Excellent top quality work once again from Cook. This is easily one of the best trilogies I've read in a while, great from begining to end. ( )

Rebellion brewing.

Having defected to the side of the rebels, the Black Company's remnants are in hiding to protect the woman who will have the important role of The White Rose.

The Third book finds them in a strange dirty place surround by warning guardian stone and flying sky whale type creatures as they plot and plan to come up with a way to stop all sorts of evil sorcerers via the White Rose's anti-magic ability.

While the Company and story's style is no longer new, this is still a fine installment.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )

Grave Doings: This is the third volume of the first of four segments of the 10 volume story of the Black Company (whew!) Unlike many long series, Glen Cook has the knack of always being just inventive enough to maintain a high level of interest without over-amping on any one volume and then running out of plot at a critical moment. The story opens on the final series of conflicts with The Empire, with The Black Company on the side of the good guys for a chance. Hidden away on The Plain of Fear, the last of The Black Company, and other supporters of Darling, The White Rose, carry out what remains of the rebellion. Life is harsh as harsh can be, and they all know that The Lady and her Taken will soon appear and try to squash them like bugs.

Their only secret advantages are Darling herself, who is a Null - magic doesn't work around her - and the Plain itself a vast desert populated with a host of strange and intelligent life forms. Giant whale like creatures sail the skies, giant talking menhirs wander the dunes, stopping only to mutter "There are strangers on the Plain," and an ancient tree guards an even more ancient evil. Life is not good in the tunnels beneath the sand. And someone, somewhere, keeps sending Croaker pages from Bomanz's Diary - the self same wizard who worked the release of The Lady and The Taken, and who no lies trapped in the Barrow Lands in the tangled net that still guards the Dominator and some of his darker friends.

The story continues to alternate between past and present (a favorite Glen Cook device). Gradually we realize that The Dominator is still working on escape and that something evil has worked its way free as the result of Raven's interference in the guardian spells. This time the risk is even worse than that in Shadows Linger. So dire, in fact that The Lady convinces Croaker to get her acess to The White Rose in order to work out a tactical treaty until the big threat is past. This is a Black Company novel, so if you are intuiting a serious blowout, you're right. Everyone gets into the act - rocks, whales, monsters, you name it.

This is a transition volume, bringing most of the loose ends together as preparation for moving into the next phase of the story - the Black Company's ride back into its own history. Much will change, but it is one of Cook's strengths that he can work changes without breaking the reader's concentration. This is one of the few series where neither the writer nor the reader seem to get overtired.

The White Rose, the third novel in the chronicles of the Black Company offers a satisfying conclusion, of sorts, to the adventures of the brotherhood, within this chapter and from the previous two; but tantalisingly, as the finale unfurls, and the action moves apace, and the plot-line closes, also reveals many new beginnings.

Years have passed, and the company is much diminished and holed up in the Plain of Fear, guarding the new White Rose, while the Lady and her minions remain, outwardly, in stasis; and Croaker, sifting endlessly through reams of ancient documents, attempts to find the key to defeat them. Startling incidents, however, occur rapidly in succession in one day - ”the day of the first letter, the day of the Taken, and the day of Tracker and Toadkiller Dog” (p. 24) - until events, past and present, merge inexorably into a final battle; though shockingly, this culmination reveals unforeseen alliances waged against some unexpected protagonists!

As with the other books the story is expressed through the narrative Croaker delivers – with his usual gentle self–deprecation - in his dedicated recording of this latest history for the respected Annals of the company; and as such the viewpoint is his exclusively, with events outside his experience added from his perspective and opinion and observation alone. Thus it is apparent that our physician is a major player in the unfolding drama – as with the droll, amusing communications of the menhirs of the plains specifically aimed at him; to the enigmatic and, at times, frightening and continued personal interest by the Lady herself. This, in itself, provides the core to the outstanding skill of Glen Cook’s writing of this series; offering this solitary point-of-view allows the reader such a personal, intuitive interpretation that curiosity is continually piqued and interest maintained through a myriad of fast-paced, action-packed scenarios and plot twists.

There are so many fascinating aspects to these books: the colourful characters and their flawed but endearing foibles; the stunning and inventive fantastical beasts and dark creations the author inserts into this brilliant construct of a tale – the entities of the Plain of Fear, with the underlying basis for their existence and establishment, are truly magnificent; and the attention to detail within a brevity of words, and a sparseness of prose, ensures a subtlety and a bona fide to the whole composition. And a plot device that works - superbly! All this then, boldly epitomizes the ability of this author to write an exceptional epic, and in far fewer pages than is often the norm these days.

Give me quality over quantity any day – and the taste of more to come!

(Mar 7, 2009) ( )

Once again, I was struck by how different this series is. There are no real heroes. Sure, there is bravery, loyalty, self-sacrifice, brotherhood and humor, but no one character stands out. They all do what they have to do, often reluctantly, depending on the situation. There is one faceless evil, the Dominator, but the rest are in the gray range. Good people do bad things, bad people do good things, but they all think that what they are doing is right. You cannot get any closer to reality then that!

Full Review Here:
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards ( )