:The First Novel of the Black Company:Glen Cook
:Dark Epic Fantasy
Highlights- Use of the word skulduggery, a flying carpet, some awesome descriptive metaphors and this quote: "It seemed as though we looked at a world never defiled by Man. Sometimes I suspect it would be better for our absence."
The story of the mercenary group The Black Company as chronicled by the units physician/annalist. This book begins the Company's relationship with the Lady, the current ruler of the Empire, and sees them through the first major engagement with the Rebel, White Rose, forces.
Highlights- Use of the word skulduggery, a flying carpet, some awesome descriptive metaphors and this quote: "It seemed as though we looked at a world never defiled by Man. Sometimes I suspect it would be better for our absence."
Nadir- No female protagonist- only two identifiable females in the whole book which represent extreme opposites in the good/evil spectrum. A very slow start, a first person pov, and a timeline that can be hard to grasp.
The Black Company is a story told by the BC's physician Croaker. It starts with the BC leaving their employment with the ruler of Beryl through interference by the Lady's agent to come under Her employ. There seems to be some discrepancy in the first chapter between past and present tense accounting which is a little awkward and causes stutters for the reader. It is slow to bring you in at the start and kinda leaves you feeling as though you need a glossary to get through the world specific vocabulary, with no context, until you begin to get a grasp of the meaning. I definitely had to apply myself to this book at the beginning and muscle through. Most problematic was the first person pov which is always hard for me to become accustomed to, but which may be no thing for others... The writing style also takes some getting used to and tends to jump from one major event to the next, without much of a look at daily company life, but once you become accustomed to it and begin to think of it as a written accounting of events it becomes easier to accept. The vocabulary is awesome and interesting, Cook uses many military terms that are new to me despite my many years of reading fantasy battle descriptions.
The story picks up momentum as the book continues but leaves you wondering where all the fighting is for the majority of the book. It has intricate descriptions of play fighting between the company's wizards and card games but not much in the way of actual fighting. While maintaining a gritty feel, it tends to gloss over skirmishes and give a broad overview of the event with the details that are pertinent to the plot line highlighted, which can be forgiven because the narrator is not primarily a fighter. Because of this we are given a very obvious clue as to the identity of the prophesied White Rose early on. Cook does a good job creating multidimensional characters and offers some complication by giving us a whole group of main figures who are not "good guys". The narrator says many times that he shys from portraying the whole truth about his brothers and paints them in a brighter light, we are given that these are vicious men, but men you can still find good in. This story is unique in that the BC does not fight on the side of justice, they fight on the side they are paid by and we are unsure for the majority of the book which side is worse than the other. In the last hundred pages the book really brings you in as the Rebels come to the Lady's tower and the first major engagement is begun. Croaker becomes of interest to the Lady and we learn more about Her and her "taken". Some of my questions weren't really answered, like why the Lady couldn't just kill the disloyal Taken herself or what limits the sorcerers of this world have...
At the end of the book you are very eager to continue with the story. You feel as though you have just brushed the surface of the story and want to know more. How long will the company be able to keep the identity of the White Rose from the Lady's omniscient eye? Will the Lady continue to stall the resurrection on the Dominator? Guess I will have to keep reading.
As much as I have some criticisms this was a unique and interesting read and I would recommend it... just make sure you are ready to commit some time to get into it.
