Finished this book today. Absolutely loved it. The beginning was a little hars to get into, but once I did this became my favorite BC book so far

Happy you're back reading The Black Company (not as happy that you're taking a break, though.. And just as Silver Spike was coming up! It's my second favorite after Shadow Linger. Oh well. A read along also sounds like fun). Small correction, the Plane of Fear is explored in Shadow Linger when Whisper flies croacker over it on their way to Oar, not in the first book (that I remember). I had a funny thought -- since Shed's story as presented to us is actually written by Croacker, and we know how fanciful he is with his imagination (see his the Lady fanfic), how reliable is it? It sorta tells you more about Croacker than Shed, really. Also, somewhere down the line he meets Lisa again and says she was the fall of Maron Shed -- but really, wasn't she was more of a victim? Poor girl just wanted out of the baskin... I agree that The White Rose isn't as good as the other books of the north (and that includes the Silver Spike, of course... How did end up considered a book of the south when it literally takes place in the north?), but I personally enjoyed the alieness of the Plane of Fear and all the wierd and nonsensical stuff that went down there. My favorite line in all of Black Company is the brothers who "swear by" the half-girl-half-horse creatures. I'm still cracking up about it! I enjoy your reviews very much (only seen the Black Company and Discworld so far). You're great. More voice acting please.

I enjoyed White Rose the most (out of the original trilogy) for its weirder aspects. Plain of Fear in general. Father Tree. Buried evils. Whole thing with Tracker & Toadkiller Dog. Reminded me of some of the dreamier Elric sequences. I also liked getting more of Lady's perspective. I missed the being part of a unit feel that first book had, but what White Rose gave made up for it in my case.

Really hope you continue this some day.

Please do the other books review, I really enjoy watching your video

I'll be picking up The Black Company next year so I'll catch up this video later.

I too wanted something more from the final fight. Still I really liked the trilogy as a whole and the Silver Spike is a pretty good epilogue. Really drives home the point of how crazy hard it is to kill a Taken. The rest of the series is actually one very long arc which starts kinda weak but it does deliver.

This part of the story really doesn't end until The Silver Spike.

Your channel is really cool. Your knowledge about books is uncanny.

I just stumbled upon your channel and must saw it was a good find :) I'm a big TBC fan and must agree that The White Rose isn't Cook at his best. The ending, I thought, was underwhelming but practical. That kind of situation would warrant being dealt with quickly. Maybe in that sense, Cook gets a little TOO real with things. Practical isn't always entertaining as every Bond villain knows lol

Read this series in the GWOT…even had a plan taken from the first book used in Iraq to success…

Hi, just discovered your channel and would like to weigh in. I read each of the Black Company books as they were released and have read the books of the North quite a few times (more than three, probably less than 15). I consider the books of the North one of the best, most important fantasy series of all time. In the early 1980s there was NOTHING else like the Black Company, nor had there been before (if you can name an older book or series like this, please let me know. I would love to check it out). 1980s fantasy was still largely beholden to Tolkeinisms: Just look at Shannara, Belgariad, Thomas Covenant. The Black Company was nothing like that. Sure there was a Dark Lord and his intimidating minions, but there were no MacGuffin Quests with the One Forbidden Item which would undo all the evil. No farm boys who were secretly orphaned princes with a prophecized destiny. No instead, we got missives from the trenches. Just regular soldiers, cynical and frequently world-weary but at the same time the literary embodiments of the credo of Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade. As such, the Black Company has much more in common with Apocalypse Now than it does Earthsea. But about the White Rose specifically. It is the best book in the original trilogy. The development of the characters takes on entirely new hues and depths from what had been established in the previous books. The unexplained parts of the Plain of Fear are all the more marvelous because they remain unexplained. You might as well complain about the thing buried under Father Tree and how there should be a prequel series about that if you need to have every single thing about the world explained. The abiding mysteries of the Black Company world are to its credit, not debt. I cannot fathom how anyone who made it this far could be disappointed by that climax. There are two kinds of plans: plans that might work and plans that will never work. Throughout the series, the Black Company always tried to operate in the first category and the final showdown was no different. When I read this, when I still read this, I can feel the puissant menace of the Dominator. The very methodicalness in which they take down this preternatural evil I had never seen done in a fantasy series before. And rarely since either and I find it immensely satisfying. So that is my defense of the White Rose. Thank you for reviewing this series. It deserves to be kept alive for younger readers. It is much more than military fantasy or one of the progenitors of Grimdark.

I may pick up this series, but--especially considering how many series I have going right now--I think I'll wait till I finish Malazan.

Just read the books of the north, then picked up port of shadows before I move on to the books of the south, and I gotta say I really enjoyed port of shadows. Did you read it yet?

book 3 is a set u for the silver spike !

The first book was rough for me, I finished it but was really confused but not in the way confusion can excite me. So I doubt I will ever keep going but this video was worth watching just for the rock voices 😂

I might have to dig these out again after I finish Malazan. Female character who is very alone and afraid of betrayal sounds very familiar.... I enjoyed them the first run through but there was some strangeness. I believe Spike while 4th in printing is more of a stand alone. But the Ten are awesome villians. Sure, why not cut off my head and graft it to a golem body. (I dont recall which book that was in).

Hitting the brakes, you said SPOILERS, so I'll have to come back!

I read and still own the first three books of The Black Company. I loved the first book, but the sad weirdness of The White Rose didn’t work for me, so I decided not to continue with the series. The deflating balloon analogy is perfect. Would you recommend continuing on the basis of the later books? Great review! Thanks, Allen!

Personally I'm torn between Bleak Seasons and the White Rose for least favorite of the entire Black Company series. Bleak seasons(no spoilers), is generally pretty confusing in terms of timeline during it.