Bleak Seasons

Unlike the first four Black Company books, these later ones seem less like standalone (if subsequent and related) novels and more like episodes in a longer tale. This isn't something I mind, really, but it does mean evaluating a single volume on its own merits is difficult, there not being much in the way of an ending -- or indeed, a beginning -- to this book. It picks up where the duology "Book of the South" left off, its only real claim to being a new series at all being a change in narrator.

And the new narrator, Standardbearer Murgen, is indeed what gives this book its own identity. He's admittedly as cynical as Croaker (though he himself, perhaps, doesn't think so), if less paranoid, but his perspective is very much that of a much show more younger man. Adding further idiosyncrasy to the change in narrator voice, Murgen's consciousness is also being cast back and forth in time throughout the novel due to mysterious forces unexplained. In these flashbacks (which make up the bulk of the novel) we follow him during the long siege that took place during the previous book, while in the later time frames the story continues forward. There is also a small, but vital, subplot of Murgen's falling in love and getting married over the course of this span of time, and I found this well executed (though I would have liked to learn a little bit more about his eventual wife's personality).

The tough guy humour, sardonic remarks and cutting comebacks is as present as with Croaker's books, if not more so, and the pace of the novel -- the odd time jumps aside -- is rather fast, considering most of it is spent stuck in a city under siege. The progressions to the overall storyarc of the series are small but essential, and as the book ends with little to no closure, I'm still on the edge of my seat to continue into the next one. And I expect that to be the case throughout this series until I finally arrive at the last volume, where the ending will retroactively taint or glorify these earlier novels depending on how satisfying I will find it. show less

This series should be bigger than the Wheel Of Time!: An excellent read, though it might be confusing if you haven't read the rest of the Black Company series. No all-powerful characters. Characters you can relate to on some level. This isn't some flowery fantasy ala Eddings. It can be brutal. There is no definite line between Good and Evil...just like in our reality. An excellent series...get them all: The Black Company / Shadows Linger / The White Rose / The Silver Spike / Shadow Games / Dreams Of Steel / Bleak Seasons / She Is The Darkness (to be released Fall 1997)

This book threw me for a loop when I started it. At first, it just seems to be retelling the events of last book from the perspective of those soldiers trapped in Dejagore. But then the narrative jumps to events three years later, and continues bouncing back and forth throughout. Murgen makes for an enjoyable narrator, and while the time-jumping is never fully explained, it's handled well. Murgen "writes" the next volume too, so hopefully there'll be more answers in that book (like what the heck is up with Smoke.)

The Black Company is on one level, standard genre fantasy fare. There isn't much going on other than straight plot exposition (Well, in this particular novel #7 in the series, the time-line is non-linear, but the point holds.) Not much to recommend it other than solid craft and a definite twist on standard good vs. evil morality plays. I consider the Black Company to be epic fantasy that is influenced by Vietnam. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, but no one is fighting for a higher purpose unless they are lying or crazy. It's a bleak and dismal series, in that sense, but in the middle of that bleak and dismal moral setting the choices of the characters have a better chance of being meaning full than when the white-hats smite show more the black-hats.

Anyway, I like it. It stands out compared to standard genre fare but doesn't try to do to much. Maybe that is Cook's secret. He does a few things well, but doesn't try to do too much. show less

I liked this installment of the Black Company saga. The new members added some new personalities, while the old members kept things interesting. Cook does a very good job of slowly turning over the members of the company, which is what you'd expect in such a deadly business. This isn't light fantasy, its very gritty and realistic.

I almost didn't go on after the last book. The Black Company is just not aimed at me. But these last few books turned up in the used bookstore, and it is hard for me to abandon a plotline, so I finally dug in again.

Bleak Seasons is a bridge book of sorts. Cook took six years off after Dreams of Steel, and Bleak Seasons is an alternate viewpoint of much of that time period, as well as a little bit after - introducing a new Annalist, Murgen, who has a tendency to come unstuck in time and space. It's a bit gimmicky, but it works, and actually becomes very useful in the suceeding volumes.

There's a lot more hinting at the True Nature of the Company, but not much is revealed, and otherwise it's a Black Company novel like all the rest - show more grittiness, sneaking, bickering, and bloodshed. It's fine, if that's what you're into. show less

I read the previous book in this series quite a while ago so I had to go back and see how it ended. Definitely on a big cliffhanger, but this book didn’t really satisfy me. I would have to say that Bleak Seasons is the worst of the Black Company books so far. I am hoping that book two of the Glittering will be better. We will see.

This is the first book written in Murgen’s point of view, and I can say that I really didn’t enjoy reading from his perspective. I enjoyed Croaker the most and Lady was a great narrator too, but I just couldn’t get into Murgen’s story. I guess I just don’t know him well enough to make him feel as important as Croaker and Lady, if you know what I mean. Not enough character development before show more switching to him as a narrator. Reading from his point of view just wasn’t that interesting, not to mention that it was incredibly confusing. Apparently, Murgen is under some sort of spell, which forces him to jump though time (back to events that take place in Dreams of Steel) and I thought it was really complicated to figure out in which time I was reading. It was constantly back and forth. Ugh! I guess this was also why I didn’t like reading from Murgen’s perspective. This time shifting just interrupted the flow of the story. Maybe it would have helped if these two different time periods were in separate books. I think that would have made it a little less confusing and an opportunity to add more to the story.

Except for One Eye and Goblin, none of my favorite characters play much of a role in this novel. It was pretty disappointing not being able to read about them. :( Also, One Eye and Goblin weren’t as entertaining as they usually are. Don’t get me wrong. They were still up to their shenanigans, but not like the first few books in the series.

The book does add a little to the story of the Black Company, but this particular book was rather slow and complicated. There were of course some good parts, but most of it was actually kind of boring. I am hoping the pace picks up a little in the next book.

If you are enjoying the series so far I would still suggest reading this one if you want to continue on. I will let you know if the next one is any better! show less