THE BLACK COMPANY / Glen Cook / Book Review / Brian Lee Durfee (spoiler free)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 9 май 2023
- Wherein our hero Durfee reviews the masterful classic fantasy novel The Black Company by Glen Cook. #TheBlackCompany #GlenCook #BookReview
One of the best series I've ever read. Glen Cook is so insightful and philosophical. And he created some of the strongest female leads, who actually get to be in leadership roles.
The Black Company was some of the first fantasy that I read. I can definitely see how it inspired the Malazan series. I never finished the series though, I do want to go back and start from the beginning first.
Town is Beryl pronounce BEER-EL. It's named for a gemstone comparable to emeralds and aquamarines. Like the other towns in the area such as Opal, the southern towns of the Lady's empire are named after gems, hence the generic description of the towns in that area are called The Jewel Cities.
Yeeeeees..The black Company is Awesome 👏⚔️🤘
I have this book but have yet to read it. I’m reading Darkwalker on Moonshae currently. After it I may try The Black Company!
Croaker (a common euphemysm for Doctor used a lot in the American West) isn't magic in any way...he's simply a general medic, hence the nickname. A lot of his medicines are whipped up by the Company wizards, especially One-Eye. All the members of the Company are known by nicknames throughout the whole series...you never actually know Croaker's real name. He's also literate, unlike most of the other members of the Company, which is why he's stuck with the title and job of Annalist. All through the history (400 + years) of the Black Company, there is an Annalist who records the exploits of the Company, where they fought, who they fought for and the outcomes of their campaigns. In almost every case, the Company keeps to their contracts...and after accomplishing their tasks they get screwed over by their employers. Many of the employers regret this habit...because the Company takes revenge in pretty grim ways. In many ways the Company is a free version of the French Foreign Legion...you never know their real names, their backstories, why they joined or what their personal motivations are or were. Only what's in the Annals.
Love the Black Company. Have the first three omnibus editions. I've read the first two, which make up the first 6 books. Discovered it last year and this series was some of my favorite reading of last year.
Malazan made me intersted in military fantasy, something i hadnt ever heard of before. By the time i got to the end of Malazan i was pretty burnt out of Ericksons writing style. Cooks is the exact opposite. Like you said, crisp and sparse, and exactly what i needed to read after finishing Malazan
Erikson did the intros on some of the newer omnibus editions.
But it is obvious why Reaper's Gale was dedicated to Cook.
I reread the first three after Aspect Emperor. Was just what I needed. Will be reading some more at some point.
Ironically the 'father of grimdark' is not really grimdark by today's standards.
I just started the 2nd omnibus edition The Book of the South. I'm absolutely in-love with The Lady. Such an amazing series.
I read the entirety of the Black Company a few years ago and I LOVED the first 3 books plus The Silver Spike. The later books got a little too complicated and confusing for my liking but they were still good.
I loved this series. Now that you pointed it out It's true about the writing style for this first book but I would say some of the later books are written in less sparse style. I should reread the first book to remind me but first I need to read Cook's Dread Empire series. I would like to see a review of that one also.
About the D&D feeling you got, I actually have The Black Company d20 role-playing game published in 2004 (cover by Wayne Reynolds).
The first three books, along with The Silver Spike, which I would consider the 3.5 book, are my all time favorite fantasy series. After that. Glen Cook lost his way and the pacing went to shit. The sainted Gary Gygax, in his column in Dragon Magazine, turned me on to first Black Company book. I don't know what happened to my first edition, but I read the first four books once a decade. Look forward to your future reviews of the series.
Hmm, that sounds cool …
Comparing this to his other grimdark series, which is your favourite?
I think Malazan is my fav grimdark.