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The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
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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....
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What listeners say about The Black Company
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Overall
- John
- 26-03-11
Captivating
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.
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30 people found this helpful
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- Harlequin565
- 17-07-18
I really wanted to like it....
I really did.
But it was a dire story. I tried the books a few years ago and never got into them, so Audible finally gave me a chance to try a different format. It was better. but not enough.
I made it 6 hours in before giving up. On the positive side, the narration is fab. Vietor is almost June-like without being quite so dramatic, and this suits the gritty fantasy-noir story, bringing real life to Croaker - our protagonist. The characters are good, the world setting is also interesting, and Cook's dialogue is brief, to the point, and often very chucklesome. It's just the story. The story is the let down.
I'm 6 hours in and I have no idea what's happening and who's doing what to who and why. I think it's because I'm so bored by the pacing that I'm just drifting off at times. The plot lumbers along ponderously like that slow driver in front of you on a single track lane. You can enjoy the scenery for a while, but eventually you just want the guy in front to put his bloody foot down and get where he's going!
Maybe I'll come back to it in a few months, because I really wanted to like it. But my problem is that I can excuse a whole lot of bad stuff if there's a strong story. This was the reverse. Weak story - strong everything else. And it just wasn't enough to see me through to the end.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Martin
- 25-03-11
Good book; narration not quite there for me
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
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9 people found this helpful
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- Chris Martin
- 03-02-20
Terrible
No background. No world building. Just rambling stream words. Gave up after 30 mins
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4 people found this helpful
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- Christopher
- 14-02-14
Give a decent try...you will not regret it
One of the first gritty fantasy novels published, and it is a treat to read/listen to
Story – 4/5
The story does throw you in at the deep end. I found myself struggling to catch who was who and what was happening to start with, where most books introduce the setting and characters more slowly and smoothly (the only thing stopping it getting 5/5 stars). After about an hour, this settled into something a lot simpler and I began to care about each of the characters; I didn’t have to work hard at it. Give it until at least 90 minutes in before deciding to give up.
If you do stick with it, you are in for a huge treat. This is a mixture of gritty, dark and military fantasy – and it is very addictive for those who love these sub-genres. It is told with simple short sentences, but Glen Cook’s use of the English language and prose is superb. Nothing is said or described for the sake of it, so the whole story is concise and fast paced (not surprising at 10hrs long though)
There is plenty of action if you like that sort of thing, with a fantastically told epic battle at the end (and I love a good battle scene). There is plenty of sorcery, grey moral areas, brutality and humor, exactly what a good fantasy book is made of. You can definitely tell that a lot of popular modern fantasy novels have been influenced by Glen Cook’s work.
Give it a go, I assure you, you will not be disappointed. I can’t wait to get stuck into the sequels
Performance – 3.5/5
Marc Vietor grew on me more and more as the story went on, but this may be because I got used to his style. At first, he was just satisfactory – nothing amazing, but also not bad at all.
His voice acting is good enough to distinctly recognise the characters, but I found he could have enhanced the performance by acting out the exhales, whimpering etc rather than reading the verbs from the book, like most good narrators do.
His dark and dramatic tone of voice did suit the style of the story quite nicely, they are after all a company of mercenaries working for the evil side of the war and constantly outnumbered.
Overall – 4/5
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3 people found this helpful
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- Peter Sutherns
- 24-01-18
Good
Starts out slow but gets a lot better throughout. The narrator’s style fits the book well, too.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Robert
- 20-05-16
Good characters but sometimes hard to follow
Liked a lot, instantly got the second but didn't understand all, had to skip back
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2 people found this helpful
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- Edward G Gordon
- 06-10-22
A different kind of fantasy
Interesting, sometimes confusing, but highly engaging. The story is well written and despite appearing to be directionless careers to a strong finish. I enjoyed it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-06-22
Epic series of books
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kari R
- 29-04-22
kinda hard to follow
Events are sometimes hard to follow. Places, happenings, characters change too fast. not much is said about the world and the main character.
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1 person found this helpful