Review: Chronicles of the Black Company, by Glen Cook

 

Chronicles of the Black Company is an anthology of the first three books in the series (The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose).

While Croaker, the Annalist and physician of the Company, is the first person POV we also have a handful of other significant POV characters that work well to flesh out the world and creative narrative intrigue (in one book the main POVs are separate but then converge, for example).

The Black Company is a notorious/renowned group of mercenaries who find themselves in a contract with the Lady, a resurrected tyrant aided by powerful sorcerers known as the Taken. While there are rebels, seeking the reborn White Rose (who first put down the Lady and her still slumbering husband), there’s a clear sense they’re not especially virtuous. More a case of two dark grey factions rather than black and white.

Although it took me a while to finally get around to the third book (I own the first two as individual copies too) I’m glad I did. The first book is grim without being explicit, and the second has one of the finest characters arcs I’ve ever read with Marrow Shed. The third is full of a looming sense of dread, heightened by the fact I had no idea if the ‘good guys’ would win, and whether the later books followed the Black Company in the past.

Lots of fantasy focuses on magic, and while this is present in the world it takes a back seat to the importance of pragmatism and the sometimes unpleasant truth that the smartest move can also be the bloodiest. Plenty of factional infighting adds an extra layer to the battle between the Lady and the rebels, and an extra threat to the Company as they get caught in the middle of squabbling Taken.

I’m being deliberately vague on plot matters due to the three-book nature of this review, but suffice to say each book rises to a fitting crescendo. The writing style is concise and doesn’t bother with excess embellishment, flim-flam, or falling into the trap of endlessly describing a fantasy world instead of getting on with the plot and character development. I’m already 74 pages into the next book.

 

Thaddeus

 

The Black Company, by Glen Cook

 

This is a re-read, but it’s been over a decade since I last read The Black Company and in my quest to try and clear bookshelf space I’ve been revisiting some old ones to see if I still like them.

The Black Company is old school fantasy and throws the reader right into the thick of things. The aforementioned military outfit is a mercenary company that has its own sense of tradition and honour but does get hired by ropey sorts. Early on, they get hired by Soulcatcher, one of the Taken, ancient wizards recently returned to the world in the enthralled service of the Lady.

This gets the Company out of an unwanted, pre-existing contract but also means they’re fighting for The Bad Guys in a major war. And it’s not just the enemy on the battlefield they need to watch out for, as the Taken bicker and fight with one another.

The POV is Croaker, the Black Company’s annalist and surgeon, and generally a good egg. Other major characters in the Company include the Captain (unnamed beyond the rank), wizards Silent, One Eye and Goblin, and newcomer Raven (who is a cold fish but very talented at killing things).

There’s very much a theme of war soon stripping away the virtuous idea of good versus evil, which is a little grim if realistic. Easy to read and relatively short, The Black Company doesn’t waste time faffing about and the antagonism between the Taken is shown very clearly early on, which adds an interesting extra dimension to the story There’s also a prophecy that The White Rose has been reborn, having in an earlier incarnation defeated the Lady (and her still trapped husband the Dominator). That could present a way out for the Black Company from their contract with the Lady…

Overall, I liked The Black Company a lot.

 

As a side note, I have the second book, Shadows Linger, and am going to start it shortly, but it’s annoying that the third, The White Rose, isn’t available except second hand or as part of a first-three-books compilation.

 

Thaddeus