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The Black Company
Last night after I finished the draft of my story for the PBR chapbook, I wanted some comfort reading, so dug out my copy of Glen Cook's The Black Company. *cue laughter from those who've read the book* TBC starts a fantasy series about a hard-bitten company of ruthless mercenaries who happen to be fighting on what would traditionally be the side of Evil, but in this world is mostly a darker shade of black than the other side.
The background to the story is that 400 years ago, the Dominator and his wife the Lady, both powerful mages, were overthrown and imprisoned in spelled barrows by the general of the Good side, the White Rose. Now, however, through this and that and wizards meddling around, those spells have worn thin. The Lady and their mage-generals, the Ten Who Were Taken, have been resurrected and the Dominator stirs within his barrow. War and rebellion saturate the land, and there are rumors that the White Rose has been reborn.
Into this drops the Black Company. They're at the end of a contract, and they're hired by Soulcatcher - a mysterious figure who always wears a mask and speaks in many different voices, who is one of the Ten Who Were Taken - on behalf of the Lady and set to work hunting rebels and reining in others of the Ten who have formed factions and like to in-fight.
This book, and several of the subsequent ones, is narrated by Croaker, the Company's doctor and Chronicler, who's in charge of compiling the history of the Company and keeping the books. The Company itself has origins lost in history, and the sequels follow the Company as they head back south, into their past.
One of the things I like most about this series is the way Cook takes fantasy tropes and upends them - the battle between Good and Evil has already been fought, in fact there is no true Good and Evil, just messy sides and people out for themselves, and the Company is more a company of villains and antiheroes than standard fantasy heroes. They're not whitewashed, either: Cook loves to lull you into going along with them and about the point where you're picturing yourself as one of the Company he pulls the rug out from under you by reminding you again how these guys are nasty, brutish, and ruthless.
That's not to say the characters aren't compelling - the primary characters are well-rounded and there's more to them than just ruthlessness. Croaker cares for the men in his command, hates it when children are killed, and has a bit of a crush on the Lady, who he hasn't met or seen, but about who he writes, basically, self-insert fanfic, much to the hilarity of his comrades.
Cook also writes magic the way I like it: mysterious, a bit untrustworthy. You're not going to get maundering on about spell components or many details about how things are done - it keeps the mystery. I've read a criticism somewhere by someone who hated that about the books, but as I loathe the sort of books that explain the magic system in great detail and turn it into computer programming instead of, well, magic, I will have to agree to disagree with that guy. :)
I can't really say much more other than READ THEM. READ THEM NOW. I was never able to get into any of Cook's other series, even though I tried. His noir-pastiche novels are nothing like the Black Company series, and I've never been able to get into the Dread Empire series. Currently, there's an omnibus out of the first three novels in the series (TBC, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose); I'm not sure if the others have been collected yet.
The background to the story is that 400 years ago, the Dominator and his wife the Lady, both powerful mages, were overthrown and imprisoned in spelled barrows by the general of the Good side, the White Rose. Now, however, through this and that and wizards meddling around, those spells have worn thin. The Lady and their mage-generals, the Ten Who Were Taken, have been resurrected and the Dominator stirs within his barrow. War and rebellion saturate the land, and there are rumors that the White Rose has been reborn.
Into this drops the Black Company. They're at the end of a contract, and they're hired by Soulcatcher - a mysterious figure who always wears a mask and speaks in many different voices, who is one of the Ten Who Were Taken - on behalf of the Lady and set to work hunting rebels and reining in others of the Ten who have formed factions and like to in-fight.
This book, and several of the subsequent ones, is narrated by Croaker, the Company's doctor and Chronicler, who's in charge of compiling the history of the Company and keeping the books. The Company itself has origins lost in history, and the sequels follow the Company as they head back south, into their past.
One of the things I like most about this series is the way Cook takes fantasy tropes and upends them - the battle between Good and Evil has already been fought, in fact there is no true Good and Evil, just messy sides and people out for themselves, and the Company is more a company of villains and antiheroes than standard fantasy heroes. They're not whitewashed, either: Cook loves to lull you into going along with them and about the point where you're picturing yourself as one of the Company he pulls the rug out from under you by reminding you again how these guys are nasty, brutish, and ruthless.
That's not to say the characters aren't compelling - the primary characters are well-rounded and there's more to them than just ruthlessness. Croaker cares for the men in his command, hates it when children are killed, and has a bit of a crush on the Lady, who he hasn't met or seen, but about who he writes, basically, self-insert fanfic, much to the hilarity of his comrades.
Cook also writes magic the way I like it: mysterious, a bit untrustworthy. You're not going to get maundering on about spell components or many details about how things are done - it keeps the mystery. I've read a criticism somewhere by someone who hated that about the books, but as I loathe the sort of books that explain the magic system in great detail and turn it into computer programming instead of, well, magic, I will have to agree to disagree with that guy. :)
I can't really say much more other than READ THEM. READ THEM NOW. I was never able to get into any of Cook's other series, even though I tried. His noir-pastiche novels are nothing like the Black Company series, and I've never been able to get into the Dread Empire series. Currently, there's an omnibus out of the first three novels in the series (TBC, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose); I'm not sure if the others have been collected yet.
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Cook's other books are interesting but the BC are his best I think.
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The Dragon Never Sleeps
I really liked The Black Company when I read it long ago, but somehow never got around to reading the rest of the series as it came out.
Re: The Dragon Never Sleeps
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This series sounds interesting. I will add it to my rec'd book list for future library adventures. Unfortunately, I have no books for reading pleasure with me here any more. I shipped them all home, so all I have is a couple of books on photography. *is sad*
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I like them for all the reasons you mention, particularly that they're from the PoV of the sloggers and fighters, really, rather than heroes, and because it is so different from most fantasy. I also like the turns things take later, and the change in narrators, although I did miss Croaker a bit.
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