My Goodreads review: Shadows Linger
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the first in this series, though I can't put my finger on why. I will note that Croaker -- the Black Company's chronicler & chief physician -- is not the only narrator this time. There are sections of third-person narration concerning another pivotal character, which might have been necessary for the plotline but which deprived me of the voice I'd enjoyed so much in the first book. Also, I suspect this novel suffers from being the middle of a three-novel arc. The ending, though sufficient, is not particularly strong --and there are a couple of loose ends which might have been resolved and weren't.
The story itself is slightly confusing for at least the first half of the novel, since (as noted) there is more than one main character & the viewpoint shifts. This does make a certain amount of sense for the storyline, but took a bit of getting used to. Along the way, however, there are some solid horrors (body-snatching is bad, snatching bodies that aren't quite dead yet is way worse, & the buyers don't bear close examination), & plenty of fantasy military action.
All in all, I'm not sorry I spent more time with the Black Company. I continue to be impressed with the level of character development in these action-oriented & somewhat grimdark adventures, and I will definitely be continuing on with the next in this series, The White Rose.
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