The Chronicles of the Black Company
#2604.06 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 12 books Status Ongoing 1984–present Reading commitment High Glen Cook Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
Glen Cook's Black Company (1984–present) follows an elite mercenary company through decades of its Annals, narrated by its physician-Annalist Croaker and his successors, soldiers'-eye, morally gray fantasy that dispensed with heroic archetypes and founded the grimdark lineage (Erikson: 'Glen Cook single-handedly changed the face of fantasy'). A cult classic among military readers. The saga returned in 2025 with a new arc, A Pitiless Rain.
Grimdark, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (12 works) counts toward ranking
The Books of the North Glen Cook
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Black Company | 1984 | core | 3.93 (56,264 ratings) |
 | Shadows Linger | 1984 | core | 4.18 (22,196 ratings) |
 | The White Rose | 1985 | core | 4.20 (22,048 ratings) |
The Books of the South Glen Cook
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Silver Spike; Spin-off following former Company members; grouped with the Books of the South. | 1989 | core | 3.96 (9,717 ratings) |
 | Shadow Games | 1989 | core | 4.11 (13,433 ratings) |
 | Dreams of Steel | 1990 | core | 4.11 (11,510 ratings) |
Includes The Silver Spike (spin-off).
Glittering Stone Glen Cook
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bleak Seasons | 1996 | core | 3.93 (10,253 ratings) |
 | She Is the Darkness | 1997 | core | 4.10 (9,422 ratings) |
 | Water Sleeps | 1999 | core | 4.10 (8,422 ratings) |
 | Soldiers Live | 2000 | core | 4.27 (8,595 ratings) |
A Pitiless Rain Glen Cook
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lies Weeping; Opens the A Pitiless Rain arc (next-generation saga); Tor, Oct 2025. They Cry (book 2) slated Nov 2026, registered upon publication. | 2025 | core | 3.99 (601 ratings) |
Multi-volume arc ('The Orphan's Tale'); They Cry due Nov 2026; two further volumes reported in manuscript.
Port of Shadows (2018) core · 3.85 (2,483 ratings); Interquel between The Black Company and Shadows Linger.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Chronicles of the Black Company? The Chronicles of the Black Company's Core Canon is 12 books.
- What is the reading order for The Chronicles of the Black Company? Publication order, starting with The Black Company. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Chronicles of the Black Company finished? Ongoing (1984–present).
- How much reading does The Chronicles of the Black Company take? High reading commitment (estimated from 12 Core Canon books · ~4,528 pages).
- How is The Chronicles of the Black Company ranked? #260 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 174,944 reader ratings across 12 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #260?
Ranked #260 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.06 across 12 core books.
- Backed by 175k reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.85 to 4.27.
- Less than 0.01 behind #259, Dragon Prince (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 12 books · Ongoing · 175k ratings · Ranks #260 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running grimdark fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (12 Core Canon books)
- Shadows Linger (1984)
- The Black Company (1984)
- The White Rose (1985)
- Shadow Games (1989)
- The Silver Spike (1989)
- Dreams of Steel (1990)
- Bleak Seasons (1996)
- She Is the Darkness (1997)
- Water Sleeps (1999)
- Soldiers Live (2000)
- Port of Shadows (2018)
- Lies Weeping (2025)
Honours
Zero verified major-award record, a noteworthy finding given the series' foundational influence on grimdark and military fantasy (per sfadb, Cook's indexed award activity is all for non-Black-Company works). The 'On the Long Run' short stories (2013–2024) are noted, unregistered pending enumeration.
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Suggestions computed from what The Chronicles of the Black Company and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Forgotten Realms Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.20
- Riftwar Cycle Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.16
- Belgariad Universe Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.14
- The Paksenarrion Universe Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.14
Official resources
- Glen Cook maintains no official website (verified absence). Publisher: Tor/Macmillan catalog pages (fetch-blocked; canonical).
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.06 across 174,944 ratings on 12 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Black Company Core Canon accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia (English) Tier 2
- Black Gate Tier 3
- Grimdark Magazine Tier 3
- sfadb, Science Fiction Awards Database Tier 3
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: All published novels core; the structural rule prevails over fan continuity debates about the interquel.