Cook - Bleak Seasons review

Bleak Seasons by Glen Cook continues the tale of the Black Company, the last free mercenary company of Khatovar.

This volume is somewhat confusing. The narrator is Murgen, the stadardbearer for the company. He has taken over the annals "because Croaker is dead, One-Eye won't, and hardly anyone else can read or write." Of course, we know that Croaker is alive and well, but Murgen does not. Murgen is writing during the seige of Dejagore where most of the Company is trapped while Lady builds a new army and Croaker is held captive by Soulcatcher.

The thing that makes this volume so confusing is that Murgen seems to be under a spell which causes him to black out and relive the past. He often wakes up disoriented and wonders where (and when) he is.

It took me a while to get into this volume, largely because of the constant shifting of the story in time and place. Also, some of the early chapters seemed to be rather messy. I think Cook did this intentionally to show Murgen's state of mind and his newness to being the Company annalist. The plot, both during the siege (when the Company had an internal conflict between Mogaba's faction and the old faction led by Murgen) and in the story's present as the Company pursued the war against Longshadow (the last remaining Shadowmaster) is interesting. Both sections of the plot add to the overall tale of the Company.

I think I'm going to like Murgen as the annalist moving forward. The book certainly takes on a different tone, and characters seem different due to his point of view being very different than Croaker's. So, overall, kind of a confusing volume, but it did bridge the gap between the initial disaster at Dejagore and the reformation of the Company.


/ [Viking]

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