Rating: 
Summary: Secretly written by One-Eye?
Review: By the 9th book you already know whether you like the Black Company. You're going to buy this book and read it regardless of the reviews. Be aware, however, that "Soldiers Live" is not one of the better written Company novels, and consider waiting for the paperback to be published before buying it.This is definitely the most poorly edited book in the series. There are more than a couple grammatical errors, and unless I accidentally skipped some sentences the identities of Lifetaker/Widowmaker have been switched without explanation. Croaker remains an entertaining narrator, but this book breaks from the tradition of sticking strictly to the Annalist's perspective and allows itself to follow other characters without the use of spies, ghosts, or other plot devices which would communicate the information to the narrator. The first part of the plot is entirely too cutesy, centered on the wonderboy sorceror character who we know entirely too well from a variety of other fantasy series. More cutesy characters are thrown into the mix. The Black Company is no longer capable of killing anyone in cold blood, and even their worst enemies, responsible for hundreds of their deaths, are treated to tea and crumpets during captivity until they can be bothered to escape. Then there's a shift and characters start getting eliminated in bulk, and suddenly it feels like One-Eye is writing the book. "We fixed the gates, did some fighting, and A, B, and C died" is only a slight exaggeration. Portions of the plot feel written on the fly, and there's several contrivances where characters behave very out-of-character in order to advance the plot. For one one of the most action-heavy novels in the series, this middle portion comes off as very dry and topical. Glenn Cook did have an endgame in mind, however, and the conclusion is very satisfying, making up for many of the book's shortcomings. The future of the series (if any), however, does not look promising, and it will take some exceptional writing to distinguish this wonderboy character from all the others on the shelves. But read "Soldiers Live" and enjoy it. I highlight the negatives because you already know what's great about the series.
Rating: 
Summary: This one left me drained. Best book of the year.
Review: Wow! That pretty much says it all.
Rating:
Summary: Dropping like flies
Review: I'll admit to enjoying the first 3-4 Black Company books much more than the last few (I missed the early times when Croaker and crew were more minor players and not throwing fireballs and roughing up demigods as you find in the Glittering Plain books) but this one was great. The quality of writing is there, the constant griping of Croaker and the rest of the old folks, the humor, twists in plot, double-crossings, etc. Like everyone else here has noted, characters are abruptly knocked off. Not casually, just swiftly, in a couple of cases I had to review a page to find where it was described. Glen Cook can't be praised highly enough for these Black Company books, some of the few fantasy novels actually written for adult readers.
Rating:
Summary: A superb beginning
Review: I've written a lot about Cook's series over the years, and I do feel this was a very fitting ending to this chapter of the Annals. However, folks seem to have missed something. Not only did Cook set it up for a continuation of the Company, he also paved the way for prequels! With Croaker's new position (how's that for obtuse?), he can dwell on his own memories (you have to read the book to understand what I'm talking about) and see how the original Companies were formed and came forth from Khatovar. Which means he COULD go back in time, to when a young Croaker joined the Company. We could meet with our old friends again, from when they were younger. Me, I think this would be pretty damn cool, as we could see the south side of the Sea of Torments, with the Jewel Cities, etc. I think maybe I'll drop Glen a letter at TOR with just this idea... Thank you, Mr. Cook, for 16 years (or so) of delightful Black Company reading. Now, more Bragi!
Rating:
Summary: Goodbye to old friends...
Review: I finished this book tonight, I took longer than usual to finish it. Not wanting to put down the final story of characters I have come to depend on for hours of living outside of my own four walls. Croaker is my favorite, though I have to admit to a MAJOR soft spot for One-Eye and Goblin. I was sorry to see them go, kind of like Croaker, always going back to the fact that they were the last. Booboo never had a chance, but then just like Croaker, Cook likes his drama served in large portions. Mr. Cook has taken his characters to the ends of the world and beyond to others. Without the aid of space ships and science he has treated us to a planet hopping ride, welcome home guys the battle isn't over yet. The death of so many characters was a little hard to take, sometimes I felt as if it was a simply spring cleaning for characters that although well rounded were never really part of the world Mr. Cook had in mind. I wanted a happy ending, I suppose some would think that we got it, but I cannot wait to hold a new story even though I just finished this one. Thank you Mr. Cook, you are the reason I love to read as I can others feel the same way.
Rating:
Summary: ...And wonder why.
Review: Glen Cook, long an undeservedly secondary presence on the fantasy landscape, has capped his "Black Company" series with a towering work of the imagination. "Soldiers Live" is what military fantasy was meant to be. The entire series is unique in the way it blends sword's-point, trench-line military drama with extravagant depictions of the machinations of sorcerers and gods. Given the sweep and depth of the assembled story, its most remarkable attribute is the depth of characterization that Cook invests in his players. The reader looks through their eyes, seeing the blood and fire, the awful price of victory and the unimaginable hell of defeat, as if the plots and battles were unfolding around him. It works so well because the characters are so real. "Soldiers Live" is replete with action, scheming, heroism, treachery, discovery and tragedy. I wish I could give details, but I'd rather not spoil the book for a new reader. Suffice it to say that the evolutionary cycles of this world, which throws up a new supernatural villain every few centuries to bedevil suffering humanity, are still cycling. Only two things about "Soldiers Live" disturb me: 1) It appears to have been hastily proofread. I caught a number of grammar and spelling errors that had to be unintentional. 2) The book deserves to wind up the extended adventures of the Black Company, but rumors are flying that Cook has another novel in the series under development. However, neither of these is a reason to deny "Soldiers Live" a five-star rating. Congratulations, Mr. Cook.
Rating:
Summary: For once a good ending
Review: While many say there may be more Black Company books it will be nothing like the precursors and so, to me, the Black Company series is at a close. I've spent years reading and rereading the series. It's a series that I hold deep to my heart for two reasons. One, I liked the swift action and easy story-telling style Cook has. Two, I've grown up with the characters of the Black Company. As they aged, so too, did I. While sad, the volume has all of the requisite action. It ends putting to a close most of the storyline and gives us the answers we've all been craving for so long. To the person that gave a 3.5 and talked about a seasoned military commander falling into an obvious ambush, all I can say to that, is that if you're talking about who I think, that person seemed to be becoming less careful throughout the book. Basically that person relied too much upon the advantages the company had begun to lose. Anyway, it's one of the best reads I've had in a while and I suggest it to anyone who likes the previous novels to any degree.
Rating:
Summary: Thi Kim is coming
Review: The Black Company was staggering and decimated when it fought its way into another world. Now, after a five-year absence, the Company returns, with new faces, new tactics, new wizards with new powers, and a new lease on life. Elmo wouldn't recognize them these days. Even Croaker takes a back seat to Sleepy's deadly tactics and Tobo's deadly friends as they thunder back into Taglios to ruin Soulcatcher's day. Soldiers live, heroes die, and this is a costly episode in terms of brothers of the Company. Croaker drives his failing body harder and harder as he tries to settle things for his aging wife and the Daughter of Darkness they never held and still call 'Booboo' to themselves, and finally pulls out his most devious, inscrutable, and underhanded strategy of all. It's a bloodbath, just like every other novel of the Black Company, and people die in those. But others come to the fore, and there's plenty left for more Black Company novels in the future, especially when you consider the destiny of the one known as Thi Kim: like White Rose, a child born in war and raised by the Company. A book closes, another opens. There will be more Annals of the Black Company...
Rating:
Summary: This is the end!!!
Review: I can't help but think that this book was devoted mainly to tie up the loose ends. The book reads like a prologue. The final campaign against Soulcatcher and Mogaba takes on secondary importance even as the reasons behind it start to blur. There may be more Black Company books after this but it will have to be an entirely new reincarnation, with no relation to the present series.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning conclusion
Review: This last Black Company Book is a stunning conclusion to the most gripping fantasy saga ever written. While a couple books (Bleak Seasons, Water Sleeps) did not live up to the level of the series, this book brings the Black Company back in full-force for a spellbinding finale. If you haven't read Glen Cook's Black Company series, buy a copy of The Black Company immediately and prepare to be blown away.
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