Black Company fans!

[barsoomcore]

Just out of interest, what about MoI was more powerful and moving to you than DG?

The weaving of Itkovian, Tool, Silverfox and Gruntle's stories. Itkovian especially, and the ideas inside there of grief and compassion and memory. Blew me away.

Erikson's really saying something with these books. It's so thrilling to read a story that talks about ideas that could not be expressed in any other genre. He NEEDS different races, he NEEDS this mammoth timeline of hundred of thousands of years, he NEEDS undead and gods and sorcery -- they're all essential to the IDEAS he's trying to talk about. It's wonderful.

These books are a landmark in fantasy literature. Or rather, they might be.

House of Chains was a bit of a letdown, frankly -- though after the one-two punch of DG and MOI I'm feeling pretty forgiving -- so I'm waiting to see what Midnight Tides will be like before signing off completely on the guy. If he can maintain the heights of those latter two books, however, there's no doubt in my mind that Erikson will go down as one of the true masters.

Oh, yeah, the Black Company. Bleak Seasons is a really, really weird book and it took me a few passes before I understood what was happening. Pay attention and don't give up -- Murgen's worth it.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I finished Shadows Linger and it was just as good if not better than the first book. Why did I pass on this series for so long? I like how there is nothing romantic and happy going on, it's a band of sellswords caught between to evils, the Lady & the Dominator. No fluffy romance sidetreks, just the bleak war torn life of Croaker, Elmo, Silent, Goblin, One-Eye, and the rest of the Black Company.

 

[Mog Elffoe]

I just ordered SFBC's four book set of The Black Company along with Midnight Sun (Karl Edward Wagner's Kane short stories). This will be my first exposure to The Black Company as well.

 

[barsoomcore]

I mean, it's got characters named Croaker, Elmo, Silent, Goblin and One-Eye. What more do you need to know?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I mean, it's got characters named Croaker, Elmo, Silent, Goblin and One-Eye. What more do you need to know?

That's what I say!

Do the first three books form one storyline? Or does the whole thing stretch over the entire run of books?

P.S. I felt bad when the Captain died for some reason...that's a sign of a good storyteller when he can make me feel for a relatively minor character like that.

 

[barsoomcore]

Do the first three books form one storyline? Or does the whole thing stretch over the entire run of books?

The first three books tell the story of The Black Company and their dealings with the Lady of Charm (

Spoiler

at first in her service and then standing against her

). The following books tell the story of the Black Company's efforts to fulfill its long-forgotten destiny to return to its place of origin.

There's not a single clear arc that goes through all the books, except for the growth of the characters -- many of the characters persist in one form or another all the way through the entire saga. But it does form a very definite tale -- the story of the Black Company.

Just getting meaner and meaner and crazier and crazier.

I felt bad when the Captain died for some reason...that's a sign of a good storyteller when he can make me feel for a relatively minor character like that.

Hee. It's really cool watching somebody read these books for the first time. You just wait, my friend. You're gonna feel worse.

Hee.

 

[Desdichado]

See, I just today started reading the Black Company (I've had it for a few weeks, but not read it.) So far, I'm not that impressed with Cook's writing -- it's extremely sparse, curt and utilitarian, with nothing much spent on descriptions, dialogue, or any of the other things that make reading novels interesting. It reads a bit more like a screenplay than a book.

That said, I think the ideas I'm seeing so far are pretty good. I can see where a lot of your version of Barsoom gets its inspiration, particularly in regards to unique, extremely high-level magic god-like NPCs.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I like that about it. Maybe it's a reaction to reading Tolkien lately.

 

[barsoomcore]

I like that about it. Maybe it's a reaction to reading Tolkien lately.

Yeah, that's how I feel.

And keep in mind you're not exactly reading Glenn Cook -- you're reading Croaker. And Croaker's got his own voice and once you get used to his laconic tone, he becomes I think one of the great narrators of fantasy.

I love the way he never makes a big deal out of stuff. "Yeah, there was a big battle. Sorcery and whatnot. Lots of my friends died. It really sucked.

"Next morning, we did it again."

Something about that gives me a real love for the guy saying it. What I love about these guys is how they just take it. They don't whine about getting shafted, they don't complain because they aren't getting all the toys. Their lives suck and they just set about quietly making the best of it. They're the little people. They're expendable, they know it, and they do their job anyway without histrionics or melodrama.

I think the opening of The Black Company is one of the funniest fantasy openings of all time:

There were omens and portents enough, One-Eye tells us. His handicap in no way impairs his marvelous hindsight.

Lightning struck the seals on the tomb of the forvalaka on Necropolis Hill. The ivy on the Paper Tower turned black. The image of Teux turned completely around. Sacrifical victims were found without internal organs, and one got up and ran off after he'd been eviscerated. Soothsayers roamed the streets, proclaiming the end of the world. Black vultures drove off the eagle that had always lived atop the Palace.

But all that happens every year. Fools can make omens out of anything.

That's not exactly it, but that's the idea. Makes me chuckle every time.

But yeah, Cook has been a HUGE influence on me as a DM. Probably the biggest influence of all. Barsoom is very much like the world of the Black Company, where you're always having to choose between two evils and hoping that you can somehow get out from under before it all falls in the pot.

 

[Desdichado]

And keep in mind you're not exactly reading Glenn Cook -- you're reading Croaker. And Croaker's got his own voice and once you get used to his laconic tone, he becomes I think one of the great narrators of fantasy.

That doesn't seem like a very good excuse, really. I can understand Croaker's perspective, I just miss actually being able to see with my mind's eye what's going on. The writing is too Spartan; there's no descriptions at all. The introduction of Soulcatcher wasn't handled very well, I thought -- he laughed maniacally at everything One-eye and Croaker said when they figured out who he was, etc. He seemed like a stereotypical mad wizard at that moment, and it was difficult to take him seriously.

I think the writing style is what's hurting it for me. Sure, that's a matter of taste, and maybe I just prefer a more expressive writing style, but there you have it.