検索キーワード： 著者 "Glen Cook" すべてのカテゴリー

The tale again comes to us from the pen of Murgen, Annalist and Standard Bearer of the Black Company. Led by the wily commander, Croaker, and the Lady, the Company is working for the Taglian government, but neither the Company nor the Taglians are overflowing with trust for each other. Arrayed against both is a similarly tenuous alliance of sorcerers, including the diabolical Soulcatcher, the psychotic Howler, and a four-year-old child who may be the most powerful of all.

For four thousand years, the Guardships have ruled Canon Space - immortal ships with an immortal crew, dealing swiftly and harshly with any mercantile houses or alien races that threaten the status quo.But now the House Tregesser has an edge: a force from outside Canon Space offers them the resources to throw off Guardship rule.

It's cold. The wells of power are weakening and the forces of Night grow strong. The gods are real, and still have some power, mostly to do harm. The Instrumentalities of the Night are the worst of these. Piper Hecht, born Else Tage, survived a battle with the Instrumentalities. Now he's Captain-General of the armies fighting a crusade for Patriarch Sublime V. Intrigues swirl around the throne of the Grail Empire, as the imperial family's enemy, Anne of Menand, raises money to help the perpetually indebted Patriarch finance his crusades.

A young boy's dreams of glory and war turn into a bitter nightmare as his father's kingdom is overrun by an invading army. Lost and alone in the woods, he finds an ancient sword that promises him the ability to claim his vengeance. As he begins to take that vengeance, he comes to realize the price that the sword will demand of him. Enemies soon become allies and strange bedfellows abound as the prophesies of an age swirl into chaos.

As Soldiers Live opens, Croaker is military dictator of all the Taglias, and no Black Company member has died in battle for four years. Croaker figures it can't last. He's right. For, of course, many of the Company's old adversaries are still around. Narayan Singh and his adopted daughter - actually the offspring of Croaker and the Lady - hope to bring about the apocalyptic Year of the Skulls. Other old enemies like Shadowcatcher, Longshadow, and Howler are also ready to do the Company harm.

For years, Glen Cook's Black Company series has built a major audience among fantasy fans. Told from the "worm's-eye" view of the soldiers and functionaries who fight in the trenches of vast sorceress wars, this epic has riveted a generation of readers. If the Joseph Heller of Catch-22 were to tell the story of The Lord of the Rings, it might read like the Black Company books.

Croaker has fallen and, following the Company's disastrous defeat at Dejagore, Lady is one of the few survivors--determined to avenge the Company and herself against the Shadowmasters, no matter what the cost. But in assembling a new fighting force from the dregs and rabble of Taglios, she finds herself offered help by a mysterious, ancient cult of murder--competent, reliable, and apparently committed to her goals.

May 1975, St. Louis: In a snow-swept street, a cop finds the body of a man who died 50 years ago. It's still warm. July 1866, Lidice, Bohemia: A teenage girl calmly watches her parents die as another being takes control of her body. August 2058, Prague: Three political rebels flee in to the past, taking with them a terrible secret. As past, present, and future collide, one man holds the key to the puzzle. And if he doesn't fit it together, the world he knows will fall to pieces. It's just a matter of time....

Having risked their lives and souls to capture the fortress of Stormgard, a band of weary soldiers known as the Company witnesses their commander's descent into madness and await the reemergence of their ancient gods.

Two hundred years after nuclear and chemical weapons have nearly annihilated the global population, the last of mankind struggles on in isolated communities. Law and order is carried out by the Political Office, black-clad police who rule through fear and violence, commanding the world's survivors how to think, how to act, and when to obey the call to the Gathering: the ritual massing for war against an unknown and unseen enemy. Now the call has come, and all nations must pay tribute.

For over 40 years, Glen Cook has been among the most well-known, influential, and widely respected authors in science fiction and fantasy. Through classic series such as The Black Company, Garrett P.I., the Dread Empire, Starfishers, Darkwar, and more, his gritty, down-to-earth style left an indelible impression on his listeners around the world, forever shifting the genre landscape and carving out his place as a pioneering icon.

The soldiers of the Black Company don’t ask questions, they get paid. But being “The Lady’s favored” is attracting the wrong kind of attention and has put a target on their backs, and the Company’s historian, Croaker, has the biggest target of all. The one person who was taken into The Lady’s Tower and returned unchanged has earned the special interest of the court of sorcerers known as The Ten Who Were Taken. Now, he and the company are being asked to seek the aid of their newest member, Mischievous Rain.

Il n'en reste plus que sept : Toubib, Gobelin, Qu'un-Œil, Otto, Hagop, Murgen et la Dame, rebaptisée Madame. Jamais dans l'histoire de la légendaire Compagnie noire les effectifs n'étaient tombés si bas. Toubib, archiviste aujourd'hui capitaine, entreprend un retour aux sources, à Kathovar, mythique berceau de la Compagnie. Mais des milliers de kilomètres de jungle et de régions inexplorées la séparent de cet endroit où elle n'a pas mis les pieds depuis des siècles. Pourtant, on ne l'a pas oubliée. Nombreux sont ceux qui l'y attendent...

Le capitaine Toubib est mort. Bien mort ? Rescapée du massacre de Dejagore, Madame crie vengeance. Vaille que vaille, elle regagne Taglios pour lever une nouvelle armée contre les Maîtres d'Ombres qui assiègent toujours la ville défendue par Mogaba et les survivants de la Compagnie noire. Or chaque nuit une mystérieuse force l'assaille et l'accable de visions morbides. Est-ce la voix de Kina, déesse du mal idolâtrée par une secte secrète dont se revendiquent certains de ses proches ?

Réduite à une poignées d'hommes, la Compagnie noire a définitivement changé de camp. Sa nouvelle tâche est de protéger la Rose Blanche, seule capable de vaincre la Dame et ses forces du mal. Mais cette ultime confrontation doit avoir lieu lors du passage de la grande comète... et cette échéance est encore lointaine. Réfugiés dans la plaine de la Peur, un lieu cauchemardesque peuplé d'étranges créatures, les soldats de la dernière des compagnies franches de Khatovar s'apprêtent à subir le plus long siège de leur histoire.

Nous sommes la dernière des compagnies franches de Khatovar. Nos traditions et nos souvenirs ne vivent que dans les présentes annales et nous sommes les seuls à porter notre deuil. Tous les hommes naissent condamnés, disent les sages. Ils tètent le sein de la mort. Son souffle apaise toutes les âmes. Nous avons connu une ville autrefois dédiée à son culte, si vieille qu'elle avait perdu le souvenir de cette consécration. Or il lui fallut affronter une menace plus immédiate : un spectre de jadis qui cherchait à revenir chez les vivants depuis une éminence surplombant la ville.

Depuis des siècles, les souvenirs de la Compagnie noire sont consignés dans les présentes annales. La troupe se loue au plus offrant, et les batailles qu'elle a livrées ont déjà rempli maints volumes. Jamais pourtant elle n'aura traversé de période aussi trouble. Entrée au service de la Dame et de ses sorciers, la Compagnie participe à l'une des plus sanglantes campagnes de son histoire. Les combats incessants, la magie noire qui empuantit l'air.