The Black Company

This article is about the series of novels. For the medieval mercenary band, see Black Company.

Cover of the first novel in the series, "The Black Company".

The Black Company is a series of fantasy novels by author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy and dark fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximately five hundred year history.

Novels

Main chronology

The Books of the North

1. The Black Company (Main Annalist: Croaker) —May 1984
2. Shadows Linger (Croaker) —October 1984
3. The White Rose (Croaker) —April 1985

The Books of the South

1. Shadow Games (Main Annalist: Croaker) —June 1989
2. Dreams of Steel (Lady) —April 1990

The Books of the Glittering Stone

1. Bleak Seasons (Main Annalist: Murgen) —April 1996
2. She Is the Darkness (Murgen) —September 1997
3. Water Sleeps (Sleepy) —March 1999
4. Soldiers Live (Croaker: the duty is passed off to Shukrat and Arkana of the Voroshk in the last chapter, implying thenceforth they will share the duty of Annalist) —July 2000

Omnibus Editions

• Science Fiction Book Club hardcover omnibus editions:

1. Annals of the Black Company (collects The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose)
2. The Black Company Goes South (collects The Silver Spike, Shadow Games, and Dreams of Steel)
3. The Black Company: Glittering Stone I (collects Bleak Seasons and She Is the Darkness)
4. The Black Company: Glittering Stone II (collects Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live)

• Tor Fiction softcover omnibus editions:

1. The Chronicles of The Black Company (collects The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose) (November 2007)
2. The Books of the South (collects Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, and The Silver Spike) (June 2008)
3. The Return of The Black Company (collects Bleak Seasons, and She Is The Darkness) (September 2009)
4. The Many Deaths of The Black Company (collects Water Sleeps, and Soldiers Live) (January 2010)

Spin-offs

1. The Silver Spike—September 1989

Short stories

1. Raker - appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (August 1982). This was a pre-publication excerpt of chapter three from The Black Company, with slight editing differences to make it stand alone as a short story.
2. Tides Elba - appeared in the Swords & Dark Magic compilation (published June 2010)
3. Smelling Darkness - scheduled to appear in the forthcoming Subterranean Press anthology, Tales of Dark Fantasy 2.

To be released

1. A Pitiless Rain—TBA (main annalist: TBA)
2. Port of Shadows—TBA (main annalist: TBA)

Plot summary

The series follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar, through roughly forty years of its approximately four hundred year history. In the series, Cook mixes fantasy with military fiction in gritty, down-to-earth portrayals of the Company‘s chief personalities and its struggles. The series can be subdivided into three sections plus a spin-off novel, The Silver Spike, that follows events concerning former members of the Company and one of its adversaries. The three sections are the Books of the North, the Books of the South, and Glittering Stone.

The first three books, the "Books of the North," recount the Company’s dealings with the Empire of Lady. The Books of the South follows the Company’s journey south on its journey back to its beginnings in Khatovar. Glittering Stone sees the Company achieve victory over its employer's enemies, and move on to its destiny.

There are four omnibus editions of the Black Company books. The first omnibus, "Chronicles of the Black Company" includes The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose. The second omnibus, "The Books of the South" includes, Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel and The Silver Spike. The third omnibus, "The Return of the Black Compay" includes, Bleak Seasons and She Is the Darkness. The fourth omnibus, "The Many Deaths of the Black Company" includes, Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live.

Additionally, the short story, Tides Elba, takes place during the Northern Campaign in between the first two books. Two proposed novels, A Pitiless Rain and Port of Shadows, have not yet been published.

The Domination

The world of the Black Company is shaped by events that occurred long before the time of the first novel. A powerful wizard called the Dominator had created a brutal empire, assisted by his sorceress wife, known as The Lady, and ten enslaved magical rivals, the Ten Who Were Taken (or just "Taken"). Eventually the Domination was overthrown by a rebellion led by the White Rose. Not powerful enough to kill any of them, she had all 12 buried alive and partially asleep in the remote Barrowland, with magical enchantments to keep them bound.

Much later, a legends speaks of how an accursed wizard named Bomanz (Seth Chalk), the most powerful of his day, 400 years before the events of the novel, awoke the Lady in an attempt to learn from her, thinking that he had learned her true name (and would thus be able to bind her, or at least prevent her from influencing or binding himself) from obscure genealogies. Unknown to him, the name was that of a dead sister, Ardath, but the genealogy in his possession had been expunged of all but one of the three Senjak daughters: the Lady being Dorothea, and Soulcatcher being Silath). According to the legend, since he could not bind her, she bound him, and forced him into releasing her from her imprisonment. She freed the Taken and bound them to her will, but kept her insane husband in his tomb. The Lady rebuilt the empire, but her rule is less heavy-handed than that of her spouse, showing at times glimmers of humanity.

Later in the series, the events that actually transpired are revealed to be much different, after a primary source of the time is discovered in Bomanz himself and his lost Annals: the Domination had been crushed, but, in the transition of power, anarchy reigned. A group of disparate individuals formed a movement called the Resurrectionists, in an attempt to resuscitate what were already being viewed as the halcyon days - those of the Domination. Unbeknownst to him, Bomanz's son and his fiancee's family are Resurrectionists. Bomanz continues to study the Barrowlands, as he has been doing for over half a century, attempting to pinpoint the locations of all of the tombs and magical wards, so that he might study them safely, and proceeds with extreme caution, seemingly never getting any closer, while using his cover as an antiquarian to traverse the Barrowlands and dig for lost armour and other antiques to support his livelihood and secret research. Meanwhile, Bomanz's son and the Resurrectionists, hoping to use Bomanz as a patsy (not unsuccessful, as his name is recorded in history as the man who Resurrected the Lady) in furthering their goals, grow impatient at his caution, and realize that he will never complete his task, as he is resolved that it is an incorrect course of action: thus, the Resurrectionists take action of their own, and rush in with abandon: Bomanz, hearing of this, rushes to the site, and unleashes the most powerful magic at his disposal against the Resurrectionists, his son, and the newly-resurrected Lady: his magic touches the adversary, but he ultimately fails.

The Lady's first act, resurrected, is to hunt and destroy, root and branch, all Resurrectionists, so that they may not attempt again to free her husband, the Dominator, who continues to exert influence over the female Taken from the grave, which causes major trouble for the Lady and her Empire, and nearly gains him his Resurrection. Bomanz is trapped in the Barrowlands for 400 years until released himself by the Black Company as the Dominator attempts to free himself: Bomanz and Croaker, Annalist of the Company, believe that "the light of the fire [which Bomanz cast] left a mark on the Lady, never being completely eradicated, and kep[t] her heart from the ultimate blackness", attributing the magic that touched the Lady with her less heavy-handed approach, and sometimes even human compassion in ruling her new Empire. Thus, unbeknownst to history, Bomanz is an unlikely hero of sorts: he later risks his life again during the battle to keep the Dominator in the ground, unleashing the same magic, this time successfully, against a dragon set to guard the Dominator's tomb, which inflicts many casualties upon allied forces.

The Ten Who Were Taken; The New Taken

Many generations before the first novel, these Ten powerful wizards were magically bound to the will of the Dominator:

• Soulcatcher
• The Limper
• The Howler
• Shapeshifter
• Stormbringer
• Bonegnasher
• The Hanged Man
• Nightcrawler
• Moonbiter
• The Faceless Man

Then, between the first and the third novels, the Lady replaced those of the Ten who were slain with the following:

• Whisper
• Journey
• Feather
• Blister
• Scorn
• Benefice
• The Creeper
• Learned

The Free Companies

The Black Company knows little of its own origin. The last survivor of the Free Companies of Khatovar, its records go back centuries, though the first century of their history has been lost. People come and go, but the Company remains. At the beginning of the series, it has evolved into a ruthlessly effective mercenary unit willing to work for the highest bidder. But individually the members can recognize true evil when they see it, and often they try to manipulate the situation to mitigate the worst outcomes. Morality often conflicts with the "honor" system of the mercenaries to hold true to their employer.

Members of The Black Company

From the Northern Campaigns

• The Captain: Leader of the Black Company.
• The Lieutenant: His second in command.
• Croaker: Company's doctor and annalist. As annalist, his is the voice that narrates the stories. Though no specific rank is mentioned, it is likely he ranks as a mid-level officer.
• Silent: Moderately talented wizard named for the fact that he never speaks.
• Goblin: Moderately talented wizard named because of his short stature and his facial features.
• Tom-Tom: Moderately talented wizard named for the instruments he carries and plays to punctuate his speech. Brother of One-Eye.
• One-Eye: Moderately talented wizard named for the fact that he has only one good eye. Brother of Tom-Tom.
• Elmo: Sergeant and Croaker's best friend.
• Murgen: Standard bearer.
• Mercy: Platoon leader.
• Pickles: Company quartermaster.
• Otto: Veteran mercenary.
• Hagop: Veteran mercenary and scout.
• Raven: Northern recruit of former affluence.
• Candy: Veteran mercenary.
• Pawnbroker: Veteran mercenary.
• Kingpin: Veteran mercenary known for laziness.
• Marron Shed: Inn owner from Juniper.

From the Books of the South

• Croaker: Captain/Annalist, last surviving officer of the northern campaigns.
• Lady: Company Chief of Staff, former leader of the northern empire
• Goblin/One Eye: Moderately talented wizards with a history of dueling one another.
• Hagop/Otto: Veteran soldiers of the company and survivors of the northern campaigns.
• Murgen: Standard Bearer
• Big Bucket: Also known as Cato Dahlia
• Cletus, Loftus, Longinus: Three brothers from Beryl, engineering warfare specialists
• Mogaba: Leader of the Nar and the company's infantry commander; completely loyal to Croaker and the Company
• Sindawe: Nar
• Ochiba: Nar
• Sleepy
• Wheezer: A member of One-Eye's former people, he seems to be dying of either tuberculosis or consumption throughout the Books of the South and the books of Glittering Stone.
• Baldo: A member of One-Eye's former people, acts as guide to the Company during their passage through D'loc Aloc along with Wheezer, stays behind in D'loc Aloc
• Geek: A member of the K'Hlata,a tribe that lives in the savanna just south of D'loc Aloc, joins with the company after he is exiled from the savanna for guiding the Company safely through.
• Freak: A member of the K'Hlata,a tribe that lives in the savanna just south of D'loc Aloc, joins with the company after he is exiled from the savanna for guiding the Company safely through.

From the Books of Glittering Stone

• Croaker: Captain, later Annalist
• Murgen: Standard-bearer and Annalist
• Sleepy: Annalist, later Captain
• Lady: Lieutenant, Arcana Expert
• One-Eye: Moderately talented wizard
• Goblin: Moderately talented wizard
• Suvrin: Lieutenant
• Riverwalker: Lieutenant
• Tobo: Son of Murgen and Ky Sahra
• Kendo Cutter
• Runmust Singh
• Iqbal Singh
• Slink

Non-sworn brothers but affiliated persons

• Cordy Mather
• Blade
• Willow Swan

Nyueng Bao

A race descended from a separate Free Company of Khatovar, aligned with the Black Company after the siege of Dejagore.

• Uncle Doj: Last informed priest of the Nyueng Bao, possibly a minor wizard
• Ky "Mother" Gota: Mother of Thai Dei and Sahra
• Ky Thai Dei: Murgen's brother-in-law and body guard
• Ky Sahra (Sarie): Murgen's wife. Mother of Tobo
• Ky Dam: Speaker of the Nyueng Bao
• Ky Hong Tray: Mother of Gota and wife of Speaker Ky Dam
• Bahn Do Trang: A merchant based in Taglios. Black Company supporter.
• Cho Dai Cho (JoJo): One-Eye's "bodyguard".

External links

• Black Company Timeline
• Black Company Maps