Lowly’s Book Blog

This is another re-release from Gollancz. They have a very nice little sideline of publishing old scifi/fantasy classics in new covers, formats or anything else they can think of to freshen them up. This is actually a collection of the first three books in The Black Company Saga. From what I could find out, the series is now up to 10 books. And it has been established long enough for some Internet sites to refer the saga as a ‘cult classic.’ Well, that cult does not include me.

The Black Company is a mercenary military unit, selling their services to the highest bidder. In the opening chapters they are arranging an escape from one employer and heading north to work for a mysterious Lady. On their way, many of the Lady’s enemies try very hard to prevent the company’s progress and before long they are fighting the highly organised Rebel forces. Things go from bad to worse, and by the time the company actually meets their employer, their numbers are greatly reduced. But new recruits are added and with a mix of military and magic, the Rebels are defeated. But at the moment of success, the Lady’s magical henchmen turn on the Black Company and have a very good try at wiping them from the face of the earth. With no place to run, the stragglers hide in the desert, surviving with the assistance of mythical beings who just happen to be sworn enemies of the Lady.

Make sense? Not really, but then it is virtually impossible to summarise 700 pages into a single paragraph.

This is not your typical fantasy novel. There is no classic battle of good vs evil. The Lady  and her husband, The Dominator, controlled an ‘empire of evil unrivalled in Hell.’ These guys are no heroes, they just fight when they can’t avoid it. So politically the reader may be supporting the Rebels or even better the White Rose, the narrator is telling you all about the good guys on the side of evil.

And speaking of the narrator, this story is told very simply. The title calls it the chronicles, and that is exactly what it is. It almost reads like a logbook, e.g. today we went here and did this. There is no moral questioning, little physical description and less personality. The guys all liked Raven because he was tough. One-Eye and Goblin were funny when they fought, and Croaker was respected not only because he was the chronicler but also because he was the medic. Apparently this series is highly popular with returned servicemen, and I can see why.

If a fantasy story can be thought of as a huge empty canvas for the author and reader to fill, this book is certainly black and white. Me, I prefer a lot more colour