The Black Company

Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1

By: Glen Cook

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead - until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more.

There must be a way for the Black Company to find her....

©1984 Glen Cook (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

A true classic

Long before game of thrones there was the black company. This is a gritty evocative fantasy war story taken from the view point of the soldiers that live and fight in the events of their own fantasy world. It's forged out of beautifully tempered imagery with stark gritty realism adding texture and highlighting the finely polished prose that the author presents before you like a finely wrought weapon.The surprise for the reader though is that this is from the side that hiisorrically would be considered the villains of the piece. The black company serves the side of the empire created by the combined might of a wicked undead queen and her 10 evil sorcerors. Even more of a surprise for the reader is that this is also a multi book romance story of true love that will have you in tears by the authors pure genius of pacing and word craft. A must read.

Worth the get

Interesting story and storytelling device. Initially confusing as an audiobook but worth pushing through. I enjoyed it and will continue the series.

starts slow

I probably struggled to get invested for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book. however the last 1/3 was very good. I'm curious where it goes next. well it pick up where this one ended? will it split pov from here? definitely leaves you wanting more.

Better than just Good

I’ve heard nothing negative about this book or it’s series. I’ve heard lots of compliments/praise. But I took forever to get around to it because I never wanted the particular emotional/moral beat everyone implied it would hit.
But it was so much better than I expected. This isn’t bad guys reveling in being bad. This is a story of a group of admittedly morally-tainted mercenaries told from the perspective of a (relatively) good man who sees the good in them. If someone had told me it was like this, I would’ve read it years ago.

slow start, great end

Very dude-centric fantasy. Guys being brotherly and finding themselves on the wrong side... or are they?

Struggled in the first hour, gets better later

The immediate reaction to hearing the narrator is very jarring and a turn off to listen. I believe this is a combination of the writing style and the narrator's vocal inflection. After an hour it becomes comical on how awkward it is. However, after the next hour or so you get used to the voice, the writing style grows on you, and the story gets interesting.

By the end of the book I found myself enjoying the story and the characters within it.

Fantastic

An amazing story.
Every word captures your interest.
A great read for any fantasy lover.

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.

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 :)

Rapid Storyline

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The story would jump ahead in time with barely an explanation, which made me struggle to keep up with the pace. I was hoping for more a gritty, dirty story of some badass mercenaries. I liked the main character, but the supporting characters and the story left me unfulfilled.

Would you recommend The Black Company to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Distinguish each character's voice more, as they were all too similar.

Could you see The Black Company being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.