Review on The Books of the South by Glen Cook

"In a moment he was adrift in the whale's belly, floating through the flames, watching the dark fire-eater. Only because it had fed so gluttonously had the windwhale not yet been consumed by a holocaust."


Sorry, was I supposed to write something? I thought we should simply gaze mesmerized, awestruck by the completely intimidating cover art. No? Well here's a closer look for now, and in the future I'll likely be forging a more personal review on the artist, Raymond Swanland, as well.

The world as it knows it has been saved from the infernal clutches of the Dominator. The Black Company is back, revived from almost total annihilation. Croaker has become the Captain and the new recruits are a statuesque caste of fearless Spartans exhuming unreachable prowess. Yes, this will do quite nicely.

The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company(2008) is a trilogy of novels, directly trailing content subsequent to the The White Rose(1985)'s climactic last showdown. Singularly, the books are quite short, somewhere in the neighborhood of a low 200+ page count. What that equals in word count may better fit the more concise definition of a novella. While it may seem like we're being short-changed by Mr. Cook, it is quite the contrary. Not only were two published within the same year, he also published multiple other paperbacks for his P.I. Garret series within the same period of time. That's a busy guy! The titles are: Shadow Games(1989), Dreams of Steel(1990), and The Silver Spike(1989).

With the curtain call of the previous trilogy, all was seemingly well. It is not so. Newly introduced forces struggle for power and survival near the edge of the decipherable globe, only to reveal sinister revenge plots from yesteryear's devilish enemies; a creeping certain doom spreading in every imaginable context.

The same war tactics are held in use. By method they are consistently varied, by formula they are not; a typical zig then zag approach to the quick and doubly lethal kill. The environmentally illustrated medieval cutscene leaves the reader with a greater perception and clearer focus on what hasn't been studied inclusively before, though it may very well be the same picture. Glen Cook has further provided a flowing, well characterized depiction of an enduring, harsher reality containing few, if any, unnecessary drags. Cook will lack somewhat in description, allowing a more complete, vital and energetic read.

Potential themes are: love and loss, the importance of knowing one's own ancestry, sibling rivalry, patience being a virtue and letting the enemy come to you.

Croaker, Lady and Philodendron Case are the main annalists (narrators), depending on the when and where of the action taking place. Each narrator displays their own particular traits, with significant differences in how they feel, think and act during any given situation. For example: Croaker is analytic, cynical and calmly in command; Lady is brutally efficient and cunning but often represses her own needs; and lastly, Philodendron is well-rounded and extremely skilled in combat but must follow others to make the best use of his own versatility. The additional descriptive contours provide a more 'kaleidoscopic' view. Instead of an avalanche of useless information, Cook instead further conveys a constant self-increased dynamic, a widened passive sense of imagination and perception.

Every author is trying to publish works that encompass their own perogative, essentially writing the way they always wanted to read. It doesn't always come out that way. Many writers discard their initial attempts as being rubbish, feeling helpless and unable to construe it in the vision of the target audience. From this perspective and at this point in the timeline of The Black Company, I believe Cook has built a great foundation and grown it in a remarkable way. Undoubtedly, an exciting step in this evolution of story.