• Shadow Games

  • Chronicles of the Black Company, Book 4
  • By: Glen Cook
  • Narrated by: Marc Vietor
  • Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,813 ratings)

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Shadow Games  By  cover art

Shadow Games

By: Glen Cook
Narrated by: Marc Vietor
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Publisher's summary

After the devastating battle at the Tower of Charm, Croaker leads the greatly diminished Black Company south, in search of the lost Annals. The Annals will be returned to Khatovar, 8,000 miles away, a city that may exists only in legend...the origin of the first Free Companies.

Every step of the way, the Company is hounded by shadowy figured and carrion-eating crows. As they march every southward, through bug infested jungle; rivers dense with bloodthirsty pirates; and cities, dead and living, haunted by the passage of the Company north, their numbers grow until they are thousands strong. But always they are watched by the Shadowmasters, a deadly new enemy. They are twisted creatures that deal in darkness and death, powerful, shadowy creatures bent on smothering the world in their foul embrace.

This is the first round in a deadly game, a game that the Black Company cannot hope to win.

Listen to more in the Black Company series.
©1989 Glen Cook (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Shadow Games

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Lots of Fun

I've been listening to a few audio books lately that while were good always felt like a bit of work to get through, that was not the case with Shadow Games.

First off let me say you really don't want to start your Black Company experience here. While Cook does a very good job of allowing this book to be an intro to the series it really will shine in it's proper place as #4.

Following Croaker from book 1 to now you really get a great feel for the guy and are either really interested in his journey or have given up before now. This books picks up right from 3 and does a good job of answering a lot of lingering questions you may have had.

It has as much action as the previous books and brings back enough of the past characters to keep you attached to the events while also adding in enough new gems to keeps things fresh.

Don't get me wrong there book is not perfect. My main gripe relates to the mystery surrounding the villains. It makes some sense but it also is annoying that Cook couldn't come up with better.

Vietor does a great job as always of voicing Croaker and I always felt his performance fit. I have more to add but I want to avoid spoilers even the most obvious ones.

All in all this is a fun read and if you are into the Black Company or this kind of military fantasy style you would really enjoy it.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

New Life

This book yields new life to this series. It draws one back to this story with a vengeance and it is totally worth listening to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Don't jump on this one too fast!

First of all, I just want to state my opinion that even though this is listed as book 4 (and was written in that order) you should probably think about reading book 5, The Silver Spike, BEFORE this one. Shadow Games starts a brand new story arc that will take you far from the events of The White Rose. The Silver Spike however, is directly related to The White Rose, so you will want to have those events fresh in your memory.

The Silver Spike is also a MUCH better book than Shadow Games.

Perhaps I could just use a break from shotgunning the series on long car rides home, but Shadow Games really starts to feel a little draining. So far this was the only book in the series that I could not wait for the end.

That said, things do get quite a lot more interesting towards the end of the book. But along the way you are introduced to a plethora of new characters that are difficult to care about, racist stereotypes, and a whole culture of hard to pronounce/differentiate fantasy names. When you get to Tagliose, do yourself a favor and start picturing them as analogues to the middle-east/India, it will save you the confusion when listening to the next audiobook. Perhaps they were meant to be this from the beginning but i missed it due to boredom? I don't know...

Also, be prepared to dig your fingers into your steering wheel in frustration as de-powered ladies make way for the menz to step up their commander game.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

just as good as I remembered

good book. good performance. lots of stuff I didn't remember going on so listening was almost like a brand new book.

the last of the free companies of khatovar is going home. whatever and wherever that is. don't get in the way.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great stuff

It's been a long road getting this far in the series, and every time we're on the road a lot has changed surrounding our favorite band of mercenaries. Without spoiling I'll say there has been a rift in what was once the more full band of the Black Company and has to be repaired by those surviving. Rebuilt, and made stronger. A hint of war threatens from the horizon, with grim omens and moments of tense fear. Glen Cook's writing is, as always, dry and gritty but also clever, occasionally tinged with humor and sometimes even beautiful poetry. It has and maybe always will shock me to read his work when there are so few that capture the same doom and gloom without coming off as completely boring. He thrives in the darkness. I wonder what happened in his life to train him so well for this literature. In any case, I had a feeling through most of this particular entry in the series that most of the really exciting stuff was behind me, with promise of maybe a little more excitement ahead, but here we are stuck in the bridge between. The bridge is still a worthwhile journey. It just wasn't as glorious as the previous books, which to me rivaled the Lord of the Rings when played in the theatre of my mind. That's giving it a lot of credit, but I think in terms of how it made me feel then it deserves it. It made me feel like the world, the war and it's characters were real, flawed people, but not flawed so much that I can't sympathize with or like them. I like them very much. It even turns some of the most famously villainous characters into anti-heroes into heroes! But it's done so believably, which takes the story to places I never imagined were possible. I am looking forward to reading more immediately. I hope there are other books that capture my interest beyond five novels or I will have lost faith in the capabilities of our modern day fantasy authors. Oh, well, I already have for the most part. At least there's always Miles/Christian Cameron, Bernard Cornwell (Arthur trilogy), to name a few.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Shadow Games for sure

Croaker's in charge of the Black Company on a path south to Khatovar. Down to a company of seven, it recruits along the way introducing us to a few new characters. One-Eye and Goblin have to be at the top of their game with their wizardry skills, while adding comedic relief to the story. The Lady is still adjusting to the loss of her powers, but seems to have a hidden agenda with new allies. Lots of mystery surrounding the Shadowmasters, crows and a shadowy figure following Croaker. It all leads up to a bloody battle and a heck of a cliffhanger.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best series and best voice... really good.

Best characters ever. Hands down. You should really read or listen. Many more books to go.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good continuation of a great story.

First time through this book. Read the Black Company books of the North and loved them. This story was a little odd by comparison in my opinion. The Performance continues to be great!

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Awesome

Every bit of the fantasy realism you can shake a stick at and then some

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Back to Croaker.

The story started out slow, and introduced other viewpoint characters which were not appealing. It was better when it jumped back to Croaker's perspective. It got more exciting at the end, but then it ended weird with a cliffhanger.

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