Language English Number of books 10 | Country United States of America | |
![]() | ||
Published May 1984October 1984April 1985June 1989April 1990April 1996September 1997March 1999July 2000 Media type Print (hardback and paperback) Characters Croaker, Murgen, Tom-Tom, Sleepy, One-Eye, The Captain, Goblin, Silent, Lady, The Lieutenant Genres Fantasy Fiction, High fantasy, Dark fantasy Books Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, The Silver Spike, Bleak Seasons, She Is the Darkness |
Glen cook interview author of the black company series
The Black Company is a series of fantasy novels written by American author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy and dark fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximately four hundred-year history.
Contents
- Glen cook interview author of the black company series
- The black company all their days are numbered
- The Books of the North
- The Books of the South
- The Books of the Glittering Stone
- Spin offs
- Science Fiction Book Club hardcover omnibus editions
- Tor Fiction softcover omnibus editions
- Short stories
- To be released
- Plot summary
- References

The black company all their days are numbered
The Books of the North
- The Black Company: May 1984
- Shadows Linger: October 1984
- The White Rose: April 1985
The Books of the South
- Shadow Games: June 1989
- Dreams of Steel: April 1990
The Books of the Glittering Stone
- Bleak Seasons: April 1996
- She Is the Darkness: September 1997
- Water Sleeps: March 1999
- Soldiers Live: July 2000
Spin-offs
- The Silver Spike: September 1989
Science Fiction Book Club hardcover omnibus editions

- Annals of the Black Company (collects The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose)
- The Black Company Goes South (collects The Silver Spike, Shadow Games, and Dreams of Steel)
- The Black Company: Glittering Stone I (collects Bleak Seasons and She Is the Darkness)
- The Black Company: Glittering Stone II (collects Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live)
Tor Fiction softcover omnibus editions

- The Chronicles of The Black Company (collects The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose) (November 2007)
- The Books of the South (collects Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, and The Silver Spike) (June 2008)
- The Return of The Black Company (collects Bleak Seasons, and She Is The Darkness) (September 2009)
- The Many Deaths of The Black Company (collects Water Sleeps, and Soldiers Live) (January 2010)
Short stories
- "Raker"—appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (August 1982). This was a pre-publication excerpt of chapter three from The Black Company, with slight editing differences to make it stand alone as a short story.
- "Tides Elba"—appeared in Swords & Dark Magic edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders, published by Eos (2010)
- "Smelling Danger: A Black Company Story"— appeared in the Subterranean Press anthology, Tales of Dark Fantasy 2, edited by William Schafer (2011).
- "Shaggy Dog Bridge"—appeared in Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy edited by Jonathan Strahan, published by Solaris (2013)
- "Bone Candy"—appeared in Shattered Shields edited by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt, published by Baen (2014)
- "Bone Eaters"—appeared in Operation Arcana edited by John Joseph Adams, published by Baen (2015)
To be released
- A Pitiless Rain: TBA
- Port of Shadows: TBA
Plot summary
The series follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar, through roughly forty years of its approximately four hundred-year history. Cook mixes fantasy with military fiction in gritty, down-to-earth portrayals of the Company‘s chief personalities and its struggles.
The main chronology spans nine novels, which can be grouped into three sections: The Books of the North recount the Company's dealings with the Empire of Lady; the Books of the South follow the Company on its journey back to its beginnings in Khatovar; Glittering Stone sees the Company achieve victory over its employer's enemies, and move on to its destiny.
Additionally, there is one spin-off novel, The Silver Spike, which follows events concerning former members of the Company and one of its adversaries.