Soldiers Live (Chronicles of The Black Company) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Glen Cook (Author) "Four years passed and no one died..." (more)
Key Phrases: fireball projectors, unknown shadows, hidden folk, Great General, Daughter of Night, Black Company (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Skillfully combining noir and military fantasy, acclaimed writer Cook may be concluding the Chronicle of the Black Company in the series's ninth book. Narrated by Croaker, the hard-boiled leader of the company, this book tells the story of the company's search for a path through the shadowgates from Hsien toward Taglios and its home. As they make their way, company members engage in numerous battles. They defeat the murderous forvalka; they assimilate some competent but untrustworthy sorcerers from Vorosh; and they continue to train One-Eye's grandson, the company's principle sorcerer, Tobo. But their journey doesn't end when they get to Taglios. There, they find they have to overthrow Lady's sister (Croaker's sister-in-law) Shadowcatcher, prevent the Daughter of Night (Croaker and Lady's biological daughter) from wreaking havoc and generally put Taglios back togetherAat considerable self-sacrifice. Croaker ultimately keeps his bargain with the guardian of the Glittering Plain, the golem Shivetya, by changing bodies with himAand within the golem body Croaker may have yet more stories to tell. Dark and surprising, Cook's latest is free of pretension, but rich in characters and world building. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
After a long stay in the land of the Hsien warlords, the mercenaries of the Black Company prepare to return to their former home, a journey that takes them once more through the shadowgates and across the Glittering Stone, where old and new enemies await them. The ninth installment of the author!s popular Black Company novels brings to a conclusion several plot threads while leaving room for new variations on a tried-and-true theme"the trials and tribulations of men and women at war against impossible odds. The author!s wry wit and flair for understatement add a level of realism uncommon to the fantasy genre. Recommended for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812566556
• ISBN-13: 978-0812566550
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,505 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 10 in The Black Company Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome Back, Croaker, August 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Soldiers Live (Hardcover)

In my estimation, the Black Company books, collectively, represent the best of the genre. Nothing else even comes close.

Although some aspects of the book may be troubling to devoted fans (the attrition of characters near and dear from previous books, in particular), its more troubling aspects are its greatest strengths. This book may be one of the blackest, bleakest, and most blighted of any in a series that has distinguished and distanced itself from the "young woman struggles to unlock the frightening but wondrous powers buried within her" trash that has come to typify contemporary fantasy. It has the moral ambiguity appropriate to the conclusion of an anti-epic like Glittering Stone, and the gnawing sense of futility that infects Croaker's narration makes the sacrifices of an aging mercenary seem more, rather than less, redemptive.

All the things diehard fans demand from a Black Company novel are there, but as Croaker (to my mind, the heart and soul of the Company) sees himself as increasingly remote from the latest incarnation of the Compnay, his feelings on his fallen comrades mirror our own feelings on our favorite vanished characters (Goblin, Silent, Elmo, even the Limper). The ending (if it is truly an END to the Black Company) was, as another reviewer put it, "very disturbing." I agree, but would argue that the ending was perfect, even necessary, for the series, and that it exemplified what it is that makes the Black Company so different from everything else out there, and so worthy of the outlandish affection its fans feel for it.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What the heck?, March 23, 2001

By	Magin (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soldiers Live (Hardcover)

I'm still a little disoriented, as I only finished the book about 10 minutes ago. My title sums up my entire mental process right now, though not my emotional one.

This is an excellent addition to the Black Company series. As another reviewer pointed out, it wraps up Glittering Stone without really ending the story of the Black Company. Not only is there the brand-new Company with its several Annalists, there's some serious room for flashbacks. I expect further installments, though I'm not on the edge of my seat just yet.

"Soldiers Live" opens the way we expect Black Company novels to open. We have our familiar characters all in place (a surprise to me, since One-Eye died at the end of "Water Sleeps") and it quickly becomes apparent that just about every loose thread is going to be tied up.

Having read many reviews (quite a few were inaccurate, by the way... Croaker does NOT begin "Soldiers Live" as the military dictator of Taglios!), I was prepared for surprises. But they just kept coming. This is a novel of attrition; in a story so long, many of our favorites are sure to pass away. And even so, the surprises just kept coming. Quite a few anticlimactic moments added to the surprises Cook offers his readers. But gut-wrenching unpredictability is a hallmark of the series.

It's been so long since I've read a real page-turner (let's face it, the last few Black Company novels weren't) that I forgot what it's like to want to stay up all night reading. If you're a fan of the Black Company, you'll miss out on some sleep finishing this one. And if you're like me, you'll read the last chapter a few times and marvel at how the story all gets wrapped up in a package labled "Start Here."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fitting End(?), September 19, 2000

By	Dapeck (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soldiers Live (Hardcover)

About 12 years and countless engaging hours since I first picked up the original Black Company novel, it seems this great series has come to a close (of sorts). Though Cook may write other books about one or more of the (incredibly few) remaining characters, the Black Company as we know it has made its last march. This installment of the series was largely a very satisfying, albeit bittersweet read. Unlike many other authors in this genre, Mr Cook has never been afraid to kill off his characters in sudden and unexpected ways. "Soldier's Live" is no exception. As the Company makes its way back to Taglios to thwart the plans of the Death Goddess(and not to mention rid themselves of a few extremely pesky recurring adversaries), Cook pares his cast down almost obsessively. The end result is that no one is safe. The danger the Company faces in every circumstance is real and immediate, regardless of which characters are involved. This approach would be lethal to a less imaginative author, but Cook's strength is a seemingly endless supply of colorful, entertaining, and well-developed characters. As this is the last book in the series (or at least in this incarnation of the series), Cook does more paring than planting. Loose ends stretching back almost to the beginning of the original series are tied off with mostly satisfying results. Like a previous reviewer speculated, Cook has left the door open for possibly one or more prequels (oh please oh please) involving the Company in the early years...until then, Soldiers Live is a fitting epilogue to a superb series.