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The Chronicles of the Black Company #9
Soldiers Live
When sorcerers and demigods go to war, those wars are fought by mercenaries, "dog soldiers," grunts in the trenches. And the stories of those soldiers are the stories of Glen Cook's hugely popular "Black Company" novels. If the Joseph Heller of Catch-22 were to tell the story of The Lord of the Rings, it might read like the Black Company books. There is nothing else in fantasy like them.
Now, at last, Cook brings the "Glittering Stone" cycle within the Black Company series to an end . . . but an end with many other tales left to tell. As Soldiers Live opens, Croaker is military dictator of all the Taglias, and no Black Company member has died in battle for four years. Croaker figures it can't last. He's right.
For, of course, many of the Company's old adversaries are still around. Narayan Singh and his adopted daughter--actually the offspring of Croaker and the Lady--hope to bring about the apocalyptic Year of the Skulls. Other old enemies like Shadowcatcher, Longshadow, and Howler are also ready to do the Company harm. And much of the Company is still recovering from the fifteen years many of them spent in a stasis field.
Then a report arrives of an evil spirit, a forvalaka, that has taken over one of their old enemies. It attacks them at a shadowgate--setting off a chain of events that will bring the Company to the edge of apocalypse and, as usual, several steps beyond.
Glen Cook is the leading modern writer of epic fantasy noir, and Soldiers Live is Cook at his best. None of his legion of fans will want to miss it.
Now, at last, Cook brings the "Glittering Stone" cycle within the Black Company series to an end . . . but an end with many other tales left to tell. As Soldiers Live opens, Croaker is military dictator of all the Taglias, and no Black Company member has died in battle for four years. Croaker figures it can't last. He's right.
For, of course, many of the Company's old adversaries are still around. Narayan Singh and his adopted daughter--actually the offspring of Croaker and the Lady--hope to bring about the apocalyptic Year of the Skulls. Other old enemies like Shadowcatcher, Longshadow, and Howler are also ready to do the Company harm. And much of the Company is still recovering from the fifteen years many of them spent in a stasis field.
Then a report arrives of an evil spirit, a forvalaka, that has taken over one of their old enemies. It attacks them at a shadowgate--setting off a chain of events that will bring the Company to the edge of apocalypse and, as usual, several steps beyond.
Glen Cook is the leading modern writer of epic fantasy noir, and Soldiers Live is Cook at his best. None of his legion of fans will want to miss it.
566 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 2000
109 people are currently reading
4342 people want to read
About the author
Glen Cook
158 books3,711 followersGlen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with malicious intent to publish in 1968, eventually producing 51 books and a number of short fiction pieces.
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
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December 9, 2025
➽
And the moralsss of this rereread are
:
① This book is perfection. (That is a scientifically proven fact.)
② Thou shalt not get attached to anyone or anything in this series. Just be grateful you managed to make it out alive.
③ It's been twenty-five years since this book was published. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. And the sequel will be released in a few days. I am not excited in the least. Oh no, not me. Absolutely not.
[March 2022]
💀 The Black Company is Recruiting Again Buddy Rereread (TBCiRABR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 💀
Previous rating: 25 million stars. I was obviously in a very bad mood the last time I read this book.
New rating: 45 million stars. And a half.
➽ And the moral of this rereread is : as scrumptious as it is to have this series end withcranky old bitches women at the helm of the Black Company, it's the grumpy old farts (👋 waves at her boyfriend Croakie 👋) who steal the show here.
That's my Croakie on the right, in case you were wondering and stuff.
P.S Yes, this book still is the best conclusion to a series that ever was and ever will be. FYI and stuff.
[October 2018]
💀 Buddy reread with theclueless new mercenary recruits Elena, Mark and Maria over at BB&B. Under the wicked supervision of our Ever-Stalking Black Company Overlord (ESBCO™), of course 💀
Previous rating: 20 million stars. A pathetic rating if there ever was one.
New rating: 25 million stars. Much more appropriate, methinks.
➽ And the moral of this reread is : this book might possibly be the best final instalment in a series in the history of best final instalments in a series. Maybe. Perhaps. I mean, it’s kinda sorta beautiful. It’s non-stop action. It’s deliciously dark. It’s packed with Prime High Security Harem Material. It’s oh-bloody-stinking-fish-of-the-murderous-shrimp-I-didn’t-see-that-one-coming. It’s nerve-wrackingly intense and intensely never-wracking. It’s hahahahaha. It’s bloody shrimping heartbreaking. All in all, one might say Soldiers Live might possibly be a work of pure brilliance. Maybe. Perhaps.
➽ And the other moral of this reread is : Glen Cook, thank thee ever so much for turning me into a pathetically pathetic emotional wreck. I shall be forever full of grate and stuff. Now excuse me while I go fetch my little self a much-needed restorative and stuff.
[Original review]
💀 This is the Last Instalment in the Series Sob Sob Sob Buddy Read (TitLIitSSSSBR™) with my fellow mercenaries Evasive, Slowpoke and Cleaver 💀
Actual rating: 20 million stars. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm okay. This was the last instalment in the best series that ever was and ever will be, but I'm okay. It's not like I'm in mourning or anything. Oh no. And it's not like my life has been nothing but despair, gloom, sorrow and emptiness since I finished reading thisMostest Gloriousest Piece of Fantastically Fantastic Fantasy (MGPoFFF™) fairly interesting story. Certainly not. And I'm not suffering from the biggest book hangover in the history of book hangovers, either. Hell no. I'm a former nefarious breeder of murderous crustaceans, for shrimp's sake! I am strong and ruthless, have no heart, don't give a damn about ridiculous fictional characters, and hate all the books I read. So I really couldn't care less that this insignificant little series called The Chronicles of the Black Company just came to an end. Nope nope nope. Not me. I ain't no silly wimp, Little Barnacles.
In case you were wondering: yes, Lady would definitely approve of this cute pinky gif. Because after the pony was done crying his/her/its heart out, she'd sever his/her/its head and mount it on a spike.
So. Now that we've established what a tough, cold-blooded ruler of shrimps I am , let's get on with the Fascinating Non-Review (FNR™) you have all been eagerly waiting for *waves at Evasive*
Okay. There are so many things I could tell you about this book in particular and this series in general that I wouldn't know where to start. But I'm super clever and stuff, so I know exactly how to go about it: instead of trying to figure out what to tell you about this book, I am going to write a tiny list of the things I could have told you about this book, but won't. Doesn't make sense? Good. It shouldn't.
By the way, this tiny list also serves as a recap for those poor souls who were unlucky enough not to read my reviews for the previous installments in this Slightly Awesome Series (SAS™). You're welcome.
➽ I will NOTrepeat for the umpteenth time tell you that this series is the best I have ever read in the entirety of my entire life. No, I will not.
➽ I will NOTrepeat for the umpteenth time tell you that this series is pure, total and utter perfection. No, I will not.
➽ I will NOTrepeat for the umpteenth time tell you that every single freaking instalment in this freaking series is more intergalactically mind-blowing than the last. No, I will not. ← this spoiler only exists in your imagination.
➽ I will NOTrepeat for the umpteenth time tell you that Glen Cook is a god, that I have built a shrine to his glory in my living room, and that worship him 24/7. No, I will not.
➽ And last but absolutely NOT least, I will NOT, under absolutely no circumstance, fangirl about this book, this series, or Glen Cook. Hell. No. Who do you take me for, anyway? An immature, 14-year-old harebrained nitwit? Oh, and by the way: .
Alrighty. Are we clear on the things I will NOT tell you about? Good. Now let's tackle the list of things you wish I wouldn't tell you about because you have better things to do with your silly lives, but which I will tell you about anyway, because I'm annoying like that. So. This is going to be a tiny list of Slightly Fascinating Things about this Slightly Awesome Instalment (SFTatSAI™), which means you are bound to be Slightly Fascinated. So there is no reason for you to complain like bad-tempered, old, heavily wrinkled spinsters.
① My Croaker. The best narrator that ever was and ever will be. He'sold not getting any younger. He's grumpy. He's cranky. He's deliciously snarky. And I am very slightly in love with him My main problem here is that, after reading this book, I'm no longer sure what type of undying love My Croaker awakens in me. Do I want to kidnap him and lock him up in my hot dudes/sex slaves interesting male characters harem, or do I want him to adopt me so I can call him Pop? I'd say both, but that might freak out some of the more innocent Little Barnacles among you, so I won't.
② Lady All Hail the Freaking Queen. The greatest female character ever created. All those silly male friends of mine who have read this book and are naive enough to claim Lady as theirs are really quite hilarious, by the way. Lady is MINE, and my-dear-male-friends-that-shall-not-be-named should know much better than try and steal her from me. This ain't no fight you can win, silly little boys. Lady fell for me and my nefarious ways the moment we met. Our love was meant to be. Besides, she and I share the same Off with their Heads Obsession (OwtHO™). Don't believe me? Look what she got me for my birthday:
Mostest perfectest gift from the mostest perfectest woman. Sigh. I am SO in love.
③ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
④ The Girls of Cook. No one, and I mean NO ONE, writes women characters like Glen Cook The God (GCTG™). Especially the wicked, devious, cunning, evil, bloodthirsty, vengeful ones. Aka 99% of the female characters in this series. It's glorious. It's amazing. It's fantastic. It's wondrous. It's extraordinary. It's miraculous. It's brilliantly brilliant. And stuff.
⑤ Machiavellian Schemes, Inc. Backstabbing Central. Traitor's Paradise. Trickery. Deception. Outfoxing the foxes. Everyone trying to screw everyone else over. Such beauty. I have no words {insert dreamy look here}
⑥ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑦ Magic carpets and flying posts. White crows. Black crows. Real crows. Not-so-real crows. The greatest collection of weird creatures and things and stuff that ever was. Magic and power and power and magic. Vindictive gods and penis necklace-wearing goddesses. Shadows. Lots of shadows. And glittering stones. Yeah, that too.
⑧ Everybody dying. Cook went on such a rampage in this one I ended up fearing for my poor little life. I swear, the guy has no mercy. He's probably a repressed, perverted homicidal maniac or something. I can just imagine him writing this story and getting all giddy at the thought of viciously disposing of yet another unsuspecting character.
Yep, that's Glen Cook alright. It really is a miracleanyone anything came out of this book alive.
⑨ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑩ The mostest absolutest perfectest book ending in the history of book endings. I am in awe. I am stunned. I am completely, utterly and totally knocked-out by the sheer, absolute, pure brilliance of it all. GAH GAH GAH GAH. GAH. And GAH, too.
☢ Warning! The following quote might quite possibly be a tinsy bit spoilerish. Kinda. Sorta. But I LUUURRVE it SO MUCH I can't bring myself to hide it behind silly spoiler tags. So read it at your own risk and stuff ☢
Memory is immortality of a sort. In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again. Soldiers live. And wonder why.
GAH GAH GAH GAH. GAH. And GAH, too. And SOB SOB SOB as well.
⑪ Saying this book/series/ MGPoFFF™ is EPIC SHIT doesn't even begin to cover it. This is the stuff of legends, Little Barnacles. You've never read anything as intergalactically amazing as this, Little Barnacles.
⑫ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑬ I shall from now on go on a yearly Black Company Pilgrimage (BCP™) to get my yearly Black Company fix. And revel in the deliciously wicked, cunningly devious, and delightfully bloody ways of the Mostest Awesomest Characters (MAC™) to ever roam the book world.
⑭ Oh, and by the way: Glen Cook is a god. Yeah, that too.
Now now now! Rejoice and be happy, Little Barnacles! This is it! I'm done telling you and not telling you the captivating things I wanted to tell you and not tell you about this series in general, and this instalment in particular! I imagine you are most probably fascinated, enthralled and, quite possibly, mesmerized by the gloriousness of it all. So I guess I should just conclude this FNR™ by telling you to
But I won't. Oh no. That would be too simple. Too nice. Too friendly. And quite boring, to be honest. I think it would be much more fun if I simply threatened to annihilate all fluffy bunnies and cute kitties on the surface of this planet, should you choose NOT to
Yeah, I think I'd like that. And I'm pretty sure Lady would, too.
Bye now.
P.S.: Glen Cook, you better end up writing this and that, like you said you would. I might unleash the crustaceans on you if you don't.
P.P.S.: Glen Cook, you better write a prequel to this series. I might unleash the crustaceans on you if you don't.
P.P.P.P.P.S.S.S.S.S.S.: oops, I think I forgot something ↓↓↓
This just in case you missed that gif the first time I posted it. You're very welcome.
· Book 1: The Black Company ★★★★★
·Book 1.5: Port of Shadows ★ ← I have no idea where this book came from, or what it's about. Pretty sure I never read it.
· Book 2: Shadows Linger ★★★★★
· Book 2.2 (short story): Shaggy Dog Bridge ★★★★★
· Book 2.3 (short story): Bone Eaters ★★★★★
· Book 2.4 (short story): Letha of the Thousand Sorrows ★★★
· Book 3: The White Rose ★★★★★
· Book 3.5: The Silver Spike ★★★★
· Book 4: Shadow Games ★★★★★
· Book 5: Dreams of Steel ★★★★★
· Book 6: Bleak Seasons ★★★★★
· Book 7: She Is The Darkness ★★★★★
· Book 8: Water Sleeps ★★★★★
· Book 10: Lies Weeping ★★★★
① This book is perfection. (That is a scientifically proven fact.)
② Thou shalt not get attached to anyone or anything in this series. Just be grateful you managed to make it out alive.
③ It's been twenty-five years since this book was published. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. And the sequel will be released in a few days. I am not excited in the least. Oh no, not me. Absolutely not.
[March 2022]
💀 The Black Company is Recruiting Again Buddy Rereread (TBCiRABR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 💀
Previous rating: 25 million stars. I was obviously in a very bad mood the last time I read this book.
New rating: 45 million stars. And a half.
➽ And the moral of this rereread is : as scrumptious as it is to have this series end with
That's my Croakie on the right, in case you were wondering and stuff.
P.S Yes, this book still is the best conclusion to a series that ever was and ever will be. FYI and stuff.
[October 2018]
💀 Buddy reread with the
Previous rating: 20 million stars. A pathetic rating if there ever was one.
New rating: 25 million stars. Much more appropriate, methinks.
“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.”
➽ And the moral of this reread is : this book might possibly be the best final instalment in a series in the history of best final instalments in a series. Maybe. Perhaps. I mean, it’s kinda sorta beautiful. It’s non-stop action. It’s deliciously dark. It’s packed with Prime High Security Harem Material. It’s oh-bloody-stinking-fish-of-the-murderous-shrimp-I-didn’t-see-that-one-coming. It’s nerve-wrackingly intense and intensely never-wracking. It’s hahahahaha. It’s bloody shrimping heartbreaking. All in all, one might say Soldiers Live might possibly be a work of pure brilliance. Maybe. Perhaps.
➽ And the other moral of this reread is : Glen Cook, thank thee ever so much for turning me into a pathetically pathetic emotional wreck. I shall be forever full of grate and stuff. Now excuse me while I go fetch my little self a much-needed restorative and stuff.
[Original review]
💀 This is the Last Instalment in the Series Sob Sob Sob Buddy Read (TitLIitSSSSBR™) with my fellow mercenaries Evasive, Slowpoke and Cleaver 💀
Actual rating: 20 million stars. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm okay. This was the last instalment in the best series that ever was and ever will be, but I'm okay. It's not like I'm in mourning or anything. Oh no. And it's not like my life has been nothing but despair, gloom, sorrow and emptiness since I finished reading this
In case you were wondering: yes, Lady would definitely approve of this cute pinky gif. Because after the pony was done crying his/her/its heart out, she'd sever his/her/its head and mount it on a spike.
So. Now that we've established what a tough, cold-blooded ruler of shrimps I am , let's get on with the Fascinating Non-Review (FNR™) you have all been eagerly waiting for *waves at Evasive*
Okay. There are so many things I could tell you about this book in particular and this series in general that I wouldn't know where to start. But I'm super clever and stuff, so I know exactly how to go about it: instead of trying to figure out what to tell you about this book, I am going to write a tiny list of the things I could have told you about this book, but won't. Doesn't make sense? Good. It shouldn't.
By the way, this tiny list also serves as a recap for those poor souls who were unlucky enough not to read my reviews for the previous installments in this Slightly Awesome Series (SAS™). You're welcome.
➽ I will NOT
➽ I will NOT
➽ I will NOT
➽ I will NOT
➽ And last but absolutely NOT least, I will NOT, under absolutely no circumstance, fangirl about this book, this series, or Glen Cook. Hell. No. Who do you take me for, anyway? An immature, 14-year-old harebrained nitwit? Oh, and by the way: .
Alrighty. Are we clear on the things I will NOT tell you about? Good. Now let's tackle the list of things you wish I wouldn't tell you about because you have better things to do with your silly lives, but which I will tell you about anyway, because I'm annoying like that. So. This is going to be a tiny list of Slightly Fascinating Things about this Slightly Awesome Instalment (SFTatSAI™), which means you are bound to be Slightly Fascinated. So there is no reason for you to complain like bad-tempered, old, heavily wrinkled spinsters.
① My Croaker. The best narrator that ever was and ever will be. He's
② Lady All Hail the Freaking Queen. The greatest female character ever created. All those silly male friends of mine who have read this book and are naive enough to claim Lady as theirs are really quite hilarious, by the way. Lady is MINE, and my-dear-male-friends-that-shall-not-be-named should know much better than try and steal her from me. This ain't no fight you can win, silly little boys. Lady fell for me and my nefarious ways the moment we met. Our love was meant to be. Besides, she and I share the same Off with their Heads Obsession (OwtHO™). Don't believe me? Look what she got me for my birthday:
Mostest perfectest gift from the mostest perfectest woman. Sigh. I am SO in love.
③ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
④ The Girls of Cook. No one, and I mean NO ONE, writes women characters like Glen Cook The God (GCTG™). Especially the wicked, devious, cunning, evil, bloodthirsty, vengeful ones. Aka 99% of the female characters in this series. It's glorious. It's amazing. It's fantastic. It's wondrous. It's extraordinary. It's miraculous. It's brilliantly brilliant. And stuff.
⑤ Machiavellian Schemes, Inc. Backstabbing Central. Traitor's Paradise. Trickery. Deception. Outfoxing the foxes. Everyone trying to screw everyone else over. Such beauty. I have no words {insert dreamy look here}
⑥ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑦ Magic carpets and flying posts. White crows. Black crows. Real crows. Not-so-real crows. The greatest collection of weird creatures and things and stuff that ever was. Magic and power and power and magic. Vindictive gods and penis necklace-wearing goddesses. Shadows. Lots of shadows. And glittering stones. Yeah, that too.
⑧ Everybody dying. Cook went on such a rampage in this one I ended up fearing for my poor little life. I swear, the guy has no mercy. He's probably a repressed, perverted homicidal maniac or something. I can just imagine him writing this story and getting all giddy at the thought of viciously disposing of yet another unsuspecting character.
Yep, that's Glen Cook alright. It really is a miracle
⑨ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑩ The mostest absolutest perfectest book ending in the history of book endings. I am in awe. I am stunned. I am completely, utterly and totally knocked-out by the sheer, absolute, pure brilliance of it all. GAH GAH GAH GAH. GAH. And GAH, too.
☢ Warning! The following quote might quite possibly be a tinsy bit spoilerish. Kinda. Sorta. But I LUUURRVE it SO MUCH I can't bring myself to hide it behind silly spoiler tags. So read it at your own risk and stuff ☢
Memory is immortality of a sort. In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again. Soldiers live. And wonder why.
GAH GAH GAH GAH. GAH. And GAH, too. And SOB SOB SOB as well.
⑪ Saying this book/series/ MGPoFFF™ is EPIC SHIT doesn't even begin to cover it. This is the stuff of legends, Little Barnacles. You've never read anything as intergalactically amazing as this, Little Barnacles.
⑫ Glen Cook is a god. QED.
⑬ I shall from now on go on a yearly Black Company Pilgrimage (BCP™) to get my yearly Black Company fix. And revel in the deliciously wicked, cunningly devious, and delightfully bloody ways of the Mostest Awesomest Characters (MAC™) to ever roam the book world.
⑭ Oh, and by the way: Glen Cook is a god. Yeah, that too.
Now now now! Rejoice and be happy, Little Barnacles! This is it! I'm done telling you and not telling you the captivating things I wanted to tell you and not tell you about this series in general, and this instalment in particular! I imagine you are most probably fascinated, enthralled and, quite possibly, mesmerized by the gloriousness of it all. So I guess I should just conclude this FNR™ by telling you to
But I won't. Oh no. That would be too simple. Too nice. Too friendly. And quite boring, to be honest. I think it would be much more fun if I simply threatened to annihilate all fluffy bunnies and cute kitties on the surface of this planet, should you choose NOT to
Yeah, I think I'd like that. And I'm pretty sure Lady would, too.
Bye now.
P.S.: Glen Cook, you better end up writing this and that, like you said you would. I might unleash the crustaceans on you if you don't.
P.P.S.: Glen Cook, you better write a prequel to this series. I might unleash the crustaceans on you if you don't.
P.P.P.P.P.S.S.S.S.S.S.: oops, I think I forgot something ↓↓↓
This just in case you missed that gif the first time I posted it. You're very welcome.
· Book 1: The Black Company ★★★★★
·
· Book 2: Shadows Linger ★★★★★
· Book 2.2 (short story): Shaggy Dog Bridge ★★★★★
· Book 2.3 (short story): Bone Eaters ★★★★★
· Book 2.4 (short story): Letha of the Thousand Sorrows ★★★
· Book 3: The White Rose ★★★★★
· Book 3.5: The Silver Spike ★★★★
· Book 4: Shadow Games ★★★★★
· Book 5: Dreams of Steel ★★★★★
· Book 6: Bleak Seasons ★★★★★
· Book 7: She Is The Darkness ★★★★★
· Book 8: Water Sleeps ★★★★★
· Book 10: Lies Weeping ★★★★
June 5, 2016
*** 5+++++ ***
A buddy read with the most bad ass mercenaries at the BB&B Company!!!
What an amazing end to a series that had me on a military march from book one in the North, to the wilds of the South and the brinks of the Glittering Stones Plain.... Croaker, Lady, Catcher, One Eye and Goblin became my friends, family, comrades in arms.... Even favorite enemies will leave me with an emptiness in my heart now that our paths have to part ways... No series I have read has left me simultaneously so sad, empty, but ultimately absolutely satisfied with its conclusion as this one has... And it is all because of the pure genius of Glen Cook!!!
Mr. Cook and his writing, full of action, plotting, politics, battles, and somehow managing to create fantastic worlds with minimal description and populate them with characters who show us who they are, no need for lengthy analysis of their characters... They are alive and we get to experience them as we do all our closest friends in real life. I am incapable of doing justice to the brilliant writing this author gifted us with in this complete and multilayered work of art!!!
I have been on vacation for the last 15 days and have not written a line, so I feel clumsy and rusted, but I need to express my sincere and utter sorrow for coming to the end of the Chronicles of the Black Company... Soldiers live and wonder why...!!!!! The theme of life, battle, death, life again and the guilt of surviving when others did not, shows over and over through the series of 10 books, the things that are capable of holding us down and those which rise us up and keep us going... The most human feelings which also make us almost invincible... What makes us who we are, what truly matters.... All of those are themes so masterfully woven into the fabric of the series, that even when the reading gets difficult, boring (this really doesn't happen, it is more like false sense of relaxation), or ugly, you can't make yourself put the book down or give up on the series... It is powerful and effective, ruthless and sensitive at the same time, action on a grand scale affecting every minute part of every little thing and solitary person... The profoundly personal, like loving a woman, affecting the faiths of the world and even multiple plains of existence!!!! The pebble destroying the planet... BRILLIANT!!!
I don't want to give a thing away from the plot, so I will not get into it at all. Just have to say that Croaker is the annalist again and his crochety old crabby self is as wonderful and entertaining as always. We also get a bit from all of our favorites and it is as gratifying as sad... And the ending... WOW!!! THE ENDING IS THE BEST I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN A SERIES OF THIS MAGNITUDE!!!! This series just elevated itself to the level of Wheel of Time on my ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES!!!
Overall, what I am having a feeble attempt to achieve here is to say: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GO GET IT AND READ IT!!!!
May every series try to be as good as this one!!!!
A buddy read with the most bad ass mercenaries at the BB&B Company!!!
What an amazing end to a series that had me on a military march from book one in the North, to the wilds of the South and the brinks of the Glittering Stones Plain.... Croaker, Lady, Catcher, One Eye and Goblin became my friends, family, comrades in arms.... Even favorite enemies will leave me with an emptiness in my heart now that our paths have to part ways... No series I have read has left me simultaneously so sad, empty, but ultimately absolutely satisfied with its conclusion as this one has... And it is all because of the pure genius of Glen Cook!!!
Mr. Cook and his writing, full of action, plotting, politics, battles, and somehow managing to create fantastic worlds with minimal description and populate them with characters who show us who they are, no need for lengthy analysis of their characters... They are alive and we get to experience them as we do all our closest friends in real life. I am incapable of doing justice to the brilliant writing this author gifted us with in this complete and multilayered work of art!!!
I have been on vacation for the last 15 days and have not written a line, so I feel clumsy and rusted, but I need to express my sincere and utter sorrow for coming to the end of the Chronicles of the Black Company... Soldiers live and wonder why...!!!!! The theme of life, battle, death, life again and the guilt of surviving when others did not, shows over and over through the series of 10 books, the things that are capable of holding us down and those which rise us up and keep us going... The most human feelings which also make us almost invincible... What makes us who we are, what truly matters.... All of those are themes so masterfully woven into the fabric of the series, that even when the reading gets difficult, boring (this really doesn't happen, it is more like false sense of relaxation), or ugly, you can't make yourself put the book down or give up on the series... It is powerful and effective, ruthless and sensitive at the same time, action on a grand scale affecting every minute part of every little thing and solitary person... The profoundly personal, like loving a woman, affecting the faiths of the world and even multiple plains of existence!!!! The pebble destroying the planet... BRILLIANT!!!
I don't want to give a thing away from the plot, so I will not get into it at all. Just have to say that Croaker is the annalist again and his crochety old crabby self is as wonderful and entertaining as always. We also get a bit from all of our favorites and it is as gratifying as sad... And the ending... WOW!!! THE ENDING IS THE BEST I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN A SERIES OF THIS MAGNITUDE!!!! This series just elevated itself to the level of Wheel of Time on my ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES!!!
Overall, what I am having a feeble attempt to achieve here is to say: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GO GET IT AND READ IT!!!!
May every series try to be as good as this one!!!!
July 20, 2022
“Cuando tratas con la Compañía Negra, hay que recordar algo: la oscuridad siempre llega”.
4.5 (por toda la saga)
Esta es una reseña que no quería hacer. Desde el viernes que acabé el libro sentía un puñal en mi pecho y me daban ganas de llorar. No quería ni pensar en él, me había destrozado y se había llevado conmigo un pedazo de mi corazón. Ahora, han pasado un par de días y me dije que no podía posponerlo más, era hora de hacer una reseña, sin embargo, no será muy larga, lo prometo.
“Tuve sueños. Recordé a todos los que se habían ido antes que yo. Recordé los lugares y las fechas. Lugares fríos, otros cálidos, otros extraños, siempre fueron momentos de tensión, cargados de infelicidad, dolor y miedo. Algunos murieron. Otros no. No tiene sentido cuando intentas buscárselo”.
Esta saga la empecé en otoño de 2021 por curiosidad. Llevaba en mi punto de mira años y años, por lo menos desde 2016, pero como siempre ocurre dejas pasar y pasar los libros y cuando te das cuenta tu pila de libros es más grande de lo que has querido y sigues sin leer la mitad de lo componen tu estante.
“Dicen que, llegado el momento, se ve quién es quién. A veces el destino se confabula para colocar a un hombre honesto y competente en el lugar adecuado en el momento adecuado”.
El primer libro, no voy a mentir fue una odisea. No entendía nada, pero tenía un algo que me cautivó. Pero, no me di por vencida en ese momento sabía que esta era una saga que para mí podía tener mucho potencial…y así fue. El segundo me gustó mucho y así sucesivamente.
Ahora, si me preguntan no tengo ninguno que considere mi favorito. Me han gustado todos por igual, si es cierto que algunos me entretenían un poco más que otro, pero nada más. Al final lo importante era el cariño que le tenía a los personajes, sobretodo a aquellos componentes de La Compañía Negra que no es poco.
"-Estoy pensando por qué esto no me preocupa como me habría preocupado años atrás. Por qué ahora me es más fácil reconocer el dolor, pero no me afecta tanto".
En cuanto a este ultimo libro, lo siento, no quiero ni mencionarlo, como he dicho antes me ha destrozado. No quiero ni pensar en él. Para que me entiendan como me ha sentado este libro ha sido como si me hubieran pegado una paliza en un callejón oscuro y lloviendo y me dejasen a mi suerte.
“El dado de la fortuna estaba echado. El cruel juego tenía que ser jugado hasta el final, sin importar lo que nadie quisiese”.
Se ha convertido en una de mis sagas favoritas, pero no por estar tan bien escrita sino por los sentimientos que me han producido en cada uno de sus libros. Ya estoy esperando que me llegue el primer libro en físico para releerlo. No será ni la primera y ultima vez que los relea, estoy más que segura.
“Desde el principio de los tiempos, nuestros enemigos nos han acusado de jugar sucio, de ser traicioneros y tramposos. Y tienen razón. Toda la razón. No tenemos vergüenza”.
Adiós mis compañeros, adiós mis soldados. Ha llegado la hora de despedirse, pero no es para siempre y ustedes lo saben. Ha sido una gran aventura, sé que yo no valdría como compañera suya en la Compañía, pero me ha gustado ser testigo como un cuervo desde un árbol de sus aventuras. Los quiero demasiado. Les prometo que solo he llorado un poquito haciendo esta reseña, solo un poco.
“Los soldados viven. Adivinen por qué”.
4.5 (por toda la saga)
Esta es una reseña que no quería hacer. Desde el viernes que acabé el libro sentía un puñal en mi pecho y me daban ganas de llorar. No quería ni pensar en él, me había destrozado y se había llevado conmigo un pedazo de mi corazón. Ahora, han pasado un par de días y me dije que no podía posponerlo más, era hora de hacer una reseña, sin embargo, no será muy larga, lo prometo.
“Tuve sueños. Recordé a todos los que se habían ido antes que yo. Recordé los lugares y las fechas. Lugares fríos, otros cálidos, otros extraños, siempre fueron momentos de tensión, cargados de infelicidad, dolor y miedo. Algunos murieron. Otros no. No tiene sentido cuando intentas buscárselo”.
Esta saga la empecé en otoño de 2021 por curiosidad. Llevaba en mi punto de mira años y años, por lo menos desde 2016, pero como siempre ocurre dejas pasar y pasar los libros y cuando te das cuenta tu pila de libros es más grande de lo que has querido y sigues sin leer la mitad de lo componen tu estante.
“Dicen que, llegado el momento, se ve quién es quién. A veces el destino se confabula para colocar a un hombre honesto y competente en el lugar adecuado en el momento adecuado”.
El primer libro, no voy a mentir fue una odisea. No entendía nada, pero tenía un algo que me cautivó. Pero, no me di por vencida en ese momento sabía que esta era una saga que para mí podía tener mucho potencial…y así fue. El segundo me gustó mucho y así sucesivamente.
Ahora, si me preguntan no tengo ninguno que considere mi favorito. Me han gustado todos por igual, si es cierto que algunos me entretenían un poco más que otro, pero nada más. Al final lo importante era el cariño que le tenía a los personajes, sobretodo a aquellos componentes de La Compañía Negra que no es poco.
"-Estoy pensando por qué esto no me preocupa como me habría preocupado años atrás. Por qué ahora me es más fácil reconocer el dolor, pero no me afecta tanto".
En cuanto a este ultimo libro, lo siento, no quiero ni mencionarlo, como he dicho antes me ha destrozado. No quiero ni pensar en él. Para que me entiendan como me ha sentado este libro ha sido como si me hubieran pegado una paliza en un callejón oscuro y lloviendo y me dejasen a mi suerte.
“El dado de la fortuna estaba echado. El cruel juego tenía que ser jugado hasta el final, sin importar lo que nadie quisiese”.
Se ha convertido en una de mis sagas favoritas, pero no por estar tan bien escrita sino por los sentimientos que me han producido en cada uno de sus libros. Ya estoy esperando que me llegue el primer libro en físico para releerlo. No será ni la primera y ultima vez que los relea, estoy más que segura.
“Desde el principio de los tiempos, nuestros enemigos nos han acusado de jugar sucio, de ser traicioneros y tramposos. Y tienen razón. Toda la razón. No tenemos vergüenza”.
Adiós mis compañeros, adiós mis soldados. Ha llegado la hora de despedirse, pero no es para siempre y ustedes lo saben. Ha sido una gran aventura, sé que yo no valdría como compañera suya en la Compañía, pero me ha gustado ser testigo como un cuervo desde un árbol de sus aventuras. Los quiero demasiado. Les prometo que solo he llorado un poquito haciendo esta reseña, solo un poco.
“Los soldados viven. Adivinen por qué”.
October 13, 2022
I also really like short series, and stand alone novels. But nothing quite hits the same, as the endings of 10 book series. Granted that is only true if the ending is good, but that is not a concern here.
This is one of the best final books I have ever read. And it is easily my favorite novel of The Black Company. This book is also the longest Black Company book, and it makes use of that page time. It not only manages to complete the stories of all the characters we already know, it introduces a couple brand new characters, and they became some of my favorites in the series. It has everything you could want in a final book. Thematically rich, it has engaging, high stakes battles, an extended, and amazingly written falling action, some brilliant reveals, absolutely incredible tension, and the best tagline in the entire genre.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
9.4/10
I unfortunately can't talk much more in terms of specifics, because it is book 10. But I loved this.
This is one of the best final books I have ever read. And it is easily my favorite novel of The Black Company. This book is also the longest Black Company book, and it makes use of that page time. It not only manages to complete the stories of all the characters we already know, it introduces a couple brand new characters, and they became some of my favorites in the series. It has everything you could want in a final book. Thematically rich, it has engaging, high stakes battles, an extended, and amazingly written falling action, some brilliant reveals, absolutely incredible tension, and the best tagline in the entire genre.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
9.4/10
I unfortunately can't talk much more in terms of specifics, because it is book 10. But I loved this.
June 7, 2016
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
This is both the title and theme of this very melancholy book which ties up the whole Black Company series arc beautifully, satisfyingly, and oh-so-heartbreakingly. The omnibus edition which contains this book is called The Many Deaths of the Black Company. I'd hoped that was an exaggeration. It wasn't. And yet I have no complaints, no regrets. Even as I mourn for beloved characters, everything that happened felt inevitable and "right," because Glen Cook is such a crazy-talented writer.
This is hands-down one of the best fantasy series I've read. And yet I'd never heard of it until about two years ago, when Athena, Gavin, and Markus did a buddy read and I followed their updates and reviews. But even after that, I thought, "Yeah, there's some fantastic writing there, but military fantasy? So not my thing." Then, last November (wow, has it been that long?), I saw another buddy read of this series coming up, and I knew I would kick myself if I didn't at least try the first book. I am so glad I did. The mythology is original and completely believable. The world is big, messy, and realistic. I love and admire how, as the Company traveled, it also evolved: from a bunch of white guys at the start of the series, to almost entirely black and brown by the end, and with women stepping into some very important roles. The languages change. The religions multiply. This is some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen. And some of the best characterization. Everyone in these books is an individual, with their own motives and agenda, no matter how small a part they seem to play. Everyone has the possibility of being "good" one moment and "bad" the next; everyone makes their own decisions and choices. Glen Cook treats every character fairly and honorably, no matter how despicable they may seem. And that richness of character allows for some incredible twists and turns, as no one is ever entirely predictable. This series kept me on my mental toes the entire way through!
These books have everything. They have taken me through the emotional wringer. I'm so glad this was a Buddy Read, because these are books I needed to talk about while I was reading. And after I finished each one. I realize that this is considered a cult series, definitely not to everyone's tastes. But I highly recommend giving it a shot. It is so, so, so worth it.
Many thanks and hugs to
Cleaver
Erratic and
Evasive
for making it through this whole long trek with me. It wouldn't have been half as good without you.
And now I'm suffering from Book Hangover, Series Withdrawal, and Buddy Read Withdrawal. Sob.
December 1, 2014
In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.
Awww man...this is my favorite series, and you know a series has made a major impact on you when you cry at the end of the last book.
Awww man...this is my favorite series, and you know a series has made a major impact on you when you cry at the end of the last book.
May 18, 2025
What a wonderful ending to a wonderful series. With the wrapping up Soldiers Live does, it really solidifies The Black Company as one of the all-time great stories, meant to be read in its entirety instead of piecemeal. So many moving moments as the protagonist death count climbs higher and higher, with one of the best antagonists around. The tagline as well was my Xbox Live bio back when I had a 360 during the dark ages.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
November 20, 2015
Life is never like a canal, flowing gently through a straightforward and predictable channel. It is more like a mountain brook, zigging and zagging, tearing things up, sometimes going almost dormant before taking an unexpected and turbulent turn.
The Black Company returns from the Plain of Glittering Stone, and old and new enemies alike are ready for them. The time for the last battle has finally come, and blood and death await before the walls of mighty Taglios.
Soldiers Live was far from the best book in this series, and when it comes to certain aspects of it I had expected more. Still, there is no denying that it provided a worthy conclusion to the Chronicles of the Black Company.
Further thoughts on the series to come in another review soon.
The Black Company returns from the Plain of Glittering Stone, and old and new enemies alike are ready for them. The time for the last battle has finally come, and blood and death await before the walls of mighty Taglios.
Soldiers Live was far from the best book in this series, and when it comes to certain aspects of it I had expected more. Still, there is no denying that it provided a worthy conclusion to the Chronicles of the Black Company.
Further thoughts on the series to come in another review soon.
November 11, 2014
Soldier's Live is the final book in the Glittering Stone cycle story arc of Glen Cook's Black Company series. It lived up to all my hopes and expectations. It delivered shock twists and turns, emotional scenes involving some old favorites, and good conclusions to almost all of the long term ongoing story arcs.
Croaker returns as annalist of The Black Company for the first time since Shadow Games and proves again why he is the best of the Company's many annalists. His wry wit and devotion to Company tradition contrast superbly with his cynicism and make his annals easy and enjoyable to read.
This book was as dark and intense as one might expect considering it features the final confrontations with a lot of long term villains such as Mugaba, Narayan Singh, Soulcatcher, and the sleeping Goddess Kina. The action was almost non-stop, but I was happy Cook still managed to find time for the emotional scenes and humor that always help to lighten the tone of any Black Company read. Croaker's mantra of Soldier's Live became sadder every time I heard it.
The ending was shocking and surprisingly fitting. I was satisfied that all the ongoing story arcs were neatly tied up, but also happy that Cook left the door open for a potentially intriguing sequel.
The Black Company series is one of the best the fantasy genre has to offer and ranks behind only a handful of my absolute favorites.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: Marc Vietor made his return as the voice of Croaker, and is a prefect fit for both the character and the series.
Croaker returns as annalist of The Black Company for the first time since Shadow Games and proves again why he is the best of the Company's many annalists. His wry wit and devotion to Company tradition contrast superbly with his cynicism and make his annals easy and enjoyable to read.
This book was as dark and intense as one might expect considering it features the final confrontations with a lot of long term villains such as Mugaba, Narayan Singh, Soulcatcher, and the sleeping Goddess Kina. The action was almost non-stop, but I was happy Cook still managed to find time for the emotional scenes and humor that always help to lighten the tone of any Black Company read. Croaker's mantra of Soldier's Live became sadder every time I heard it.
The ending was shocking and surprisingly fitting. I was satisfied that all the ongoing story arcs were neatly tied up, but also happy that Cook left the door open for a potentially intriguing sequel.
The Black Company series is one of the best the fantasy genre has to offer and ranks behind only a handful of my absolute favorites.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: Marc Vietor made his return as the voice of Croaker, and is a prefect fit for both the character and the series.
December 11, 2015
Wow! This must be one of the best endings I've read in fantasy series. Mind blowing! And I did not see it coming until I was there. Kudos Mr.Cook!
Fitting conclusion to this awesome dark fantasy series. This book is filled with action and suspense, grim and exiting events. Intense and very hard to put down to the very end.
I will miss you my friends!
Incessant wind sweeps the plain. It murmurs on across grey stone, carrying dust from far climes to nibble eternally at the memorial pillars. There are a few shadows out there still but they are the weak and the timid and the hopelessly lost. It is immortality of a sort.
Memory is immortality of a sort. In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember.
And they all live again.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
==========
Fitting conclusion to this awesome dark fantasy series. This book is filled with action and suspense, grim and exiting events. Intense and very hard to put down to the very end.
I will miss you my friends!
Incessant wind sweeps the plain. It murmurs on across grey stone, carrying dust from far climes to nibble eternally at the memorial pillars. There are a few shadows out there still but they are the weak and the timid and the hopelessly lost. It is immortality of a sort.
Memory is immortality of a sort. In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember.
And they all live again.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
==========
August 12, 2024
Soldiers Live is the powerful conclusion to an amazing fantasy series. There is so much to be said about this book, and about The Black Company in general, but I'm afraid I can't do it the proper justice. Suffice it to say, this novel ties up all the loose ends from the series and (despite some incredibly sad and emotionally-moving moments) concludes on a note of hope.
If you're a fan of epic fantasy, and haven't yet read this series, I highly recommend it. The Black Company is filled with characters who you will truly grow to care about, and plenty of exciting adventures.
If you're a fan of epic fantasy, and haven't yet read this series, I highly recommend it. The Black Company is filled with characters who you will truly grow to care about, and plenty of exciting adventures.
July 11, 2021
The Black Company carries on. Croaker and Lady are back in the picture, having been rescued from the ice cavern under the glittering plain. They are older and their joints ache, they are semi-retired, because no one truly retires from the Black Company. So no one wants to listen to them, especially Sleepy, who is Captain of the Company now. Croaker is back to being the Annalist, a job he can't seem to find a volunteer for and everyone resists being voluntold. As he says at one point, “This is what happens when you get old. You start thinking. Worse, you start telling other people what you think.”
If you've read the previous eight volumes, you can be assured that the same plot line that we've been working on for a while now keeps rolling along. Kina, the goddess of death, is still trapped and they need to figure out a way to kill her. Croaker and Lady's daughter is still Kina's puppet, the Daughter of Darkness. The Company needs to get the hell out of the Shadowlands and return to their own world to deal with Lady’s sister, Soulcatcher. They do what the Black Company does, they roll along towards these goals with planning, determination, deception, and a fair amount of luck, while trying not to trample their honour, such as it is.
When interviewed back in 2005, Cook said he had plans for two more volumes of this series, but here we are more than fifteen years later with not a whisper of a publication date. This novel seems to wrap things up reasonably well, so I'm not sure where Cook would go in a new book. Not many of the old guard that we as readers have become fond of are still active and we haven't made the acquaintance of the new officers. Possibly the two young women semi-adopted late in this book by Croaker and Lady will be the focus, if they continue to share the duties of Annalist. That could be interesting. If Cook actually produces another BC book, I'll be up for it.
Book number 418 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
If you've read the previous eight volumes, you can be assured that the same plot line that we've been working on for a while now keeps rolling along. Kina, the goddess of death, is still trapped and they need to figure out a way to kill her. Croaker and Lady's daughter is still Kina's puppet, the Daughter of Darkness. The Company needs to get the hell out of the Shadowlands and return to their own world to deal with Lady’s sister, Soulcatcher. They do what the Black Company does, they roll along towards these goals with planning, determination, deception, and a fair amount of luck, while trying not to trample their honour, such as it is.
When interviewed back in 2005, Cook said he had plans for two more volumes of this series, but here we are more than fifteen years later with not a whisper of a publication date. This novel seems to wrap things up reasonably well, so I'm not sure where Cook would go in a new book. Not many of the old guard that we as readers have become fond of are still active and we haven't made the acquaintance of the new officers. Possibly the two young women semi-adopted late in this book by Croaker and Lady will be the focus, if they continue to share the duties of Annalist. That could be interesting. If Cook actually produces another BC book, I'll be up for it.
Book number 418 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
July 2, 2017
"Am I still alive?" I did not need to ask. I was. Pain was a dead giveaway. Every square inch of me hurt.
"Don't move." That was Tobo. "Or you'll wish you hadn't."
I already wished that I did not have to breathe. "Burns?"
"Lots of burns. Lots of banging around, too."
Murgen's voice said, "You look like they whipped your ass with a forty-pound ugly stick, then slow-roasted what was left over an open pit."
"I thought you were at Khang Phi."
"We came home."
Tobo said, "We kept you unconscious for four days."
"How is Lady?"
Murgen told me, "She's in the other bed. In a lot better shape than you."
"She ought to be. I didn't shoot her. The cat get her tongue?"
"She's asleep."
"What about One-Eye?"
Tobo's response was barely audible. "One-Eye didn't make it, Croaker."
After a while, Murgen asked, "You all right?"
"He was the last."
"Last? Last what?"
"The last one who was here when I joined. The Company." I was the real Old Man now. "What happened to his spear? I've got to have his spear in order to finish this."
"What spear?" Murgen asked.
Tobo knew what spear. "I have it at my place."
"Was it damaged by the fire?"
"Not much. Why?"
"I'm going to kill that thing. Like we should have a long time ago. You don't let that spear out of your sight. I've got to have it. But right now I'm going to sleep a while some more." I had to go where the pain was not, just for a time. I had known One-Eye would leave us someday. I thought I was ready for that. I was wrong.
His passing meant more than just the end of an old friend. It marked the end of an age.
Tobo said something about the spear. I did not catch it. And the darkness came back before I remembered to ask what had become of the forvalaka. If Lady had caught or killed it I had gotten myself worked up for nothing... But I guess I knew it could not be that easy.
There were dreams. I remembered everyone who had gone before me. I remembered the places and times. Cold places, hot places, weird places, always stressful times, swollen with unhappiness, pain and fear. Some died. Some did not. It makes no sense when you try to figure it out. Soldiers live. And wonder why.
Oh, it's a soldier's life for me. Oh, the adventure and glory!
4 1/2 stars
"Don't move." That was Tobo. "Or you'll wish you hadn't."
I already wished that I did not have to breathe. "Burns?"
"Lots of burns. Lots of banging around, too."
Murgen's voice said, "You look like they whipped your ass with a forty-pound ugly stick, then slow-roasted what was left over an open pit."
"I thought you were at Khang Phi."
"We came home."
Tobo said, "We kept you unconscious for four days."
"How is Lady?"
Murgen told me, "She's in the other bed. In a lot better shape than you."
"She ought to be. I didn't shoot her. The cat get her tongue?"
"She's asleep."
"What about One-Eye?"
Tobo's response was barely audible. "One-Eye didn't make it, Croaker."
After a while, Murgen asked, "You all right?"
"He was the last."
"Last? Last what?"
"The last one who was here when I joined. The Company." I was the real Old Man now. "What happened to his spear? I've got to have his spear in order to finish this."
"What spear?" Murgen asked.
Tobo knew what spear. "I have it at my place."
"Was it damaged by the fire?"
"Not much. Why?"
"I'm going to kill that thing. Like we should have a long time ago. You don't let that spear out of your sight. I've got to have it. But right now I'm going to sleep a while some more." I had to go where the pain was not, just for a time. I had known One-Eye would leave us someday. I thought I was ready for that. I was wrong.
His passing meant more than just the end of an old friend. It marked the end of an age.
Tobo said something about the spear. I did not catch it. And the darkness came back before I remembered to ask what had become of the forvalaka. If Lady had caught or killed it I had gotten myself worked up for nothing... But I guess I knew it could not be that easy.
There were dreams. I remembered everyone who had gone before me. I remembered the places and times. Cold places, hot places, weird places, always stressful times, swollen with unhappiness, pain and fear. Some died. Some did not. It makes no sense when you try to figure it out. Soldiers live. And wonder why.
Oh, it's a soldier's life for me. Oh, the adventure and glory!
4 1/2 stars
April 19, 2017
What have I just read? I suspect I will suffer a massive book hangover for quite some time...
It's simply a superb conclusion. Some events, thoughts and philosophical bits destroyed me a little inside. In a good way.
I think this book could've been divided into two or even three if Glen Cook wanted to give a lot of details about some events or give everything a more slow approach for dramatic effect. Major deaths and events on all sides happened without us being there and really took me by surprise.
But I guess this made the final volume essentially true to its roots and core. They're soldiers. A stray arrow, an unexpected ambush, stress clouding your better judgment... all this can cause an unexpected and quick death on a battlefield. And I think this couldn't be more clear than in the final volume of this military series.
Soldiers live... and wonder why.
But of course, if you came this far with the Black Company, war and battles aren't the only things that kept the series going. The emotional aspect hit its highest here. Some people may complain some characterization can feel a bit sparse, but for me imagining the parts of them that are not explicitly shown had a far more powerful effect than if we were spoon fed every little bit of personality, traits and character of everyone.
Add to that a binge-read of almost 3 months and almost 4.000 pages and of course you'll feel way to invested and familiar with a lot of peculiarities. And that's actually short as 7 out of 10 books (including 3.5 here) barely break over 300 pages. And the last 3 all go to 500, with the last one being almost 600 pages.
I discovered that Glen Cook planned two more books for the Black Company, and I can see what could be explored further and why, but even if he never does write them (it's been 12 years since the announcement), Soldiers Live wrapped everything so perfectly that I'm now wondering if he should indeed not write them to not risk ruining what was achieved here.
Regardless of outcome, I have to thank Glen Cook for such magnificent series. And if he indeed was the grandfather of a two or three new sub-genres that inspired a lot of modern authors, than the genre as a whole also has to thank him.
It's simply a superb conclusion. Some events, thoughts and philosophical bits destroyed me a little inside. In a good way.
I think this book could've been divided into two or even three if Glen Cook wanted to give a lot of details about some events or give everything a more slow approach for dramatic effect. Major deaths and events on all sides happened without us being there and really took me by surprise.
But I guess this made the final volume essentially true to its roots and core. They're soldiers. A stray arrow, an unexpected ambush, stress clouding your better judgment... all this can cause an unexpected and quick death on a battlefield. And I think this couldn't be more clear than in the final volume of this military series.
Soldiers live... and wonder why.
But of course, if you came this far with the Black Company, war and battles aren't the only things that kept the series going. The emotional aspect hit its highest here. Some people may complain some characterization can feel a bit sparse, but for me imagining the parts of them that are not explicitly shown had a far more powerful effect than if we were spoon fed every little bit of personality, traits and character of everyone.
Add to that a binge-read of almost 3 months and almost 4.000 pages and of course you'll feel way to invested and familiar with a lot of peculiarities. And that's actually short as 7 out of 10 books (including 3.5 here) barely break over 300 pages. And the last 3 all go to 500, with the last one being almost 600 pages.
I discovered that Glen Cook planned two more books for the Black Company, and I can see what could be explored further and why, but even if he never does write them (it's been 12 years since the announcement), Soldiers Live wrapped everything so perfectly that I'm now wondering if he should indeed not write them to not risk ruining what was achieved here.
Regardless of outcome, I have to thank Glen Cook for such magnificent series. And if he indeed was the grandfather of a two or three new sub-genres that inspired a lot of modern authors, than the genre as a whole also has to thank him.
October 28, 2018
Buddy read with the Mercenaries of BB&B
Croaker is the original Annalist of the Black Company series and with Soldiers Live we come full circle. I didn't realize how much I really miss his distinctive voice (I'll pretend Port of Shadows never happened) until this moment. I loved Murgen, Lady and Sleepy's books but Croaker holds a special power over me. His voice puts me in the right frame of mind to experience the Company's adventures the proper way.
Soldiers Live is an amazing end to the series in more than one way. But it's also a book that leaves you a wreck. Right now (I finished reading the book less than 15 min ago) I feel drained, elated and yet so very sad. Sad not only because this is the end but because we lost so many friends along the way, because there are no (traditionally speaking) happy endings for those who made it to the end, there is no real closure for any of the pains dealt to those beloved characters. The lines between the protagonists and antagonist (I deliberately don't use terms like good and bad guys as those were inappropriate from the start even if I've come to think of the BC as the heroes) are so blurred that even when one of the long time enemies of the Company dies I felt incredibly sad.
I cried. I cried a lot during this book. I had to set it down on several occasions and read something else because i felt as if I'll suffocate from the pressure in my chest. And now sitting here I still feel that stinging in my eyes and that hand squeezing my throat as I remember different moments not only from this book but from all the previous ones that made me truly feel. For me that's the mark of a great book. Even if it means that functioning in the real world will be a struggle for a while.
Croaker is the original Annalist of the Black Company series and with Soldiers Live we come full circle. I didn't realize how much I really miss his distinctive voice (I'll pretend Port of Shadows never happened) until this moment. I loved Murgen, Lady and Sleepy's books but Croaker holds a special power over me. His voice puts me in the right frame of mind to experience the Company's adventures the proper way.
Soldiers Live is an amazing end to the series in more than one way. But it's also a book that leaves you a wreck. Right now (I finished reading the book less than 15 min ago) I feel drained, elated and yet so very sad. Sad not only because this is the end but because we lost so many friends along the way, because there are no (traditionally speaking) happy endings for those who made it to the end, there is no real closure for any of the pains dealt to those beloved characters. The lines between the protagonists and antagonist (I deliberately don't use terms like good and bad guys as those were inappropriate from the start even if I've come to think of the BC as the heroes) are so blurred that even when one of the long time enemies of the Company dies I felt incredibly sad.
I cried. I cried a lot during this book. I had to set it down on several occasions and read something else because i felt as if I'll suffocate from the pressure in my chest. And now sitting here I still feel that stinging in my eyes and that hand squeezing my throat as I remember different moments not only from this book but from all the previous ones that made me truly feel. For me that's the mark of a great book. Even if it means that functioning in the real world will be a struggle for a while.
November 5, 2025
This is the ninth novel of the Black Company Chronicles. It was first published in 2000, 16 years after the first book, The Black Company (1984), and I guess it was back then thought by the author as the final book. Overall, I guess that the author initially planned just one book, then the trilogy, and finally the nine-volume series. However, this is his most known series, so this year (2025) a new volume is planned – Lies Weeping.
This book can be seen as an attempt to tie up all loose ends or cut them. Even at the start, the Black Company is not what it once was – there are fewer characters from the first volume than fingers on your hands and this number will only decrease. Croaker is back as the company’s annalist (Yay!) and the Company finally reaches its final destination for the last six books. There are more mages, this time with a bit of SF stuff, the daughter of Croaker and Lady, whom they call Booboo and the rest of the world the Daughter of Night, is still planning to bring the Year of Skulls of her spiritual mother, Kina, and she got a potent ally to help her. Two of the Taken from the first book also re-appear…
This book is largely a fan service – old characters join together for the final journey. And as such it is perfect. However, if a person starts the series with this book, s/he will throw it away after a few pages.
This book can be seen as an attempt to tie up all loose ends or cut them. Even at the start, the Black Company is not what it once was – there are fewer characters from the first volume than fingers on your hands and this number will only decrease. Croaker is back as the company’s annalist (Yay!) and the Company finally reaches its final destination for the last six books. There are more mages, this time with a bit of SF stuff, the daughter of Croaker and Lady, whom they call Booboo and the rest of the world the Daughter of Night, is still planning to bring the Year of Skulls of her spiritual mother, Kina, and she got a potent ally to help her. Two of the Taken from the first book also re-appear…
This book is largely a fan service – old characters join together for the final journey. And as such it is perfect. However, if a person starts the series with this book, s/he will throw it away after a few pages.
January 15, 2015
Nostalgic is how I feel after finishing the last book of black company.I have started missing the guys from the company already,although Cook has said there are two more books for the black company coming out but I think, it has been more than a decade since the series has finished, and I find it hard believing that Cook will ever publish them.
Cook has managed to tie off all the loose ends in this book superbly, as far as I am concerned this is how a series should end, where in the reader gets the satisfaction to have all his questions answered.Cook has used a lot of Hindu mythology in the black company books.
Like the Neff from the series are
or Kahdi/Kina is
Cook has managed to effectively incorporate a lot of stuff from Hindu and Indian mythology into the black company books.
The plot basically begins when the company is holed up in the land of unknown shadows and they have been gathering strength there by doing a lot of recruitment, from the local Sian population.As was suggested from the last book Sleepy is the new captain of the company, and Tobo has basically replaced One eye and Goblin to be the new wizard of the company.Croaker has returned to his annalist/physician role,Croaker finds himself missing time and again the bad old guys of the company, and he spends most of the time with an ailing One eye.Croaker also finds himself sidelined from the core decision making group of the company.
Sleepy finally decides that the company has strength enough to go against the might of Taglios which is ruled by Soul catcher and Mogaba.As always the plan gets a bit side tracked, when One eye gets attacked by Lisa bowalk the forvalka, although Croaker manages to escape from the attack but his eye gets badly damaged in the attack.From Shivetya the goblin they come to know that Lisa bowalk has basically come from Khatvar.Croaker wants revenge for One eye, so he basically manages to march to the fabled Khatavar when the remaining company is marching through the shadow gate on way to Taglios.
Cook time and again shows us that even though we have dreams to achieve something, the world has other plans for us.When Croaker reaches khatavar he finds that it is ruled by a new over confident race called as Varosh and they have no idea whatsoever about the free companies which marched from Khatavar.Croaker manages to kill the forvalka and kidnap two Varosh girls.Meanwhile Blade encounters Goblin at the castle of glittering stone, but nobody is ready to trust him as he was basically in the company of Kina for a period of six years.
The company manages to over run its enemies until soul catcher is in the command of enemy forces, but once soul catcher gets captured by the company, they start getting a stiff resistance from mogaba.
Mogaba as a character matures a lot in this book, and the stubborn Mogaba whom we encountered during the siege of Dejagore has changed a lot, in the company of his generals Gopal & Aridata Singh he becomes a force to be reckoned with.Goblin with daughter of night escapes from the company clutches after killing Narayan singh,Goblin basically becomes Kahdidas the one serving Kina,Goblin plans with the daughter of night to rewrite the books of the dead at the grove of doom, but they get caught by Aridata singh and his forces.Aridata singh transports both of them back to Taglios.
Cook again shows us the cynical side of the world, because Lady so much wants to lay her hands on Narayan Singh for her revenge, but in the end what she gets is a dead Narayan singh whom she chops into pieces due to frustration.Lady starts getting attached to soul catcher who is basically dying,Croaker then decides to go the plane and put Soulcatcher in trance at the fort in glittering plane.
Mogaba sieges his chance, seeing that company is without the sorcery of Tobo who is travelling with croaker to the glittering plane,Mogaba mauls the company and Sleepy just manages to outsmart Mogaba, but the cost for the company is too high where in most of the top commanders are dead.
Sleepy then decides to take the fight to Mogaba in Taglios,but Mogaba again manages to maul the company and this time sleepy does not survive the attack.Svaran is the new captain of the company and he approaches Aridata singh for truce so that Taglios does not get destroyed in between,Mogaba too has an epiphany and he tries to escape in the middle of night with Gopal Singh, but tobo kills him with the help of sorcery in revenge for his dead parents.The fighting stops in Taglios with Aridata singh reinstating the Prabrindrah & Radishdrah as the rulers of Taglios.
Croaker then tries to subdue the threat of Kina but suffers from a great personal loss, mean while we come to know that Croaker has made a deal with Shivteya the golem, he finally does the deal and is able to relive the memory of his old brothers.
The series as a whole is regarding a company who recruits men/women of all sorts, and forgives them their pasts and only asks them to follow the tradition, and believe in the brotherhood of the company.We are never given the pasts of most of the men of the company, but we know them with the names and lives which the company has given them.The series is not be missed for the people who are fans of grimdark fantasy genre.
This book definitely deserves a 5 stars, so 5/5 stars.
Cook has managed to tie off all the loose ends in this book superbly, as far as I am concerned this is how a series should end, where in the reader gets the satisfaction to have all his questions answered.Cook has used a lot of Hindu mythology in the black company books.
Like the Neff from the series are
or Kahdi/Kina is
Cook has managed to effectively incorporate a lot of stuff from Hindu and Indian mythology into the black company books.
The plot basically begins when the company is holed up in the land of unknown shadows and they have been gathering strength there by doing a lot of recruitment, from the local Sian population.As was suggested from the last book Sleepy is the new captain of the company, and Tobo has basically replaced One eye and Goblin to be the new wizard of the company.Croaker has returned to his annalist/physician role,Croaker finds himself missing time and again the bad old guys of the company, and he spends most of the time with an ailing One eye.Croaker also finds himself sidelined from the core decision making group of the company.
Sleepy finally decides that the company has strength enough to go against the might of Taglios which is ruled by Soul catcher and Mogaba.As always the plan gets a bit side tracked, when One eye gets attacked by Lisa bowalk the forvalka, although Croaker manages to escape from the attack but his eye gets badly damaged in the attack.From Shivetya the goblin they come to know that Lisa bowalk has basically come from Khatvar.Croaker wants revenge for One eye, so he basically manages to march to the fabled Khatavar when the remaining company is marching through the shadow gate on way to Taglios.
Cook time and again shows us that even though we have dreams to achieve something, the world has other plans for us.When Croaker reaches khatavar he finds that it is ruled by a new over confident race called as Varosh and they have no idea whatsoever about the free companies which marched from Khatavar.Croaker manages to kill the forvalka and kidnap two Varosh girls.Meanwhile Blade encounters Goblin at the castle of glittering stone, but nobody is ready to trust him as he was basically in the company of Kina for a period of six years.
The company manages to over run its enemies until soul catcher is in the command of enemy forces, but once soul catcher gets captured by the company, they start getting a stiff resistance from mogaba.
Mogaba as a character matures a lot in this book, and the stubborn Mogaba whom we encountered during the siege of Dejagore has changed a lot, in the company of his generals Gopal & Aridata Singh he becomes a force to be reckoned with.Goblin with daughter of night escapes from the company clutches after killing Narayan singh,Goblin basically becomes Kahdidas the one serving Kina,Goblin plans with the daughter of night to rewrite the books of the dead at the grove of doom, but they get caught by Aridata singh and his forces.Aridata singh transports both of them back to Taglios.
Cook again shows us the cynical side of the world, because Lady so much wants to lay her hands on Narayan Singh for her revenge, but in the end what she gets is a dead Narayan singh whom she chops into pieces due to frustration.Lady starts getting attached to soul catcher who is basically dying,Croaker then decides to go the plane and put Soulcatcher in trance at the fort in glittering plane.
Mogaba sieges his chance, seeing that company is without the sorcery of Tobo who is travelling with croaker to the glittering plane,Mogaba mauls the company and Sleepy just manages to outsmart Mogaba, but the cost for the company is too high where in most of the top commanders are dead.
Sleepy then decides to take the fight to Mogaba in Taglios,but Mogaba again manages to maul the company and this time sleepy does not survive the attack.Svaran is the new captain of the company and he approaches Aridata singh for truce so that Taglios does not get destroyed in between,Mogaba too has an epiphany and he tries to escape in the middle of night with Gopal Singh, but tobo kills him with the help of sorcery in revenge for his dead parents.The fighting stops in Taglios with Aridata singh reinstating the Prabrindrah & Radishdrah as the rulers of Taglios.
Croaker then tries to subdue the threat of Kina but suffers from a great personal loss, mean while we come to know that Croaker has made a deal with Shivteya the golem, he finally does the deal and is able to relive the memory of his old brothers.
The series as a whole is regarding a company who recruits men/women of all sorts, and forgives them their pasts and only asks them to follow the tradition, and believe in the brotherhood of the company.We are never given the pasts of most of the men of the company, but we know them with the names and lives which the company has given them.The series is not be missed for the people who are fans of grimdark fantasy genre.
This book definitely deserves a 5 stars, so 5/5 stars.
April 7, 2022
Best ending to a series EVER!!!! This gave me all the feels. I just love Cook's writing. It's so thoughtful and intelligent, and funny (in grimdark? YES!), with fantastic characterization and awesome world-building.
November 29, 2021
This series was kind off rocky for me. But the ending of this final book was great. It actually made me a little emotional.
March 15, 2013
I feel as if I ran a marathon. I did it!!! I am happy. I am proud. I am satisfied.
and I never want to do it again!
It was good. It was great! It was cool and epic and I am fine with the ending.
The very big list of bad guys needing to be killed was taken care of. It was not in a Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch manor that I was hoping for, but they get dead, and THAT was the goal.
The good guys? Well, it is a war - so what do you want? They can't all have a fairytale ending. Soldiers live and ask why.
Croaker narrates, and I'm glad we've come full circle back to our original narrator.
He's old and cranky, more than funny, but he's been at war a really long time. I think it's OK.
He misses all the Company members we've lost, and so do I.
Magic - lots
Action - non stop
Critters - too many to count
Characters - it's the BLACK COMPANY, nothing but characters
Cool places - the glittering plain, the unnamed fortress
and I never want to do it again!
It was good. It was great! It was cool and epic and I am fine with the ending.
The very big list of bad guys needing to be killed was taken care of. It was not in a Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch manor that I was hoping for, but they get dead, and THAT was the goal.
The good guys? Well, it is a war - so what do you want? They can't all have a fairytale ending. Soldiers live and ask why.
Croaker narrates, and I'm glad we've come full circle back to our original narrator.
He's old and cranky, more than funny, but he's been at war a really long time. I think it's OK.
He misses all the Company members we've lost, and so do I.
Magic - lots
Action - non stop
Critters - too many to count
Characters - it's the BLACK COMPANY, nothing but characters
Cool places - the glittering plain, the unnamed fortress
August 1, 2024
4.5 stars. Only the rest of 15 percents of the book I read the digital book version, mostly listened to the audiobook version.
Soldiers live and wonder why.
This is the story after Sleepy has rescued Croaker and the other captured beneath the glittering plain. The narrator is back to Croaker the original annalist of the black company. This book is the conclusion of the conflict with Mogaba and the soulcatcher, prevent the end of the skull season by Kina from happening. The many deaths of the black company, One eye, Sleepy, Murgen and his wife etc. Even though the ending is not the end of the world or the black company was failed at the battles with Taglios, still this is the tragic story with the aspect from croaker’s recounting of the story. The beginning Croaker wondered why didn’t have any the black company’s member deaths for four years? It’s the revelation of the ultimately unprevented melancholy. I think Glen Cook finished the Black Company story strong at many ways even though not the perfectest ending for me. He concluded all the plots in the previous books and mentioned all the characters in the chronicles of the black company. The black company would be a nostalgia reread for me; among epic fantasies, The Black Company Chronicles is one of the best has been written in 90s.
Croaker’s wife the Lady was having mental issues after she almost killed her biological daughter, Boo-boo( seriously this is not the good example to name a girl like it), and her daughter was dead, even she lived, she had no reason to live because Kina was destroyed, the meaning of her life was vanished. Croaker and Shivetya was connected with each other and Croaker became immortal in the end of the story. This is the end of the book of Croaker.
What the soldiers were fighting for is not the significant things in the histories, but how they lived their lives through the miserable circumstances would be written in the annals forever.
Soldiers live and wonder why.
This is the story after Sleepy has rescued Croaker and the other captured beneath the glittering plain. The narrator is back to Croaker the original annalist of the black company. This book is the conclusion of the conflict with Mogaba and the soulcatcher, prevent the end of the skull season by Kina from happening. The many deaths of the black company, One eye, Sleepy, Murgen and his wife etc. Even though the ending is not the end of the world or the black company was failed at the battles with Taglios, still this is the tragic story with the aspect from croaker’s recounting of the story. The beginning Croaker wondered why didn’t have any the black company’s member deaths for four years? It’s the revelation of the ultimately unprevented melancholy. I think Glen Cook finished the Black Company story strong at many ways even though not the perfectest ending for me. He concluded all the plots in the previous books and mentioned all the characters in the chronicles of the black company. The black company would be a nostalgia reread for me; among epic fantasies, The Black Company Chronicles is one of the best has been written in 90s.
Croaker’s wife the Lady was having mental issues after she almost killed her biological daughter, Boo-boo( seriously this is not the good example to name a girl like it), and her daughter was dead, even she lived, she had no reason to live because Kina was destroyed, the meaning of her life was vanished. Croaker and Shivetya was connected with each other and Croaker became immortal in the end of the story. This is the end of the book of Croaker.
What the soldiers were fighting for is not the significant things in the histories, but how they lived their lives through the miserable circumstances would be written in the annals forever.
January 11, 2022
One of the finest final books in a series I've read. More heartfelt in tone than any of the previous books, yet still obviously has the Black Company grit and dryness I expect. From the first page Soldiers Live feels like Glen Cook deeply knows he's writing the last book in this long saga. I'm seriously impressed by how well Glen Cook managed to end this thing.
As a novel on its own, Soldiers Live is great. It's more of the Black Company storytelling you know and hopefully love. It's not any more epic or intense than any previous novels.
But it's not just a random novel, it's the concluding volume in a 10 book series, and as the final entry is such a long series it's incredible. Pretty much every plot thread for almost every character is closed off. Some will get long goodbyes whether they're happy or sad, while others will be cut short with no warning, while others plots will kind of just fizzle out. This is not the kind of concluding novel where all characters get their moment to shine and every plot comes to a powerful climax. In any other series this could be a flaw, but in the world of the Black Company, that's just how life works and it feels true to the world. It feels like the natural resolution to this story.
The primary themes and ideas raised in the Books of Glittering Stone sub-series are all expertly brought full circle and closed off. I do have issues with this book, like some minor unresolved arcs, or battles not feeling epic or emotional enough for the climax of a 10 book series. But I can't hold that against the book because it stayed true to itself, to what Black Company is, and gave me a great closing chapter to end the series. It's not what I would've expected, but that's okay because it's much better and more interesting than what I expected. The denouement is especially amazing and one I could gush about for ages.
It's telling that I finished this around the same time as the absolutely bonkers and incredibly unpredictable Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker, yet I find myself thinking about Soldiers Live much more often.
As a novel on its own, Soldiers Live is great. It's more of the Black Company storytelling you know and hopefully love. It's not any more epic or intense than any previous novels.
But it's not just a random novel, it's the concluding volume in a 10 book series, and as the final entry is such a long series it's incredible. Pretty much every plot thread for almost every character is closed off. Some will get long goodbyes whether they're happy or sad, while others will be cut short with no warning, while others plots will kind of just fizzle out. This is not the kind of concluding novel where all characters get their moment to shine and every plot comes to a powerful climax. In any other series this could be a flaw, but in the world of the Black Company, that's just how life works and it feels true to the world. It feels like the natural resolution to this story.
The primary themes and ideas raised in the Books of Glittering Stone sub-series are all expertly brought full circle and closed off. I do have issues with this book, like some minor unresolved arcs, or battles not feeling epic or emotional enough for the climax of a 10 book series. But I can't hold that against the book because it stayed true to itself, to what Black Company is, and gave me a great closing chapter to end the series. It's not what I would've expected, but that's okay because it's much better and more interesting than what I expected. The denouement is especially amazing and one I could gush about for ages.
It's telling that I finished this around the same time as the absolutely bonkers and incredibly unpredictable Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker, yet I find myself thinking about Soldiers Live much more often.
January 6, 2011
Series: 11/27/2005 5/10
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensional and not very interesting.
For more info, check out:
The Black Company on wikipedia
Glen Cook Links
11/27 - soldiers live - 5
2d sketches of characters. depth is provided by repeating a sinlge trait over and over ad nauseum
more interesting narrative though back to croaker
plot starts off interesting, then falls back into old habit - rambling nonsensical with stupid decisions (why not kill goblin and daughter of the night while they were knocked out? people kept alive and then left unguarded, sending out all sorcerors when fighting a battle on 2 fronts, how could they not know where mogaba was when trying to capture him, etc)
no real investment in characters, don't care what happens to them or if they die
ending ok
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensional and not very interesting.
For more info, check out:
The Black Company on wikipedia
Glen Cook Links
11/27 - soldiers live - 5
2d sketches of characters. depth is provided by repeating a sinlge trait over and over ad nauseum
more interesting narrative though back to croaker
plot starts off interesting, then falls back into old habit - rambling nonsensical with stupid decisions (why not kill goblin and daughter of the night while they were knocked out? people kept alive and then left unguarded, sending out all sorcerors when fighting a battle on 2 fronts, how could they not know where mogaba was when trying to capture him, etc)
no real investment in characters, don't care what happens to them or if they die
ending ok
July 8, 2014
Good thing about reading an older series is that you can binge and not have to wait the requisite year or so (atleast it seems that way lately) until the next one comes out. That's about all I have on this series. From the 1st book to the last my ratings for it have steadily declined (5 stars for 1st; 4 stars for next three; rest have been 3 stars). Major gripe would be that it is one thing for characters to evolve over the course of a few books (or over a few years of story timeline) but another entirely for wholesale personality/worldview changes to take place almost overnight. The 1st book (not a spoiler - well, not as to specifics) starts off with almost merciless hardhearted mercenaries facing (and sometimes working with) an array of ruthless, seemingly all-powerful magic users which quickly degenerates into a bunch of friendly rogues on a magical romp to save the world. Then.
Wait...can't do it. Even now changing review down to 2 stars the more I think about it and ending my review because it is just too tempting to bring example spoilers.
For those who have read it ask yourself this - SoulCatcher or more like disgruntled Soulmate. So disappointing.
Wait...can't do it. Even now changing review down to 2 stars the more I think about it and ending my review because it is just too tempting to bring example spoilers.
For those who have read it ask yourself this - SoulCatcher or more like disgruntled Soulmate. So disappointing.
June 29, 2015
And so it ends, an incredible journey spreading form the Northern part of the World to its most Southernmost tip. When finished with the last page of Soldiers Live, you are left with a heavy heart thinking about the wonderful journey you had with the exemplary characters. And at the end you are also left with a smile as most characters get what they want.
The Chronicles of the Black Company is primarily the story of the mercenaries enlisted with different masters and the wonderful plot comes secondarily. Glen Cook has done some wonderful world-building even if it is lacking in the finesse. Wonderfully written characters leave you with a smile and a tear during some parts of the series. Overall the plot-line even if being secondary, is a very well thought and a good one.
Most epic fantasy stories are about the people in/having power but very few are about people who has to play as pawns while serving the whole interests of their beliefs.
For fans of epic fantasies with well fleshed characters and interesting plots, this is a must read.
The Chronicles of the Black Company is primarily the story of the mercenaries enlisted with different masters and the wonderful plot comes secondarily. Glen Cook has done some wonderful world-building even if it is lacking in the finesse. Wonderfully written characters leave you with a smile and a tear during some parts of the series. Overall the plot-line even if being secondary, is a very well thought and a good one.
Most epic fantasy stories are about the people in/having power but very few are about people who has to play as pawns while serving the whole interests of their beliefs.
For fans of epic fantasies with well fleshed characters and interesting plots, this is a must read.
May 29, 2019
Fuck.. It was amazing, but I want more. This ends the last book of the Croaker.
September 18, 2021
More offscreen deaths than a low budget extinction movie, but manages to never slow the pace and eck out an excellent and satisfying conclusion to the saga.
February 7, 2025
Wow! What a ride! At the time this book came out 25 years ago it was the finale of the series. And what a finish. As it turns out Soldiers Live is quite an ironic title. Now it's been announced there's another volume coming out later this year.
One note. Croaker spends quite a bit of time whining about how old and decrepit his body has become. I figured from his complaints he was probably in his 70s or 80s. Turns out he is only 56. Come on Glen!
Probably the best military fantasy series l have ever read. I recommend it to everyone, but definitely do not read it out of order, you will be lost.
One note. Croaker spends quite a bit of time whining about how old and decrepit his body has become. I figured from his complaints he was probably in his 70s or 80s. Turns out he is only 56. Come on Glen!
Probably the best military fantasy series l have ever read. I recommend it to everyone, but definitely do not read it out of order, you will be lost.
March 2, 2024
Best part about reading this book was finishing it. And the series. I can move on to better written fantasy now.
November 3, 2016
"Soldiers Live" is the disappointing end to a series which began with the excellent and subversive "The Black Company". The weaknesses of previous books are exacerbated in this final volume and it retains little of the magic from its predecessors. The remainder of this review contains spoilers.
First, the proliferation of deus ex machina elements seriously undercuts the narrative. The author's reliance on unexplained magic to provide an omniscient narrative viewpoint (and an unbeatable tactical advantage for the Company) is getting old since it's first poorly developed appearance in "Bleak Seasons". The unrelenting parade of supernatural spies in Smoke, Murgen, and the Unknown Shadows feels like the author is unable to throw off a narrative crutch.
Second, since the author gives the Black Company unbeatable super-spies and, occasionally, super-weapons he forces drama into the story by having the characters make blatantly bad decisions which run counter to their usual traits. I ask you: how many times during the last four books of the series did the Company capture a very dangerous enemy and not kill them ? Compare this to the first half of the series where the Company (even Croaker) had no such qualms.
Third, subplots, even ones introduced in the last book itself, are left unresolved or are wrapped-up blithely. Tobo's character arc is criminally unexplored despite the obvious set-up at the end of "Water Sleeps". Lisa Bowalk pops up, murders One-Eye, and is hunted down with no fanfare. The introduction of the Voroshk and the destruction of and entire world is glanced over. Perhaps most egregiously, "Thi Kim is coming" turns out to not be interesting at all.
Finally, all the subversive elements of the first book have been stripped away. The Black Company was a amoral mercenary band just trying to survive and get rich while working for the Bad Guys. This was novel. This was interesting. This continued for most of the second book, but by the end of the third book they had become just another army of Good Guys. The fourth book briefly promised a "band of rogues" style story but quickly returned to the form of the third book and stayed that way through "Dreams of Steel", "Bleak Seasons", and "She is the Darkness". In the final books we are left with a unrecognizable Company which has no motivation besides redressing past grievances which, coincidentally, aligns them against the "evil" overlord.
In conclusion, "Soldiers Live" is the culmination of many changes, all for the worse, that occurred over the course of the series.
First, the proliferation of deus ex machina elements seriously undercuts the narrative. The author's reliance on unexplained magic to provide an omniscient narrative viewpoint (and an unbeatable tactical advantage for the Company) is getting old since it's first poorly developed appearance in "Bleak Seasons". The unrelenting parade of supernatural spies in Smoke, Murgen, and the Unknown Shadows feels like the author is unable to throw off a narrative crutch.
Second, since the author gives the Black Company unbeatable super-spies and, occasionally, super-weapons he forces drama into the story by having the characters make blatantly bad decisions which run counter to their usual traits. I ask you: how many times during the last four books of the series did the Company capture a very dangerous enemy and not kill them ? Compare this to the first half of the series where the Company (even Croaker) had no such qualms.
Third, subplots, even ones introduced in the last book itself, are left unresolved or are wrapped-up blithely. Tobo's character arc is criminally unexplored despite the obvious set-up at the end of "Water Sleeps". Lisa Bowalk pops up, murders One-Eye, and is hunted down with no fanfare. The introduction of the Voroshk and the destruction of and entire world is glanced over. Perhaps most egregiously, "Thi Kim is coming" turns out to not be interesting at all.
Finally, all the subversive elements of the first book have been stripped away. The Black Company was a amoral mercenary band just trying to survive and get rich while working for the Bad Guys. This was novel. This was interesting. This continued for most of the second book, but by the end of the third book they had become just another army of Good Guys. The fourth book briefly promised a "band of rogues" style story but quickly returned to the form of the third book and stayed that way through "Dreams of Steel", "Bleak Seasons", and "She is the Darkness". In the final books we are left with a unrecognizable Company which has no motivation besides redressing past grievances which, coincidentally, aligns them against the "evil" overlord.
In conclusion, "Soldiers Live" is the culmination of many changes, all for the worse, that occurred over the course of the series.
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