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.

holy shit

its Cormac McCarthy running a D&D campaign. The Blood Meridian of fantasy books. Headed to the next book now

fun

pretty good story just hard to follow along with the way the writer explains the story.

A fun, fast paced dark-fantasy roller coaster

If you enjoy fantasy novels but find some of their pacing meandering or sluggish in sections....this is the book for you!
The perfect pacing change-up!
Incredibly imaginative creatures, solid characters, and you’re thrown right into the thick of it. This novel takes off, and I found myself flying through it faster than any others recently, bring on the next book in the series

Holds up well for its age.

I predicted a lot of the plot as it rolled into view, instead of frustration with the predictability I felt smart for seeing things coming. Weird that.

Picks up steam

Story: I was bored for the first 50%, almost dropped it at 60%, and became a lot more interested in 70%. Glad I kept listening, might actually read the second now!

performance: a lot of people complain about the narrator having long pauses. I listened to the book at 1.5x speed and thought it was just fine

good descriptive sentences

probably only reason I rated it 4 stars is due to it being so descriptive if you miss a couple word you miss what's going on.

Loved it

I loved the world building, especially that of the Taken. Even in small descriptions, the names of the Taken alone spoke volumes.

Well written and had a great story

I was looking for some well written fantasy, without cliches and a good story. I am glad I found it.

I Saddled Up With The BAD Guys. And LIKED it.

Here's a very interesting twist to the typical fantasy story.

What if the Lord of The Rings had been told from the BAD GUYS perspective, say, from Mordor's elite guard?

They'd tell a story of thirteen rebels sent from different kingdoms bent on destroying Lord Sauron's passion to bring order to the chaos of the world. This rebel fellowship carries an ultimate doom with them, a ring once held by their glorious leader to keep peace between the races. They now carry it to its ultimate destruction, which will not only destroy that one last hope for unity, but also to destroy their king, who will die when the ring is consumed in the fires of Mount Doom! The fellowship must be stopped from completing their master plan to disrupt the world and kill their lord!

Guess it's all about perspective.

Glen Cook has created such a series, although not tied to Tolkien's work. A similar situation, yet a different world, using different literary vehicles and tools to accomplish the task.

You'll come to know Croaker, chief physician and historian for the Black Company, and many others in the group, along with a dark queen who holds their world in sway. The company is pressed into various quests, deeds, and services for her majesty, and they begin to question the ethics and intent brought on by the influence of her rule.

Sound interesting? It definitely is, and I've enjoyed Cook's twist on the typical.

Descriptive, rich and story-driven, this is a pleasure to the ears of fantasy lovers everywhere. It's mature, thoughtful, dark and entertaining. Cook suspends reality and draws you in, and THAT, my Audible listener, makes for a good audiobook.

I liked this audiobook so much, that I now own the entire series (ten audiobooks to date, I believe).

And the rest are good listening, as is this first in the series.

Who'd have thought I'd saddle up with the BAD guys? And LIKED it?

good choice

If you like swords,wizards,magic, and a good story line you won't be disapointed. I read the books years ago and was always hoping someone would do an audio version. Marc Vietor did a excellent read and I think caught the book and characters flavor nicely.