The Black Company cover art

The Black Company

Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1

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The Black Company

By: Glen Cook
Narrated by: Marc Vietor
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About this listen

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. Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Epic Fantasy Military Scary

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All stars
Most relevant  
Starts out slow but gets a lot better throughout. The narrator’s style fits the book well, too.

Good

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I've lost count how many times I've read these books.

Great characters and story, mark does a fantastic job at narrating croaker, goblin, one eye, soul catcher and the exploits of the Black Company.

It seems other reviewers have missed the point that the book is croaker writing the annuals not telling a story. Pretty clear they have zero imagination. The writing and storytelling changes with each annualist, this is a true testament to Glenn Cook's writing abilities.

Literally my only issue is that these books end.

Epic series of books

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Quirky story of flying carpets , magic and mayhem.
Beautifully crafted and read with a syrupy American accent

The grandparent of all modern fantasy

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This book is severely compact, yet doesn't feel like it is. I enjoy the style, the plot and the casual depth of it.

Dark fantasy in Norse Edda prose style

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The Black Company is a really well paced and engaging story. The only criticism is the chapters are perhaps a little too long in some cases, and you really need to concentrate to follow.
Later books have much better paced chapters.

Great Performance and Story

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Having only heard of the Black Company, never really knowing what it was all about, I went in with no real expectations.

While the overall narrative lacks in the way of being something unique and spectacular, it's more than made up for by the sum of its parts.

The characters have a way of growing on you, despite the knowledge that these are not good people. The prose is superbly done, at times giving you a fantastically vivid picture of a scene. The cloak and dagger dealings of the overarching plot are drip fed to you at a rate that's just right, combined with the prose, the story does a great job stringing you along with Croaker.

Marc Vietor's narration does take a little bit of getting used to, at least it did for me personally. It wasn't the sort of voice I had expected and the first chapter suffered from that same feeling you get from actors that are completely new to a particular role and therefore aren't the most confident in it. By chapter 2, however, he seemed to hit his stride, and the narration felt more lively as a result. While there might be a narrator out there whose voice suits the dour atmosphere that the Black Company so often puts across, I don't think it would feel the same to me now without Vietor's voicework.

Overall, the Black Company is a great listen, would personally recommend to anyone that's interested. It's not perfect, but it's a solid story all around. I'm looking forward to listening to what the rest of the series has in store.

A Solid Start

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I had to start this more than once and it took me a couple of (long) chapters to get into it but it was pretty much worth it in the end.

A grower.

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The Black Company is a hugely enjoyable book. It is not the best written nor is the plot the most sophisticated but in terms of capturing what's been called a 'grunt's eye' view of the fantasy battlefield it stands out. The story, of a company of hard-bitten mercenaries in the service of powerful and evil sorcerers could easily be hackneyed. It is to its credit that it isn't although it is no stranger to certain fantasy tropes. Where it wins is with a good yarn, engaging characters (heroes might be stretching it), undoubtedly villainous villains and a sense of humour.

For me though, there was an issue. I had read the entire series before coming to the audiobook and the moment I hit the start button I ran into a problem. The narrator's voice was not even close to the one I had in my head while reading the story. That is not a criticism of the narrator just one of those things that happens. The problem was - it wouldn't go away. So while I still enjoyed the story and will download more, I was left with a sense that the book hadn't quite been captured properly. This is probably compounded by the Black Company being written in the first person by Croaker, the Company's medic, and it just wasn't Croaker. There is no doubt the dissonance hurt the narration for me and because the voice was wrong, the narration just never quite came to life.

That said, the Black Company story and its perspective has had a big influence not only today's fantasy writers but also game designers - many of whom have acknowledged the debt. Try it. You will probably end up listening to or reading the entire series. I don't think you will be disappointed

Good book; narration not quite there for me

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Narration is average at best on this one. The story is a classic 'chosen one' style fantasy but told from the perspective of a lowly mercenary. The military perspective and overall dark tone (some of it is very unsavory) are original given how old this book is, but it's not all that well written. I'm not sure the author had quite hit his stride yet, as I understand there's a series... but I wasn't compelled to listen to any more of it.

Interesting but very well executed

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This had been on my list of things to read or listen to for a long while before I found it on Audible. I was a bit put off by the reviewer who said it was not suitable as an audio book. Some books can be harder to follow than others if you don't have the text to refer to. I have never even sampled anything by Glen Cook in a bookshop so I wasn't sure what to expect. But since it had been on my list for so long I downloaded it impulsively and was very surprised to discover that it is one of the most captivating books I have listened to for a while. It is very easy to follow. The sentences are very short and the plot is very simple. Nevertheless the language is evocative and rich. The words are well-chosen and there is an admirable economy of style that is quite rare in fantasy writing. The background is interesting and quite possibly the unacknowledged inspiration for many more recent fantasy novels. The conception is seminal and bold. I am really enjoying it.

Captivating

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