The Black Company

Author: Cook, Glen
This is a different breed of fantasy fiction than its pulp fiction brethren. However, there are many elements found in the Black Company that have Sword and Sorcery qualities to them.Glen Cook is one of the modern authors who writes what you might call modern Sword and Sorcery. Black Company is not traditional Sword and Sorcery, but there are enough elements to loosely class it as such. Cook, Erickson, Lynch, and Kearney all write fantasy that modernizes some of the older Sword and Sorcery traditions -- instead of the almost serial adventures present in S&S such as Conan, these authors incorporate a more "epic" fantasy style in the the sword and sorcery traditions.The Black Company is a true classic -- a thrilling tale of magic and might, where the characters are neither good nor evil, and evil itself has shades of good. I recommend reading the Books of the North followed by The Books of the South. Many will argue that the series loses some of its appeal after that (in part because the narrator of the story changes to a different character).

Booklists having this book

Best Sword and Sorcery Books

Before I recommend the best sword and sorcery books, it's important that you, the reader, understand exactly what classic sword and sorcery really is. Sword & Sorcery is a complex... Read more

Other books by Cook, Glen

The Black Company

In an era when fantasy was about honorable farm boys with magic swords and a noble destiny, Glen Cook said 'fuck that mess; let's have some amoral pricks doing bad... Read more

Garrett, P.i. Series

Gritty detective fantasy in a warzone – this is The Dresden Files before Dresden. Garrot PI has been vastly overshadowed by Cook’s The Black Company, but these are actually some... Read more

Bitter Gold Hearts

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Cold Copper Tears

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Old Tin Sorrows

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Dread Brass Shadows

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Red Iron Nights

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Deadly Quicksilver Lies

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Petty Pewter Gods

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Faded Steel Heat

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Angry Lead Skies

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Whispering Nickel Idols

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The Tyranny Of The Night

Another entry from the always awesome Glen Cook, a new almost mystical figure in the fantasy world with his genre defining work The Black Company which pretty much helped birth... Read more

Lord Of The Silent Kingdom

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Surrender To The Will Of The Night

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Working God's Mischief

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Cruel Zinc Melodies

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Black Company

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Dreams Of Steel

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Bleak Seasons

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She Is The Darkness

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Water Sleeps

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Soldiers Live

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A Pitiless Rain

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Port Of Shadows

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Chronicles Of The Black Company

This was one of the first gritty fantasies to hit the shelves. To appreciate this work fully, imagine what it must have been like to encounter the kind of dark... Read more

The Silver Spike

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Soldiers Live

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Port Of Shadows

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The Black Company

A military fantasy where there is no real definition of good and bad. These books center on the exploits and struggles of The Black Company, a famous badass mercenary company... Read more

Port Of Shadows

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The Black Company

This is a different breed of fantasy fiction than its pulp fiction brethren. However, there are many elements found in the Black Company that have Sword and Sorcery qualities to... Read more

The White Rose

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Soldiers Live

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Port Of Shadows

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The White Rose

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Shadow Games

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Bleak Seasons

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A Pitiless Rain

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Port Of Shadows

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She Is The Darkness

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