He blends the urban, intimate, slightly seedy tradition of sword & sorcery with the pastoral, epic, expansive tradition of heroic fantasy. I’m not particularly familiar with the history of fantasy, but it does seem that Cook was going against the grain when he produced these novels, writing something new and innovative. This is a bit puzzling considering that the plot of all three of these novels hinges heavily on the existence of, er, an evil sorcerer, but his wider point seems right. Steven Erikson-not part of their stable but part of that cohort-provides a cover quote on this edition of The Chronicles of the Black Company to the effect that Cook "single-handedly changed the face of fantasy" by moving the genre away from clichés like evil sorcerers. They have established themselves as the new school fantasy imprint of choice. Redick and, most recently, presided over Richard Morgan's switch from science fiction to fantasy. (This omnibus first appeared last year from Tor in the U.S.) In the past few years, Gollancz have published Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, and Robert V. It is no surprise that it is Gollancz who are publishing this omnibus of Glen Cook's first three Black Company novels- The Black Company (1984), Shadows Linger (1984) and The White Rose (1985)-in the U.K.
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