Customer Reviews (1)

A Place of Wonder...
This most unusual and quaint amusement park was founded in 1899 and thousands of people near and far flocked to Glen Echo from the areas of Maryland and Washington, D. C.It was just a chance happening for me that I visited the enormous fair-type facility when a teenager, so I was so overwhelmed with the flair and originality, so unlike the place at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, that I only remember going there, but not having fun.My sister who lived in different towns around the D.C.area took her children there on occasion, as she did to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania.So, these lovely photos bring back a 'lost' memory of doing someing unusual in my drab life of growing up without a mother.It closed in 1968, as things of that quality tend to do and deemed a failure; thank goodness, it was not torn down.

In 1977, it was reopened by the National Park Service as a training center for the arts and education Chataquacha-type of hands-on participation, avant guarde for the yuppies.We have such a area now in Knoxville called the Emporium, still learning how to manipulate the various areas of art, music, and dance in a small area. Thanks to President Nixon's foresight in building some modern 'Victorian style' houses as a world housing exhibit, the painters, jewelery designers, potters, sculpture professors, even the executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden who has created the ultimate garden there beside her residence complete with Buddha and Japanese fountains.

It is an experimental project along the lines of Chatauqua, New York, where intellectuals take a yearly pilgrimage to hear lectures on various subjects and watch professional performances. Lilliam Harwell always enjoyed going there, even though she could not pronounce the name of the place.

Glen Echo, with the Ballroom, 84-yr-old carousel, the Crystal Pool, and the 1891 Glen Echo Park granit towers, has returned to its roots as a place where people come to dance, dream, and have fun.It is a photographer's delight and a marvelous thing to see and re-live the times you went there in the past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

best of the trilogy
Note that this is now back in print as part of the omnibus edition A Cruel Wind, covering the first Dread Empire trilogy.

this book is by far the best of the dread empire trilogy.it focuses mainly on ragnarson this time, with mocker having a very small part in the narrative, and varthlokkur playing a larger part than in the previous.while the billing for the novel is that the star rider's motives would be revealed, you are left with more questions than answers.i do wonder how much of the pracchia and the Nines had been mapped out in previous novels, it sort of comes out of the blue here.

i will say this for Mr. Cook, he can be brutally pragmatic when the story calls for killing off some characters, which is somewhat refreshing as a departure from the norm of 'red-shirts' (ref. to original star trek chars in red shirts being the ones to die each episode) being the only deaths in much fiction.

My big complaint (if it is one, spoiler alert) is the lack of clear explanation of the motive of the Star Rider.It is clear he is trying to create as much bloodshed as possible, via manipulations of various governments via the Pracchia as well as his own direct manipulations (not least of which were creation of El Murid and the passing of the crown to Haroun), but in the first DE novel the Old Man suspects that the star rider might be trying to escape his sentence due to the pointlessness of some recent bloody exploits.Maybe I am just dense, but I have never understood the goal of the star rider, much less any notion of the powers than condemned him to this world (implication from the first book is that he was not from this world).While maybe this is something that would have been cleared up in The Wrath of Kings, material in the other second trilogy novels doesn't imply this.Maybe cook left this as a mystery;after all, not explaining everything can add more to a story than the explanation itself (ref:the lord of the rings).

the following has spoilers for the entire dread empire series.

edit - recently reread this (june 2007) and realized that haroun apparently died after killing O Shing and subsequently trying to find Mocker.I completely missed this the first time around.The text is a bit vague, but the tone, text, and absolute lack of future haroun appearances implies that he did.I had originally thought Cook might use Haroun to resolve one large plot element in The Wrath of Kings, but maybe I was wrong.If you have a comment on this, please leave it.

The best of the series
This is the final volume of the original DreadEmpire trilogy.All the earlier threads come together here, 15 years after A Shadow of All Night Falling.The characters are more mature,but the crises they face are catostrophic, andthe world is forever changed.The battles arebigger and more exciting than in previous books,and not everyone survives.The first two Dread Empire books were quite good, but this one isfar more enjoyable.These are essentially pot boilers, but are more thoughtful and less cliched than the norm.The Dread Empire series is forthose who enjoy military fantasy, there are noElves in this scenario.The tone is a bitlighter than that in Cook's Black Company novels, but fans of that set needing a fix would do well to find copies of this series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Two Titles: Bleak Seasons and She Is the Darkness
Excellent value, this double volume of Glittering Stone has the first two books in this part of the series (assuming you know about North and South) book 1 is Bleak Seasons and the book 2 is She Is The Darkness. Two books for one price. I just recently finished the Books of the North and South (Empire of Lady & Khatovar) and found the Glittering Stone to feel a bit different from the previous Black Company stories. A big part of that being the use of Murgen as narrator instead of Croaker (he's missing/dead?).

... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
...embedded in the trunk of the scion of the godtree, it contains the essence of the maddest of the Ten Who Were Taken...The Dominator. Defeated by the Lady and cast from this world, all that was left of him was a foul trace of lingering evil. But the graveyard that was once the Barrowland contains more secrets than dead. All who would possess the power of the Dominator are drawn to the spike. A foolhardy band of thieves is the first to reach it, and a rapacious and malign spirit is unleashed on an unwary world. The forces gather, sides are drawn, and mortal men can only die as the Dark Lords battle for domination.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Nice Side Story; Ties Up Loose Ends
The Silver Spike is a side story in Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company that takes place sometime during Shadow Games and Dreams of Steel, collectively referred to as the Books of the South. Silver Spike continues in part where the first trilogy, concluding with the White Rose, left off. At the end of the White Rose, Croaker and the rest of the Black Company go south while Darling, Silent, Raven and some others go their own separate ways. While the Books of the South continue to follow Croaker, the Silver Spike concludes the other characters' stories.

If you've read other Black Company books, then you should already know a lot about how the Silver Spike is written. There are no wholly good or wholly bad characters. Most of the characters are, at the least, violent and murderous, though some serve slightly more noble purposes than others. The chapters are told from different perspectives: some are told from a first person perspective, others from a third person perspective. Cook doesn't provide a ton of description, preferring instead to leave a lot of it to the reader's imagination. But what descriptions he does write are done very well and, as always, his dialogue is very realistic. Further, Cook pulls another example of masterful character development, much like he did with Marron Shed in Shadows Linger, turning a fairly despicable character into someone almost worth liking. It's the sort of character development that most authors couldn't pull off realistically in a thousand pages, let alone in 200.

The Silver Spike is told from the point of view of several returning characters: Case, the Limper and Toadkiller Dog and one new character, Smeds Stahl. Croaker, narrator of most of the original three books, is referred to only in passing and is never actually present in the novel. The story, too, is a little different in that the Black Company, as a whole, is not involved. There is no real war, no great battles. But the story is still plenty important. The spike used to seal the Dominator (a powerful, evil sorcerer) has been stolen and wizards from all over the place are trying to get a hold of it. The story, then, follows Darling and her compatriots as they try to secure the spike and save the world. Overall, the Silver Spike is a very dark story, darker, even, then other Black Company books.

For those reasons, it's hard to compare the Silver Spike to other Black Company novels. Aside from some returning characters and the gritty, dark feel, the book is pretty different. It took maybe 50 pages before I started getting interested and about 100 pages before I had difficulty putting it down. If you're particularly fond of Raven or Darling or Silent, you'll definitely want to pick up this book. If, like me, you much prefer hearing about Croaker's adventures, the Silver Spike isn't quite as exciting. That being said, however, it's still a very good book and a worthy addition to the series. If nothing else, it ties up a bunch of loose ends and completes some important character arcs. The Silver Spike is worth your time if you've enjoyed any of the Black Company books.

Very Good "Black Company" Book
A couple of asides before getting to the meat of the matter.Theoretically, "The Silver Spike" really isn't a "Black Company" book since no one in it is, technically, still a member of the Black Company -- they're all ex-members.Plus, this book is basically a spur off the real "Black Company" line of books.And, that brings up the other aside.According to the numbering in The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company (Chronicles of the Black Company), "The Silver Spike" is the 6th in the series.The formal chronology would be:

1) The Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company #1)
2) Shadows Linger: A Novel of the Black Company (The Second Chronicle of The Black Company)
3) The White Rose: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company)
4) Shadow Games: The Fourth Chronicles of the Black Company: First Book of the South
5) Dreams of Steel (The Fifth Chronicle of the Black Company)
6) The Silver Spike: The Chronicles of the Black Company

Yet, it could actually be the 4th, 5th, or 6th in the series.Like "Shadow Games," "The Silver Spike" begins just after "The White Rose."It runs parallel to "Shadow Games," and when it's done, that spur is over.So, it could be #4.But, according to the publications dates, the order should be "Shadow Games" (June 1989), "The Silver Spike" (September 1989), and "Dreams of Steel" (April 1990).That could put it at #5.Yet, because of the extreme cliffhanger in "Shadow Games," no one in their right mind would voluntarily separate "Shadow Games" from "Dreams of Steel" (I can't even believe Cook broke off between those two books to write this one).So, even though you can read "The Silver Spike" any time after "The White Rose," I'll have to agree with the chronology used in "The Books of the South" and call it #6.

As to the book, itself:it's very good "Black Company" material. It's narrated mostly by Philodendron Case and Smeds Stahl, and there are some problems with their sudden spurts of abilities, but it falls right in with the rest of the "Black Company" books.So, I rate it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.It's not a "necessary" book in the series.But, if you like the Black Company, you'll want to read it.

Not Free SF Reader
No tv in the world that these guys inhabit.If there was, and they had seen a few B horror movies, they would never, ever, ever have contemplated what they did in a sheer fit of idiocy.The rest of the book is the bad things that happen to them afterwards.Mostly obvious to us, and somewhat amusing.Plus some Darling and her entourage, and what happens to them.

An entertaining romp in the Black Company universe, but which cuts some corners in terms of characterization and plot
An enjoyable and dark read, but I'm not sure I was left convinced by the characterization of Raven (not as three dimensional as in previous books), Philodendron Case (didn't match the nervous kid we previously met), and Smeds Stahl (transformation a la Marron Shed a bit repetitive). Still, it was a highly engaging read and brought the Book of the North to a nice close. Nota bene: those who haven't read the preceding books in this series will want to check them out first.

In Trouble Again

Glen Cook wrote The Silver Spike to resolve many of the loose ends that are left after the conclusion of The White Rose.With the final battle against the Dominator done, and the Black Company headed south to find Khatovar, there is one more story to tell.Darling, Silent, Raven, and a small handful of others are left behind to go their varied ways.Cook takes time out from the big story to make this one detour into the fate of those left behind.

Raven, rejected by Darling and at loose ends, takes up with Philodendron Case and goes of wandering and settles into the life of a broken alcoholic.It is only gradually that Case pulls him together.But Raven's inability to face emotional realities handicaps him at every turn.Darling and Silent return to their underground retreat and the crazy cast of animals and vegetables that haunt the desert around them.For them, the rebellion has yet to end.And Bomanz, the wizard who set many of these events into motion, has left the Barrowland to practice being unnoticeable in the city of Oar.

But things aren't as quiet as they should be.A sapling of the tree god's line guards the silver spike that holds the evil remains of the Dominator's spirit.But four desperate men decide to steal the spike and sell it to the highest bidder.And ToadKiller Dog works his own mischief, digging up Limper's head and bringing the worst of the ten who were taken.In a deadly moment the spike is freed from its prison, and all these people are drawn together for one last battle over the fate of the world.

This is actually one of Cook's best stories in the series.Terse, with a lot of action and twists, it brings the first three volumes to a satisfactory conclusion.On the way it offers insights into characters that, despite their importance, never quite took center stage in the Black Company stories.These first four volumes of the Black Company series are essentially fantasy tragic-comedy and The Silver Spike is no exception, bleak and wry at the same time, with the occasional moment of hope to keep the reader alert. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Needed Just A Bit More Work
It should be obvious by now that I'm a serious fan of Glen Cook's work.Whether it's the Black Company or a detective in TunFaire or his other, wide reaching works.But into each oeuvre some rain must fall and, unfortunately, A Matter of Time is a book that should have been better.And in the competitive science fiction markets of the 1980's it quickly fell by the wayside.

On a late night in St. Louis detective Norman Cash and his partner find themselves with a body.Still warm on a snowy night the only footprints are the corpses.The more Cash investigates the worse the problem becomes especially when he identifies the dead man as a small time crook who disappeared 50 years ago.And who is Anya Groloch, the old woman who has apparently lived there for a very, very long time.

The story takes place in three times -- 2058, when an accident propels four scientists of an oppressive state through time and probability, -- 1866, when they begin their trek back into the future determined to influence the events to come, and 1975, where the crisis that will shape the future is set to happen.

The story is intricate, and full or temporal twists, but it never seems to gel.The plot is good, the characters are interesting, but the writing is more distracted than Cook's usual standard, and never makes contact with the reader.Even so, it's and interesting volume that should please most of Glen Cook's fans.If you find a used copy at a decent price, pick it up -- Cook at his worst is still well above the current standard for popular fiction.

Great Book
"A Matter of Time" is a time travel mystery set in the 1970's.As far as I am aware this is the only Cook novel set (for the most part) in contemporary Earth.However, Cook maintains his style of far flung plots converging in a satisfying conclusion.And, of course, this book has the"grey reality of loss" feel that is the authors trademark.

Ifyou can find the book I would highly recommend it, especially for long timeCook fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book!
Any fan of fantasy should read this book.It really shows the point of view of the pawns in an epic struggle.If you like it you should check out the Thieves' World series as well.Both are gritty and have believable characters.

Thrilling Tale with All the Necessary Aspects
I have read this book three times in the last 15 months.I'm on my fourth time right now.I can say without a doubt, that this is one of my favorite books.It takes place in a different time in a different world where magic, creatures, and ancient evils run wild.I know it sounds like every other Fantasy book out there, but something sets this one apart.All three of these books follow the Chronicler of the Black Company Croaker as he and his misfit mercenary band of outcasts and law breakers work for the Lady.From start to finish this book will have you hooked.Wonderfully written with many plot twists, interesting and developing characters, this is a book you cannot afford to miss out on. ... Read more