Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Black Company novel!
Review: "The Silver Spike" is part of the Black Company series by Glen Cook. It's an interesting one, as it takes place between two of the earlier books in the series. It's basically a parallel story line, showing events that are briefly mentioned in the other books, but from a different perspective. Don't read this one before you read the first 4 novels in the series - you won't understand what's going on. But if you've read those 4, by all means, get this book - it's simply an excellent novel. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Just when I thought it couldn't get better...
Review: ...Cook surprises me. I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. Let me just say that I think The Limper is one of the most unique characters Cook has ever created. He's ruthless, purely evil, self-serving, and incredibly powerful. But at the same time he was most definitely human once. The is a comic tragedy to his trials and tribulations, to his unwavering tenacity born of hate. An almost comic bumbling in his antics and frustrations. We almost feel empathy for him. And the plot by the cabal to steal the Spike was as morbidly fascinating to me as the stories of Maron Shed and Bomans in the previous two books. Toadkiller Dog, the Plain of Fear, the Tree God, the cabal intent on stealing the Silver Spike, the tragic end of Raven, ...this book is just bursting at the seams. The only criticism I can relate to is that Croaker is not the narrator in this one. But to me, it doesn't detract from the book at all. As a matter of fact, considering the last line of the book, it makes perfect sense...
Rating: 
Summary: Silver Spike (spoilers)
Review: Another great tale of the North, typically sparse but action-packed. The tenacity and malevolence of the Limper are epic. One reviewer criticized the characters as one-dimensional, but I found the characters and their swinging moral compasses compelling. I also found the ending to be one of the most inspired in any of the series. As in all the Black Company books, Cook does a very good job of establishing relative strengths and weaknesses and then developing the interplay in a gritty, realistic, and harshly practical sequence of events. Cook has the best grasp of basic human nature and the human condition of any fantasy author I have encountered. It's interesting to note in passing that the South books hint much of The Silver Spike may have been compiled by Croaker from notes brought back by Otto and Hagop, which would also help explain its style being very similar to the other books of the North.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing offshoot of the series
Review: Another great tale of the North, typically sparse but action-packed. The tenacity and malevolence of the Limper are epic. One reviewer criticized the characters as one-dimensional, but I found the characters and their swinging moral compasses compelling. I also found the ending to be one of the most inspired in any of the series. As in all the Black Company books, Cook does a very good job of establishing relative strengths and weaknesses and then developing the interplay in a gritty, realistic, and harshly practical sequence of events. Cook has the best grasp of basic human nature and the human condition of any fantasy author I have encountered. It's interesting to note in passing that the South books hint much of The Silver Spike may have been compiled by Croaker from notes brought back by Otto and Hagop, which would also help explain its style being very similar to the other books of the North.
Rating:
Summary: Pure, Unadulterated Entertainment
Review: Despite my ranking above, I really enjoy this series, turning to it when I am seeking pure, pleasurable and unabashed entertainment. Additionally, the series seems to be improving, and were I allowed, I would have given this outing 3.5 stars. Nonetheless, despite my enjoyment, this book, as has its predecessors, does not possess the depth of characterization or breadth of world building of the best, nor is its plot line particularly complex, driven along essentially by fast paced action that on occasion is propelled or changed through convenient coincidence, or altered almost at a whim. Cook has no difficulty involving his participants in events with scant explanation or substantiation, or introducing new characters that appear and as abruptly---sometimes inexplicably---disappear (cases in point here are Exile and Raven's two children). Nor let it be said that the author, once finished with a character or a scene, wastes words on situations or players that are spent---Bear Torque's death is learned only through a process of elimination while his brother simply walks away off the pages. At times the narrative seems as though it is being strung together as one goes along---in this book as in the previous "White Rose," the protagonists bounce back and forth all over the world essentially chasing each others' tails---and the author never hesitates if it will serve his purpose to resurrect a character from the dead: here, as previously with Raven, Limper rises again for at least the third time, and at book's end there still exists the possibility that we could one day see him again, at least as a visitor from another dimension. In like fashion, the author blithely borrows from his own established conventions, such as here drawing again from a journal though written by a different character that, despite his more impoverished background, nonetheless closely mimics Croaker both in style and tone of writing. Nonetheless, as long as one does not approach this series with too exacting a demand that events unfold following a certain rational and logical evolution, but instead allow the action and the many likeable scoundrels populating the narrative to carry the story along, one will enjoy many short hours simply and entertainingly spent. Previous reviewers have already noted that this novel wraps up many of the threads left dangling after the conclusion of "The White Rose, bringing the stories of Darling, Raven, Silent, Toadkiller Dog and Bomanz to an end (though, again, in the case of the latter, Toadkiller Dog is implied to be almost invincible, and Bomanz was supposedly dead at the conclusion of the last book, so who knows---maybe we'll see them again). Unlike some of the others, I read this book after "The White Rose" and, even without having read "Shadow Games," had no trouble following the story. They are correct, however, that despite this book's appearance as a stand-alone novel, it does directly follow events established in the first three books in the series, and the reader will be lost without having begun there. Regardless of my criticisms, I am thoroughly enjoying this series, especially this work and the earlier "Shadows Linger." Cook has created a delightful and amoral cast of distinctive if comparatively attenuated characters and uses them to good advantage to forward a pithy, often satirical and cynical world view, where great things happen as much by accident and despite the protagonists' intentions as by design. Fast paced, where the action rarely leaves you flagging, direct and uncomplicated in its appeal, read this when you are looking for a welcome respite from the volumes and volumes of dense, doorstopper fantasy.
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Summary: Parallel story line at its best.
Review: I loved how this story went. While I was reading Shadow Games I wondered...where and what the hell happened with Raven, Darling, and Bomanz? Well part of this book is with them. It talks about many people searching after the Silver Spike. The essence of the Dominator and pure evil. The ending is great. Read the book and enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: So-so at best
Review: I loved the first Black Company book. I found the second and third books to be entertaining, but not really in the same class. I read this book fourth, and found it to be hardly recognizable as the work of the same author. The characters are unsympathetic and one-dimensional, and the plot meanders without rhyme or reason. The climax is a yawner and the denouement is neither believable nor satisfying. From reading the other reader reviews it is clear that some Black Company fans enjoyed this one. . . I just hope that the later books in the series recapture some of the gritty, imaginative writing of the original.
Rating:
Summary: A Black Company novel, a must read for Croaker fans
Review: If you haven't read any of the Back Company books, do so immediately. Don't argue with me, go find The Black Company and read it, Now! Don't start with this one though. Not that it's not a great book, it's just that you won't have a clue as to what is going on. The cover of this book should have a warning notice- Full Familiarity With The Black Company Required. If you are a fan, get ready for a great story. This is the tale of the search for The Silver Spike, the object containing the essence of the defeated Dominator. The old characters here are just like you remember them, Croaker, One-eye, Goblin and all the rest with a few new ones thrown in. Cook's ability to make you feel that you are standing just over the shoulder of his characters is a true gift. If you are a Company fan and don't buy this book, I'm going to find you and make fun of you
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting (but weak) epilogue to the trilogy
Review: In many ways, this is my favorite Black Company novel, because I found Case to be the most believable and sympathetic narrator in the series. I am in no way trashing on Croaker... I just couldn't put myself in his shoes most of the time. In many other ways, this is the weakest of the books, because the writing is (as other reviewers have noted) a bit spotty. Its reliance on Raven as a central character is a distinct weakness, as he was always the most one-dimensional character in the Company. On the other hand, he was developed MUCH more thoroughly in the Silver Spike than in previous novels, so maybe using Raven ain't all bad. Also, it was nice to see a bit more of the Black Company's world; things we wouldn't have seen if the story had revolved around the full Company, or around Croaker's, Murgen's or Sleepy's broken Companies. On the whole, great concept! I can't re-read this book enough! But I really wish it had been stronger on its own merits, and not simply as an addendum to a fantastic series.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting (but weak) epilogue to the trilogy
Review: In many ways, this is my favorite Black Company novel, because I found Case to be the most believable and sympathetic narrator in the series. I am in no way trashing on Croaker... I just couldn't put myself in his shoes most of the time. In many other ways, this is the weakest of the books, because the writing is (as other reviewers have noted) a bit spotty. Its reliance on Raven as a central character is a distinct weakness, as he was always the most one-dimensional character in the Company. On the other hand, he was developed MUCH more thoroughly in the Silver Spike than in previous novels, so maybe using Raven ain't all bad. Also, it was nice to see a bit more of the Black Company's world; things we wouldn't have seen if the story had revolved around the full Company, or around Croaker's, Murgen's or Sleepy's broken Companies. On the whole, great concept! I can't re-read this book enough! But I really wish it had been stronger on its own merits, and not simply as an addendum to a fantastic series.
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