Port of Shadows: A Chronicle of the Black Company Marks the Return of a Low Fantasy Legend
In 1984, in an effort to portray fantasy from the level of the military grunt, Glen Cook dreamed up the Black Company, a band of coarse, foulmouthed, and only occasionally sympathetic mercenaries who find themselves working for an evil overlord and her twisted, sorcerous minions. It codified an entire genre of similar works—low fantasy stories with protagonists painted in shades of gray, more commonly known today as “grimdark.”
Port of Shadows: A Chronicle of the Black Company
Hardcover $25.99
Port of Shadows: A Chronicle of the Black Company
By Glen Cook
Hardcover $25.99
Now, 17 years after their last adventure, Cook returns to the Company with an adventure that finds them at the height of their powers. Port of Shadows, the unexpected next entry in the Company’s Annals, feels like reuniting with old friends—both for the Black Company itself, and for the series’ own particular style of reserved epic storytelling. With grim humor, a textured plot, and a cast of antiheroes amiable and interesting enough to hold the whole thing together, this novel is a welcome return to a classic series.
Now, 17 years after their last adventure, Cook returns to the Company with an adventure that finds them at the height of their powers. Port of Shadows, the unexpected next entry in the Company’s Annals, feels like reuniting with old friends—both for the Black Company itself, and for the series’ own particular style of reserved epic storytelling. With grim humor, a textured plot, and a cast of antiheroes amiable and interesting enough to hold the whole thing together, this novel is a welcome return to a classic series.
After an absolutely devastating campaign, the Black Company—a band of 600-odd mercenaries in service to the ruthless overlord known as the Lady—heads for Aloe to prep their next campaign season and recuperate. Their rest is short-lived when the Lady and a loathsome member of the wizards known as the Taken target a young priestess named Tides Elba. While their job against her goes off with minor complications, soon the members of the Company find themselves embroiled in a bizarre mystery involving visions of young women who all look like the priestess, who herself bears an unusually striking resemblance to the Lady. Complicating matters further is the appearance of a cult wishing to use Elba’s power to resurrect the horrifying evil emperor known as the Dominator. In the midst of all of this, the Comany’s members have to stay alive, solve the mystery, put down a rebel insurrection, and, most importantly, do the job and get paid.
The Black Company (Books of the North Series #1)
Paperback $9.99
The Black Company (Books of the North Series #1)
By Glen Cook
In Stock Online
Paperback $9.99
What always set the Black Company books apart is how grounded they are, and Port of Shadows continues that streak—even if it’s a mode of storytelling oft-imitated by many authors who were influenced by Cook’s novels. “Darkness” in a Black Company novel isn’t about a harsh setting where the bad guys are winning and where the effects of magic border on body horror; these books are dark because they’re set among the regular blue-collar people in said universe, who are forced to contend with mad wizards, blood-thirsty rebels, and said horrifying magic.
What always set the Black Company books apart is how grounded they are, and Port of Shadows continues that streak—even if it’s a mode of storytelling oft-imitated by many authors who were influenced by Cook’s novels. “Darkness” in a Black Company novel isn’t about a harsh setting where the bad guys are winning and where the effects of magic border on body horror; these books are dark because they’re set among the regular blue-collar people in said universe, who are forced to contend with mad wizards, blood-thirsty rebels, and said horrifying magic.
That’s not to suggest the Company can’t hold their own; their physician and “annalist” Croaker is once again our narrator, dutifully recounting the efforts of the mercenaries to skillfully unravel the plots around them and contend with the insidious forces who would take them down. But they’re also constantly reminded that they serve in pursuit of coin, and at the whims of employers, who have a penchant for bizarre demands. Though their wizard, One-Eye, routinely tries to scam the Taken and the Lady, none of his fellows see it as anything less than incredibly stupid, and probably suicidal. The lack of agency lends the narrative a sense of inevitable gloom, despite a lack of the unrelenting violence and pessimism that sometimes defines the grimdark genre.
Even given the cynical world and sense of moral ambiguity, Glen Cook takes great pains to humanize his so-called heroes. As a mercenary company, they spend a lot of time either investigating the mystery, or carrying out various side hustles and schemes in the downtime between battles. It’s not wall-to-wall action, but it is fun watching the Company mess with each other. Port of Shadows offers a particularly interesting glimpses of their lives, from Croaker’s laughable attempts to serve as a father to a band of creepy children following the Taken around, to the Company’s discovery that one of their own has been compromised after the man stops cheating at cards. While they may be a group of hundreds of coarse ruffians, the members of the Company are still people, and being reminded of that makes the ambiguity of their missions more interesting.
The Black Company series is one of dark fantasy’s most enduring sagas, as well as the point where the genre first found its voice. Their return has been a long time coming, but it’s a welcome one all the same. Here’s hoping Port of Shadows signifies more adventures for the Company are in store, and soon.
Port of Shadows: A Chronicle of the Black Company is available now.