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warragh's review against another edition
5.0
The last Black Company omnibus collecting Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live
Water Sleeps
The book picks up 15 years after the evens of She is the Darkness. Without its leadership, the Black Company fought hard against Soulcatcher and Mogaba but in the end they were defeated and forced to go underground.
Water Sleeps is a very different book compared to its predecessors. Not only is there a new POV character but the story itself is quite unlike anything else in the series. There are no big battles, no massive armies or bloody conquests. The Company is in a very unsure situation, hanging on to its identity and history and trying to get recover their friends and take revenge on those who betrayed it.
It is very much a "middle" book. We do get some backstory and some more information about Kina and the Glittering Plain but nothing gets resolved and at the end of the day the purpose of the book is to get all the players in place for the last book. That's not to say that it is a bad book, far from it, it actually is a lot of fun and very amusing at times (and very good that it is considering what comes after).
Soldiers Live
So here we finally are, the last (so far) book in the series. The novel picks up 4 years after end of the last one. 4 years of peace, of rest and growth as the Company gathers its strength for its final return home.
Quite fittingly the book sees Croaker return as Annalist/POV character. The book is very much centered on him and his struggles to adapt to a changing world and a changing Company. Page after page more of the world that he used to know is gone and that has a very visible effect on him. More than ever Croaker feels alive. Lady even remarks upon his newfound mantra. Soldiers live. And wonder why. Very few fantasy books deal with such heavy psychological themes (survivors guilt being first and foremost here) but all this comes at a cost, one with which I personally still struggle to deal with.
Soldiers Live, as the title of the omnibus would suggest, is a very bloody book. I would almost argue that it is too bloody. It feels to me that Glen Cook was on a mission to kill as many characters as possible. It feels forced and contrived but at the same time it is exactly why this series is so amazing. People die. Soldiers die. Even more so in wars. Soldiers die without fanfare, without a glorious duel or a blaze of glory, they die and the world moves on. It is painful and heartbreaking and gut wrenching and I want to hate it but this book and this series has made me go through so many deep emotions that I can't help but be in awe with it.
Not everything is bleak though. This series has always been about the Company, above any individual character (save maybe Croaker) and the Company has a future. It has been irreversibly changed but it endured all its trials and had emerged on the other side still strong. It is a message of hope and comfort, that despite everything the Company will live on, carrying with it the memory of everyone who was a part of it. It is immortality of a sort
For me personally Soldiers Live has cemented The Black Company as perhaps my favourite fantasy series. It is both grim and dark but it is also full of hope. It shows humanity at its worst but also it shows how even in the darkest times there is still room for brotherhood, for trust and love.
And it has perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful ending out of any book I've read.
“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.”
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
Water Sleeps
The book picks up 15 years after the evens of She is the Darkness. Without its leadership, the Black Company fought hard against Soulcatcher and Mogaba but in the end they were defeated and forced to go underground.
Water Sleeps is a very different book compared to its predecessors. Not only is there a new POV character but the story itself is quite unlike anything else in the series. There are no big battles, no massive armies or bloody conquests. The Company is in a very unsure situation, hanging on to its identity and history and trying to get recover their friends and take revenge on those who betrayed it.
It is very much a "middle" book. We do get some backstory and some more information about Kina and the Glittering Plain but nothing gets resolved and at the end of the day the purpose of the book is to get all the players in place for the last book. That's not to say that it is a bad book, far from it, it actually is a lot of fun and very amusing at times (and very good that it is considering what comes after).
Soldiers Live
So here we finally are, the last (so far) book in the series. The novel picks up 4 years after end of the last one. 4 years of peace, of rest and growth as the Company gathers its strength for its final return home.
Quite fittingly the book sees Croaker return as Annalist/POV character. The book is very much centered on him and his struggles to adapt to a changing world and a changing Company. Page after page more of the world that he used to know is gone and that has a very visible effect on him. More than ever Croaker feels alive. Lady even remarks upon his newfound mantra. Soldiers live. And wonder why. Very few fantasy books deal with such heavy psychological themes (survivors guilt being first and foremost here) but all this comes at a cost, one with which I personally still struggle to deal with.
Soldiers Live, as the title of the omnibus would suggest, is a very bloody book. I would almost argue that it is too bloody. It feels to me that Glen Cook was on a mission to kill as many characters as possible. It feels forced and contrived but at the same time it is exactly why this series is so amazing. People die. Soldiers die. Even more so in wars. Soldiers die without fanfare, without a glorious duel or a blaze of glory, they die and the world moves on. It is painful and heartbreaking and gut wrenching and I want to hate it but this book and this series has made me go through so many deep emotions that I can't help but be in awe with it.
Not everything is bleak though. This series has always been about the Company, above any individual character (save maybe Croaker) and the Company has a future. It has been irreversibly changed but it endured all its trials and had emerged on the other side still strong. It is a message of hope and comfort, that despite everything the Company will live on, carrying with it the memory of everyone who was a part of it. It is immortality of a sort
For me personally Soldiers Live has cemented The Black Company as perhaps my favourite fantasy series. It is both grim and dark but it is also full of hope. It shows humanity at its worst but also it shows how even in the darkest times there is still room for brotherhood, for trust and love.
And it has perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful ending out of any book I've read.
“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.”
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
sylvane_spectre's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wmhenrymorris's review against another edition
Wow, this did not go in the direction I thought it would, but that's not a bad thing in this case. It wraps up the series in a way that is satisfying without being too overt and in a way that has hints of realism and the randomness that we've come to expect. It is less about awesome heroes and more about the ability to adapt to changing conditions and alliances and technologies and knowledge and, above all, the indomitable soul of the Black Company. That is, that no matter who dies, who defects, who loses heart, Soldiers live.
mrsjenniferwheeler's review against another edition
3.0
Holy hell. I'm finally finished. I can't explain the lack of active interest I had in this one. I feel like I SHOULD have liked it more than I did. And I do actually like the fact that this omnibus comes back around to focus on Croaker's viewpoint. I like the storyline. I like the characters. But for some reason I couldn't summon up any enthusiasm for getting this book read. There was no point in time while reading it, that I felt I just HAD to read one more chapter before putting it down. I even went a couple of days without reading anything at all. I almost feel bad, because I'm left feeling like it deserves a higher rating, but I just wasn't really into it.
czillla's review against another edition
3.25
To be fair, this is the weakest omnibus in the series. We get a conclusion, but not a very strong one, and Cook seems to rush the ending. The pacing is frantic and, overall, I was disappointed.
However 'The Black Company' is still one of the most incredible fantasy series available to be read.
However 'The Black Company' is still one of the most incredible fantasy series available to be read.
cproz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Disappointing ending to an otherwise spectacular series.
vycee's review against another edition
5.0
My rating for these last two books and The Black Company as a whole is 5 stars. This series is an amazing work of fantasy. The way it is written from different perspectives that actually have different viewpoints and methods of writing kept me enthralled. I did enjoy the books of the north more than the books of the south since I felt the bad guys were more fleshed out and the world was a little more what I am used to in fantasy. The books of the south are a much different place and that was interesting in its own but I did feel the ever looming god like enemy never lived up to the hype and the shadow masters were never as strong as you felt they should be. However, even with those complaints the last books wrap up of the story and the ending make it all worth while.
lynmars79's review
4.0
I liked Sleepy's chronicle, and the idea of her playing a long game. Her own observation of it being a struggle between powerful women was an interesting one; in the first series, women were few and far between, and discounted even. There were 3 major female characters in the first Black Company novel, but over time their prominence has increased, and the respect of the men earned.
The increased magic being so common bothered me slightly, as I feel it did Croaker in the final book; the Black Company is "spoiled" by the various magical aids they've gained over the years. Tobo's Hidden Shadows are reminiscent of the critters from the Plain of Fear that attached themselves to Darling. The reliance on the magic posts, clothes, carpets, creatures, and so on pulled the story away somewhat from nitty gritty fantasy--but on the other hand, it's not much different from modern armies making use of available technology.
The final march back to Taglios feels like a war of attrition, and many characters die (as the name indicates). There's also still the Daughter of Night to deal with--and emotions factor into that as well as some other old enemies and friends.
New Company members are made, many familiar folks are lost, the Annals continue in the hands of two young wizard converts. By the end, only one person from the original novels is left free and standing; another is left in half-sleeping suspension, and the third..."puts down the pen" in a highly fantastical manner that makes sense for him. Croaker's nearly-religious devotion to the Company comes second only to his thirst for knowledge and truth in history.
The entirety of the series defies many common tropes and conventions of fiction, and the last novels are no exception to that; it makes for a refreshing change of pace, some unpredictability, and managed to choke me up as the last words came across the page.
"Soldiers live. And wonder why" indeed.
If Cook does continue the series again--as rumors indicate--then the Black Company will be very different from this original series. I'm all right with that, in the end, but it will take a long time before the attachments to Croaker and his old gang fade.
The increased magic being so common bothered me slightly, as I feel it did Croaker in the final book; the Black Company is "spoiled" by the various magical aids they've gained over the years. Tobo's Hidden Shadows are reminiscent of the critters from the Plain of Fear that attached themselves to Darling. The reliance on the magic posts, clothes, carpets, creatures, and so on pulled the story away somewhat from nitty gritty fantasy--but on the other hand, it's not much different from modern armies making use of available technology.
The final march back to Taglios feels like a war of attrition, and many characters die (as the name indicates). There's also still the Daughter of Night to deal with--and emotions factor into that as well as some other old enemies and friends.
New Company members are made, many familiar folks are lost, the Annals continue in the hands of two young wizard converts. By the end, only one person from the original novels is left free and standing; another is left in half-sleeping suspension, and the third..."puts down the pen" in a highly fantastical manner that makes sense for him. Croaker's nearly-religious devotion to the Company comes second only to his thirst for knowledge and truth in history.
The entirety of the series defies many common tropes and conventions of fiction, and the last novels are no exception to that; it makes for a refreshing change of pace, some unpredictability, and managed to choke me up as the last words came across the page.
"Soldiers live. And wonder why" indeed.
If Cook does continue the series again--as rumors indicate--then the Black Company will be very different from this original series. I'm all right with that, in the end, but it will take a long time before the attachments to Croaker and his old gang fade.