The Black Company

Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1

By: Glen Cook

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

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 book that shows its age.

The Black Company was written in 1984 and isn't exactly written in a format that translates well to audiobook. The story is told from the perspective of Croaker who is both the Black Company's physician and Annalist. In addition to documenting the exploits of the Black Company in the "Annals" Croaker also reads older entries to the Black Company to recount the tales of those who have gone before. This book could be a considered a future reading of the Annals as they were written by Croaker.

And therein lies one of the issues with the audiobook. You are given no clue when one entry ends and another begins so the story seems to just "skip" key parts. It can often take a little time to reacquire your bearings after this happens and this is reflected in many of the other reviews. Combine that with the fact that there isn't always the level of detail one would expect and you have a slightly disjointed and confusing listening experience. I feel I would have enjoyed this more if I had read the book instead of listening to it, but that is not a knock on Marc Vietor. He does a decent job reading this one especially since he has to portray a character who speaks in many different voices.

I found Croaker and some of the other Black Company members to be interesting but at no point did I become overly attached to them. As mercenaries they have a twisted sense of honor and duty that doesn't necessarily make you root for them. After betraying one ruler who contracted their services they are reluctant to betray the next one because that would damage their reputation too much. They do reflect on their own morality throughout the book but as you would expect it gets put aside as needed.

For those who initially got engaged in this series many years ago I would imagine it is a positive experience to listen to this one but if you are new to the series I would have to say there is better dark & gritty fantasy out there.

Very good

At first you may not think much but as it goes on each book in the series gets better. The end in the last book was not expected but very good.

Good ol' Fashioned Dark Fantasy

Recommended to me because of it's influence on a number of modern writers who I really like. Dark fantasy at it's finest. Gritty characters (some who very rarely show soft sides) with good development and a story filled with gore, the supernatural & an old school fantasy world with division and war. It's not always PC which is something that I like, the dark realism and people talking without even trying to have redeeming qualities. Something interests me about picking a side here and being loyal to it while questioning if you are on the good or bad side or even if there is such a thing as a good or bad side. I enjoyed it, good flow. I did not however know that there are a ton of books in the series which I will someday have to read. That said, it works as a stand alone book that doesn't leave the reader on a complete cliff hanger as many newer books in planned series do.

Classic, Grim, a bit overboard

Exciting story and classic of the military fantasy genre, but a bit overboard with the grimness and brutality of it.

Marc Vietor is the best reader around!

While the story is pretty good, in a gritty, morally ambiguous kind of way, despite the limitations of first person narration (lack of any "tell"), I do plan to continue with the series. However it is mostly for the enjoyment of Marc Vietor performance than anything else.

Good solid story

Author sort of drops you into his world without a paddle. It's nice but can be confusing.

Interesting

A little droll and dark, maybe the performance made it a bit slow. could have moved at a faster pace.

Bored!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Had a very difficult time connecting to this story. Stopped it for a while and came back to finish it. Really did not grab my attention!

Bad frickin ass

So good. why did I wait this long to read it?! I feel like I have been missing out for too long. On to the next one!

Amazing!

Narrator really captured the story and brought the characters to life! Made my hour commute much more entertaining.