Cook Glen - Black Company

[thaddeus6th]

Individual books. Shadows Linger, 'twas called.

 

[Jardax]

I love Cook's The Black Company series. He's a big writing influence, and I hope he adds to the series soon.

And a Black Company movie would be very interesting....

Not bad idea but no movie can be as good as books are.

 

[GOLLUM]

Not bad idea but no movie can be as good as books are.

Well, they've been talking about making a movie of Erikson's Malazan as problematic as that would be to stage for some time now.....so never say never...

In both series, I suspect an off-shoot from the main storyline (.e.g novella), a merged storyline comprised from several of the books or an adaptation from a single book is the most likely way they would go, given the complexity of the plot; esp. in the case of Malazan.

 

[Jardax]

Ok, i am silent as mice

I am just trying to tell if you read books, you imagine its world in your own way and no director usually hit the target so you can be a little sad after watching the movie. But of course, some exceptions exist...

 

[GOLLUM]

I am just trying to tell if you read books, you imagine its world in your own way and no director usually hit the target so you can be a little sad after watching the movie. But of course, some exceptions exist...

Yes I agree with you absolutely.

Ridley Scott's Bladerunner and the LOTR trilogy being two that were translated pretty well to the Silver Screen.

 

[Jardax]

Yes I agree with you absolutely I thought before i will add LoTR as example.

 

[nj1]

Well it's finally happened! I actually started reading my omnibus edition of the BLACK COMPANY! I've had this book in my to be read pile for about two years now and eventhough I'm a big Erikson fan and knew the similarities and fro other accounts I knew that Cook writes a darn good yarn, I never got round to picking it up (I think the size of the thing put me off, won't fit in my works bag).
Well, I'm glad I got round to it, I'm really enjoying it. I like the short little 'chapters' such as Erikson uses, its easy to pick up and put down the book when you tend to get distracted and don't have much time to finish a whole chapter in one go.
Looks like my next few weeks reading are taken care of!

 

[Jardax]

Well it's finally happened! I actually started reading my omnibus edition of the BLACK COMPANY!

So how is it going? I just finished second Malazan book, excellent
Opening the third one.

 

[elvet]

I started the Chronicles of the Black Company and love it. You can certainly see where Erikson got his inspiration. I picked up the last 2 omnibuses just this weekend.

 

[nj1]

So how is it going? I just finished second Malazan book, excellent
Opening the third one.

I'm now on to WHITE ROSE and still enjoying the ride, will post more on completion. Really liking Croaker and Co. can't wait to read how it all ends now.

Glad to hear you're enjoying Malazan, hold on tight for book3, it's hell of a ride

 

[GOLLUM]

I'm rather envious of you all, Cook and Erikson in the same month. C'mon...where's the justice?....

 

[nj1]

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

Finished it LATE last night! Good Stuff and a satisfactory ending. Tho was a bit confusing in parts I enjoyed the trilogy over all.
I suppose my main gripe is that the taken etc are built up to be tough S.O.B.'s but apart from Limper, they didn't seem that hard to kill and I wonder why the first White Rose didn't bump them off in the first place?
I'm guessing that the next series maybe doesn't include Croaker? one eye and goblin have to be there, I love the fighting between them 2 .

Going back to my TBR pile now so will be a short while till I get round to picking up the other books Can someone tell me what his other series are like, not really into crime but maybe the other one (Dread empire?)

 

[Jardax]

You are right. The wizards are lovely. They are playing their games with summoned monsters and so....
Black Company was never confusing i think. Malazan books are more difficult i have to still use attached maps and character lists to keep my brain sane Malazan books is a fast ride with so many characters and places.

 

[Jon Sprunk]

I thought the Taken were pretty hard to kill. It usually took either an entire army or a super weapon to kill them, and even then they did a lot of damage before they went down. And with the Taken, you can never really be sure they're gone for good....

 

[Jardax]

I always wished to know how Lady became The Lady it was never clearly explained in books i have read....maybe in later, yet not published books in my language.
Can someone tell me how it was with her? Thanks.

 

[Snowdog]

I always wished to know how Lady became The Lady it was never clearly explained in books i have read....maybe in later, yet not published books in my language.
Can someone tell me how it was with her? Thanks.

That was explained in The White Rose to an extent, though I was still a bit confused after the explanation. But it is a major spoiler for those who haven't read the books.

I've started re-reading from the beginning. Maybe I'll understand it a bit better this time.

As for the Taken, they're not invincible. They are, after all, human beings, as well as powerful sorcerors. But they are very hard to kill. They all invest magic in layers of defensive barriers which preserves them against attacks and ordinary things like aging. Even Goblin and One-Eye are able to do this.

The most powerful are nearly impossible to kill, as with The Dominator and that thing under the mound that was being kept imprisoned by the tree.

To nj1: The books aren't in separate series. There's only the one series, and it was the publishers' idea to give them subtitles, not Cook's. And Croaker will be back in the next book of the main sequence. Only Silver Spike can be considered as separate to an extent.

The other Cook series:

Garrett - wisecracking P.I., set in the fantasy city of TunFaire. It's much more fantasy than crime. A bit patchy in parts, but the best ones are excellent, the darker ones approach a Black Company feel.

Instrumentalities of the Night - an alternate early middle ages setting, but with altered geography and magic. I liked the first two a lot. The third might be out this year.

Starfishers - Science fiction, has some elements of Dune, with intrigue and fighting between Houses, but that mostly features in the first book, Shadowline. The other two are more about the Starfishers and the secret of Star's End, but it's too long since I read them to give a detailed description.

Darkwar - a trilogy which I read years ago, probably my least favourite Cook series. I don't remember too many details except the main character was female, not human, and, by the end of the series, not at all nice.

Dread Empire - again a pseudo medieval world with magic. Probably Cook's most epic creation. The Dread Empire itself has a kind of oriental feel to it, and there are some definite precursors, to my mind anyway, to Erikson's Moranth. A couple of great characters, and, it has to be said, a couple of boring ones which tend to hog a lot of the action. The best books to me are the first in the main sequence, A Shadow of All Night Falling, and the two prequels.

 

[GOLLUM]

Handy summary Snowdog.

I've got all of those series except Starfisher, which is being re-issued now as the original trilogy by Nightshade books. I won't however be chasing that one up as I already have some of Cook's standalone SF and my interests lie more in the Fantasy realm. If it appears second-hand/discounted I may look at it but not otherwise...

*Darkwar will be re-issued later this year by Nightshade in a single volume.

Blurb: The world grows colder with each passing year, the longer winters and ever-deepening snows awaking ancient fears within the Dengan Packstead, fears of invasion by armed and desperate nomads, attack by the witchlike and mysterious Silth, able to kill with their minds alone, and of the Grauken, that desperate time when intellect gives way to buried cannibalistic instinct, when meth feeds upon meth.

For Marika, a young pup of the Packstead, loyal to pack and family, times are dark indeed, for against these foes, the Packstead cannot prevail. But awakening within Marika is a power unmatched in all the world, a legendary power that may not just save her world, but allow her to grasp the stars themselves...

As Marika's power grows, she begins to change her world, embracing new technologies and ever darker magics, seizing control of Silth and barbarians alike, gathering the Packsteads together under her command. But the world grows ever colder. Will Marika save her dying sphere, or will she be the one to destroy it utterly?

From Glen Cook, author of the Black Company and Dread Empire novels, comes Darkwar, collecting for the first time, the stunning science fantasy epic that originally appeared as Doomstalker, Warlock, and Ceremony .

 

[Jardax]

That was explained in The White Rose to an extent, though I was still a bit confused after the explanation. But it is a major spoiler for those who haven't read the books.

I've started re-reading from the beginning. Maybe I'll understand it a bit better this time.

Thank you Snowdog

You also admitting you are confused. So logically ... the explanation was not sufficient. I wish to get a book how it all started from its beginning. How Lady turned into evil beast, how she met Tyrant, how they started wars and so...

Reading this forum...there are so many of great books and just only one life.

 

[Jardax]

I've got all of those series except Starfisher.....

Hey Gollum! May i ask you what is your job? I wish i have also free time to read everything i like.... librarian? Fantasy shop owner? Millionaire?

 

[nj1]

Ooh, guess Gollum's occupation...sounds like a fun game can I play?

International man of mystery?
Ringbearer?
Male escort?