The new Gollancz omnibus edition of Glen Cook’s Chronicles of the Black Company is proudly emblazoned with a quote from Steven Erikson, proclaiming that Cook ‘singlehandedly changed the face of fantasy’. It’s certainly clear from reading the first volume the influence that it’s had on Erikson. Cook’s fantasy is far removed from Tolkien and traditional swords-and-sorcery fare – the focus is on unheroic characters and ordinary people, while there’s no sign of clear-cut goodies and baddies or the moral certainties you see in much fantasy. The first volume in the omnibus, The Black Company, which is the subject of this review, was first published back in 1984 but it doesn’t feel at all dated.

The Black Company are mercenaries, and our narrator, Croaker, fulfils the dual roles of company doctor and annalist, which means he has a reason to know all of his fellow soldiers, and an excuse to write down his experiences. Effectively a junior officer, he is involved in the Company’s decision-making and is friends with the Company’s mages, Goblin, One-Eye and Silent (the names of the soldiers seem to be a clear influence on Erikson). At the start of the book, the Company is on assignment in the city of Beryl, but their mission is turning sour and they are becoming embroiled in the politics of the city. They take the first opportunity to disentangle themselves, which means working for the Lady in her war against The Circle.

In a more traditional fantasy, the lantern-jawed heroes would not be caught dead working for the baddy (the Lady is the baddy), and her castle would be set in a Mordor-like wasteland, instead of lush, verdant meadowlands. Cook, though, has written a book where evil is a point of view rather than a moral absolute, and the ‘goodies’ are shown to be morally compromised by the nature of the war to remove the Lady that they have embarked on. As the Company are drawn in to deadly games played by the Lady’s inner circle, the Ten Who Were Taken, Croaker has cause to regret their employment, but finds himself drawn deeper and deeper in to the Lady’s schemes. The book climaxes with an almighty battle from which the Company will be lucky to emerge.

I really enjoyed The Black Company , it’s a superb piece of fantasy and for anyone too young to have read it when it was first published, the omnibus edition is a great opportunity to discover Glen Cook. I shall be returning to it soon, so watch this space for a review of the second volume, Shadows Linger.

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