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The Many Deaths Of The Black Company (2009)

The Many Deaths of the Black Company (2009)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
3.81 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0765324016 (ISBN13: 9780765324016)
Language
English
Publisher
Tor Books

About book The Many Deaths Of The Black Company (2009)

dark and gritty, and yet with a realistic feel when it comes to the fate and development of the characters. i love how the whole series was told from the views of the different personalities, and though somehow i wished there was some details revealed, it ends up that the whole point of having no details is, well, the details didn't matter. =)its a different kind of fantasy. yet all too human and real. love it! At long last, I finished this series. I read the first trilogy in college 30 years ago and would reread it every few years as I was unaware of the following stories (which were a nice discovery for me round about 1995). It's a bitter sweet ending for me because the first trilogy is on my top ten list of all time favorites and I have a level of attachment to Croaker and the Old Crew as he calls the Company from north of the Sea of Torments. I give props to Cook for evolving the Company as it traveled south. It would have been totally unrealistic for the Company to stay static as a culture in of itself, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I wanted to see One-Eye, Goblin, Otto and Hagop pass from the stage. They are familiar, well-developed characters and I was sad to see them go, even as it was necessary from a narrative point of view.I enjoyed watching the Company over come the trial and tribulations put in their way by SoulCatcher and Kina, but I found Bleak Seasons a bit long in the tooth with little forward movement in the narrative. She Is The Darkness was better and picked up the pace. I reference those two books as a lead into the books in this omnibus, both of which keep me reading furiously. As I say above, I didn't want those characters, my friends, to go away or change, but Cook did it with imagination and flair and I enjoyed the story even as I mourned the passing of One-Eye, the possession of Goblin and the maternal struggles of Lady, and Croaker's ironic realization that he was just an old geezer now.

Do You like book The Many Deaths Of The Black Company (2009)?

Well, that was a conclusion!The two books contained within this omnibus are different enough that they deserve their own separate reviews. The first one is all about underground warfare and guerilla tactics, as what's left of the Black Company after the previous book's ending is thriving to sabotage the regime and rescue their comrades. Also, ghosts. It's an interesting change in tone carried by a change in character focus, particularly with more ladies in charge.***some spoilers below***The second book ties up all (most?) loose ends. In fact it is pretty brutal at doing that in the last third of the book. Familiar characters fall like flies, often in what seem gratuitous or cruel circumstances. It can be difficult to stomach... and yet. In the end, literally in the last few pages, Cook somehow manages to put all that in perspective and give it meaning. "Soldiers Live", the book is called; throughout the old Company mantra is often repeated: "Soldiers live. And wonder why." But at the very end it takes on a whole different meaning which, at least I, did not see coming. We get closure for the old familiar characters at the end of their road; we get distance from our involvement in their lives; and we get yet another fresh start for the Company, which really had been the theme of the entire series all along. Don't get too attached, bad things always happen yet life continues on.It worked for me.
—molly

A great ending to a great series.I had started the series because I was looking for a gritty dark fantasy at the time and this suited me fine. Eventually, (like I always do) I connected with some of the characters and I couldn't keep the book away.The way Cook also delivers the story is definitely different than your typical fantasy book and it might be an acquired taste, but I still urge people to read them.The saddest thing is that it's over, and although Cook discussed a continuation to Soldiers Live, that interview was a long time ago and that book might never come.
—nathalie

didn't care for the ending but good overall
—Noma

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