Title: The Black Company in Middle Earth
Author: McJunker
Rating: M
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
DLP Category: Misc - Books
Pairing: None
Status: Complete
Crossver: The Black Company/Lord of the Rings
Summary:
In those days, the Company was in service to the Eye of Barad-dur. . .
(16 Chapters)

Personal Score: 5/5

For those that don't know what the Black Company series is:
The Black Company is a series of fantasy novels by author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy and dark fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximately four hundred year history.

From McJunker:
"The Black Company was a story about the lowly soldiers of a stereotypical high-fantasy Dark Lord, and how they viewed themselves and their situation. The Lord of the Rings was the story that pretty much invented the concept of a high-fantasy Dark Lord."

Use some google to look the series up you won't regret it.

I was very suprised by this story when it was first reccomended to me, but it went beyond my wildest dreams. It's written journal style by the annalist(basically the historian) of the Black Company, a mercenary company that's been hired by Sauron to help in the fight against Gondor. It's the story of the invasion and retreat as told by rank and file soldiers and the job was very well done. For those that know the BC series a few liberties are taken as it's set at least a hundred or so years after the main storyline ended, some of the characters and actions are mentioned but we don't meet any of them. Same with the LotR Characters, some are mentioned but this is told from the perspective of those in a trenches (an enemy trench at that) not from the perspective of those with massive powers and magical swords. It Start's just before they take Osgoliath and ends after the traditional ending of LotR.

Spelling: good
Grammer: good
Sentence Structure: good

I'm no english teacher but I've read alot and there was nothing that threw me off from the story. It reads like a journal reads, alot of first-person but with a fair mix of other as well.


Link:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6668903/1/The_Black_Company_in_Middle_Earth

 

I enjoyed this story a lot when I read it and I thought it remained faithful to the tone and character of the original Black Company. It tells the Lord of the Rings story from an interesting perspective, that of a mercenary army in Sauron's employ. Definitely worth reading if you're a fan of The Black Company.

It's a pity McJunker won't be writing much fanfiction for awhile; as I understand it, he enlisted in the military not long ago and I imagine has other priorities now.

I'll give it a 5/5. While not perfect, it's a darned solid effort and it's complete. It definitely merits a spot in the Other Fandoms section of the Library.

 

How many of the books should I read before I read this?

 

You don't have to read any to understand and enjoy the story. There are mention of several characters and events that take place but those things are in no way important to the main storyline. When you read the actual BC series youll reflect and understand why I thought this was a great addition. Remember this story takes place many years after the main storyline for BC comes to a finish.

 

I read it without any knowledge of the books. There are a few moments when things from the books seem to be referenced but it doesn't really affect the overall enjoyment of the story.