обаче не са。 Изглеждат някак остарели и овехтели。 Мо Ужасно много се развълнувах， когато научих за новата книга на Глен Кук в любимата ми поредицата за "Черният отряд"。 Уви - това е най-слабия роман излизал в близо четиридесет годишната история на поредицата。Всъщност "Port of Shadows" e компилация от няколко по-стари истории/разкази касаещи Отряда （ хронологически се нарежда точно след събитията в първия оригинален роман ）， преразказани от маесто Кук。 Стилът е на познатото високо ниво。 Историите обаче не са。 Изглеждат някак остарели и овехтели。 Може би защото всички чакаме следващата и вероятно финална книга от поредицата， с работно заглавие A Pitiless Rain， която Глен Кук обяви преди цели осем години。。。и така чака да види бял свят。 Дано да го доживеем。 。。。more

Wilfred Berkhof ，

It's been a long long time since I read a Black Company book and at times I definitely felt lost within the expansive world that Glen Cook has built in this series。 But it also felt familiar and it was great finding all my favourite characters here again。It has re-awakened my appetite for the Black Company and I might even do a full re-read for the next book。 It's been a long long time since I read a Black Company book and at times I definitely felt lost within the expansive world that Glen Cook has built in this series。 But it also felt familiar and it was great finding all my favourite characters here again。It has re-awakened my appetite for the Black Company and I might even do a full re-read for the next book。 。。。more

Thomas ，

Port of Shadows take place amidst the events of the first trilogy of the Black Company Novels - The Books of the North - with the original cast as we first knew it。 On the surface， that's a joy because the make-up of the Black Company chops and changes quite a lot once they leave the North。 Something here does not ring true though。 The tone is different， the language。 No-one is quite right and that's before these imposters become even less like their usual selves with the goings on of the novel。 Port of Shadows take place amidst the events of the first trilogy of the Black Company Novels - The Books of the North - with the original cast as we first knew it。 On the surface， that's a joy because the make-up of the Black Company chops and changes quite a lot once they leave the North。 Something here does not ring true though。 The tone is different， the language。 No-one is quite right and that's before these imposters become even less like their usual selves with the goings on of the novel。As the events of Port of Shadows proceed， our protagaonists begin to lose their memories and their minds somewhat。 They become very self-absorbed。 Croaker， our favourite Annalist struggles to put words to paper and I struggled to read the words on the page and commit them to my own memory as the plot plumbed dull depths。There were some morsels of revelation as we learned a little more about ancient events concerning the Domination and the Lady but the Black Company has gotten through similar scrapes that were much more interesting and much less problematic than what went on here。 。。。more

Edward ott ，

so many beautiful and dangerous girls

James Paschall ，

A great addition to the series。 And the ending。 Dang。

RecursiveHaiku ，

DNF somewhere in the middle。This book is bad。I love the Black Company but this book。。。

Carl H ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 You can see how the author's skills have matured since the first book in the series from the 80s。 I love the series， and was excited to see how this one fit in between books that were decades old。 However， I was disappointed in how the chronological resolution played out。 I also didn't feel like Croaker's character was on his way to becoming the crafty stonecold warlord he is later in the series。 At points the story got a little pervy， which wasn't an angle in earlier books。 I enjoyed learning a You can see how the author's skills have matured since the first book in the series from the 80s。 I love the series， and was excited to see how this one fit in between books that were decades old。 However， I was disappointed in how the chronological resolution played out。 I also didn't feel like Croaker's character was on his way to becoming the crafty stonecold warlord he is later in the series。 At points the story got a little pervy， which wasn't an angle in earlier books。 I enjoyed learning about the empires history， but wish I could have learned more about the Taken。 Despite the disappointment， it was so nice to be reunited with characters I love， watch them in new scenarios， and fall in love with new ones。 Might read again in a few years。 。。。more

Nick Cave ，

Good tale that takes place between previous adventures， although it did get a bit confusing at points。

Andreas ，

Morsomt å lese en ny bok i denne serien！ Med tanke på at den er tidsmessig plasert så tidlig i serien er det jo et problem at "nye og dramatiske" åpenbaringer i plottet blir vanskelig å presse inn， og måten alt løses tilslutt er ganske skuffende。 Et stort savn i boken er også kranglingen mellom Goblin og One-Eye som det er skuffende lite av。 Morsomt å lese en ny bok i denne serien！ Med tanke på at den er tidsmessig plasert så tidlig i serien er det jo et problem at "nye og dramatiske" åpenbaringer i plottet blir vanskelig å presse inn， og måten alt løses tilslutt er ganske skuffende。 Et stort savn i boken er også kranglingen mellom Goblin og One-Eye som det er skuffende lite av。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Port of Shadows

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Port of Shadows&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Port of Shadows&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0