Rating: 
Summary: In Terms Of Writing An Apt Title
Review: In terms of writing this is by far Cook's weakest outing to date, offering appeal to only the most die hard followers and fans of The Black Company saga. Compositionally, there has been a slow but steady decline in the quality of writing since the precipitous cliffhanger in "Shadow Games," followed by the slipshod, tattling end to "Dreams of Steel." While the bulk of the narrative to these books at least offered the usual solidly written if loose, action-driven fare found in previous novels, their narratives undermined only by manipulative, bald and barely credible conclusions, here Cook's style of approach has turned incoherent, rambling and confused. As an earlier reviewer has noted, in "Bleak Seasons" a shift takes place in perspective, moving from the richer, multiple points of view of previous novels to the singular vantage point of a new annalist, Murgen. Neither the character nor the approach taken in presentation is successful. Compared to Croaker or even Lady, Murgen remains lackluster and hard for the reader to relate to. In large part this is do to the often slack, uncohesive approach that Cook pursues in presenting this character and his narrative, Murgen beset by some vaguely explained nightmare that has him shifting temporally between past, present and future events. In our introduction to the novel, the voice speaking, only after several dozen pages becoming identified as Murgen's, takes the reader through a wandering, barker-like tour of Dejagore, whose siege had been concluded previously in "Dreams of Steel." Temporally, this is initially confusing, nor are matters truly clarified in the next fifty to eighty pages as Murgen's narrative shifts in and out of the past, sometimes the future, often in a dreamscape where reality remains intangible and events come into question. This manner of storytelling continues to dog the narrative throughout the novel. Perhaps in conception Cook perceived rich possibilities for this approach, but if so, either due to inability or slipshod writing, the author is never able to capitalize upon the resulting tangled, twisted and evasive point of view, with the plot suffering accordingly. Further, personal events, such as Murgen's falling in love with Sahra and her subsequent murder, are handled so briefly and summarily that the reader is unable to develop any real emotional attachment to Cook's newest central character. Nor does a return to the siege of Dejagore avoid anticlimax. As the reader is already aware of the outcome from "Dreams of Steel," the rehash of events from within the walls of the city never becomes truly dramatic, enervated even more by Murgen's confused mental state and the shift back and forth between events past and present. The end result is extremely episodic and interruptive, at times devolving into incoherence. And the periodic and unexplained announcements, such as Blade's defection to the Shadowmasters, do little to alleviate the seemingly loosely predicated and often unclear elements of the narrative. There is a lot of exposition taking place here---telling rather than showing---always a potential problem in the author's earlier books, but in this novel running amok, with a lot of extraneous matter, such as One-Eye's arms factories, being dropped upon the reader without either preface or later integration into the story. And, as other reviewers have noted, major characters have undergone changes in personality only briefly touched upon and never fully explained. While Cook has always played fast and loose with his characters and plots in the past, he at least has been able to maintain some linearity and plausibility in the development of his stories. Here, however, his tale begins to disintegrate into elements that fail to attain coherence or credibility, in large part due to how he has chosen to present his story through the multiple and temporally shifting viewpoints of his narrator. As Murgen's experiences remain attenuated and muddled, so too does the narrative. The end result is a very poorly written book that I nearly abandoned part way through. Only my enjoyment of his previous novels, modest as their entertainment value may have proven, and an accompanying attachment to The Black Company and its characters, provided the will if not the desire to continue on in the hopes that this entry would prove a brief aberration. However, after reading the synopsis of the next installation in Cook's saga---"She Is The Darkness"---it would appear that the author has chosen to persist in pursuing Murgen's multiple, temporally shifting viewpoints. As Cook was unsuccessful in his efforts here, I can't say I am excited by the prospect of his continuing this device in the future, and will likely leave this series until I have exhausted other resources of reading. This is a shame, as the earlier books of The Black Company were entertaining, if rather light and facile in reward. Had I been allowed, this book would only at best have merited one and a half stars; I'm being generous with two as this is one of the worst books I have read in the past several years. While I am sure there exists poorer fare out there, I am certainly in no rush to encounter them. The only unequivocally good thing I can say about this book is that at least Tor or the author have chosen to find a new cover artist---the previous artwork was appallingly bad.
Rating: 
Summary: New Black Company novel confusing but fascinating.
Review: The concluding novel in Cook's dark and gritty Black Company series about grim mercenaries, powerful magic and human nature, has turned into an all new series! Don't touch it if you haven't read the previous five (excellent) novels, and it might be a good idea to re-read them, anyways. Unlike previous novels, this one is from the perspective of a minor character, the standard bearer Murgen, who is caught adrift in time. Be prepared for a confusing read, as Murgen tells the story in anything BUT chronological order. Some old mysteries are cleared up, but new ones abound. A fresh look at old characters and new, with betrayal and heartbreak running rampant. You may be disappointed in the behaviour of some of your favourite characters. Tension and suspense mount, while the mystery of the Glittering Stone is peeled back. As always, a cliff hanger. Cook is a master at creating realistic characters, but the plot and dialogue could use some work; he just better not wait another 7 years to put out the next one
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