* On Sat 07/06/13 at 01:00, aaron (aaronsingleton@gmail.com) wrote:
Just read the new Black Company story in the Fearsome Journeys anthology. The story is called "Shaggy Dog Bridge". I would rate it 4.5/5 myself. It is, IMO, a bit better than the last one I read, Tides Elba, and I loved that one. It is set in the same in-between that the previous story was--after Shadows Linger and before The White Rose. What really surprises me is that Cook seems to have gone back in time, as Croaker's voice is that of the first three books. Not only that, but there is that magic to the first three books, that unnameable something that drew me into them, that reappears here. If you don't know what I mean, I am sorry. I cannot explain it better than that. Cannot wait for the full book.
I just read it last night. It was good to hear Croaker's voice again but the story wasn't one of my favorites. It was just a bit too disjointed, I thought. Nonetheless, it's always nice to rejoin the Black Company for a while. I thought that the first story in the book was excellent: Scott Lynch's "The Effigy Engine: A Tale of the Red Hats". The banter between the wizards was funny and the story was very good. It too was written from the point of view of a annalist of a military outfit, but has a more tongue in cheek tone. I'm going to look for more by Lynch. I haven't tried any of the other stories yet, but just on the basis of those two I recommend the book. Steve