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22nd out of 42 books
—
89 voters
Soldiers Live (The Chronicles of the Black Company #10)
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
Paperback, 576 pages
Published
April 15th 2001
by Tor Fantasy
(first published 2000)
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And the sigh of relief is released. It took a lot of effort to make it to this point in the series. The books narrated by Murgen were pretty terrible, and while Sleepy was an improvement, the narrative did not have the same feel to it. In this book Croaker returns to the helm of the narration and rights the sinking ship. The book feels much more like the books of the North and South rather than the previous books of the Glittering Stone. Once again the Company must face off against Kina, while 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 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
I picked up Soldiers Live mostly to sooth my completionist tendencies - I'm not the biggest fan of The Black Company. And Soldiers Live didn't surprise. It is long, tedious, depressing, and poorly plotted. However, it gets an extra star for the ending, which was a) actually a surprise and b) quite a satisfying ending to the long-dragged-out chronicle of Croaker. I am content to believe this is the end of the series, whatever Wikipedia claims, because while Cook could no doubt continue dragging t...more
A fitting end to the Black Company saga (for now?). More than enough battles, intrigue, magic, and plot twists to keep the story and characters interesting for the entire read. However, for some reason finishing the book was more of a relief than a satisfaction - as in, "now I'm finally done with this series". I think this is because even though all the important questions and loose ends are tied up nicely, there's little more than closure here. I suppose that's perfectly in keeping with the ent...more
This finishes out the story arc involving the dark goddess Kina and the South, and it's a very good entry in the series, though a lot of its emotional power (tho by no means all of it) is derived from familiarity with the characters gleaned from previous books. I can't think of a loose end that the book didn't at least touch on. Many, many people die, and some seemingly randomly... But in a way that's realistic for a war, and the characters so disposed of were ones who were just drifting along f...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
I won't spoil the ending except to say that you won't guess it and its exactly the kind of ending this series needed. I felt at times the book was losing focus, but really only because things don't end like fantasy books are "supposed" to end. Sometimes it's messier than all that, and the Black Company books have never followed the tried and true fantasy approach.
I've loved these books.
A fit ending for the series, though it leaves an opening for future books (cross your fingers.) Once again, there's a bit of a jump in time from the end of the previous book, and maybe that and the new locale made starting into the book a little rough for me, but I completely devoured the last couple hundred pages. Strongly recommended, but only if you've read the previous 9 books.
It's nice to have Croaker back, a familiar face among a crowd that is now, at long last, almost 100% changed from the original Company of the first volume. It does underscore just how painfully long the Company has been trudging along down South, and when Croaker laments about feeling old, and how almost everyone he knew is gone, I'm right there with him.
The series ends with a real bang, as Croaker returns as POV character and things get settled in a big way. The conclusion is satisfying so long as you're ready for Cook's gritty realism--not all questions are answered, not all mysteries solved, and not all characters receive the fate they deserve. But how satisfying to see the ones who do!
A fitting and really cool ending to the Black Company story! I have the feeling that some parts were glossed over though. Some important characters deserved better descriptions in their last chapters. I'm talking Mogaba, Soulcatcher, Uncle Doj, Murgen, Sleepy, Willow Swan.
Overall the book series has been good, but not (too) outstanding. The really cool part are the three books of the North. Those I can heartily recommend to anyone. The rest are for die-hard fans that don't mind getting bored eve...more
Overall the book series has been good, but not (too) outstanding. The really cool part are the three books of the North. Those I can heartily recommend to anyone. The rest are for die-hard fans that don't mind getting bored eve...more
A s the final book in a series of 10 this was a bit of a downer. I expected the author to complete the series in a strong and memorable fashion. Instead he kills off most characters and throws an odd and meaningless curveball at the very end. I enjoyed the series but this one disappoints.
the black company series never disappoints me. this is the last of the final four volumes in the ten-volume series. if anything, I like these last four even more than the first six.
The ending was fine, just sorry the story is over. Fairly well wraps up everything you wanted to know about the Company's relevant history.
Full on great finale. Satisfying in Black Company fashion,and a great way to finish if he doesn't get around to writing an more.
In the towering conclusion to the Glittering Plain cycle of the Black Company series, Glen Cook pulls no punches, dealing wholesale destruction on a massive scale...resulting in the violent deaths of many Company staples and important characters. Loved having Croaker back as the Annalist, and loved that the vast majority of story threads are resolved in a satisfying way, while leaving enough up in the air that a continuation of the series would not be impossible. Even if those rumored books neve...more
I wasn't thrilled with the direction the series took toward the end, but this was a satisfying enough conclusion.
This was a great series, the last book was the best!
The great conclusion of the great series.
Definitely didn't see the ending coming in quite the way it did, Glen Cook seems to always spin it just right to at the end. I'm now eagerly looking forward to the next in the series.
Bardzo dobry tom, zdecydowanie lepszy od trzech poprzednich. Ale samego zakończenia i losu niektórych postaci, to autorowi nie wybaczę.
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Good, ended at a good time. The previous three had been so bleak and such a far cry compared to Croaker's heyday with the company. A lot of threads come full circle and I'm glad.
A Black Company Novel from the Glittering Stone. Told From Croakers Point of view. Ends the glittering stone. (Assumably) Ends Croakers involvement with the company.
This is one of the best books of the series. What a great way to end the series. The ending was unpredictable and very well done.
The whole black company series is great and is fun to read. I think this series is one long love story between Croaker and Lady.
A really fine book. I was afraid it was going to be too long but it held my attention all the way through.
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Glen Cook aka Greg Stevens is a contemporary American science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his fantasy series, The Black Company. Cook currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
More about Glen Cook...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook
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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.”
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24 people liked it
“The thing that you know to be true is the lie that will kill you.”
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3 people liked it
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Dec 23, 2009 07:21am