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A review by peterkeep
Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook
5.0
This is really the first book that I've had a hard time figuring out what was going on. I know people have talked about [b: Gardens of the Moon|55399|Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)|Steven Erikson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg|2646042] being very confusing, but I haven't read it yet (although I plan to sometime). Similarly, I remember [b: The Way of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388184640s/7235533.jpg|8134945] being recommended to me with the caveat that the beginning is a bit confusing and it takes some time to get into it, but I didn't really have a problem with it.
But 75 pages into The Black Company and I was ready to put it aside. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, the characters were confusing, and I didn't know who was on what side. Whatever happened around that page-mark, though, really clicked for me. The story started settling in and I started getting a feel for Croaker's narration. Stylistically, the chapters were still very long and there weren't a lot of good scene-shifting stopping points, which made it difficult to read a small chunk before bed. But I really enjoyed the first book, overall.
But after that, man...I loved everything. The stylistic changes were great. The chapters got shorter and tighter, there were some interesting additions to the cast of characters, Croaker's first-person POV was mixed in (really well) with other third-person POVs, and the story got turned around a few times which was really enjoyable. It's incredible that this series was first published in the 80's but still holds up so well. The dialogue is witty, the plot isn't terribly cliche, and nothing really feels dated (although it's easy to see how modern works pulled certain things from the Black Company).
One of the really cool things for me was part of what confused me at first. There's magic, but not really any rules. There are good and bad sides, but they're different depending on who you ask and when you ask. Not having this all nailed down and clear was a little bit weird for me, until I figured out that it doesn't really matter. I mean, it does, but it's not what the story is about. For Croaker (and the rest of the Black Company) magic is around, good and evil are around, but either way, they are mercenary soldiers and they're going to do their job the way they do it. Sorcery doesn't need to be rigorously explained, because for the common soldier, all that matters is that they've got some capable enough wizards on their side. When the other side's wizardry outmatches theirs, they'll adjust their strategy. But other than that, the rules of magic and the roles of their bosses don't really impact much in their day-to-day lives. It's really great to read an epic fantasy that is told not from a wide birds-eye-view of everything, but from the soldiers on the ground.
It's a really standup series that deserves the place it has.
But 75 pages into The Black Company and I was ready to put it aside. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, the characters were confusing, and I didn't know who was on what side. Whatever happened around that page-mark, though, really clicked for me. The story started settling in and I started getting a feel for Croaker's narration. Stylistically, the chapters were still very long and there weren't a lot of good scene-shifting stopping points, which made it difficult to read a small chunk before bed. But I really enjoyed the first book, overall.
But after that, man...I loved everything. The stylistic changes were great. The chapters got shorter and tighter, there were some interesting additions to the cast of characters, Croaker's first-person POV was mixed in (really well) with other third-person POVs, and the story got turned around a few times which was really enjoyable. It's incredible that this series was first published in the 80's but still holds up so well. The dialogue is witty, the plot isn't terribly cliche, and nothing really feels dated (although it's easy to see how modern works pulled certain things from the Black Company).
One of the really cool things for me was part of what confused me at first. There's magic, but not really any rules. There are good and bad sides, but they're different depending on who you ask and when you ask. Not having this all nailed down and clear was a little bit weird for me, until I figured out that it doesn't really matter. I mean, it does, but it's not what the story is about. For Croaker (and the rest of the Black Company) magic is around, good and evil are around, but either way, they are mercenary soldiers and they're going to do their job the way they do it. Sorcery doesn't need to be rigorously explained, because for the common soldier, all that matters is that they've got some capable enough wizards on their side. When the other side's wizardry outmatches theirs, they'll adjust their strategy. But other than that, the rules of magic and the roles of their bosses don't really impact much in their day-to-day lives. It's really great to read an epic fantasy that is told not from a wide birds-eye-view of everything, but from the soldiers on the ground.
It's a really standup series that deserves the place it has.