Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy

Glen Cook slaps a devastating battle magic spell on epic fantasy cliches (e.g., evil empire, virtuous rebels, dark lord, blasted wasteland around his headquarters, and clear division of good from evil). He writes a hard-boiled fantasy about the heroic feats of human anti-heroes in a world in which, as in our own, the historians of the victors determine good and evil. His novel is by turns funny or scary, horrifying or moving, grotesque or beautiful. It's enjoyable to watch the memorable members of the mercenary Black Company playing cards or pranks and suspenseful to follow them going on dangerous missions. Cook vividly captures the way that men working together in intense situations indulge in petty resentments even as they bond into a family through shared adversity. The short story chapters--without transitions between them--are narrated by the company's doctor and historian Croaker to make a single compelling tale.

I sympathize with the reviewers who find the novel too rawly written, but I liked most of the graphic similes and the in medias res openings of each chapter-story and appreciate how each new chapter adds a few more pieces to the dramatic situation of the fantasy world.

I can't understand why some reviewers dislike Marc Vietor's reading of the novel. I feel that he does a fine job, enhancing Croaker's hard-boiled exterior and sensitive interior, as well as modifying his voice appropriately for the other characters, from the hysterical high-pitched mage Goblin to the laconic Clint Eastwood-like killer Raven. Vietor's reading of each of the very different voices of Soulcatcher's different souls is fun, creepy, and impressive.

The novel, first in a long series of Black Company annals, feels complete enough at its conclusion and at the same time promises an eventful, long future for Croaker and his mercenary brothers. A vivid and satisfying audiobook.

102 people found this helpful

Great Story, Narrator Takes Getting Used To

A refreshing romp through a gritty yet colorful medieval fantasy setting that follows a mercenary company recruited by the arch villain. They'll stick it to the rebel "good guys" all the way, often with cheerful deviousness. The story follows the sole 1'st person perspective of the Black Company's annalist/historian/medic giving it a distinct grunt's eye view of a much bigger conflict. There's also no shortage of likeable characters to get attached to; it's neither too serious or too somber.

The narrator definitely takes some getting used to though. At first he sounded like he was channeling Captain Kirk or something and it was most distracting; you'll see some hate on that topic in the other reviews. However, I think he settles into the role eventually and about 1/3 in I didn't even notice anymore. He manages the few female voices there are well enough. Certainly not so cringe worthy as other male narrators I've heard trying the same.

50 people found this helpful

What the hell?

I had bought this book based on the recommendation of a youtube channel that propped it up as "A good, gritty dark fantasy novel". So I used a credit and got it...and then promptly stopped well after the first 3rd of it. It was utterly confusing. The constant jumping between characters with no break or pause, and a similar problem with story beats, not to mention the feeling that I should have read something else before this book, as if this was not the first one....but it is. I feel this book had potential, but the delivery leaves something to be desired.

10 people found this helpful

The origin of dark, gritty, epic fantasy

Would you listen to The Black Company again? Why?

Yes, it is a fantastic book with characters that are easy to love. Though the narration takes maybe a chapter to get used it really starts to work after that point

Who was your favorite character and why?

One-Eye and Goblin, they squabble like children are just very entertaining to read about

What about Marc Vietor’s performance did you like?

Marc Vietor perfectly embodied Croaker, the main character. His performance and delivery did justice to the dry wit and cynicism contained within the story. Most importantly he did not distract the listener from the story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not sure it could be made into a film. Audiences would probably not appreciate main characters who are mercenaries...the whole raping and pillaging thing probably wouldn't go over well

Any additional comments?

A common complaint about this book is that it is not descriptive enough. This may be true, but it is actually a strength. Rather than inserting a few hundred pages to add descriptions of every tree the company walk by the story focuses on characters and event. This book is only 350 pages, a mere short story in today's world of tomes. It includes whats necessary and not superfluous words added simply for the sake of being there.Also, in today's world of epic fantasy this book is good, but not quite as dark as the First Law Trilogy or aSoIaF. What makes it stand out is that it predates those series by decades. This was possibly the first book in the genre that did not have the ultra good vs the ultra bad, and in that way it was revolutionary. For this reason alone, let alone the great story and wonderful characters, this book is an important read/listen to any true fan of the genre

17 people found this helpful

Lord of the Rings meets Platoon

The Black Company is gritty-as-can-be swords-and-sorcery fantasy, written years before that became a trendy idea. The “Company” of the book is a group of mercenaries that hires on with a powerful sorceress known as The Lady, and does various unpleasant jobs for her high command, a circle of grotesque and generally nasty wizards called The Taken. Imagine if the Lord of the Rings were told from the perspective of a group of Sauron’s hirelings, and you might have a sense of what to expect. Except, here, there isn’t much chivalry from anyone -- the “rebels”, while less defined, aren’t much more savory than the Lady’s minions.

The writing, accordingly, has a bracingly hard-boiled flavor. The story’s narrator is the Black Company’s chief medic and historian, a man named Croaker. He entertains few illusions that his brothers in arms are “nice people”, as they go from territory to territory, pacifying the inhabitants in the traditional manner, but there’s a sort of professional honor code that holds the company of rogues, fallen men, weirdos, and thugs together. They might be fighting for money, but they operate with discipline, take care of their own, and display occasional human decency. In a world where the unimportant often end up dead in piles as the armies sweep through, that’s better than nothing.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Platoon-meets-Lord of the Rings feel. The writing is a little choppy, though, often skipping past major events with a terse summary, or dropping in new characters with minimal introduction. But, the style fits well -- Croaker isn’t a guy who believes in the glory or righteousness of the cause and he’s patched up the wounded so many battles, he has little taste for describing what happens on the field, but, at the same time, he feels that what happens to him and his comrades ought to be recorded. I found the simple immediacy refreshing -- even in a fantasy world, the experience of ground soldiers might be universal, including their distance from the politics of everything. That said, some of the anachronisms got a little annoying: I wouldn’t expect someone in this world to know about biological evolution or use the term “sandbagging”. On the other hand, I suppose the use of spellcasters in the lines would enable soldiers to employ somewhat more “modern” tactics.

Other aspects of the book aren’t as ground-breaking. Once you get past Cook’s different take, the world-building and plot fall into familiar molds. But the action, initially aimless, begins to take on a purpose, and I got caught up in the story around the midpoint of the novel. The climax features an epic siege battle as good (and ghastly) as any in fantasy. I also enjoyed the endless bickering between two rank-and-file wizards, who seem to devote more energy to petty magical squabbles with each other than doing their jobs. I don’t know how well Cook maintains the strengths of his grunt-level perspective in subsequent books, but I’ll have to check out the next one. You can certainly enjoy this entry as a standalone work, if you choose not to go further.

Audiobook notes: I thought the narrator did a competent if uninspiring job. He sounds a little “older” than I would expect Croaker to be, but, then, it’s not clear how many years after the fact he’s supposed to be telling his story.

35 people found this helpful

Horrible

This book sounds like it was written by a 13 year old boy. The book had no real story just a few characters meandering here and there doing this and that. The characters had no substance whatsoever. The world had no substance. I didn't bother finishing it.

5 people found this helpful

Doesn't translate well as an audiobook

This doesn't translate well at all in a audiobook format.

I really tried to listen but the style of the writing just makes it impossible to figure out what us going on.

The monotone narrator didn't help this either.

I returned it.

5 people found this helpful

Finally - The Ten who were Taken!

Glen Cook's The Black Company is one of the best series ever written. I've been waiting years for Audible to carry these books! The Black Company stories have been described as Vietnam War on peyote. The fantasy genre told by soldiers, sign up today to become a member of Black Company.

48 people found this helpful

Good Book Rough Start

So i'm not really that particular when it comes to fantasy books...I don't need the book to change my life...i'm okay with cheesy...i'm listening for the diversion. That said i'm a pretty easy grader...and my goodness I could not get into the first couple of hours and I really wanted too! i'm not sure if it was the narrator but i really couldn't follow what was going on. I listen to audio books all the time tend to follow them when i'm doing many activities driving, cleaning the house etc but i couldn't follow it! HOWEVER i'm glad that i ran out of credits and didn't have anything else to listen to because about 3/4 of the way into the 1st download I really started to get into it and now i'm hooked. When I finish the book i will probably start it over to try to put the pieces together on the first couple hours :)

13 people found this helpful

Poor Mic Ruins Musing About Nothing

The kind of mic that turns every s into SSSSSsss (x too). The kind of story that tries to convince you rambling cynicism and vagueness is actually edgy and grim. I like grim. I like mercenary company tales. This is neither. At best it’s a child’s musings on demi gods.

2 people found this helpful