This, the Second Book of Murgen, continues to make use of Smoke’s unusual talents to provide a broad perspective to the Annalist’s recording of events following the end of the Dejagore siege. With the Black Company reunited with its Captain in Taglios, the time for the invasion of the Shadowlands has come, and preparations are moving rapidly. The intrigue is moving rapidly as well, for the Black Company has a long memory for betrayal, and the rulers of Taglios are beginning to think that their allies may just be worse than their enemies.
She Is The Darkness settles down considerably compared to the somewhat unsteady narrative in Bleak Seasons. As with the rest of the Black Company books, the prose is workmanlike rather than poetic, the narrative voice of a soldier rather than a artist. Yet the strength of the characters and plot shines through clearly, providing an engrossing tale of the infamous mercenary company just one step short of their long quest for Khatovar.
