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

Glen Cook

Start date: November 1, 2012

Finish date: November 30, 2012

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What Members Thought

May 19, 2011 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-60s-70s-80s

i thought this book was great. a strange kind of modern classic, one that influenced many other fantasy efforts by ushering in the genuine darkness, grittiness, and lack of wonder of the military novel. the writing is direct, unadorned, choppy - a soldier's perspective, i suppose. the novel jumps right in the middle of the action and makes no attempt to help readers out, assuming that they will eventually catch up. experiencing the lack of poetry and of justice, the anonymity of most of the sold i thought this book was great. a strange kind of modern classic, one that influenced many other fantasy efforts by ushering in the genuine darkness, grittiness, and lack of wonder of the military novel. the writing is direct, unadorned, choppy - a soldier's perspective, i suppose. the novel jumps right in the middle of the action and makes no attempt to help readers out, assuming that they will eventually catch up. experiencing the lack of poetry and of justice, the anonymity of most of the soldiers, and the dearth of noble sentiment - indeed, very little sentiment of any kind whatsoever - was like splashing into icy cold water. it is startling, at first. but you get numbed to it.

the beginning was definitely abrupt but i got into the swing of things pretty quickly. the novel is an onion that gets increasingly rotten as you peel away every layer - but still isn't a completely bad onion. you can still use parts of it in a salad. don't toss that onion away, it's not all bad!

in particular, i loved the literalized levels of moral ambiguity and evil:

(view spoiler)
'cause baby, we're with the bad guys this time!

the reader's stand-in, Croaker, is not all bad. he does some pretty good things. he usually won't lift a finger for anyone outside of the Black Company but, at times, he is a genuinely good guy. The Black Company itself sounds like a militaristic Evil Pixar. it takes pride in its reputation for excellence and usually delivers, above and beyond. it treats its people right. it cares for them; it tries to remember their names. it doesn't like wasting time and effort in senseless battle. it prefers to run rather than toss away the lives of its men. it tries to give them rest and recreation; it promotes comraderie and respect and positive, friendly relationships. The Black Company actively tries to never fuck its men over. and, rather sweetly, it does not think highly of child abuse and torture. that's a good company to work for!

however, The Black Company also kills sleeping guardsmen in their beds. it burns down whole villages. it cares more about a paycheck than about working for mass murdering villains. its younger men rape women while its older men shrug their shoulders indulgently, an older brother chuckling at the shenanigans of a younger brother. for chrissakes, it marches screaming prisoners of war in the middle of a town square and then proceeds to nonchalantly slaughter them, simply because they are in a hurry to get the hell out of dodge. Croaker notices these things, justifies or tries to explain away some of them, but mainly chooses not to dwell on it. as he says: he was not raised to speak ill of his family. and so his narration focuses on the The Black Company's current place on the map as he helps out the wounded, tries to figure out mysteries, and writes about those colleagues with whom he is particularly close. often he spends a lot of time mooning on and on and over the two most intriguing and glamorous women that he actually only sorta knows - Soulcatcher and The Lady. just as often, he contemplates the history and the future of his outfit. he is a Company Man, through and through. The Black Company is bad - Croaker knows it and the reader is shown it during several key sequences - but it is, as they say, not all bad .

the novel features a Secret Hero: Raven. he saves a little girl's life and protects her throughout the tale. he also has a habit of enacting blind vengeance, enjoys extreme knife play, and early on, he graphically and nonchalantly strangles his backstabbing wife at a garden party, in front of his new buddies The Black Company. he is not bad looking and apparently smells like a corpse. that's our mysterious Secret Hero, folks, enjoy him!

i understand that Glen Cook used his experiences in Vietnam to inform his novel. after learning that fact the parallel becomes obvious. but to me at least, it is not simply a parallel for Vietnam; it is a very grown up and realistic analogy for many wars, for the nature of war itself. even the Good Guys can be Bad Guys. and even the Bad Guys have their reasons. what villain truly thinks that they are motivated by Complete Evil anyway? almost anything can be rationalized.

the novel contains precious little of pure good - so little that i clung to those rare good deeds, parceled out by the author so sparingly. what the novel has in spades is shades of grey: no true heroes and very few completely villainous villains. and yet... not a despairing novel. i felt strangely refreshed after reading it.

review for the The Black Company trilogy:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ...more

175 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2008 seak rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, to-review

Quick review: Think Malazan Book of the Fallen, but focusing only on the marines. Sounds good right?

Especially given the fact that MBotF is one of my all-time favorite series and the marines were always my favorite parts. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I enjoyed this more, but I can't help but make the comparison and think it a good one. Don't ask me how my mind works, I obviously don't have a clue.

The comparison also makes sense because this series was influential on Erikson's MBotF. Th Quick review: Think Malazan Book of the Fallen, but focusing only on the marines. Sounds good right?

Especially given the fact that MBotF is one of my all-time favorite series and the marines were always my favorite parts. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I enjoyed this more, but I can't help but make the comparison and think it a good one. Don't ask me how my mind works, I obviously don't have a clue.

The comparison also makes sense because this series was influential on Erikson's MBotF. They're completely different, but the cynicism is definitely there in this mercenary band (I'm talking about The Black Company now) and it doesn't hold your hand as you're getting acquainted with the book.

As a big Malazan fan, I'm also a huge fan of authors that let you struggle. Authors that trust the intelligence of their readers, that they'll get it, they'll figure things out, and they'll be rewarded by it as well.

I think the part where The Black Company diverges quite a bit from the Malazan world is that where Malazan is vast, The Black Company is not. The limited viewpoint, following the first person account of Croaker (Crokus anyone?) who's both the company healer and historian, definitely holds back the worldbuilding, but I'm not complaining either. Just noting. And that's not to say it's not vast, you just don't get a sense of the world as much when you only follow a single person. I'm sure the world expands as the series progresses.

Overall, this was a really fun book. It's not black and white, you don't even really know if The Black Company is fighting for the right side, but that's what makes it good. They're just trying to make it through their commission.

Plus, there are some great, zany characters, like One-Eye and Goblin, who magically duel each other constantly, pranking each other with the most ridiculous things and then having more ridiculous things gobble up the previous ridiculous things. It's just great fun.

Croaker, the narrator as I mentioned, has a great voice. He takes his job seriously, but there's no pretense either. I can't wait to read more from the annals of the Black Company.

4 out of 5 Stars (highly recommended) ...more

61 likes · Like · see review

Aug 10, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dark-and-gritty, fantasy, hardboiled-and-noir, unique-magic, mercenaries

5.5 stars. I loved this book!!! The world of the Black Company is absolutely amazing and reading this book was a BLAST. Great characters, great world-building and a terrific plot. Can't ask for much more than that. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!! ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2013 Banner rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

What I enjoyed about this book
I liked most of the characters and thought that while a little 2 dimensional they were interesting. A couple of them were even engaging. But by their very nature I can't say that I actually "liked" any of them. I mean when you work for an organization that is called the Black Company you not exactly an outstanding citizen.
The comradely nature of the cast.
The dark fantasy element. I haven't read a lot of this and found it kind of neat.
I got to say the names were fun. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2012 Oni rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This book is a reminiscence of the more recent and famous A Game of Thrones series. I can see why many people refer this novel as the precursor of the gritty fantasy genre.

The story revolves around a physician soldier (you might say a medic sergeant) of The Black Company, a mercenary group, who happened also to be the Annals writer of the company. The story began with just another assignment contract for the mercenary, until it get entangled into an epic struggle, in the wrong side...

It doesn't This book is a reminiscence of the more recent and famous A Game of Thrones series. I can see why many people refer this novel as the precursor of the gritty fantasy genre.

The story revolves around a physician soldier (you might say a medic sergeant) of The Black Company, a mercenary group, who happened also to be the Annals writer of the company. The story began with just another assignment contract for the mercenary, until it get entangled into an epic struggle, in the wrong side...

It doesn't meant that there is the right side or the wrong side, the good and the bad is not clear, everything is gray. The good is bad, and the bad is good. You cannot depend on anything but yourself, or in the case of the novel, in the company.

The characters are well-built through the dynamics of the company. You can feel the sympathy for the characters, and the company too. I can see the parallel of the company with French Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère). When you join the legion, your past is forgotten. Many join the legion to escape from their past, or to seek asylum. Each of them has their own reason, but nevertheless pledge the allegiance as one company, The Black Company.

As a gritty fantasy, this is not your common sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Magic is not seen as some exotic thing, but just like any other combat skill. And a sorcerer can be killed by common soldier, given the circumstances.

I think the best part of this novel is the plot. You have the plot, counter-plot, and the counter of the counter-plot. You will keep guessing until the end, and still you wonder. What I find interesting also, the story is told from the perspective of foot soldier, not the general. They are not the decision maker, but nevertheless, they are the one who died in the battle field. I can see why this book is popular among military person, because it personify the daily struggle of a military man in the front line. (Glen Cook, the writer, is a Vietnam War veteran).

I will give this novel a 4.5 stars, almost perfect! What I feel lacking, is the feel of the epic struggle, like the one you get from some epic fantasy. You are not entirely absorbed by the story, and engage wholly with it, like it is your own struggle.

Endnote: The end of this novel gives a hint of a very important plot for the sequel (spoiler), which will launch me into the sequel. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2007 John rated it liked it

Nov 08, 2008 Jensownzoo rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2008-reads

Jan 30, 2009 Cody rated it it was amazing

Mar 04, 2009 yellowbird rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Aug 26, 2009 Antonio marked it as to-read

Sep 16, 2009 Bill rated it it was amazing

Feb 25, 2010 Scott marked it as to-read

May 25, 2010 Grey rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Oct 10, 2010 Anoolka marked it as started-maybe-later

Shelves: fantasy, military, started

Feb 10, 2011 Angela Randall marked it as to-read

Shelves: 20th-century, dark, fantasy, fiction, first-book-in-great-series, to-buy, second-hand-bookshop-wishlist, bruce-recommends, friends-recommend, 1980-1989