Port of Shadows: A Novel of the Black Company

After more than 17 years, Cook returns with a murky and ephemeral addition to his Chronicles of the Black Company grimdark fantasy series. Chronicler Croaker and the rest of the mercenary band are in service to a mysterious and powerful sorceress known as the Lady, but as they get comfortably dug in at their new posting, begin to realize that things are a little too quiet. They’re sent to capture a supposed rebel leader who turns out to be an innocent-seeming young woman, and things begin to get strange. Small acts of sabotage crop up in the camp, doubles of the young woman begin to appear, and someone or something is affecting the memories of the Company. Cook’s convoluted style is in full flower, and between the forgetting and the fact that Croaker is often kept in the dark, the plot can be somewhat hard to follow. With no lasting impact on the Company or their over-arching story, this makes for a pleasant diversion for fans of the series. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Sept.)