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Soldiers Live (The Chronicles of the Black Company #9)
by
Glen Cook
When sorcerers and demigods go to war, those wars are fought by mercenaries, "dog soldiers," grunts in the trenches. And the stories of those soldiers are the stories of Glen Cook's hugely popular "Black Company" novels. If the Joseph Heller of Catch-22 were to tell the story of The Lord of the Rings, it might read like the Black Company books. There is nothing else in fan
...more
Mass Market Paperback, 566 pages
Published
April 15th 2001
by Tor Fantasy
(first published April 2000)
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This is the best book I've ever read. If you think of the movies, "The Godfather" 1 and 2, and think of your favorite scenes. If the Black company series were "The Godfather" 1 and 2, this book contains all of your favorite parts.
I could gush for pages and pages and pages about how good this book is. Let me instead focus on a couple specific elements.
One of the best things about the Black company is their ability to take someone prisoner or hostage, and after hanging out with the company for a ...more
I could gush for pages and pages and pages about how good this book is. Let me instead focus on a couple specific elements.
One of the best things about the Black company is their ability to take someone prisoner or hostage, and after hanging out with the company for a ...more
Series: 11/27/2005 5/10
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensiona ...more
The Black Company series' premise was very interesting - a gritty dark take on the ins and outs of a military company in a fantasy world. It didn't really live up to expectations though. I would've preferred to see more of the company rather than the focus on one individual. The series definitely has it's ups and downs. Some books are decent and others are pretty bad - it seemed to get worse as it went on. The plotting was pretty poor and the characters were one-dimensiona ...more
Upon finishing Soldiers Live, I had mixed emotions:
On the one hand, there was a sense of relief at finally grinding my way to the end of the Black Company's saga. After the first 3 novels, it started to feel less like reading for pleasure, and more like an unpleasant chore I needed to put behind me.
On the other hand, there was a sense of sadness, of leaving old friends behind after a long journey.
Never mind that, after 30 years of fighting and betrayal, precious few of those "friends" had made i ...more
On the one hand, there was a sense of relief at finally grinding my way to the end of the Black Company's saga. After the first 3 novels, it started to feel less like reading for pleasure, and more like an unpleasant chore I needed to put behind me.
On the other hand, there was a sense of sadness, of leaving old friends behind after a long journey.
Never mind that, after 30 years of fighting and betrayal, precious few of those "friends" had made i ...more
This is a buddy read with my Company brothers (sisters) Cleaver, Erratic, and Slowpoke. After all the battles we have been through I would trust any one of them to guard my back in a tight spot.
“Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.”
No matter how many time I read this, the quote above still gives me chills. As you can see one of the main themes of the book is the survivors guilt. It is brilliantly devel ...more
“Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.”
No matter how many time I read this, the quote above still gives me chills. As you can see one of the main themes of the book is the survivors guilt. It is brilliantly devel ...more
I feel as if I ran a marathon. I did it!!! I am happy. I am proud. I am satisfied.
and I never want to do it again!
It was good. It was great! It was cool and epic and I am fine with the ending.
The very big list of bad guys needing to be killed was taken care of. It was not in a Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch manor that I was hoping for, but they get dead, and THAT was the goal.
The good guys? Well, it is a war - so what do you want? They can't all have a fairytale ending. Soldiers live and ask why. ...more
and I never want to do it again!
It was good. It was great! It was cool and epic and I am fine with the ending.
The very big list of bad guys needing to be killed was taken care of. It was not in a Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch manor that I was hoping for, but they get dead, and THAT was the goal.
The good guys? Well, it is a war - so what do you want? They can't all have a fairytale ending. Soldiers live and ask why. ...more
Glen Cook has done it again. You can tell, when you see that name and the words Black Company' on a novel, that you are in for a good time. Mr. Cook knows what fans of this series like, and he is able to deliver it, consistently. Soldiers Live is said to be the last in the Black Company series of novels. I, for one, am sad. It's nice that a series actually has a closing, which too few fantasy series have these days. However, the Black Company has never been a regular fantasy series. It has an ed
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A weirdly quiet and sedate ending to the entire series.
It's great that we have Croaker back so the series begins as it ended, but the plot is just too odd and incomplete. Everything happens too easily - I began worrying as I started the book, there were too many loose ends and nothing set up for a grand ending, and that's exactly what happened. We have the Black Company at the start overpowered as usual, as it has since Smoky started napping, with the further assistance of an even more overpower ...more
It's great that we have Croaker back so the series begins as it ended, but the plot is just too odd and incomplete. Everything happens too easily - I began worrying as I started the book, there were too many loose ends and nothing set up for a grand ending, and that's exactly what happened. We have the Black Company at the start overpowered as usual, as it has since Smoky started napping, with the further assistance of an even more overpower ...more
This is a review of the series. The books mainly focus on soldering in a fantasy army. The magic system is light on details and the overall knowledge of the world left me wanting more. I commend the series for its action based approach based on the "Black Company" point of view. Recommend the first few books more than the continued saga but I did read it all. If you want to read a fantasy series full of romantic intrigue then this is NOT the series for you. If you like books about soldiering whe
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Well, that was an amazing conclusion to 9 books (so far). Wrapping it up feels like a major achievement.
I just feel it was a bit rushed with wrapping up stories of various characters involved in the story, basically in last 100 pages most characters mostly get killed off right out of the blue.
We do get left with one mystery, though. Was the main villain truly evil? I wonder if we'll ever know.
I just feel it was a bit rushed with wrapping up stories of various characters involved in the story, basically in last 100 pages most characters mostly get killed off right out of the blue.
We do get left with one mystery, though. Was the main villain truly evil? I wonder if we'll ever know.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
This book is the culmination of all the Taglian centered Black Company novels. It is a fitting end to the book of Croaker, as we have slowly seen the old guard phased out over the novels since the White Rose.
Much to my enjoyment, Croaker is finally back as Company Annalist. Too old to be Captain, he has returned to his old duties as medical expert as well. As much as I enjoyed Sleepy's narration in Water Sleeps, it was nice to come full circle for this last chapter. ...more
This book is the culmination of all the Taglian centered Black Company novels. It is a fitting end to the book of Croaker, as we have slowly seen the old guard phased out over the novels since the White Rose.
Much to my enjoyment, Croaker is finally back as Company Annalist. Too old to be Captain, he has returned to his old duties as medical expert as well. As much as I enjoyed Sleepy's narration in Water Sleeps, it was nice to come full circle for this last chapter. ...more
Life is never like a canal, flowing gently through a straightforward and predictable channel. It is more like a mountain brook, zigging and zagging, tearing things up, sometimes going almost dormant before taking an unexpected and turbulent turn.
The Black Company returns from the Plain of Glittering Stone, and old and new enemies alike are ready for them. The time for the last battle has finally come, and blood and death await before the walls of mighty Taglios.
Soldiers Live was far from the bes ...more
The Black Company returns from the Plain of Glittering Stone, and old and new enemies alike are ready for them. The time for the last battle has finally come, and blood and death await before the walls of mighty Taglios.
Soldiers Live was far from the bes ...more
Good thing about reading an older series is that you can binge and not have to wait the requisite year or so (atleast it seems that way lately) until the next one comes out. That's about all I have on this series. From the 1st book to the last my ratings for it have steadily declined (5 stars for 1st; 4 stars for next three; rest have been 3 stars). Major gripe would be that it is one thing for characters to evolve over the course of a few books (or over a few years of story timeline) but anothe
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Dec 01, 2014
Athena Shardbearer
rated it
it was amazing
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In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.
Awww man...this is my favorite series, and you know a series has made a major impact on you when you cry at the end of the last book.
Awww man...this is my favorite series, and you know a series has made a major impact on you when you cry at the end of the last book.
Soldier's Live is the final book in the Glittering Stone cycle story arc of Glen Cook's Black Company series. It lived up to all my hopes and expectations. It delivered shock twists and turns, emotional scenes involving some old favorites, and good conclusions to almost all of the long term ongoing story arcs.
Croaker returns as annalist of The Black Company for the first time since Shadow Games and proves again why he is the best of the Company's many annalists. His wry wit and devotion to Comp ...more
Croaker returns as annalist of The Black Company for the first time since Shadow Games and proves again why he is the best of the Company's many annalists. His wry wit and devotion to Comp ...more
Nostalgic is how I feel after finishing the last book of black company.I have started missing the guys from the company already,although Cook has said there are two more books for the black company coming out but I think, it has been more than a decade since the series has finished, and I find it hard believing that Cook will ever publish them.
Cook has managed to tie off all the loose ends in this book superbly, as far as I am concerned this is how a series should end, where in the reader gets t ...more
Cook has managed to tie off all the loose ends in this book superbly, as far as I am concerned this is how a series should end, where in the reader gets t ...more
Raamatut lugedes tekkis tunne, nagu tahaks autor sarjaga lihtsalt kiiresti ühele poole saada. Probleemid põhimõtteliselt lahenevad ise ja suurem enamus tegelasi saavad üpriski mõttetutel viisidel surma. Nõrk lõpp heale sarjale.
Wow! This must be one of the best endings I've read in fantasy series. Mind blowing! And I did not see it coming until I was there. Kudos Mr.Cook!
Fitting conclusion to this awesome dark fantasy series. This book is filled with action and suspense, grim and exiting events. Intense and very hard to put down to the very end.
I will miss you my friends!
Incessant wind sweeps the plain. It murmurs on across grey stone, carrying dust from far climes to nibble eternally at the memorial pillars. There ar ...more
Fitting conclusion to this awesome dark fantasy series. This book is filled with action and suspense, grim and exiting events. Intense and very hard to put down to the very end.
I will miss you my friends!
Incessant wind sweeps the plain. It murmurs on across grey stone, carrying dust from far climes to nibble eternally at the memorial pillars. There ar ...more
And so it ends, an incredible journey spreading form the Northern part of the World to its most Southernmost tip. When finished with the last page of Soldiers Live, you are left with a heavy heart thinking about the wonderful journey you had with the exemplary characters. And at the end you are also left with a smile as most characters get what they want.
The Chronicles of the Black Company is primarily the story of the mercenaries enlisted with different masters and the wonderful plot comes sec ...more
The Chronicles of the Black Company is primarily the story of the mercenaries enlisted with different masters and the wonderful plot comes sec ...more
*** 5+++++ ***
A buddy read with the most bad ass mercenaries at the BB&B Company!!!
What an amazing end to a series that had me on a military march from book one in the North, to the wilds of the South and the brinks of the Glittering Stones Plain.... Croaker, Lady, Catcher, One Eye and Goblin became my friends, family, comrades in arms.... Even favorite enemies will leave me with an emptiness in my heart now that our paths have to part ways... No series I have read has left me simultaneously ...more
A buddy read with the most bad ass mercenaries at the BB&B Company!!!
What an amazing end to a series that had me on a military march from book one in the North, to the wilds of the South and the brinks of the Glittering Stones Plain.... Croaker, Lady, Catcher, One Eye and Goblin became my friends, family, comrades in arms.... Even favorite enemies will leave me with an emptiness in my heart now that our paths have to part ways... No series I have read has left me simultaneously ...more
Wonderful ending to a great series. The last page will stay with me for a long time.
Side note: all through the book I thought the author was making mistakes in viewpoint when he moved away from Croaker and talked about what other people were thinking. At the end, you find out why it wasn't a mistake.
Side note: all through the book I thought the author was making mistakes in viewpoint when he moved away from Croaker and talked about what other people were thinking. At the end, you find out why it wasn't a mistake.
Soldiers live. And wonder why.
This is both the title and theme of this very melancholy book which ties up the whole Black Company series arc beautifully, satisfyingly, and oh-so-heartbreakingly. The omnibus edition which contains this book is called The Many Deaths of the Black Company. I'd hoped that was an exaggeration. It wasn't. And yet I have no complaints, no regrets. Even as I mourn for beloved characters, everything that happened felt inevitable and "right," because Glen Cook is such ...more
Oct 03, 2016
✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
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This is the Last Instalment in the Series Sob Sob Sob Buddy Read (TitLIitSSSSBR) with my fellow mercenaries Evasive, Slowpoke and Cleaver
Actual rating: 20 million stars. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm okay. This was the last instalment in the best series that ever was and ever will be, but I'm okay. It's not like I'm in mourning or anything. Oh no. And it's not like my life has been nothing but despair, gloom, sorrow and emptiness since I finished reading thisMostest Gloriousest Piece of F
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Actual rating: 20 million stars. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm okay. This was the last instalment in the best series that ever was and ever will be, but I'm okay. It's not like I'm in mourning or anything. Oh no. And it's not like my life has been nothing but despair, gloom, sorrow and emptiness since I finished reading this
A perfect end to an amazing series.
Soldiers live, and wonder why. It is immortality of a sort.
This was as happy a ending as one could expect from a series bent on making the reader unhappy.
A very good read if you are a fan of grimdark
This was as happy a ending as one could expect from a series bent on making the reader unhappy.
A very good read if you are a fan of grimdark
So comes the end of the Black Company Series. I became so attached to some of the characters throughout this epic series that they almost felt like friends. They have made me laugh and they have made me cry. I was not totally happy with how this last installment ended but I was totally satisfied. Soldiers Live!! Happy reading everyone :)
Memory is immortality of a sort.
The ending made me cry. Ugly cry. 'Nuff said.
The ending made me cry. Ugly cry. 'Nuff said.
Surprisingly satisfying ending(maybe) to the series, most story lines are nicely wrapped up, but a couple are open ended enough if Glen Cook actually does write a couple more books.
9/7/16: Conclusion to the series. Nice finish.
The best book in the series and the great ending for this epic.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy Book Club...: * Soldiers Live (The Chronicles of the Black Company #10) | 2 | 23 | Nov 08, 2013 11:48PM | |
| Influences from Vietnam War | 1 | 13 | Nov 06, 2013 10:46PM |
Glen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with m
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The Chronicles of the Black Company
(1 - 10 of 11 books)
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“Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.”
—
58 likes
“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.”
—
10 likes
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