Port of Shadows occupies a strange place in the chronology of the Black Company; it predates almost all of the history we know, picking the story up after the first book and before the second. The author appears to be numbering it 1.5. Thank god for decimals.
This is not a good place to start the series. Read The Black Company (the first book of the series by the same name) for that.
Honestly, I’d almost say this book should be read in publication order, ie, last, despite its appearance early in the official chronology. If you read it immediately after the first book, you’ll have no idea what’s going on or who half the characters are.
The writing style is noticeably different, which the narrator lampshades, as he does the fact that this period in the company’s history is never referenced or referred to again in the “later” (series chronological) books. The writing is more descriptive and less sparse, somewhat more emotional. There’s a reason for all of that.
Talking too much about the content of this book would, inevitably, represent a spoiler. Really. I can’t even tell you the name of the main character aside from the narrator, because that would be a spoiler, even while it would encourage you to read the book (well, if you’re a fan of the series already).
The only thing I can really say about it without spoiling the plot is this: Croaker gets domesticated.
