Glen Cook is currently one of my favorite authors. I have to admit that I haven’t yet read any of his Urban Fantasy series (mostly because I have a reasonably low tolerance for Urban Fantasy in the first place – I like it, but only in small doses), but I’ve found that his fantasy is always worth my time to read. I’ve read through the entire Black Company series, and am currently working my way through The Dread Empire series (along with 5 or 6 other books, so it’s taking some time), and I love both his stories and his style. Many critics have commented on Cook’s no-nonsense writing style, and his focus on the front-line, usually minor characters. Cook’s protagonists are not princes, or heroes, or powerful wizards, but the mercenaries, bodyguards, and soldiers that populate the background of most fantasy novels. In many of his novels Cook doesn’t tell you the story of a man who changed the world, but the story of a man as the world changed around him. This focus on the down-to-earth characters lends Cook’s writing a gravity, and a realism that many fantasy novels lack, and Cook’s work is the inspiration for some of the same qualities in another of my favorite authors, Steven Erikson.
Overall: 10/10
The Black Company is by no means a new novel. Published in 1984, it has been around for a while, and I’m sure that many other readers have enjoyed it, and many other reviewers have said yay or nay to it. However, this review will begin with the assumption that you have never heard of the novel, or read Cook before. The book takes its name from the primary protagonists, a band of mercenaries known as The Black Company. The reader is quickly introduced to the fact that the Black Company has a long history, over four hundred years, and is one of the most notorious and feared armies in the world. The first chapter of the book also sets the tone for the rest of the series. The Black Company are mercenaries by trade, and have their own code of ethics. This is not a book about heroes, or even a book about good men trying to save the world. This is a book about soldiers trying to survive a war. That being said, it is an excellent story and in this book, and the rest of the series, Cook deals masterfully with themes of morality, necessity, redemption, personal character, integrity, etc.
Writing: 10/10
Unlike many writers Cook’s writing is very stark. He does not provide flowery exposition, or even much in the way of adjectives. While his writing is excellent in its form, structure, and clarity, it is not beautiful. To my mind, Cook seems to be a lover of stories, and of the power that they have, instead of a lover of words for their own sake. I actually find this very refreshing,
Characters: 10/10
I will say this one more time. This is not a story about heroes, about good men, or about trying to save the world. In fact, many readers will probably say that in this first book the main characters are the bad guys. The story is told from the point of view of Croaker, the analyst (historian) and medic of the company. Other central characters are Raven, One-Eye, Goblin, Silent, The Captain, Soulcatcher, and The Limper. My favorite thing about Cook’s characters is that they feel entirely real. The main characters are mercenaries, fighting a war, and rarely have time to concern themselves with the morality of their actions because they are more worried about surviving. Cook’s work has a lot to say about morality, the nature of good and evil, and of personal integrity and growth, but he addresses the topics not through obtuse, and often unbelievable examples (why do super-heroes never kill super-villains?), but with a subtlety that allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusion. While I don’t always agree with Cook’s points, I love the way that he makes them. Cook’s social commentary is so intricately interwoven with the depth of personality and growth in his characters that it is often difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends. Again, this is one of the things that I love about Cook’s writing.
- World: 6/10
- As I said before, Cook’s writing is very stark, and stark writing does not lend itself to deeply developed worlds. While his world is more deeply developed in some of the later books, the reader is given very little detail about the world in The Black Company. While normally this would bother me, the depth and reality of the characters more than makes up for the lack of depth in the world itself.
Plot: 8.5/10
In the majority of this book the Black Company is under contract to a sorcerer named Soulcatcher (who’s gender is completely unidentifiable), who is one of the generals of a mighty empire under the implacable rule of The Lady. The plot of the book centers around a war between the Lady’s empire and rebel forces seeking to overthrow it, as well as a lesser battle between Soulcatcher and one of her fellow generals, The Limper. The plot of the book is driven forward primarily by the character’s themselves, and the place of the Black Company in this ongoing war.
Pacing: 9/10
I love the Black Company, but there are a few places in which it could move more smoothly. All in all the story moves along at a good pace, not too fast, but not so slow as to be boring. However, the story often jumps over long time periods or important battles. I don’t generally think that this is a problem, much of my own writing does the same, but it won’t appeal to some readers.
Commentary: 10/10
As I said above, I love the way that Cook’s commentative points come out through the depth of growth in his characters. Cook’s commentary in this book focuses on the nature of war, and of morality in war. What is right and wrong when the primary goal is to make it through the night alive. He also deals extensively with the nature of mercenary work, the problems it poses to normative morality, and the solutions that can be sought.
Conclusion:
Needless to say, not everyone will enjoy The Black Company, and if you are looking for a story about paragons of right standing up for morality and saving the world, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a story about very real people trying to deal with very difficult situations, then this book will probably appeal to you, and I hope that you give it a chance.
Broken Mirrors 
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