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lookingforvheissu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
peterkeep's review against another edition
5.0
I'll have to add a full review a bit later, but for now I'm just extremely satisfied with the ending of the series. This omnibus probably ended up being my favorite of them all.
---------------------------
Ok, so I've had some time to think about it, and also time to sit down and write my thoughts out. It's hard to judge the last book (or two books in this case) of a series without thinking about the series as a whole - a big part of endings is looking back at the whole thing, the journey that brought these characters to these ending points. It's easy to fixate on specific character growths and plot arcs as well. And in this case, it's pretty perfect. This is a really great series with great characters and a great ending.
Since this is a review of The Many Deaths of the Black Company, though, I should focus on those last two stories.
They're really close to perfect in my mind. After a bit of a rocky patch in the third omnibus, I felt like Glen Cook really brought everything back to the traditional Black Company feel. They're back to being a mercenary company trying to finish whatever jobs they're hired for, and making sure that they don't get screwed over along the way. There are tricks and turns, funny one-liners, and great new characters (or background characters turned main characters). The POVs are solid, with the Annalists of the two stories really holding their own (I won't say who they are, since it's fun to see the pen transfer to new characters as it happens). I really think they're two of my favorite Annalists. The rest of the POVs include characters that we already know and either love or hate depending on where all of the shifting allegiances lie at the moment.
There's plenty of nostalgia throughout the last story especially, which I'm totally ok with. It was done really organically and served as a nice tool to tie some of the earlier adventures of the Black Company to these final ones in specific plot points or at least thematically. This gave a bit of a melancholy tinge to the normal sarcasm and cynicism of the soldiers, but considering the events that transpire, it's totally appropriate.
I don't want to talk too much about the ending, since I don't want to spoil it, but I will say this. For the characters that I've grown to love throughout the series (Croaker, Lady, Goblin, One-Eye, etc.), I really feel like the endings are satisfying and understandable. Some more than others. The ending had me guessing until the last minute, and when I saw it all fall into place, I was really pleased.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
It is an immortality of sorts.
---------------------------
Ok, so I've had some time to think about it, and also time to sit down and write my thoughts out. It's hard to judge the last book (or two books in this case) of a series without thinking about the series as a whole - a big part of endings is looking back at the whole thing, the journey that brought these characters to these ending points. It's easy to fixate on specific character growths and plot arcs as well. And in this case, it's pretty perfect. This is a really great series with great characters and a great ending.
Since this is a review of The Many Deaths of the Black Company, though, I should focus on those last two stories.
They're really close to perfect in my mind. After a bit of a rocky patch in the third omnibus, I felt like Glen Cook really brought everything back to the traditional Black Company feel. They're back to being a mercenary company trying to finish whatever jobs they're hired for, and making sure that they don't get screwed over along the way. There are tricks and turns, funny one-liners, and great new characters (or background characters turned main characters). The POVs are solid, with the Annalists of the two stories really holding their own (I won't say who they are, since it's fun to see the pen transfer to new characters as it happens). I really think they're two of my favorite Annalists. The rest of the POVs include characters that we already know and either love or hate depending on where all of the shifting allegiances lie at the moment.
There's plenty of nostalgia throughout the last story especially, which I'm totally ok with. It was done really organically and served as a nice tool to tie some of the earlier adventures of the Black Company to these final ones in specific plot points or at least thematically. This gave a bit of a melancholy tinge to the normal sarcasm and cynicism of the soldiers, but considering the events that transpire, it's totally appropriate.
I don't want to talk too much about the ending, since I don't want to spoil it, but I will say this. For the characters that I've grown to love throughout the series (Croaker, Lady, Goblin, One-Eye, etc.), I really feel like the endings are satisfying and understandable. Some more than others. The ending had me guessing until the last minute, and when I saw it all fall into place, I was really pleased.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
It is an immortality of sorts.
exterus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rbixby's review against another edition
4.0
At long last, I finished this series. I read the first trilogy in college 30 years ago and would reread it every few years as I was unaware of the following stories (which were a nice discovery for me round about 1995). It's a bitter sweet ending for me because the first trilogy is on my top ten list of all time favorites and I have a level of attachment to Croaker and the Old Crew as he calls the Company from north of the Sea of Torments.
I give props to Cook for evolving the Company as it traveled south. It would have been totally unrealistic for the Company to stay static as a culture in of itself, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I wanted to see One-Eye, Goblin, Otto and Hagop pass from the stage. They are familiar, well-developed characters and I was sad to see them go, even as it was necessary from a narrative point of view.
I enjoyed watching the Company over come the trial and tribulations put in their way by SoulCatcher and Kina, but I found Bleak Seasons a bit long in the tooth with little forward movement in the narrative. She Is The Darkness was better and picked up the pace. I reference those two books as a lead into the books in this omnibus, both of which keep me reading furiously. As I say above, I didn't want those characters, my friends, to go away or change, but Cook did it with imagination and flair and I enjoyed the story even as I mourned the passing of One-Eye, the possession of Goblin and the maternal struggles of Lady, and Croaker's ironic realization that he was just an old geezer now.
I give props to Cook for evolving the Company as it traveled south. It would have been totally unrealistic for the Company to stay static as a culture in of itself, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I wanted to see One-Eye, Goblin, Otto and Hagop pass from the stage. They are familiar, well-developed characters and I was sad to see them go, even as it was necessary from a narrative point of view.
I enjoyed watching the Company over come the trial and tribulations put in their way by SoulCatcher and Kina, but I found Bleak Seasons a bit long in the tooth with little forward movement in the narrative. She Is The Darkness was better and picked up the pace. I reference those two books as a lead into the books in this omnibus, both of which keep me reading furiously. As I say above, I didn't want those characters, my friends, to go away or change, but Cook did it with imagination and flair and I enjoyed the story even as I mourned the passing of One-Eye, the possession of Goblin and the maternal struggles of Lady, and Croaker's ironic realization that he was just an old geezer now.
samphope's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sofijakryz's review against another edition
4.0
The last omnibus on the Black Company was tense. Nevertheless, overall impression was… OK. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the books. Yet, there were a couple of things that irked me a tiny bit. We’ll get there yet.
Let’s begin with a quick overview.
We left the series with the Old Crew cruelly tricked by their oldest and the most resilient enemy frozen underneath the Glittering Plain. Time flows and 14 years pass since the unfortunate day. Water sleeps. But the Company doesn’t.
Survivors of the Black Company continue their guerrilla war against their ancient enemy, self-proclaimed Protector of all the Taglias. Blended in among the Taglians, the Company members apply creative commando tricks to pester the Protector and the Great General. And in the meantime, they gather strength to revive the lost members of the Company.
Now. Nothing is more permanent than changes. And it is probably the Company that knows it best. In this book, we meet a few old-new characters and meet a new not-so-expected Annalist. A lovely, warm and enjoyable character (except for when she(!) does something like: “The character looked X. ‘You look X,’ I said”. I caught that a couple of times :/). She’s a bit low on confidence, but much on loyalty to the old friends. And on courage. I love that.
What I really like about this part of the Company Annals, we get to see quite a few strong women. Yes. We’ve seen the Lady, Soulcatcher, Darling, the Radisha, I know. But this time, instead of being some OP dark sorceresses or balls-positive monarchs shaped by palace intrigues, neither of the two plot drivers are (that) special. A middle-aged, wilting woman, hoping to bring her husband back from the dead. And a loyal Annalist, hoping to retrieve her old friends. I don’t know whether Cook included them because of the compulsory equalitarian sex quota, but I quite enjoyed the Company being steered by creative, sneaky women-soldiers.
We also notice how badly the Company ages. And that’s a bit painful to read. I so got used to Goblin’s and One-Eye’s jackassing that it’s difficult to see them way less potent than they used to be. Nevertheless, they do play an important role. Wait and see.
Good to see some old souls being exploited again (Hi Murgen!). Unfortunately, Cook chose him to be way less interactive. Not just because of third-person view, probably because of his enforced hibernation and a couple of other things. Nevertheless, a reader, spoilt by his previous omnipresent knowledge of the events, may feel the story going slower than before.
There are almost no psychedelic intercepts about what’s going on the Glittering Plain. I’m ok with it, found them a bit boring in the past. We do get some Kina, but I kind of got used to her as a necessary annoyance. Plus, she’s actually doing something interesting here. You’ll see.
We still get glimpses of Narayan Singh and the Daughter of Night. I would find them a bit annoying in earlier books (just could not take in Croaker and Lady’s kid as a vegetable, without consciousness or self-awareness). Interestingly, we start seeing some glimpses of humanity(!) and self(!) in the Daughter of Night. Well done!
OK. Now. Despite of what I said about the Glittering Plain intercepts – the Glittering Plain and the Nameless Fortress story here is my favourite in this omnibus. I found this part vivid, engaging, tricky, and pleasant to read. Including the fortunes and misfortunes. There are going to be some HUGE surprises and revelations here and onwards. So keep on reading!
P.S. One thing – tonk. Is. Back. However, not so fun, interactive or vivid as it was when reading the very first book. So that was a bit of a disappointment for me.
All together – 4 stars. Would have rated a bit less, but the Fortress in the Glittering Plain and story onwards made my nights sleepless with curiosity.
Now. Soldiers live.
Bittersweet - some excitements, some disappointments.
(Most of) the Old Crew is back and fine. Except for being changed and old. We get Croaker back as the Annalist. And he’s indeed gotten old, repeating the same things over. Which kind of reminds of the old Black Company atmosphere, but not so potently, especially, since we heard it before. Maybe just a reflection of Cook getting tired with writing about the Black Company. Nevertheless, he does write well.
Not to spoil too much – now that we learnt some mindblasting facts about the reality of Black Company’s world, we see them recovering and gathering their strength to revenge the Protector and return the empire to its rightful rulers.
That kind of goes slow at first, essentially, because the Old Crew are… old, retired and are not let onto some very crucial information on some plot developments. So the reader is semi-blind too. We lose Murgen’s omnipresent knowledge. It is compensated by… something else, but not so well. So we are dependent on some, surprisingly, very potent characters that are not that reliable themselves. Maybe even disappointing. Yes, I mean you, Tobo.
We’ve learnt some interesting details about what shadows the past of Nyueng Bao and can follow Cook exploiting it to grant the Company the strength it will need to return to Taglios.
And return to Taglios it does. Through immeasurable pains. The omnibus is not called “The many deaths of the Black Company” for nothing. The book begins with deaths and carries on that way. It’s not unexpected. All what we’ve known about the Company since its service for the Red Syndic of Beryl has been bloodshed. Beryl. Battle of Charm. Juniper. Dejagore. Yet, we feel the end will come soon. It’s not as cruel in terms of losing our pet characters, compared to what Andrzej Sapkowski did with the battle at Stiga castle. Nevertheless, the reader will feel plenty of pain. Especially because of cruelty and meaningless of some of those deaths.
We should have expected that. Such is war. I do not feel better, though.
I think what sums up “Soldiers live” is this quote:
“The exhausted armies disentangled as the day waned. The soldiers on both sides had endured so much horror that, gradually, they just stopped trying to interfere with an enemy who seemed willing to go away without causing trouble.
But who won?
On that day arguments could have been made both ways. Final determination would be in the hands of those historians who examined the effect of the battle had on Taglian society and culture. It could be a watershed or it could be nothing important, depending on what followed and how population responded.”
I told you Croaker repeats himself. Which kind of diminishes the effect of his words. Yet I grew up with his school of thought since I was 13 and that is exactly the reason I won’t ever be able to trust historians.
Speaking of which. We do learn about the history of the Company and even follow a detour towards Khatovar. Nevertheless, we never get more than scraps.
This is exactly what made me bitter, despite healthy tension and action throughout the book.
The unfinished ends. I don’t know whether that’s meant to replicate real life, but it made me roll from side to side for quite a few nights.
What did One-Eye know about Goblin? How? Was he a greater wizard than one could actually think of? What’s the story of Khatovar? What happened there? Where did Shadowmasters come from? The Voroshk? Why do the Unknown Shadows stick to Tobo? What’s this about the glittering stones and their messages? What happened to Sahra, actually? What’s the thing about Hong Tray? What did the Nef ever want from the Company? What happens to the imp?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of looming questions.
The end of the book felt dragged out. Some aspects were predictable, too. All gets sorted in the end. But while some key questions stay unanswered, others get more attention than wanted. Overall, in the whole series we get disproportionately much of Taglios. I would have liked to learn more about Khatovar, Gea-Xle or other old Annals of the Company.
Was not happy with how the Daughter of Night thing got sorted. That was only partially believable. We saw even more humanity in her in this book, which did not get fully exploited. She did not feel like Croaker and Lady’s child (perhaps that’s how it was expected to be) – not enough self or shrewdness.
I could ramble on about my mixed feelings more. The first omnibus will stay my favourite (if the story had ended there, no harm would have been done to it, so atmospheric and live in terms of characters it was), especially the Juniper arc (nothing creepy like it). Yet this was not bad either (especially the Nameless Fortress bit in “Water Sleeps”).
3-3.5 stars for “Soldiers Live”.
So 3.5–3.75 stars for this omnibus.
Let’s begin with a quick overview.
We left the series with the Old Crew cruelly tricked by their oldest and the most resilient enemy frozen underneath the Glittering Plain. Time flows and 14 years pass since the unfortunate day. Water sleeps. But the Company doesn’t.
Survivors of the Black Company continue their guerrilla war against their ancient enemy, self-proclaimed Protector of all the Taglias. Blended in among the Taglians, the Company members apply creative commando tricks to pester the Protector and the Great General. And in the meantime, they gather strength to revive the lost members of the Company.
Now. Nothing is more permanent than changes. And it is probably the Company that knows it best. In this book, we meet a few old-new characters and meet a new not-so-expected Annalist. A lovely, warm and enjoyable character (except for when she(!) does something like: “The character looked X. ‘You look X,’ I said”. I caught that a couple of times :/). She’s a bit low on confidence, but much on loyalty to the old friends. And on courage. I love that.
What I really like about this part of the Company Annals, we get to see quite a few strong women. Yes. We’ve seen the Lady, Soulcatcher, Darling, the Radisha, I know. But this time, instead of being some OP dark sorceresses or balls-positive monarchs shaped by palace intrigues, neither of the two plot drivers are (that) special. A middle-aged, wilting woman, hoping to bring her husband back from the dead. And a loyal Annalist, hoping to retrieve her old friends. I don’t know whether Cook included them because of the compulsory equalitarian sex quota, but I quite enjoyed the Company being steered by creative, sneaky women-soldiers.
We also notice how badly the Company ages. And that’s a bit painful to read. I so got used to Goblin’s and One-Eye’s jackassing that it’s difficult to see them way less potent than they used to be. Nevertheless, they do play an important role. Wait and see.
Good to see some old souls being exploited again (Hi Murgen!). Unfortunately, Cook chose him to be way less interactive. Not just because of third-person view, probably because of his enforced hibernation and a couple of other things. Nevertheless, a reader, spoilt by his previous omnipresent knowledge of the events, may feel the story going slower than before.
There are almost no psychedelic intercepts about what’s going on the Glittering Plain. I’m ok with it, found them a bit boring in the past. We do get some Kina, but I kind of got used to her as a necessary annoyance. Plus, she’s actually doing something interesting here. You’ll see.
We still get glimpses of Narayan Singh and the Daughter of Night. I would find them a bit annoying in earlier books (just could not take in Croaker and Lady’s kid as a vegetable, without consciousness or self-awareness). Interestingly, we start seeing some glimpses of humanity(!) and self(!) in the Daughter of Night. Well done!
OK. Now. Despite of what I said about the Glittering Plain intercepts – the Glittering Plain and the Nameless Fortress story here is my favourite in this omnibus. I found this part vivid, engaging, tricky, and pleasant to read. Including the fortunes and misfortunes. There are going to be some HUGE surprises and revelations here and onwards. So keep on reading!
P.S. One thing – tonk. Is. Back. However, not so fun, interactive or vivid as it was when reading the very first book. So that was a bit of a disappointment for me.
All together – 4 stars. Would have rated a bit less, but the Fortress in the Glittering Plain and story onwards made my nights sleepless with curiosity.
Now. Soldiers live.
Bittersweet - some excitements, some disappointments.
(Most of) the Old Crew is back and fine. Except for being changed and old. We get Croaker back as the Annalist. And he’s indeed gotten old, repeating the same things over. Which kind of reminds of the old Black Company atmosphere, but not so potently, especially, since we heard it before. Maybe just a reflection of Cook getting tired with writing about the Black Company. Nevertheless, he does write well.
Not to spoil too much – now that we learnt some mindblasting facts about the reality of Black Company’s world, we see them recovering and gathering their strength to revenge the Protector and return the empire to its rightful rulers.
That kind of goes slow at first, essentially, because the Old Crew are… old, retired and are not let onto some very crucial information on some plot developments. So the reader is semi-blind too. We lose Murgen’s omnipresent knowledge. It is compensated by… something else, but not so well. So we are dependent on some, surprisingly, very potent characters that are not that reliable themselves. Maybe even disappointing. Yes, I mean you, Tobo.
We’ve learnt some interesting details about what shadows the past of Nyueng Bao and can follow Cook exploiting it to grant the Company the strength it will need to return to Taglios.
And return to Taglios it does. Through immeasurable pains. The omnibus is not called “The many deaths of the Black Company” for nothing. The book begins with deaths and carries on that way. It’s not unexpected. All what we’ve known about the Company since its service for the Red Syndic of Beryl has been bloodshed. Beryl. Battle of Charm. Juniper. Dejagore. Yet, we feel the end will come soon. It’s not as cruel in terms of losing our pet characters, compared to what Andrzej Sapkowski did with the battle at Stiga castle. Nevertheless, the reader will feel plenty of pain. Especially because of cruelty and meaningless of some of those deaths.
We should have expected that. Such is war. I do not feel better, though.
I think what sums up “Soldiers live” is this quote:
“The exhausted armies disentangled as the day waned. The soldiers on both sides had endured so much horror that, gradually, they just stopped trying to interfere with an enemy who seemed willing to go away without causing trouble.
But who won?
On that day arguments could have been made both ways. Final determination would be in the hands of those historians who examined the effect of the battle had on Taglian society and culture. It could be a watershed or it could be nothing important, depending on what followed and how population responded.”
I told you Croaker repeats himself. Which kind of diminishes the effect of his words. Yet I grew up with his school of thought since I was 13 and that is exactly the reason I won’t ever be able to trust historians.
Speaking of which. We do learn about the history of the Company and even follow a detour towards Khatovar. Nevertheless, we never get more than scraps.
This is exactly what made me bitter, despite healthy tension and action throughout the book.
The unfinished ends. I don’t know whether that’s meant to replicate real life, but it made me roll from side to side for quite a few nights.
What did One-Eye know about Goblin? How? Was he a greater wizard than one could actually think of? What’s the story of Khatovar? What happened there? Where did Shadowmasters come from? The Voroshk? Why do the Unknown Shadows stick to Tobo? What’s this about the glittering stones and their messages? What happened to Sahra, actually? What’s the thing about Hong Tray? What did the Nef ever want from the Company? What happens to the imp?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of looming questions.
The end of the book felt dragged out. Some aspects were predictable, too. All gets sorted in the end. But while some key questions stay unanswered, others get more attention than wanted. Overall, in the whole series we get disproportionately much of Taglios. I would have liked to learn more about Khatovar, Gea-Xle or other old Annals of the Company.
Was not happy with how the Daughter of Night thing got sorted. That was only partially believable. We saw even more humanity in her in this book, which did not get fully exploited. She did not feel like Croaker and Lady’s child (perhaps that’s how it was expected to be) – not enough self or shrewdness.
I could ramble on about my mixed feelings more. The first omnibus will stay my favourite (if the story had ended there, no harm would have been done to it, so atmospheric and live in terms of characters it was), especially the Juniper arc (nothing creepy like it). Yet this was not bad either (especially the Nameless Fortress bit in “Water Sleeps”).
3-3.5 stars for “Soldiers Live”.
So 3.5–3.75 stars for this omnibus.
hblackham99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
wyrmdog's review against another edition
4.0
I was hesitant going into this volume. The Black Company has been a hell of a ride, and has had some stratospheric highs and some rather disappointing lows. Yet the lows were never so low as to detract, and indeed served only to underscore how astounding were the highs (the Silver Spike shining brightly as my favorite of the whole run).
Water Sleeps was the low point of the volume. Not because it was bad. On the contrary, it revealed a great deal of the mysteries of the series, and opened the way to further insanity. But it did not stand out as most of the non-war volumes do with a noir sensibility, rather, it pressed on almost like a volume that just had to be written, not one that was enjoyed by the author. Like a honey-do for the series. Necessary connective tissue.
It does stand out in one way, however: Sleepy. The narrator of this volume is a significant departure from past narrators. Several characters showcase a fluidity of gender representation that Cook's abbreviated prose can confuse terribly. By this time, I am familiar enough with his style that I figured things out pretty quickly. Still, his casual use of cover and character designators can be a little confusing even now.
Tobo steps up to fill a crucial role in the Company and makes every bit as colorful a character as One-Eye and Goblin.
In Soldiers Live, we are back to a familiar annalist and finally make contact with Khatovar. As with everything in the series, nothing is as expected, and nothing goes quite right.
But we are given the violent introduction of two new characters just as we see the departure of several others. In true to Cook fashion, some horrors are treated as well as can be expected given the subject matter, and he never dwells gratuitously on any of it while also being much clearer about things than in volumes past. All in all, he handles some delicate things pretty well.
But the two new sorcerers are among my favorites, particularly the older of the two, who is exactly the sort of broken character rising to a new lot in life that I love.
The final annalist entries are pretty great.
There are big changes throughout the book, and all of them not only make sense, but are given in a way that feels almost as mythic as several characters speculate they may one day be.
The ending is bittersweet but also open-ended. It's been 15 or so years since this last book was published and we may never see another in the series. It's a satisfying end, even if it isn't the big, epic, tidy resolution that some people may want. Of course, if you want that, you probably aren't still reading the Black Company.
Though I waffle between 3 and 4 stars from volume to volume, I have to say that this has easily been one of my favorite fantasy series' to date.
Thanks for the ride, Glen.
Water Sleeps was the low point of the volume. Not because it was bad. On the contrary, it revealed a great deal of the mysteries of the series, and opened the way to further insanity. But it did not stand out as most of the non-war volumes do with a noir sensibility, rather, it pressed on almost like a volume that just had to be written, not one that was enjoyed by the author. Like a honey-do for the series. Necessary connective tissue.
It does stand out in one way, however: Sleepy. The narrator of this volume is a significant departure from past narrators. Several characters showcase a fluidity of gender representation that Cook's abbreviated prose can confuse terribly. By this time, I am familiar enough with his style that I figured things out pretty quickly. Still, his casual use of cover and character designators can be a little confusing even now.
Tobo steps up to fill a crucial role in the Company and makes every bit as colorful a character as One-Eye and Goblin.
In Soldiers Live, we are back to a familiar annalist and finally make contact with Khatovar. As with everything in the series, nothing is as expected, and nothing goes quite right.
But we are given the violent introduction of two new characters just as we see the departure of several others. In true to Cook fashion, some horrors are treated as well as can be expected given the subject matter, and he never dwells gratuitously on any of it while also being much clearer about things than in volumes past. All in all, he handles some delicate things pretty well.
But the two new sorcerers are among my favorites, particularly the older of the two, who is exactly the sort of broken character rising to a new lot in life that I love.
The final annalist entries are pretty great.
There are big changes throughout the book, and all of them not only make sense, but are given in a way that feels almost as mythic as several characters speculate they may one day be.
The ending is bittersweet but also open-ended. It's been 15 or so years since this last book was published and we may never see another in the series. It's a satisfying end, even if it isn't the big, epic, tidy resolution that some people may want. Of course, if you want that, you probably aren't still reading the Black Company.
Though I waffle between 3 and 4 stars from volume to volume, I have to say that this has easily been one of my favorite fantasy series' to date.
Thanks for the ride, Glen.
absurtiddy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5