Mesdames et Messieurs ! Ladies and Gentlemen ! I am sorry that you had to miss the adventures and excursions of the I.S.S. Rover for an extended time period. The relocation and setting up of a new base is more or less finished. The polishing and fine tuning of the new systems is underway and so I as the captain decided it´s time for a new trip on this last day of august to celebrate the return to “business as usual”. And what better opportunity than this to return to Khatovar and check on our dear friends in the Black Company. So lets see what are Croaker and Co. up to in the Bleak seasons. But before we plunge in let me repeat the usual disclaimer.
This is a (re)read of the series that will encompass the better part of the year as I will be reading one book per month. I will be exploring the world of Khatovar, and as this is at least partly a reread there might be spoilers, so continue reading at your own risk, I did warn you. For the previous posts look up the links included at the end of this one.
Last month we ventured back to north to see what some former Black Company members were doing now that they are not any more affiliated with Croaker and Co., which means that it has been at least two months since we heard of the Black Company for the last time. It was all about taking home the annals of the company to Khatovar, Croakers personal dream. But unfortunatelly some hurdles came up and made the whole trip harder. First, for Croaker and the rest who were born all in the north ( at least in reference to the place of origin of the Black Company ) it came as a surprise that the Black Company – and their return – is feared beyond any reasonable explanation they could think of. Secondly there is a physical obstacle in the form of an alliance and forming empire of the Shadowmasters – wizards whose identity is partly unknown. So the Black Company though somewhat unwillig returned to what they do best: fight against all odds and against seemingly the whole world. Last time we were here the Black Company and it´s allied Taglian forces managed to relieve the siege of the city of Dejagore and dispose in total three of four shadowmasters. So lets see where did they go from there.
So, everyone please strap in, as we are about to launch. The sky is heavily clouded, the wind is blowing we have rain falling on and off, and its some 15-17 °C outside. So get ready for some turbulent times. I`ll be back as soon we are safe on our way. Captain over and out !
Tor Fantasy (1996)
As I´m linking here the cover arts of the first editions of the books in the series, I feel obliged to mention that the style has changed. The earlier volumes had a somewhat cartoonish style that was not always in sync with what was going on in the books. With this new style, I must say that it reflects the mood of the whole series, of Cook´s writing quite more.
But its not the coverart you came here for, so back to Bleak seasons. At first it was confusing to read the book, as the narrator is jumping from present to past and back. But only in narration, but even he himself is time travelling. But as I flipped pages and learned ever more details I became used to it, and then the joy of reading, enjoying the story became smoother also. So who is the narrator ? I said “he”, so its a male. Did Croaker return to keeping the annals ? Why spoil the things so easily ? I will let the narrator introduce himself:
I am Murgen, standardbearer of the Black Company, though I bear the shame of having lost the standard in battle. I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead, One-Eye won’t, and hardly anyone else can read or write. I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force our present predicament to its inevitable end…
Yes, it´s Murgen, our favourite standardbearer, of whom we know virtually nothing. But things will change soon enough. That we have a new narrator – again – didn´t come as a big surprise. Already in the fourth book, The Shadow Games Croaker hinted that he might let Murgen take over as annalist. And not only that, but in the last two books ( at least in the sequence I read them ) we had different narrators: first it was the Lady in the Dreams of Steel, and then we had Case in Silver Spike – and these new voices did please me both times.
So what´s the deal with Murgen ? I must say I like(d) his style. He has seen enough as a soldier to develop that cynicism that we were accustomed to and came to like in Croakers annals, but again Murgen is still young enough to resist it, and let it take over him. And yet I feel like his depiction of events is darker than that of Croaker ( though Croaker did admit that he was trying to shield the readers in his his own way ).
So what is the Bleak Seasons about ? It´s mainly about what happened in Dejagore during the siege, told by Murgen ( what a surprise after I just introduced the new narrator … ). So in the end I do get the whole cultural conflict between the old and new members of the Black Company for which I longed since the fourth book.
This conflict between the Old Crew – led and represented by Murgen – and the Nar faction led by Mogaba gives also a chance to introduce a new factor in the whole “game”: the Nyueng Bao, marsh dvellers from the western part of the continent whose pilgrimage was interrupted by the siege of Dejagore. The Nyueng Bao are caught in the middle of the struggle of the two factions of the Black Company, and they decide to side with the” Old Crew” of Murgen. Their importance and part in the big “Game” will be explained later ( I suppose ) as here they are more of a device to convey informations to Murgen that we, the readers have been made aware of already in the Dreams of Steel.
But why did I put the words between exclamation marks when refered to Murgen and his faction as Old Crew. Well, knowing that Mogaba and the Nar are descendants of former Black Company members who have left far nearer to their place of origin, can´t it be that their practice of human sacrifice might be holding true to some old Company traditions that got lost with missing annals, and wouldn´t this fact warrant calling the Nar the :”Old Crew” insted of using this term for the Black Company members who came from north ?
These parts that deal with the events that hapened inside of Dejagore during the siege makes for an interesting read, and much of character development is accounted for. But it´s not all this book is about. In present – after Dejagore – the things didn´t stop. The abduction of their daughter seems to have far less impact on Lady and Croaker than I would expect. OK, the Deceivers are being chased down and have been all but annihilated, but somehow I was expecting more flare here, instead we get only one scene where we see how does the Black Company ambush a congregation of the Deceivers, and misses just for the hairs breadth to capture Narayan and the child of Croaker and Lady. Though some interesting informations get revealed in the present sections of the book. Like for example that Mogaba has sided with the last remaining Shadowmaster, as did Blade too. Mogaba joining up with Longshadow didn´t come as a surprise, I did expect it. But how did Blade end up on the other side ? It doesn´t get explained here, so I suppose it will get explained in the next book. I´m irritated by this fact, but not as much as it would have frustrated me earlier, With time one gets used to returning dead wizards and unexplained events, one could even quote One-Eye here:
“Kid, why not take this gods given opportunity to excercise your least well honed talent?”
“What ?”
“Be patient, dickhead.”
And thats not all. Soulcatcher continues to interfere with the things though seemingly she is holding herself back. One-Eye is in command of arming the newly built up taglian forces. Goblin is leading a motley crew of some hundred men into the uncharted regions behind the mountains where Longshadow hides. What is he up to ? Are we gonna get some rebel times nostalgia like partisan actions and schemes ? Good ´ol Black Company times ?
And there is also a big-bang like ouverture to the next book. An elite commando of Deceivers attacks the headquarters of the Black Company in Taglios. And though they get wiped out, they manage to wreack havoc, and to kill Murgen´s wife. What?! I didn´t mention that Murgen fell in love with a Nyueng Bao girl, and that he married her ? Oh well, my bad. Now you know. And the scene of her death was a powerful impression and a catalyst for the things again to get rolling, as Croaker decides to engage and set in motion the powerfull machinery of war he built. The Black Company starts a winter campaign against the remnants of the Shadowlanders.
And that´s all folks for the Bleak Seasons, see you all in She is the Darkness; coming up real soon. I hope you enjoyed this new ride just as much like the earlier ones. Till the take care and have fun ! Captain out and over !
Black Company – The Black Company reread part 1
Shadows Linger – The Black Company reread part 2
The White Rose – The Black Company reread part 3
Shadow Games – The Black Company reread part 4
Keshik's excursions 
[…] Bleak Seasons – The Black Company reread part 7 […]
[…] Bleak Seasons – The Black Company reread part 7 […]
[…] Bleak Seasons – The Black Company reread part 7 […]