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The Black Company
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 1:15 pm
by Cambo
I don't think there's a thread for this series yet, so I wanted to start one. I'm six books in, and I LOVE this series. Croaker has quickly become one of my favourite fantasy protagonists, and the Lady and the rest of the cast are great as well.
It's character driven, it's dark, it's gritty, it's cynical, the prose is sparse but the plot is gripping. Anyone else fan and want to enthuse with me, or anyone who read them and didn't like them want to disagree?
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 1:22 pm
by I'm Murrin
I read the omnibus Chronicles of the Black Company (collecting the first three novels, the "books of the north") a year or two back, and it was pretty good. Cook is a big influence on Steven Erikson, which was very clear in the style and characters.
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 1:27 pm
by Cambo
I'm Murrin wrote:I read the omnibus Chronicles of the Black Company (collecting the first three novels, the "books of the north") a year or two back, and it was pretty good. Cook is a big influence on Steven Erikson, which was very clear in the style and characters.
Yeah, it was very cool to see the parallels between the Company and the Bridgeburners. The cynicism, the nasty pragmatism, the loyalty to the brethren...and especially the in-jokey names!
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:52 pm
by lucimay
i have the book here and i've started it a couple of times (on the advice of steve erikson) but it just never has hooked me. i keep the book tho just in case i start it again sometime and it does.
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:43 pm
by SoulBiter
I read this in 2009 and I LOVED IT! One of my favorite series. Cambo, once you read the first one make sure you read the "Books of the South"
Glen Cook's first Black Company omnibus, Chronicles of the Black Company
www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0765319233/ref ... eader-link
Glen Cooks Books of the South
www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0765320665/ref ... eader-link
Both of these were very good books..although they are really multiple books in one. Below is the review on Amazon that I thought was on target.
Quote:
The Black Company stands apart from other works in the genre. True, it's the story of an epic struggle, a rebellion against a dark sorceress, and a prophecy. But this story is told from a very human perspective. It's stripped of the grandeur and nobility found in other fantasy fiction. The characters are real in a way that most other fantasy characters aren't: you can't pin them down. In fact, it often seems as though Cook's overriding point in these novels is to keep reminding us that nobody is either purely good or purely evil.
This edition collects the first three novels of the Black Company, what the stories refer to as the Books of the North. All three are told from the perspective Croaker, the physician/narrator whose selective storytelling shows us the realism of a mystical war. He admits to -- and glosses over -- the shortcomings of his brethren, and shows us his own limitations as a narrator. It feels as though Croaker is a war correspondent, intent on telling the truth, but unable and unwilling to share everything he sees and feels. The limitations Cook places on Croaker can frustrate; at times, plot twists appear out of nowhere, due to events that took place outside of Croaker's presence. But by sticking to this narrative form, Cook provides the reader with an easy way in. Before you know it, you'll have accepted Croaker's world, and you'll want more.
Despite the size of this edition, the Black Company novels are a quick read. Cook doesn't waste words with frilly descriptions, and he pares his sentences down to their most basic elements. The spare writing style keeps the story moving along at a rapid clip. There isn't a phrase or sentence you can get away with skipping.
I highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for something a little different from their fantasy fiction.
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:00 pm
by Phantasm
Based on your collective recommendations, I've just ordered this from the library.
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:24 pm
by Phantasm
Finished "The books of the North".
Thoroughly enjoyed them - kind of like the Malazan series.
I was having problems locating "The books of the South" as my library didn't have them (what kind of library only gets the first book in a series?) then decided to check out a disc of kindle books I was given, and..... they are there
along with just about everything else Cook has written. So I guess that's this years reading sorted.
Only downside is that my wife wont let me put "all that fantasy rubbish" on her kindle, so I'm stuck reading the books on my kindle reader for my smartphone, which is slightly annoying.