The Black Company

By Glen Cook,

Book cover of The Black Company

Book description

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten 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…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Black Company as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

For me, The Black Company opened a whole range of personalities that could “work” for fantasy—the grim, desperate men of the Company are not good men… but they’re heroes nonetheless. I found The Black Company’s focus on character over grandiose plot to be refreshing after many years of reading swollen tomes. Even better, The Black Company taught me a lot about focusing in on the relationship between men: the Company men talk like the men I know, gruff, to the point, competitive and combative even when they’re working together. It feels rough and real in a way that sticks…

Upon discovering Cook’s worlds, the dreamer in me fell in love with the idea that the antagonists do not always need to be good people. The Black Company are a band of mercenaries working for the worst villains yet theirs is a gripping tale with surprises aplenty. Knowing where Croaker ends up makes one want to go back and start over, just because.

This novel sparked for me a way of writing villainous heroes such as those in my Ghosts series. Unique and interesting.

From Mord's list on which spark the dreamer.

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