Though he is a respected figure among those know his work, and an important influence on many other authors, Glen Cook has not had the degree of fame enjoyed by other contemporary fantasy authors like George R.R. Martin, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, or Robert Jordan. Fortunately, however, the past few years have seen a torrent of reissues of his older books. Now, with the publication of Chronicles of the Black Company, his most seminal works have been gathered together.
Chronicles of the Black Company is an omnibus collection of three books: The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose. Written while Cook was still working full time in a car factory and originally published in 1984 and 1985, they are among the most important and influential fantasy books of recent decades.
Centuries ago, an entire continent was ruled by a monstrous sorcerer known as the Dominator, his wife the Lady, and his sorcerous lieutenants, the Ten Who Were Taken. A mysterious woman known as the White Rose, who had the gift of being able to negate magical power around her, even that of the godlike Dominator, brought his monstrous tyranny to an end. She led a rebellion to victory, ultimately entombing the Dominator, the Lady, and the Ten in region called the Barrowlands. There they all slept for hundreds of years, until a wizard in search of knowledge contacted the Lady and accidentally turned her loose. She in turn awoke the Taken- but not the Dominator, who she left to continue moldering in the Barrowlands. Once again free, she waged war across the land for years to rebuild the Dominator’s ancient dominions, this time under her rule, and now the Lady’s Empire encompasses much of the continent.
The books tell the story of the Black Company, a band of soldiers of fortune that has been in continuous operation for 400 years, the specifics of its origin lost to time. In search of employment, they take up service with Soulcatcher, one of the Taken and a general of the Empire. The Empire is in the throes of rebellion, whose leaders claim that the White Rose has been reborn to liberate the people once again. The Lady’s Empire is a brutal and oppressive place- but behind the rebellion lies something far worse.
As violence tears the land apart, the Black Company must fight for survival, menaced not only by the armies of the rebellion buy by the treacherous machinations of the Taken, who are as busy trying to discredit or kill each other as they are fighting the rebels. In the midst of the chaos of the bloodiest war the continent has ever seen, they discover another threat to their safety: a mute, orphaned young girl one of the Company saved from being abused and murdered by Imperial soldiers. She seems to have an odd effect on magic, and if the Lady finds out the Company has been harboring her there’ll be Hell to pay…
The story is told by Croaker, a field surgeon and keeper of the Company's most precious possession, the Annals: a record of the Company’s exploits and the names of its dead. Croaker finds himself drawn into the forefront of events, in war and in the ruthless plots of Soulcatcher and the other Taken. With him is Goblin and One-Eye, the company’s modestly powerful wizards who use their powers as much to irritate and harass each other as to hinder the Company’s enemies, and Raven, a mysterious man who joined the Black Company after losing everything because of the Taken. Though usually glimpsed only briefly, the most intriguing characters are often the Ten Who Were Taken themselves, especially Soulcatcher, a sinister masked figure who speaks in a different person’s voice wither every new utterance.
The tone of the Black Company stories is dark. The wars the Company fights in are vicious and often morally murky affairs; the Lady’s Empire is sometimes a lesser evil, but it is still an evil. The violence is brutal, and characters die with shocking suddenness. The medicine Croaker employs as a battlefield surgeon are what you’d expect from a realistically nasty medieval world- sewing wounds together and sawing off wounded limbs before gangrene sets in.
The Black Company books were unusual for their time, and still are today. They are epic fantasies with powerful sorcerers, unimaginable ancient evils, and world-shaking events, but told from the viewpoint of the common fighting man on the front lines. The heroes are not nobles, kings, legendary warriors, or other great men; they are regular soldiers, trying to survive in a brutal and indifferent world. They are brave, sometimes even heroic, but they are more relatable than many more stereotypical fantasy protagonists- and very, very mortal. The books have gained something of a cult following among some members of the American armed forces due to their reputation for realistically portraying war and enlisted men, aided by Cook’s own experiences in the U.S. Navy in the 1960’s.
Glen Cook is one of the pillars of modern fantasy, and I would urge every fan of fantasy- and, for that matter, fans of science fiction or military fiction who might be interested in something that isn’t just a clichéd imitation of Tolkien- to look into his work. If you haven’t read him before, the new collection Chronicles of the Black Company is a great place to start.
Questions and comments may be sent to John.Markley@CrucialPop.com
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