Port of Shadows by Glen Cook. A Chronicle of The Black Company, originally published by Tor, September 2018. Approx. 385 pages.
At long last. What more can I say?
Nearly two decades after the series came to an amazing close; nearly one decade after the first 'new' short story surfaced, we finally have a new, physical Black Company book in our hands.
Rejoice.
Now, this review might be a little different than normal; for a few reasons. First, this is the first review I've done in, what, a year? I'm way out of practice. Second, this is a book about obfuscation and disinformation. It's hard to pin down a true synopsis. It's harder to review; especially the way Cook has written it, without spiraling into major spoilers (which I am loathe to do). So, please, forgive me if I meander a bit with personal opinion of Cook's choices rather than objective appraisal. I'll do my best.
First, the synopsis proper:
"The father of Grimdark returns…
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…"
Ok, that's not too far from what we have here in the book. The bulk of Port of Shadows takes place in the period between books 1 and 2; and these portions are narrator by our dear friend Croaker. There are also chapters dedicated to historical events circa the Domination. These stories are told in a more classic third person POV (Cook did something similar to this in Shadows Linger, although that was all present time).
Port of Shadows finds our favorite mercenary group on fairly quiet garrison duty (post-Charm battle) in a small city named Aloe. Daily duties include winning hearts and minds, civil engineering and agricultural duties; arguing, drinking, and cheating at tonk at the local bar, and keeping Rebel insurgents at bay (all this action is off-screen, much to the chagrin of many reviewers).
Things take a turn for the active when the Company is tasked with retrieving one Tides Elba, a young lady of the Senjak family tree; who also bears a link to the titular Port of Shadows, a purported gateway through which the Dominator might be able to return to the world.
Things teeter into the bizarre from that point. Elba later returns as Mischievous Rain; a newly appointed member of the Ten Who Were Taken, as well as the bearer of some deeply personal news for Croaker.
Also, further compounding matters, girls bearing striking similarities to Ms. Elba begin popping up with perturbing frequency, increasing the chances of a Port of Shadows opening to allow the old Evil in.
Perhaps that's the best place to stop the core overview. What follows is a lot, and I cannot stress a lot enough, of murky, convoluted happenings. Croaker begins to refer to himself as a 'mushroom man' (kept in the dark and fed a steady diet of shit), and rightfully so; he is left out of the logistical loop. And, since we count on his records to see what is transpiring, we too are left out of the loop.
Imagine this: reading a book that details the rise, fall, and growth of a Fortune 500 company. Except, you only see through the eyes of some shlump in the mailroom, never peeking into the executive offices. You just notice subtle policy changes here and there. That's basically how this story unfolds.
Understandably, this approach is flummoxing a lot of readers. Also, understandably, it makes sense for how the narrative needs to transpire. But I digress.
Along with this core narrative, there are the aforementioned historical interludes. These detail the story a necromancer and his adventures with a dead Senjak sister, as well another sister who sets out to find her.
Ok, let's break Port of Shadows down and evaluate its components:
Writing: Well, here we go again. You will likely either love or hate it. I have seen some nasty reviews out there; citing 'senility' and a host of other ills, all declaring that this is 'not the real Black Company'. Yes, there's some credence to that claim. More on that later, in the opinions section.
As for writing, I think Cook is still on point here. Take into consideration that the first 3 chapters here that feature the Company; Tides Elba, Smelling Danger, and Bone Candy, were previously released in short story anthologies (there's a disclaimer at the beginning that they've been edited slightly, but I'm not going to do word for word comparisons). In those stories, Cook is definitely in old form. Remember, he usually does not do linear or redundant well. He changed Annalists, aged them, and kept it consistent. But he always seemed loathe to keep doing the same thing. This Croaker does speak like the Croaker of old, for the most part. Later on, he chides himself for his obvious tonal shifts. But it is all part of the planned narrative. It isn't the compromised memory of the author; it's - well, it's something else.
So, yeah, the first person ain't what it used to be. Personally, I believe that, unlike in previous Croaker outings; some of it is what appears in the Annals, and some is his own mental meanderings. There's no way to know for sure. Cook is notoriously reticent and deliberately obtuse.
In short, I won't say it's bad, but this could've been shortened to 200 pages, like older volumes, and still packed the same punch.
As for the older interludes, the writing in those is sharp, poignant, and emotional.
Action: Cook was never one to detail protracted fight scenes, but there is almost no action in this book. Skirmishes, etc., all happen off-camera.
There are some nice displays of magic, well actually, not some. One.
Yes, this book is very light on action. If that's a deal-breaker, you've been warned.
Characters: As mentioned, I personally believe Cook is still on point with Croaker. Some have claimed he isn't the same as old; and for a large chunk of the book, he technically isn't; again, with reason.
The supporting characters appear in their former glory; although I would've loved to see more of them. Elmo, Otto, Hagop, etc., make little more than glorified cameo roles. We clap when we see them, then wish they'd stay longer. There are some rare slips like making the Captain too verbose.
As for the new characters, they're a bit hit or miss. Mischievous Rain is a stellar, well-fleshed out character; although some might see her as Cook trying to insert another Lady/Soulcatcher caliber character.
Newly introduced wizards Two Dead and Buzzard Neck work best in the opening chapters, then kind of fade. Two Dead is first posited as kind of a Limper Lite, then he becomes damn near friendly. Oddly.
However, Cook also does the near-impossible in introducing children into the story, and not making them 100% obnoxious. That is no mean feat.
Opinions: I guess, like this book, my review is to be filled with more personal meanderings than concrete evidence...
Mind you, some of these points are ones which I've raised in varying degrees in past reviews.
We've known for a good while that Cook was working on two new Black Company novels, Port of Shadows and A Pitiless Rain. After the release of Tides Elba back in 2010, we could guess that Port was going to be an older Company tale. Still no word on what the storyline of A Pitiless Rain will be; but we can speculate as to whether or not the titular Rain refers to Mischievous Rain. This would indicate another story set in the olden times. Also, bear in mind that since Soldiers Live, Cook has released 5 short stories set in the old days; only 3 of which were included in Port. Shaggy Dog Bridge and Bone Eaters remain unincorporated.
For me; while I'm always ecstatic at the prospect of new material, I was still holding out hope that Cook would be able to (would desire to) do an entire Black Company centered around the Company that left Khatovar. I know, I understand, it was devoid of the familiar faces, but I believe he could've made something spectacular out of it.
Back to Port. What about the obvious issues surrounding writing a book 1.5 after the series was completed? Two glaring problems come to mind:
1) You need to come up with a concept that is compelling enough to frame an entire novel around.
2) You have to justify how and why said events never appeared, or were never referenced, in the successive volumes. Remember, the entire series is predicated upon record-keeping.
Basically, how do you resolve these mutually exclusive issues, and still deliver what the fans want?
Honestly, there's only one way to swing it. And that's what Cook did. As to whether it was 100% successful or not, is up to us. As I said, solid as I found it, it still could've been cut at least 25% and made leaner and meaner. Cook always used to be about trimming the fat. Now it seems padding crept into the works a bit.
Well, response is fairly skewed. Some say it's pure genius, or a complete return to old form, a sentiment with which I cannot 100% agree (close, but not 100%). Some say "even bad Cook is better than most other stuff"; which is true in theory, but this book is not bad. Many lament that these characters are not the characters of old, they're different...well, to this I must say: (SPOILER IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY FIGURED OUT) the members of the Company are under some pretty heavy sorcery for the duration of the novel; muddling their minds and keeping them unfocused on what's going on. You can see this especially with One Eye and Goblin, who are their normal bickering selves at the onset, and then keep getting sent out for most of the remainder of the book.
Finally, I've seen quite a few lamentations on the representation of women in the book. Ummm; I'm not going to implode my entire blog by wading into gender politics. I will say that there have always been some constants in regards to Black Company books; first, Croaker has always been pretty pervy. He has his types and he has little time for those who aren't his type. Second, part of the realism that has driven the popularity of these books is the unflinching lens through which we view some of the nastier aspects of wartime and brutal regimes: rape (of women of all ages), incest/inbreeding, etc. Remember, when the Company members are ogling nubile, teen girls, that a) these are not nice people. Many of them are criminals escaping dark pasts, and b) in many countries, across many periods of history, and, we can assume in alternate worlds as well, the statute of limitations does not reflect our current state's. Just because I don't condone or engage in something doesn't mean I will pretend it doesn't exist.
But, as always, you take from it what you will. I can't tell people how to receive a book. Though I'd love to discuss this in the comments.
In the end, we finally got the new Black Company book, and it's pretty darn good. Here's hoping A Pitiless Rain sees the light of day in the future; although, if it takes place in the same timeline as Port of Shadows, I'm guessing a lot of the issues people are having now will manifest themselves again.
Cover:
Glad to say, Raymond Swanland has returned to grace yet another Black Company book with his talents. For me, this is his best Company work to date. Whereas facial structures/features were harsh and angular on previous covers; these are simply beautiful. And the attention to detail is commendable (well, except for making Croaker look like a grimdark badass).
An outstanding piece of artwork, indeed.