The Black Company - Glen Cook

[Snowdog]

We The Black Company are the last of the free companies of Khatovar. We have existed for the last 400 years, not by strength alone. The Company lives because we can hustle our enemies, drawing on their patience and striking where least expected. We fulfill all commissions with a sponsor until completion, termination of the commission, or betrayal of the sponsor.

Has anyone here read Glen Cook's The Black Company ? A couple friends of mine on another site has been advocating these books for a couple years, and I had the opportunity to locate one used. So, if you have read them does anyone have an opinion on them??

[Snowdog]

I can't believe nobody here hasn't read these fine books....

[Blackboar]

What are they about?

[Snowdog]

Here is more on the Black Company. Well worth a read!

[Snowdog]

I'm suprised this series isn't more popular. Anyway, I am into the first book, and they do have alot of names. Croaker, the physician, is the one telling the story so its in a first-hand style.

[Legolas]

I have read 3 books (The Black Company, The Shadows Linger and The White Rose). I must say that they are absolutely wonderful, although very sad in the end. Everyone should read these books, really.

[Snowdog]

I have now read through Black Company and Shadows Linger, and I have to say I thought the writing in the second improved over the first. Yes, many a twist and turn here, and I am into the third book... White Rose. I do have Silver Spike, which is a stand alone book to be read after the third, which are the three 'Books of the North' as they say. Anyway, back to my reading!

[Snowdog]

I have now read into the fifth book of the Black Company, and I have to say that even though there are lulls in the action and such, there is always intrigue and anticipation of what will happen next.

[Snowdog]

Finished all the books in this series (10) and I have to say it was one of the most intriguing and intense book series I've read! I recommend it!

[Snowdog]

I have read this whole book series, and I have to say its right up there just below Tolkien on my favorites list!

In the Black Company, Glen Cook doesn't follow the usual book fantasy formula. He builds an amazing but often cruel world, and despite a few dry stretches along the way, he keeps your interest and will throw in a twist and turn when it seems least expected. The veiwpoint is from the common grunt's eye, not from the nobles. I highly recommend this series as a read!

Here's a list of Glen Cook's Black Company series of books and a brief synopsis:

• The Black Company
• Shadows Linger
• The White Rose

These three are called The Books of the North and are also sometimes referred to as The Annals of the Black Company. They are available as a single three book hardbound edition by that name (regularly listed on ebaY - advanced search under 'Books' for 'Glen Cook').

I will say here that the first two chapters of the First book Black Company are kind of hard starting as names of some of the major characters are thrown out, and this has turned some people off from continuing to read them. If you have this issue, I hope you stay with it, or skip to chapter 3 titled Raker. It was a short in a sci-fi/fantasy mag and gets the book going. You can always go back and read the first two as a prequel if need be. A note on the chapters in the first book.. they are huge! Take the breaks when the story shifts a little or where the stars are.

The first three books start with the Black Company taking on a new contract with the Empire, and board ship to head north. Along the way they have to battle a rebellion against the empire, and in finally coming to the city of Charm, are faced with the downfall of said empire. Some good battles and sorcery along the way!


The next book is a standalone that is a 'journal' of one of the characters you get to know in the White Rose.

• The Silver Spike

Its an excellent book that takes place after the events of the White Rose where an evil so dark attempts to arise. I think its one of the better books of the series.

The fifth and sixth books in the series are The Books of the South:

• Shadow Games
• Dreams of Steel

Shadow Games is the account of the rest of the Black Company as they journey south, minus the members who stayed north and are written about in Silver Spike. The timelines of these two books are concurrent. Here is a synopsis of the two Books of the South:
There are seven members of the Company left, and its a hard time for the Company. Shadow Games covers what they encounter, and ultimatly, what they get mixed up in as they travel south, and introduces us to the Shadowmasters who fear their coming. After much intrigue and army-building, There come a climatic battle with the shadowmaster's. Dreams of Steel continues from the aftermath of the battle, and is the first book written from a different character's point of view. The writing style is seemingly different, which is a great feat for an author to do in my opinion.

Then there is the more recent Glittering Stone series.

• Bleak Seasons
• She Is the Darkness
• Water Sleeps
• Soldiers Live

The account in Bleak Seasons is of the annalist protoge Murgen who we get to know starting in Shadow Games. The account parallels events mentioned in Dreams of Steel and is again, a bit different from the earlier writings.

She Is The Darkness gets us back to the writings of the original Annalist Croaker, and all he had been through since the end of Shadow Games. The last couple chapters I noticed a changed writing style, and I felt the story got a little choppy. It seemed he may had let it sit for a time, and now hurried to finish to maybe meet a deadline. The story worked, but I thought it could have used another chapter to smooth it out.

Water Sleeps, and Soldiers Live are follow up adventures and closes out stories of many of the characters we come to know and love. Some new folk are introduced but not really developed, and it leaves open the door for more books in the future me thinks.

As a series, you can feel the morphing of the story through the years it took Glen Cook to write them, and at time I think he dwells too long on things that really didn't require so much verbage, and doesn't go into things I found intriguing. Overall I highly recommend reading this series.

Here are the book covers of most of them.

These links are reviews of the first Black Company book. May contain spoilers, but for the most part they don't give too much away.

This review is a good one on the first book. I have to agree with his final statement where he says not to read it if you're looking for a Tolkien derivative. I guess because its so different from Tolkien is why I like it.

This review speaks well of the book too.

This Review gives some comparison to other popular authors.

[MrBishop]

I got hooked on The Annals of the Black Company when I accidentally picked it upon joining the SF Book Club. The cover looked kewl, so I bought it.
It was a compilation of the first 3 books and really changed the way I looked at fantasy. Loaded with antiheroes, the darker perspective and the often-times blurred lines between 'good' and evil, it made me cheer for what turns out to be a group of murdering thugs, rapists, thieves etc...

I thought that the series ended there...3 books, well written etc... and it wasn't until 10 years later that I realized that Cook hadn't finished his story.

I was looking for a new series to read and looked to Cook again...and found several books with Croaker et al in it!!

I've read all the books on several occasions, and I am currently re-reading the first 3 books.

An excellent series....on par with Robert Jordan in its complexity and character depth, and well worth the read.

**** 1/2

[Snowdog]

I'm glad there is finally somebody here that can appreciate this series, even if I have to disagree on the Robert Jordon comparison. RJ I found boring and so gave up well into the first book, despite trying to bull my way through it. GC's Black Company had a certain draw to me, and so I have to put it well above RJ. Maybe its the down in the trenches perspective the Black Company has.

The later books I thought grew weaker, and I wondered if he was just tired of it. But I read the Darkwar series he wrote, and he definitly has some inconsistancies in his writing.

[Snowdog]

Woo Hoo! A new Black Company book should be coming out in 2007!

[cee2lee2]

Originally Posted by Legolas

I have read 3 books (The Black Company, The Shadows Linger and The White Rose). I must say that they are absolutely wonderful, although very sad in the end. Everyone should read these books, really.

The series sounds interesting, but I've pretty much given up on books that end in sadness. There's enough sadness for me in real life. Is there any thread of hope through the series?

[Snowdog]

So you like the happily ever after endings eh?

Glen Cook has released a new series!

[cee2lee2]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

So you like the happily ever after endings eh?

Glen Cook has released a new series!

Oh yes, happily ever after is just fine with me. Checked out the link -- that doesn't appear to be happily ever after either.

[Snowdog]

Obviously Glen Cook isn't for you. He isn't know for fairy tale endings.

I most likely will get a paperback in e year, but meanwhile I got Tyranny of the Night from the library.

[Snowdog]

Tyranny of the Night is now out in paperback!

[MrBishop]

Wo0t!

[bropous]

I'm intrigued. I will give these books a try after I go through the George MArtin books. Thank you sincerely for the suggestion....seems like something up my alley (non-fairytale endings don't sway me, either!)