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Title: The Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company #1) |
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Review of The Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company #1)
- Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.
Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more.
There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...
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Comments for The Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company #1)
- Posted on 2008-05-25
Fantastical, anti-heroic fog of war
The Black Company is an ancient mercenary brotherhood, its members as hard-bitten as skilled. As their ongoing commission in the city of Beryl disintegrates, they escape through the "trap-door" (in its fullest sense) of new employment by a mysterious, northern sorcerer; and they soon find themselves the elite unit in the army of the Lady--a legendary figure who, in the eyes of the opposing Rebels, is the embodiment of evil.
The first of Glen Cook's Black Company novels, this one is narrated by Croaker, the company's chief medic and historian. His first-person, PG-13+ account is often vivid--though rarely with regard to settings--and moves quickly (though, due to his hard-boiled voice, not as quickly as one might expect from a paperback barely topping 300 pages); but at the same time, he makes few allowances for readers not familiar with his world. The lack of a map often exacerbates one's sensation of being lost in a fog of war with the company; the reader can only know what Croaker relates, and sometimes even Croaker doesn't know what's happening. (Overall, the remark by author Steven Erikson, whose Malazan series apparently owes this one a huge debt, about this saga and Vietnam War fiction on peyote seems fitting. There are also sporadic grammatical errors, such as 'height' being spelled 'heighth' more than once, and one isn't sure whether these really are errors or extra measures by the author to authenticate Croaker's voice. It did seem careless for a character to exclaim 'Bingo!" early on, when the company's favorite card game involves shouting "Tonk!".) Finally, the narration runs the gamut from utterly mundane to finely wrought, such as a description of whales "dancing in the iron sea" and the grand entrance of the Lady during the (long) climactic battle:
"She was very stylish, in red and gold brocade, white scarves, gold and silver jewelry, a few black accents. Like a rich lady one might see in the streets of Opal. Her hair was darker than midnight, and hung long from beneath an elegant white and lace tricorner hat trailing white ostrich plumes. A net of pearls kept it constrained. She looked twenty at the oldest. Quiet islanded her as she passed. Men gaped. Nowhere did I see a hint of fear."
Overall, this may be a book that one either loves or hates--that either inspires one to re-read it and its sequels or else ditch it during the first chapter (which I followed much more easily on a second reading). (Because the enigmatic--and, at the least, Machiavellian--Lady is about the only woman featured, my guess is that female readers will be less likely to love it.) Recommended as a paperback purchase for fans of military, dark, or anti-heroic fantasy or sword-and-sorcery. Recommended as a library loan for fans of fantasy in general. Not recommended for fans of literary, character-driven, or high fantasy. 3-1/2 stars.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-05-01
Worth the Effort
The Black Company starts a series that will take you places no other fantasy series even comes close to approaching. The beginning of this book requires a bit of effort because it's style is very different than most other books. Give it time. It finds it's rythym pretty quick and later editions of the series perfect it.
What makes this series unique? Well to start off, it puts the reader on the level of the troops. It's does on the page what Spielberg's "Band of Brothers" does on film. In addition, these books tug at your emotions because you get to know & love the characters. Then you have to say goodbye to them. Remember the feeling you got when Gandalf fell into the bowels of Moria? No character here is as key to the narative as Gandalf was to LOTR, but you'll feel it just the same. Finally, you'll get to know the villians in the series in a much more personal way than you ever knew Sauron. The evil here is close to home. It reaches out and touches the characters here so you aren't left to ponder the doom that will come if evil isn't stopped. In the Black Company, just as in real life, sometimes evil wins a battle. The Company is left to pick up the pieces and keep going.
BUY this Series! Read it. And it'll stay with you. But you won't mind carrying it around in your head.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2008-04-06
Infantile writing style
First of all I really was looking forward to reading this book. Second point, I will never read anything this guy writes again. I felt like I was reading something someone wrote with severe ADHD. He casually skips through scenes without finishing them ! After about a hundred pages I still had no idea what was going on. Reading this was like chewing glass and washing your mouth out with everclear. What is up with this guy? I have no idea how so many people enjoyed this book. On top of that a three year old can create more imaginative names for characters and cities than this guy. I suffered through this book until the ending. And I was glad it was over. I felt like I was watching a bad movie for two days straight. The characters are one dimensional and boring. Every description in this book is lacking. The sentence structure was horrible. I'm shocked this ever got past an editor. One of the worst reads I've ever had. Stick with George RR Martin if you want good, gritty fantasy. This novel was juvenile.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-02-18
A brilliant, difficult series
The first book in what is possibly the best fantasy series ever written, this novel introduces us to the Black Company and sets up plot elements that continue to unfold for the length of the series.
The characters are epic and their struggles titanic. Morality is murky. As others have noted, this is the anti-fantasy fantasy: gritty, realistic and unsparing.
Cook's writing is incredibly sparse, so if you're used to gigantic tomes with endless dialogue and descriptions you may find his work difficult to follow. On the other hand, once you've experienced his laconic, action-oriented style you may find yourself spoiled for other authors.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-01-04
The OK Company
I can see why this book is liked, it is a good book. But here is the main reason why I did not like it. Of course if the below does not concern you or indeed even intrigues you, go right ahead you wont regret it. The book does have charm.
1.I like first person narration, but I do not like reading journal entries. Basically this book is one huge journal entry.
-Day 1-Dear diary, we sit and play cards, all of us are hungry and tired we await our next big move, there is apprehension in the air.
Day 2- Dear diary, I have not bathed for weeks, two fellows brawled over the game, and one of them is now missing an ear. As I sit and ponder the new big move the commander gruffly announced today, I see Bob in the bushes taking a piss.
Day3- Dear diary, Today is the day of the big move, we are all very excited, myself and all the other mercenaries have butterflies in our stomachs.
Yes, I made all that up and of course the book is not that silly or simplistic, it is far more elaborate. However, that is the basic pattern of the book. They sit and wait, play cards, use the bushes, grumble, then some action happens. And again and again this pattern is repeated over and over. The narrator is funny and charming, and of course the book is interesting and has original aspects, but it reads like a military log. Very big, huge on military daily life and campaigning details. Just like the warriors of this tale you will wait with them for pages for something to happen and when it does you'll be pleased, but then you'll have to wait some more before something happens again.
Ultimately this killed it for me and I must admit I only read half the book, because I was bored. Which is why three stars not two, since maybe miracoulsy the ending was just amazingly good. Yet the very same thing that bored me might be very likable for others.
Score: 3