Fulminata reviewed The Return of the Black Company by Glen Cook
Review of 'The Return of the Black Company' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The continuation of the quest of the Black Company to find their origins as "the last of the Free Companies of Khatovar." Unfortunately, both the Company, and us readers, are stalled within sight of this goal as they must deal with a new war, the politics of both their new employers and their new/old enemies, and other complications.
The conflicts presented in these stories are interesting, but maddening because it's already past time for the "Khatovar" quest to end. If these stories had been presented differently I probably would have liked them better, but I'm ready to get to the end of the "meta-plot" established for these books since the end of the original trilogy.
In fact, the time shifting narrative of Murgen that comprises half of the omnibus is actually quite an interesting technique, but I would have appreciated it more had it been a stand-alone story rather than …
The continuation of the quest of the Black Company to find their origins as "the last of the Free Companies of Khatovar." Unfortunately, both the Company, and us readers, are stalled within sight of this goal as they must deal with a new war, the politics of both their new employers and their new/old enemies, and other complications.
The conflicts presented in these stories are interesting, but maddening because it's already past time for the "Khatovar" quest to end. If these stories had been presented differently I probably would have liked them better, but I'm ready to get to the end of the "meta-plot" established for these books since the end of the original trilogy.
In fact, the time shifting narrative of Murgen that comprises half of the omnibus is actually quite an interesting technique, but I would have appreciated it more had it been a stand-alone story rather than an extension of this whole Khatovar quest arc.
I admit to my personal preferences shading this opinion. I can't stand overarching plots that never get resolved. A trilogy is long enough to tell a story. If you've gone into a fourth book and haven't yet resolved important issues established in the first one, then you've gone too long.
Maybe you'll enjoy this more knowing that you won't get resolution, but I can't recommend it.
