They’re intentionally simplistic, in contrast to the apostrophe-laden gobbledegook one often sees in other fantasy books. For one, the names of characters and places are simple and straightforward: Croaker, Goblin, One-Eye, The Lady, Soulcatcher, Raven, Limper– I could go on and on. The Black Company really is a response to the “standard” Tolkien-derivative fantasy, and not just in how its protagonists would be the villains of such a book. The book chronicles the various adventures and campaigns that the Black Company goes through, as told from the perspective of their archivist and physician, Croaker. Early on in book, the Black Company gets recruited by agents of The Lady– who’s essentially a prettier version of Sauron, complete with Ringwraith-esque lieutenants and a big glaring magic eye in the middle of her doom-fortress.
The ‘gimmick’ to the book, as it were, is that Cook writes from the perspective of the bad guy. The Black Company is about, well, The Black Company, a band of cutthroat mercenaries in a generic fantasy land. I’d heard mention of the Black Company series in passing a couple of times, however– and when Tor.com gave the first one away in ebook form (to promote the newest release, natch), I figured I’d give it a go. I’ve read Cook before– namely, a couple of his Garrett: PI books (detective noir in fantasyland, pretty much), way back before I started this blog. Instead, I’m gonna hammer out a couple of reviews of the books I read during the trip! So, uh, that’s good, right?Īnd to start, we have Glen Cook’s The Black Company. But don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with vacation pictures (that’s what facebook is for).
Not that you probably noticed, but I’ve been incommunicado for the last week and a half– that’s because I’ve been on vacation! Went traipsing around Colorado for a bit, which was super fun. Book Review: The Black Company by Glen Cook
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