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Summary: Nightmare World
Review: Heed my words, pitiful humans. Only a lack of power keeps you from making your world into a nightmare like this one, where ancient evils spring from the grave to strangle today; where souls are eaten and no one gives their true name. I am only a machine, but even I would rule more softly than these monsters. True Evil is found only in the human heart. Take heed as Glen Cook offers you a glimpse into a world gone terribly wrong. Only you humans could screw it up so badly.
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Summary: Taken by the Taken
Review: The Black Company is an ancient and cynical mercenary organization, a sworn brotherhood whose origins are lost in antiquity. Double-crossing their double-crossing employer, they sign on with a mysterious lord only to find that the ugly past has risen with a vengeance. In centuries past the evil Dominator and his nameless Lady ruled the land, enslaving his mightiest enemies as the Ten Who Were Taken, until the mighty general known as the White Rose nailed them living into their graves behind a barrier of spells. Now the Lady has risen with the Taken, leaving the Dominator raging in his grave...and the Black Company has just signed a contract with the Taken Soulcatcher, who is a warm puppy beside the other grave-rotten Taken, like Moonbiter, Nightcrawler, or the Hanged Man (or The Limper, who covers his missing lip with a leather mask). The Black Company has the stuff to stand beside the darkest villains, but as they find themselves being well-rewarded for their contribution to the Lady's conquest of the world their greatest hope is to escape beyond her reach. For the prophecy says the White Rose will be reborn to face her enemies again, and the Black Company know this is true. As their own wizards struggle to keep pace with the Taken and their Captain matches wits with centuries-old monsters, Company Annalist and Physician Croaker finds he has his own problems: his interest in the beautiful Lady has come to her attention, and she wants to see him personally. In a world in which women lead armies as often as men and even cities use pseudonyms to avoid magic, the Black Company tries to avoid becoming part of the evil that ensnares them...and fails, inch by inch.
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Summary: The most unique style of fantasy I've read yet.
Review: Place "All Quiet on the Western Front" or "Full Metal Jacket" in a fantasy setting and that comes close to describing Glen Cook's characterization and style. Through the entire novel Cook uses the seldom-tried first person perspective to good effect with the character Croaker who maintains the annals for this mercenary company. Cook breaks away from typical fantasy novels with his understanding of human nature: villains are never completely evil and heroes are never completely good. He recognizes the gray that exists in the totality of the human soul. He even gives the members of the BC simplistic, less-than-flashy names, driving home the fact that he doesn't create typical legendary heroes. He creates people, who are no less intriguing for their lack flair.He may not finese his readers with detailed descriptions of armed combat, but the fight scenes are no less effective for their impact on the story. He even writes a few humorous scenes into this drama. For example there are few things funnier than a fearsome sorceror/general (one of the Taken) getting trampled into the dirt by the same people he has just frightened into a stampede. The plot itself isn't at all unique - a tyrant which prophecy says will be overthrown by a child which everyone is searching for. But it is the way that Cook presents it that makes it so worth reading. Some readers may be put off by Cook's style, I'll admit even I was at first. But if you haven't tried one of his stories, then I invite you to forget what you have come to expect from most fantasy novels and pick up "The Black Company". You may just expand your appreciation of the fantasy genre.
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Summary: Shades of grey...Shades of good
Review: My, what an interesting book- and series. Glen Cook has created an underground cult classic for fantasy lovers. His world is fascinating, dark, and exciting. The characters make decisions based on their situation and their perceptions of conflicts, and this leads to both 'good' and 'evil' wrapped neatly into shades of grey. Some may not like the idea that the Black Company usually finds itself on the side of 'evil,' but when you read the plight and predicament of the characters, you will understand. And this perception of grey is exactly what makes this book, and the series, work so magnificently. The characters in these books seem so 'thin' and undeveloped, but by the time you finish the story, these characters remain in your mind long after you put the book down. Why only 4 stars? Unfortunately, I felt this series suffers from uneven storytelling. The first book, "The Black Company," and the second, "Shadows Linger," are fairly tight and move well. But then, the third and fourth book were off pace and seemed, at times, searching for more forward inertia material (that is- plot.) Taken as a whole, this is a fine series and one well-worth reading. And, at only three to four hundred pages each, can be read comfortably in a few days. Plus, you feel like you have actually accomplished and witnessed something great, instead of exhausted, like many doorstopper fantasy novels make you feel.
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Summary: A very rare find.
Review: In the massed market of fantasy novels that now fill the bookstore shelves, it is rare find to come across a book that has it's very own feel. The black company was thrilling, there are no knights in shineing armour, or damsels in distress. It has a very dark undercurrent which is rarely done. I found this book to be a very refreshing change from the nursey ryhme style fantasy. Not everyone will enjoy the series, but if you are looking for something a little different then by all means give this one a read.
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Summary: Great, But Not For Everyone
Review: There is little that I can add about the book itself that has not been said (and said well) already. What I *can* add is that the Black Company is *not* for everyone. I recommend everyone who is into fantasy to at least try it, but you shouldn't feel bad if you don't 'get it' (though I hope you do). Not everyone appreciates Cook's style or the dark tone of the book, but for those who do, there is no better series out there than these books.
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Summary: a nice change of pace
Review: the black company is refreshing, in that it is not the "underdog good guys" against the epitome of all evil. since tolkien, it seems that fantasy authors have rehashed the same script over and over again (sometimes with some originality and success, and more often that not without either one). the black company's universe is full of shades of gray. the characters seem more real, and make decisions that we can empathize with.
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Summary: Simply excellent
Review: If you enjoy fantasy, you owe it to yourself to try this book. It's a great fantasy novel. It's chilling in its realism. Glen Cook deserves the commercial success of Robert Jordan.
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Summary: Dark...deadly and very funny.
Review: What I enjoyed most about this book was it's sence of humor. It's not an Anderson type funny but a more dark and pesonalized one. The different charectors constantly put down each other with a dark gallows sence of humor that is more realistic with fighting men struggling in difficult times they would rather not be a part of but who are constantly pulled to do the one thig they do best, war. It's an excellent read far different than other novels. It's message is not about good or evil it's simple...carry on and hope your fighting for the good guy's.
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Summary: One of my favorite reads of all time
Review: No it isn't Shakespeare or Tolkien, but a great read doesn't have to be. The timeless world of the Black Company speaks to the reader like no "fully realized" fantasy setting. We don't need maps to feel the fear and tension of the retreat to Charm through the Stair of Tears. There are no heroes here...only men. But after reading this book you'll realize that circumstance makes heroes and not the other way around. The Taken are about as incredible a group of villians as I have ever seen. And the Dominators presence can be felt throughout the entire book. Why hasn't someone made a movie about this book yet?!
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