Justin's Notes
Sep. 23, 2025
This book is a collection of the first three novels in the Black Company series, titled The Black Company, Shadow's Linger & The White Rose. These three stories make up the first story arc, which I believe is also referred to as the Books of the North. You follow a group of mercenaries hired out to do the bidding of whoever will pay them through the eyes of their physician, Croaker. Cook has written an intriguing and encapsulating epic/dark fantasy that I have to believe inspired and paved the way for a lot of 21st-century dark fantasy.
This book was great. Even though all three novels felt a bit different to me pacing-wise, it made them all feel unique while obviously weaving into one large epic story. The amount of characters Cook is able to write without any of them feeling half-baked or set to the side is pretty remarkable to me. The relational tensions and quirks the company members had with each other brought humor and heartache throughout the book. I especially liked Silent, a sorcerer who had given an oath at some point in his past to never speak. I also thought the antagonist faction in this story was incredibly interesting and a bit unique compared to things I have read. I loved that there were battling antagonists throughout time and how the Black Company fell on a line between being the antagonists themselves or working for the good of the world.
One small encouragement if you decide to read this book. I felt that Cook throws you straight into the world without much world-building, and there are a ton of characters right away. I think he puts some of the work on the reader to build the world and connect the characters instead of hand-holding you through it. I loved it, but it was a bit of a challenge to get into. So don't give up if the first book feels a little dense or hard to follow at times. As I have said, I thought all three books were fantastic, but the first book was not a quick read for me. I had to spend some time re-reading and flipping back pages to remember who was who and what was what. The world is quite vast, and even the inner company you get to know is rather large, but I think the payout is absolutely worth it.
If you love fantasy and you at the least don't mind fantasy darker in tone, I definitely recommend this book and series. I really enjoyed it, especially Shadow's Linger. It was my favorite of the three. I loved how Cook took what felt like an offshoot side story and turned it into a pivotal part of the main arc.
