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/lit/ - Literature

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6065121 No.6065121 [Reply] [Original]

Could I get some thoughts on the Black Company? I'm in the mood for some fantasy, but I have no idea what to get. A friend recommended this to me, is it good by fantasy standards?

>> No.6065129

>>6065121
it's okay

>> No.6065133

>>6065121
it's sort of okay

>> No.6065135

>>6065121
it's not okay with me

>> No.6065146

Absolutely loved the the books of the North, then gradually started losing interest. Put it on hold like book or two before the end.

>> No.6065147

>>6065121
i was okay with it once but not anymore

>> No.6065151

>>6065121
it's kayo

>> No.6065178

The Black Company is absolutely worth a read. It's basically ideal fantasy schlock.

GRRM by comparison is pretty terribly written, and you have to be really in the mood for the kind of medieval soap opera thing it's going for. The world isn't really all that compelling and GRRM just doesn't have a particularly great vision for its "depths," the things beneath the surface that go beyond surface descriptions of different nations/regions and their weird customs and wicked cool warriors. You read it because you care specifically about the character drama.

The Black Company by comparison has a good gritty story and "surface" setting, with a unique enough narrative perspective that it will hook you in from the start, plus a genuine (and genuinely interesting) level of depth that will occasionally shine through and make you want to learn more. GRRM is rarely "tantalizing," but Cook actually knows how to do that. tldr: It's a good fantasy setting.

If you're into fantasy I can't think of a better recommendation than Cook and Tolkien, and maybe Wolfe even though he's technically scifi. But Wolfe can sometimes be too dense and Tolkien too fancy and conceptual, while Black Company hits the spot when you really just need some schlock about guys stabbing wizards.

>> No.6065220

Thanks for the replies, l'll definitely get them.

>>6065146
On hold? Does that mean there are more books coming?

>>6065178
Great write-up, thanks! What are your thoughts on Malazan? I keep hearing about it, but the sheer length of it turns me off.

>> No.6065234

It's okay if you're in the mood for sinister fantasy from the grunts' perspective.

>>6065220
>On hold? Does that mean there are more books coming?
Supposedly there are, but the books currently out form a complete story.

>Malazan
A high-fantasy D&D campaign. Has gods going for it, but not worth reading the whole thing.

>> No.6066935

Black Company also is one of the few series I've read that actually ties up its loose ends and has a very nice ending.

>>6065220
Malazan was inspired by Black Company so there are similarities.

>> No.6067225

>>6065220
read the first few books in the malazan series, if you like it you'll be put off by the short length of it

>> No.6067236

>>6065234
>but not worth reading the whole thing
Well, worth skipping some books on the second half. Specifically Toll the Hounds. Otherwise it's hard not to be compelled to finish it, especially if you get up to Midnight Tides.

>> No.6067495

>>6067225
I'm about a third of the way through the first book of the malazan series. I know the beginning is always confusing because it's introducing all the characters but it is getting so hard to keep the names straight.

It probably doesn't help that I'm skipping around between that book, the steel remains, and the 4th book in the wheel of time series. None of them seem to hold my interest so i'm just bumping around between them.

I think i'd like the steel remains more if it wasn't so full of profanity.

>> No.6067870

>>6066935
I thought that the series isn't even finished?

>> No.6067909

>>6065178
Uh, practically all of this post is ass backwards. GRRM's world is significantly 'deeper' and more compelling than the likes of Cook, Abercrombie etc, and it's not even the best aspect about his series. Partly because it isn't superficial. For all the complaining about the series it's far better than similar works in the genre.

'Terribly written' and 'soap opera' are little more than meaningless meme-tier catchphrases at this point. Martin writes no better or worse than the vast majority of modern fantasy authors, which is to say average. And the only people who genuinely consider it a soap opera have rarely been exposed to things which deviate from the typical fantasy fare of contrived plots and rushing the reader through to plot resolutions.

Read it if you want op, it's ok, unfortunately there isn't a lot out there that's better.

>> No.6067921
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6067921

>>6067909
>etc
That etc better not be including Erikson, buddy.
Because if you think for a second that Westeros compares to Malaz, you either haven't read The Book of the Fallen or haven't fully acknowledged its breadth.

Erikson's world building has yet to be topped by any other fantasy series.

>> No.6067927

>>6067921
It has breadth, not so much depth.
That's typically the problem with modern fantasy. Westeros has the advantage of not only delving in to its inner workings and minutiae, but making them necessary to the thematic approach of the series. It doesn't necessarily make it 'better' overall, but it's sure as hell refreshing to visit a setting that is merely expansive and exotic and lacks more than surface depth.

>> No.6067928

>>6067927
isn't merely expansive*

>> No.6067929

>>6067909
just disregard people who describe ASOIAF as a soap opera, they've never read it and are just basing opinions on the show

>> No.6067954

read it, hardly anything better in fatasy out there, as some other anon stated after the first books it goes downhill quite fast but the first 3 are amazing reads.

also if you want to get into gene wolfe start with the wizard knight and then read book of the new sun

>> No.6068066

>>6065121
It's pretty good.
Militaristic, dark, not that much magic but it's definitely important.

>> No.6069157

>>6067921
Not to defend Le Santa Man but Erikson's world-building is the splotchy-and-yet-flat-est thing I've ever seen in 2+ dimensional space.

This is why there should be a /genre/ board

>> No.6069785

>>6069157
>not defending le santa man against /lit/'s ultra-tard meme shit
It's one of the things killing this board. A /genre/ wont save it.

>> No.6069803

>>6067909
nigga I was watching a soap opera once when I was a kid and someone stuffed a dead body into the pinata at a kid's birthday party

that shit was like five red weddings

>> No.6069816

>>6069803
That shit is like many things. It's Titus Andronicus more than the Red Wedding.