From the Bookshelf of Grimdark Fantasy…

The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)

Glen Cook

Start date: March 1, 2018

Finish date: April 30, 2018

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last updated Sep 27, 2018 05:21AM

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What Members Thought

Jan 02, 2017 Bogdan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-fantasy-books

This is my first read of 2017 and a hell of a book, if I may say.

Very interesting aproach to a new fantasy world, this time we have a Company of mercenaries serving the bad Sorceress in a hundred year war.

If I may say this looked like a Sven Hassel book with a dark fantasy background.

The story it`s very grimm, it has some tones of humor, but overall the thing are deadly serious and people get killed all the time so I understand why Eriksson has said that this fantasy serie has single handedly ch ...more

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Jun 27, 2010 Chompa rated it really liked it

This was a hard book to rate. I enjoyed it. That's, to me, the bottom line. Let's say 3.5 for my rating.

The Black Company is mercenary troop that has been around for hundreds of years. This book finds them in the employ of a fantastically powerful entity called "The Lady". We see the story unfold through the eyes of the company's doctor and historian, Croaker. It is quickly revealed that the troop is working for a fairly evil entity, but perhaps not the worst? But a contract is a contract.

The ...more

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May 23, 2014 Drsilent rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Note: this review refers to the first book, which is one third of this more recent Omnibus version.

This came out all the way in '87 but somehow I never got around to reading it. It's actually quite all right! It is fantasy in the "gritty epic" style which is quite fashionable today. Can't help but think that Erikson's Malazan books got a lot of inspiration from Glen Cook... there is definitely shared DNA there.

The particular twist, at least in this first book of the series, is that the protagoni ...more

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Sep 08, 2015 Wayne Heinz rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The Black Company is heralded as a dark and gritty work--Glen cook has been called the grandfather (father maybe?) of Grimdark—and it is definitely gritty and at times dark. Glen also writes detective fiction and though I have not read any of his detective fiction there are definitely elements of the hardboiled detective novel in his work.
There is a certain joy at discovering the sources of ideas for later authors. Steven Erikson list’s Glen Cook as a major influence on his Malazan Book of the ...more

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Dec 01, 2017 Noel rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Many years ago, I received a copy of The Black Company, read the first two pages, and decided I didn’t like it enough to continue at that time. But given how I’m a fan of dark fantasy and grimdark, and this is one of the core books in those genres, I thought I’d give reading it another shot.

I’m afraid I still don’t care for it. In fact, this book is one of the few DNFs in my reading life. I made it to chapter 3 (page 100 in my edition), only to realize that not only did I not see the point of wh Many years ago, I received a copy of The Black Company, read the first two pages, and decided I didn’t like it enough to continue at that time. But given how I’m a fan of dark fantasy and grimdark, and this is one of the core books in those genres, I thought I’d give reading it another shot.

I’m afraid I still don’t care for it. In fact, this book is one of the few DNFs in my reading life. I made it to chapter 3 (page 100 in my edition), only to realize that not only did I not see the point of what was going on, but I just didn’t care. Nothing I had read so far was providing an incentive for me to continue.

Now, contrary to most other people whose reviews I’ve read, I actually liked the first chapter and a half. I’m a fan of spare writing, and I like the immersion method of being introduced to a world and then expected to figure it out on the go. The lack of extensive details didn’t bother me in and of itself. So, for all intents and purposes, I should have enjoyed it.

But I didn’t. And I think that had a lot to do with the absolute lack of connection I felt with the characters. They’re simply not fleshed out in a way that makes me care about them. At one point, I put the book down for about a week, and I returned to it only to ask myself “Who’s Elmo?” Note that this character has been in the story since the first chapter, and I managed to forget about him within 80 pages. That says something about how much impact he made on me. The other characters are basically the same, sadly. For whatever reason, I liked Raven, perhaps because he seemed to take the most action according to his own beliefs. But he was really the only one.

Moreover, I couldn’t suss out the overarching story. Maybe that would have become clearer after another chapter, but when I’m telling myself, out loud, I don’t have to keep reading this, then it’s time to stop. I’d love to know what happened, I’d love to know what threads connect all the events, if any, but ultimately, I’m not engaged and have no feelings about what’s happening.

A lot of other people like this novel, and it’s one of the most well-regarded books in grimdark, but it’s simply not for me at this point in time. So, your mileage may vary. Maybe I’ll come back to it in yet another 15 years and change my mind. ...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Weylin rated it liked it

Good premise, likeable characters, but I expected a whole lot more. Maybe I am just spoiled by better 1st person narrative in other series that I have read/am reading, but the writing seemed to be assumptive and lacking description to me. Again, the book is likeable; I just had higher expectations for it.

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