The Return of the Black Company
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- Create Date：2021-04-14 14:56:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Glen Cook
- ISBN：0765324008
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Summary
"Let me tell you who I am， on the chance that these scribblings do survive。 。 。
"I am Murgen， Standardbearer of the Black Company， though I bear the shame of having lost that standard in battle。 I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead， One-Eye won't， and hardly anyone else can read or write。 I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force our present predicament to its inevitable end。 。 。"
The Return of the Black Company comprises the novels Bleak Seasons and She is the Darkness—the third omnibus volume of Glen Cook's fantasy epic Chronicles of the Black Company。
"I am Murgen， Standardbearer of the Black Company， though I bear the shame of having lost that standard in battle。 I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead， One-Eye won't， and hardly anyone else can read or write。 I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force our present predicament to its inevitable end。 。 。"
The Return of the Black Company comprises the novels Bleak Seasons and She is the Darkness—the third omnibus volume of Glen Cook's fantasy epic Chronicles of the Black Company。
Reviews
Evan
，
Bleak Seasons Review:5。9/10I was not really feeling this book and it just didn’t have the lasting impression the other books did on me。 I know this is the first book of this new Books of the Glittering Stone arc that will end the series but this just didn’t feel like the rest of the books in my opinion。 This book had a new narrator， Murgen， and while I still prefer Croaker to everyone else， I thought it was written well and he brought some humor to the table。 My main complaint with this book was Bleak Seasons Review:5。9/10I was not really feeling this book and it just didn’t have the lasting impression the other books did on me。 I know this is the first book of this new Books of the Glittering Stone arc that will end the series but this just didn’t feel like the rest of the books in my opinion。 This book had a new narrator， Murgen， and while I still prefer Croaker to everyone else， I thought it was written well and he brought some humor to the table。 My main complaint with this book was the plot。 During Dreams of Steel we saw the Siege of Dejagore play out from Lady’s and Croaker’s perspective and this book brought us back to that same siege。 This time it is from the viewpoint of the brothers inside of Dejagore which added little bits of interesting information but overall， it seemed too similar to the last book。 For about half of the book we are stuck in Dejagore knowing everything that already happened and learning very little new information that was not already explained in Dreams of Steel。 On top of what felt like rereading the last half of Dreams of Steel again， the plot had other issues。 The plot was purposefully scattered and difficult to follow and while this may have been a positive for some readers， this was very frustrating for me with skipping between multiple different time periods and locations at the drop of a hat。 The reason this was done （writing style wise） may come to fruition in the next book but during this book it left a bad taste in my mouth。 I felt lost through a good chunk of the book and the ending was not much better with a random abrupt end to things that did not feel deserved at all。 This almost feels like it was originally supposed to be one larger book but then got cut into two books after the writing was complete。 I just hope that that is the case and She is the Darkness will deal with all of my concerns I had with this book。 She is the Darkness Review: 8。8/10This second of the Books of the Glittering Stone was where things really started getting going。 This completely made up for Bleak Seasons which was my least favorite book of the series。 Almost every complaint I had about Bleak Seasons going into this book was resolved or explained and I could not be happier。 With Cook’s earlier books in the series， he seemed to follow a loose formula of having a large majority of the book setting up for bigger things to come near the end of the book。 Lots of dialog， world building and a slow unravel of the plot would keep you interested enough to get to the last quarter of the book where everything came together into a massive climax。 This book was the first real exception that I have seen to this pattern。 The vast majority of this book was one drawn out climax。 There were very few sections of this story that were not extremely engaging and actively moving the plot forward in some way。 Murgen once again was a great narrator and is also turning out to be a very interesting character as well。 This book was definitely one of the strongest entries into this series so far and I can’t wait to see what the last two books have in store for me。 The Return of the Black Company Score:7。4/10 。。。more
Douglas Engle
，
This third omnibus saw the story of the black company slow to a convoluted crawl。 In the first of two books， massive buildup lead to a interesting climax。 In the second， a method of narration based in magical time traveling was an exhausting gimmick for both the characters and the reader， that didn't provide enough value to justify its extensive employment throughout the latter half of this book。 The result: a stifled narrative told from an ironically narrow perspective， plot drawn to a standsti This third omnibus saw the story of the black company slow to a convoluted crawl。 In the first of two books， massive buildup lead to a interesting climax。 In the second， a method of narration based in magical time traveling was an exhausting gimmick for both the characters and the reader， that didn't provide enough value to justify its extensive employment throughout the latter half of this book。 The result: a stifled narrative told from an ironically narrow perspective， plot drawn to a standstill， loose ends never tied up， characters never developed， and an ending that was about as unsatisfying as any that could have been chosen from the vast landscape of possibilities Glen Cook had baked into this one。 It was a struggle to read and had so little of the charm， vivacity， and pace of his previous novels。 。。。more
Kyle
，
The two books in this omnibus continues with the Black Company making their way south to Khatovar spending several years building up an army and getting them on the move。 The books present an interesting change of view away from Croaker and Lady to Murgen， the company standard bearer and aspiring annalist。 In some ways that is good， but for those readers that really enjoyed Croaker's voice， Murgen isn't Croaker。 There is a bit of overlap from previous events， but more insight and explanation com The two books in this omnibus continues with the Black Company making their way south to Khatovar spending several years building up an army and getting them on the move。 The books present an interesting change of view away from Croaker and Lady to Murgen， the company standard bearer and aspiring annalist。 In some ways that is good， but for those readers that really enjoyed Croaker's voice， Murgen isn't Croaker。 There is a bit of overlap from previous events， but more insight and explanation comes out in the retelling。 I found the first book was a bit confusing， and it ended rather abruptly。 The second book was much longer and a bit slower to develop。Overall， this was another good installment。 There are still lots of things left to discover in future books if we are to unravel the history of the Black Company。 。。。more
Bob Valmont
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really like the black company and it’s grim and personal look at the fantasy genre。 These two volumes are nice but I found them somehow not as good as the previous ones。First， the style changes as the narrator does， which I really like， but I liked Croaker better。 Murgen does the job but I preferred the first Analyst。The first volume does bring a new perspective to the siege of deja gore that is mentioned in previous novels but did dwell a bit too much on it for my taste。 The second volume doe I really like the black company and it’s grim and personal look at the fantasy genre。 These two volumes are nice but I found them somehow not as good as the previous ones。First， the style changes as the narrator does， which I really like， but I liked Croaker better。 Murgen does the job but I preferred the first Analyst。The first volume does bring a new perspective to the siege of deja gore that is mentioned in previous novels but did dwell a bit too much on it for my taste。 The second volume does see the story move but I was disappointed by （here is the only little spoiler） the fact that the company failed to kill some of its enemies。 It’s usually the vilains in “bad” books that let people live way more than they should for the sake of the plot， but here it’s the black company that does。。。 and that is honestly hard to swallow because both Croaker （with his knowledge of the Archives plus his personal experience） and Lady （with several centuries of experience in being the meanest sorceress around） should， and indeed do， have a high case of paranoia。 You don’t keep enemies alive when they might， as they say “tear you a new poop chute” in the blink of an eye， simply because “they might be useful one day”。It was a good read but not as riveting as the previous ones and I remain disappointed that the main characters managed prisoners like my mother manages junk， by piling it up for an eventual later use。。。 。。。more
Martin R。 Kotomski
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 What a classic book ！！！ Loved it ！Came back to the Black Company after 2 years break and two books 。。。 now planning to finish the entire omnibus。。。 can't wait to find out what happened to Croaker/Murgen/ Lady and the Catcher！ What a classic book ！！！ Loved it ！Came back to the Black Company after 2 years break and two books 。。。 now planning to finish the entire omnibus。。。 can't wait to find out what happened to Croaker/Murgen/ Lady and the Catcher！ 。。。more
Kossie
，
Amazing story， had some trouble getting into it but once I did I was once again hooked on the story。I am so glad that I already have the next book。。。 because of the ending I cannot wait to find out how the story continues。
Czilla
，
These novels are not as good as the stories in the two previous omnibuses in the series， but are still good。 The siege of Dejagore told from the alternate perspective is intriguing in particular。
Adán
，
4/5**** - NO SPOILERSBoth Bleak Seasons and She Is The Darkness both still show a lack of tonal hook to keep the reader focused on the characters themselves。 The world around them is ever richer， the events ever more dangerous and thrilling， but the people who endure them rarely show a depth to match that of the scope of their tasks。And don't get me wrong， I'm liking the books overall。 But there's something very， very off about the tone of the narrative。 Very few characters seemed to be able to 4/5**** - NO SPOILERSBoth Bleak Seasons and She Is The Darkness both still show a lack of tonal hook to keep the reader focused on the characters themselves。 The world around them is ever richer， the events ever more dangerous and thrilling， but the people who endure them rarely show a depth to match that of the scope of their tasks。And don't get me wrong， I'm liking the books overall。 But there's something very， very off about the tone of the narrative。 Very few characters seemed to be able to draw upon my mind an image clear enough about their personality。 A very good example of those few is One-Eye。 Everyone shits about him， but hey， he's one of the few people in the Company who seem to have enough personality to be more than the average， cussing Black Company mercenary。 He has more detail than even Lady herself！And the books had plenty of page space to expand on those details。 But once again， we are presented with two rather short books， which could have been merged into just one， 500 pages long book if we left out all the stagnant moments of both， in which the Company just seemed to do nothing more than wait for the planets to align before actually moving one step closer to its destination。 Also， the number of chapters is more insane than before。 Around 110 chapters for She Is The Darkness means that there's a new chapter every 4-6 pages。 The feeling of cohesion that comes with using longer， more typical arcs is just gone， by fragmenting the story after a character cusses 10 times and almost nothing happens in between。 The pattern repeats itself until the reader reaches a point of inflexion in which whether somebody makes an actual move or the story takes an actual step forward。Another thing that kept me from granting the 5 stars is that one particular mechanic that has to do with dreams and ghosts （on which， from certain point on， the plot heavily relies） seemed to come from basically nowhere， and is introduced just because。 Some characters take some very dumb decisions at some points， and show what I now identify as a severe and chronic case of indecision。 At few times the Company has the power to decide whether a very stubborn enemy finally dies or not， by having them at their mercy after， usually， a hard fight or campaign。 And sure enough， and following the same old "what if" thought pattern that characterizes the Company， they choose the least useful of the options， at which point you can't help but think to yourself: they are going to pay for that later。 It is not surprising， then， that they do pay， usually some 200 pages after the decision is made。 We know this pattern already， we just hope to see it broken in a good way， sometime。I'll now depart to end this tale， which is a good one after all。 I'm leaving certain details that made me a little happier in the dark， of course， but you'll see for yourselves。 The last two books must start on a high note， that's for sure。。。 。。。more
Dominique "Eerie" Sobieska
，
What can I say about my latest read from the chronicles of the Black Company？ Bleak Seasons was a bit difficult to read at first， where honestly a second re-read would be beneficial to grasp Murgen's narration。 The back and forth between past， present and future was taxing， confusing where I found myself re-reading sentences or going back a few pages searching for sentences and events that collaborated the story told。 Murgen's annals felt much more personal that Croaker's as Murgen recorded more What can I say about my latest read from the chronicles of the Black Company？ Bleak Seasons was a bit difficult to read at first， where honestly a second re-read would be beneficial to grasp Murgen's narration。 The back and forth between past， present and future was taxing， confusing where I found myself re-reading sentences or going back a few pages searching for sentences and events that collaborated the story told。 Murgen's annals felt much more personal that Croaker's as Murgen recorded more of his personal experiences and thoughts and much less of the company's exploits yet。 The tone is set more in despair and quite mysterious。She is the Darkness showed the evolution of Murgen's writing after Bleak Seasons。 His writing although still personal and still more centered around him shows a more cynical side （due to Croaker's agenda and secretive tactics throughout the book and of those around him） as well as his emotional heartbreak from Sahra's death in Bleak Seasons。 Soulcatcher remains a threat along side the weakened and disillusioned Shadowmaster， the Daughter of Night and the looming betrayal of the Rashida and her brother。 This all comes to a well ridden and easily foreseeable conclusion that was left off with a good 'cliffhanger'。 。。。more
Eduardo Gutierrez
，
This whole series is just amazing！ Thought it's for readers that like fantasy and medieval stuff like swords magic and wizardry。 the only thing is it starts kind of slow but any picks up and that's how all of these books are they start slow and then they pick up I honestly recommend it for any big nerds that like fantasy hands down one of my favorite series now！ This whole series is just amazing！ Thought it's for readers that like fantasy and medieval stuff like swords magic and wizardry。 the only thing is it starts kind of slow but any picks up and that's how all of these books are they start slow and then they pick up I honestly recommend it for any big nerds that like fantasy hands down one of my favorite series now！ 。。。more
Aidan
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Bleak Seasons imo is the second best written after Dreams of Steel， already reviewed it。 She is the Darkness is a much more different kind of story than Bleak Seasons as the plot is driving quickly forwards instead of going very slow。 If theres anything to say about it， I would say its 'The Black Company' book 1 done right。 Everything is linear and easy to follow， whereas the first book gurgled and drowned in all of its ideas。 perhaps giving the main character a ghostwalking power is what allowe Bleak Seasons imo is the second best written after Dreams of Steel， already reviewed it。 She is the Darkness is a much more different kind of story than Bleak Seasons as the plot is driving quickly forwards instead of going very slow。 If theres anything to say about it， I would say its 'The Black Company' book 1 done right。 Everything is linear and easy to follow， whereas the first book gurgled and drowned in all of its ideas。 perhaps giving the main character a ghostwalking power is what allowed Cook to do this （also one of the plots that still needs unraveling）。 But man， what a cliffhanger！ Bleak Seasons also actually ended on a cliffhanger too， i hate that lol。 now i have to keep reading it， onto the final two 。。。more
Martin Mitev
，
Murgen's lapses into the past， back under siege in Dejagore is a fun read， but overall there are better books about the company。 Croaker's own comments that Murgen's annals are too personal， and that Murgen is the center of them is entirely correct。 Whether that is something you like or not is up to you。 For me Lady and Croaker's annals read better。 Murgen's lapses into the past， back under siege in Dejagore is a fun read， but overall there are better books about the company。 Croaker's own comments that Murgen's annals are too personal， and that Murgen is the center of them is entirely correct。 Whether that is something you like or not is up to you。 For me Lady and Croaker's annals read better。 。。。more
Monique
，
Return of the Black company:Unfortunately， this book carries the same faults so common of most modern-day fantasy books， and that is the fact that the characters think and speak like modern day folk。。。 Gone are the days when a man who should haveth spoken in thy tongue of thou medieval peasant beheld his words in thy way in which his era be written！This book is set in a medieval-fantasy world， something which could have been beautifully crafted and bound together into a work of art。。。 yet it was Return of the Black company:Unfortunately， this book carries the same faults so common of most modern-day fantasy books， and that is the fact that the characters think and speak like modern day folk。。。 Gone are the days when a man who should haveth spoken in thy tongue of thou medieval peasant beheld his words in thy way in which his era be written！This book is set in a medieval-fantasy world， something which could have been beautifully crafted and bound together into a work of art。。。 yet it was not to be so。 The writer seems to have left out the essence of creating an epic story if only by the way the characters think and act。There is so much detail included into the tale， where it truly is a world of it own， there are battles， horses， armour and everything else that goes with the territory。 The prose is well， but it is language that does this story poorly。。 It simply seems wrong。。。 the people speak as though they could be gangsters from down the road， or any old person you might meet in every day life， not medieval warriors charged with the protection of their realm。Otherwise， the story is fast-paced and full of action。 It is much like the typical fantasy story， of good verses evil， blah， blah blah。。。 Okay， I will not go on forever with the plot as else everyone will either be bored of my writing （because unfortunately I am not the most exciting writer out there） and it may very well spoil the story for those who have not read it。。。 And so， that being said， I shall include the few things I did like about this story:-Detailed descriptions; you know who the people are， what they look like， and probably where they come from or what they matter to the protagonist。-Cultural diversity: multiple cultures within the countries in which the book is set， and different systems， religions etc。-A fantasy world: not the boring earth where there is no such thing asThings I did not like:-Speech patterns-far too modern， even for a fantasy。-Boring names for many characters， while others are almost impossible to pronounce （or work out how you would say them in your head）， or earth names。。。 I mean， you cannot have "Lisa" and "Ochiba" together in the same book without it seeming rather， well， boring。。。 almost as if the writer could not think of a interesting name， or even something less common？-Lame insult。。。 again， too earth-like。 At least come up with something more creative to call someone when faced with an enemy！All this being said， the story was not all too bad。 I simply did not like it， as I am more critical than most readers out there。 It is a good story for someone who likes modern fantasy， easy to read， and not too complicated to understand what is going on。 The plot is complex enough to be interesting， as are the characters。 All in all， well done to the author for the imagination and effort it took to build this world and story， and then share it with the rest of mortal kind。 。。。more
Aaron
，
An interesting series with diminishing returns。 I'm going to keep going because I want to see the Black Company's return to Khatovar， but I feel #6-7 here are probably skippable。 An interesting series with diminishing returns。 I'm going to keep going because I want to see the Black Company's return to Khatovar， but I feel #6-7 here are probably skippable。 。。。more
Michelle K。
，
AMAZING！！ I wish there were more！
Ben Matelski
，
This one felt slow for me。
Snacksmoto
，
Yet another racist American making sure to label a crazed villain as Asian。
Kai Brown
，
Great book！ Surprising endings and amazing world building。 Definitely worth a read and the best trilogy of the series so far I think
Nighteye
，
Come to page 107 and than I've put this aside， might take this series up later but the characters dosnt interest me and the style is a bit hard to follow sometimes。 Come to page 107 and than I've put this aside， might take this series up later but the characters dosnt interest me and the style is a bit hard to follow sometimes。 。。。more
Mark
，
Bleak Seasons - 4 stars -She is the Darkness - 5 stars
Adon Coya
，
Not in par with previous 5 books， still a good read; but a huge cliffhanger in the end！
Laurie
，
Will poor Murgen ever catch a break？？ I’m seriously hooked on this gritty， delicious series。
Ignacio
，
I finally finished this omnibus， after a long time of pause。 Not bad， and Cook， as always， knows how to write a good end and cliffhanger。I'm still biased by Malazan Book of the Fallen， so I think these books are good， but not excellent。 As always， I appreciate the militar and soldier PoV in a fantasy setting， something uncommon。 I finally finished this omnibus， after a long time of pause。 Not bad， and Cook， as always， knows how to write a good end and cliffhanger。I'm still biased by Malazan Book of the Fallen， so I think these books are good， but not excellent。 As always， I appreciate the militar and soldier PoV in a fantasy setting， something uncommon。 。。。more
Marvin
，
Solid entries in the series， perhaps deceptively so。 Was worried that covering some of the same ground as the previous book would make for a boring read in Bleak Seasons， but Cook employs a bit of narrative playfulness that keeps things fresh and interesting。 Murgen proves to be an entertaining narrator， and he provides a personal focus to the unfolding story of the Company。 She Is The Darkness falls to a bit more familiar territory， in terms of the Company's entering headlong into another campa Solid entries in the series， perhaps deceptively so。 Was worried that covering some of the same ground as the previous book would make for a boring read in Bleak Seasons， but Cook employs a bit of narrative playfulness that keeps things fresh and interesting。 Murgen proves to be an entertaining narrator， and he provides a personal focus to the unfolding story of the Company。 She Is The Darkness falls to a bit more familiar territory， in terms of the Company's entering headlong into another campaign， and ends on a cliffhanger that all but demands jumping straight to the next book。 。。。more
Neil Robinson
，
A grimdark series that I have thouroughly enjoyed。 love the characters and how they are not typical nice happy muscle bound heros， but hard men and soldiers who will fight dirty
Philip Chaston
，
Should have been named Bleak Company for that ending。。。
Rorschach Ror
，
I love how grim this universe is。 I also enjoy the mundane soldiers point of view against tyrannical sorcery。
Mike O'brecht
，
This book is probably better than the rating I gave it。 Especially when I consider the surprises and shocking twists that occurred。 Learning about the history of The Black Company is always interesting， but the way the story is written from Murgen's view is very different from Coaker's。 I would agree with Croaker's own assessment of Murgen's writing， that it is very self involved。 With that said， this book was better than the one based in The Plain of Fear。 The "ghost walking" although interesti This book is probably better than the rating I gave it。 Especially when I consider the surprises and shocking twists that occurred。 Learning about the history of The Black Company is always interesting， but the way the story is written from Murgen's view is very different from Coaker's。 I would agree with Croaker's own assessment of Murgen's writing， that it is very self involved。 With that said， this book was better than the one based in The Plain of Fear。 The "ghost walking" although interesting was a bit played out for my liking。 I am looking forward to the final book， and to find out what happens to a very shocking ending in this book。 。。。more
Julián
，
Too long， often confusing。 I really don't like the dreaming stuff。 The action is very slow， but story is still ok， characters are great。 Too long， often confusing。 I really don't like the dreaming stuff。 The action is very slow， but story is still ok， characters are great。 。。。more
Christopher
，