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The Black Company by Glen Cook is the first book of the nine that make up The Black Company series. First published in 1984 this book was responsible for taking the fantasy genre and turning it on its head with his introduction of realistic characters and its complete disregard for fantasy stereotypes and the age-old battle of good versus evil.
The Black Company forms the remnants of a one great mercenary army. Led by the physician and annalist Croaker, the company must search a civil war torn world for the last hope – The White Rose.
This is an arresting story full of black humour told from the first person perspective of Croaker. The world in which we arrive is fantasy-medieval and the first thing that we notice is the non-existence of the fantasy stereotypes to habitually grace (haunt?) the pages of fantasy literature. Tolkien or Eddings this is not, if you are aware of Steven Erikson’s work then it may not surprise you to learn that Glen Cook influenced Erikson greatly. There is no good versus evil battle going on here; this is fast paced action where all the harsh realities of military life are laid bare.
Glen Cook uses his real-life military experience in the US Navy to excellent effect by creating a gritty, realistic and very believable existence for the mercenary soldiers that form The Black Company.
You are thrown straight into the middle of the action and this leads to an initially confusing opening to the book, you are unable to make head or tail of what is going on but your perseverance is rewarded as the chapters fly by and things begin to fall into place. Once the initial confusion is over, the fast pace grips you and the book becomes highly addictive. Glen Cook’s writing is not the best than can be found and is not on the same level as say a Robin Hobb but it is very honest and straight to the point and this style fits well with the military feel of the book.
There are no larger than life characters to be found in The Black Company, all contain frailties and failings that are found in all humans. This book is beautifully amoral and contains no two-dimensional characters. As I’ve already mentioned, The Black Company is a wonderfully amoral book, often dark and containing violent battles and fantastic characters. Glen Cook changed the face of the fantasy genre forever – and for the better.
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Fred from Walton
This was a much needed kick up the backside for a genre that badly needed it. Weighed down with stereotypes and cliches until Glen Cook came along and blew them all away with flawed characters (in the good sense!) and gritty and realistic plots. Very militaristic in its theme this is a book that takes no prisoners and gets right to the point.
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