At first The Chronicles of the Black Company was not what I wanted to read by Cook. The Dread Empire omnibus looked cooler. But after reading the covers and glancing at on line reviews the Black Company seemed to be the much better choice in terms of depth. They were not wrong.
It is a story where generalizations hide so much and characters really do seem to come to life especially the morally questionable ones. The writing moves quickly and unlike a good deal of fantasy does not spend ungodly amounts of time describing the land, the food, or what someone looks like. Almost immediately you get the tension between the characters and a real sense of the dangerous life they lead. I found them to be as real as any I have ever encountered. Croaker, one of the main voices, is as sympathetic a character you can get but little asides leave no doubt that he is as dark and has the same capabilities as his companions.
One thing that originally had been a concern was the names. The Lady, The Dominator, things like that always make me pause regrettably since some fantasy books are just far too simple minded. This is not simple in the least. I don’t care what they’re called I’d never want to meet them.
Over all a great trilogy that I couldn’t put down and I am dying for a chance to read The Books of the South, the next part of the Black Company epic.
(For whatever reason Glen Cook seems to be not that well known. After reading this I have absolutely no idea why.)
It is a story where generalizations hide so much and characters really do seem to come to life especially the morally questionable ones. The writing moves quickly and unlike a good deal of fantasy does not spend ungodly amounts of time describing the land, the food, or what someone looks like. Almost immediately you get the tension between the characters and a real sense of the dangerous life they lead. I found them to be as real as any I have ever encountered. Croaker, one of the main voices, is as sympathetic a character you can get but little asides leave no doubt that he is as dark and has the same capabilities as his companions.
One thing that originally had been a concern was the names. The Lady, The Dominator, things like that always make me pause regrettably since some fantasy books are just far too simple minded. This is not simple in the least. I don’t care what they’re called I’d never want to meet them.
Over all a great trilogy that I couldn’t put down and I am dying for a chance to read The Books of the South, the next part of the Black Company epic.
(For whatever reason Glen Cook seems to be not that well known. After reading this I have absolutely no idea why.)
