[Danny Boy]

where oh where do you start with these books,ive looked but cant find the chronological order anywhere.i think there are about ten books so need the oder correct .any help much appreciated

[Erfael]

Wikipedia is my friend. It tells me that the order is:

Novels

1. The Black Company (May 1984)
2. Shadows Linger (October 1984)
3. The White Rose (April 1985)
4. Shadow Games (June 1989)
5. Dreams of Steel (April 1990)
6. Bleak Seasons (April 1996)
7. She Is The Darkness (September 1997)
8. Water Sleeps (March 1999)
9. Soldiers Live (July 2000)

Spin-offs

1. The Silver Spike (September 1989)

Unreleased

1. A Pitiless Rain (TBA)[1]
2. Port of Shadows (TBA)[1]

[tracyt1800]

The first book is "The Black Company".

Here's a listing of the books in the series:
The Black Company (May 1984)
Shadows Linger (Oct 1984)
The White Rose (Apr 1985)
Shadow Games (Jun 1989)
The Silver Spike (Sep 1989) *Spin off ... not part of the main series
Dreams of Steel (Apr 1990)
Bleak Seasons (Apr 1996)
She Is The Darkness (Sep 1997)
Water Sleeps (Mar 1999)
Soldiers Live (Jul 2000)


I've only read through Dreams of Steel. I lost interest during those 6 years before Bleak Seasons.

[tracyt1800]

Erfael beat me to it.

Yes, Wikipedia rocks.

[Danny Boy]

thats both 4 the info,big help:D now to amazon

[Lowlander]

Yes, you do have to start with the original trilogy written in 1984-1985. They're good novels and I think they were essential in the history of dark/military fantasy.

Just remember they were written in the 80's. So don't expect the complexity of George Martin, Steven Erikson or other modern fantasy writers. But then again they have their own charm : a trilogy of three small novels (300 pages each) is rare thing today.

[TheSacredRealm]

Always wanted to read The Black Company but like dannyboy, I never knew the order. Thanks so much for the help...now I can start reading!

[Hobbit]

Wikipedia may be your (and my!) friend.... but there were 7 threads here that discuss The Black Company, some of the posts dating back to 2000.

All of which could be accessed by using the Search function.

To make it simpler, I've merged them into one - link HERE. (http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1396)

Hope they're useful.


Hobbit