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Books Like The Black Company

15 books Each one shows who backs it By Sandro Andreatta, historian Updated

Glen Cook’s mercenaries serve a sorcerous tyrant and try to stay loyal to each other, told by their physician and annalist, Croaker. If that is what you want more of, every book below was recommended to Black Company readers by a book site or book creators, or is read by the same readers on Goodreads. Each card says which, and what is different. The list is spoiler-free.

Soldiers, mercenaries and compromised service

Cover of Gardens of the MoonGardens of the Moon

Gardens of the Moon

Steven Erikson Start with Malazan Book of the Fallen, book 1 (ten books, complete)

Like The Black Company
an empire’s soldiers fight campaigns in a world thick with gods and mages, with soldiers at the center.
The difference
a vast ensemble and a much bigger, more complicated story than a company chronicle.
Awards
World Fantasy Award nominee, 2000.

Recommended by

  • Instagram: @griffincooperfantasy (lists it with The Black Company in a military fantasy starter kit)
  • Readers on Goodreads (first on The Black Company’s list)
Cover of The HeroesThe Heroes

The Heroes

Joe Abercrombie Standalone in the First Law world

Like The Black Company
three days of battle seen by exhausted veterans and failing commanders, and the gap between reputation and the fighting.
The difference
one battle from many viewpoints, with less sorcery; it follows the First Law trilogy, so newcomers miss some returning characters.
Awards
British Fantasy Award and David Gemmell Legend Award nominee, 2012.

Recommended by

Also onMilitary Fantasy Books

Cover of Kings of the WyldKings of the Wyld

Kings of the Wyld

Nicholas Eames Start with The Band, book 1

Like The Black Company
retired mercenaries reunite for one last job, fighting through a monster-filled forest to a besieged city.
The difference
warm and funny where Cook is terse and bleak.
Awards
David Gemmell Morningstar Award for best debut, 2018.

Recommended by

Also onMilitary Fantasy BooksBooks like Dungeon Crawler Carl

Cover of The Daughters’ WarThe Daughters’ War

The Daughters’ War

Christopher Buehlman Prequel to The Blacktongue Thief

Like The Black Company
one soldier’s survival in a long war, inside an untested all-women unit fighting goblins with war corvids bred for combat.
The difference
a soldier’s memoir with no overarching plot, and the violence is graphic.

Recommended by

Also onMilitary Fantasy Books

Cover of Savage LegionSavage Legion

Savage Legion

Matt Wallace Start with Savage Legion, book 1

Like The Black Company
a seemingly perfect empire hides disappearances, and a woman joins its expendable fighting unit to search for a missing lawyer.
The difference
an empire’s throwaway conscripts rather than a professional company.

Recommended by

Cover of In the Eye of HeavenIn the Eye of Heaven

In the Eye of Heaven

David Keck Start with In the Eye of Heaven

Like The Black Company
a disinherited nobleman becomes a sellsword, working for cruel employers while he tries to win land of his own.
The difference
one knight-errant’s story, not a company’s.

Recommended by

Darker and stranger

For the moral murk and the sorcery. Readers of The Black Company on Goodreads rate these highly.

Cover of The Blade ItselfThe Blade Itself

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie Start with The First Law trilogy, book 1

Like The Black Company
grim, funny and full of people who are hard to sort into heroes and villains.
The difference
more interior access to its characters, and slower to reach the battlefield.
Awards
Compton Crook Award finalist, 2008.

Recommended by

  • Instagram: @gennareading (lists it with The Black Company among grimdark picks)
  • Readers on Goodreads (on The Black Company’s list)

Also onBooks like Red RisingBooks like The Poppy WarBooks like Dungeon Crawler CarlBooks like Powder Mage

Cover of The Darkness That Comes BeforeThe Darkness That Comes Before

The Darkness That Comes Before

R. Scott Bakker Start with The Prince of Nothing, book 1

Like The Black Company
a holy war gathers armies and sorcerers in a world haunted by a past apocalypse.
The difference
philosophical and very bleak; readers flag disturbing sexual content in the wider series.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (second on The Black Company’s list)

Also onMilitary Fantasy BooksGrimdark Fantasy Books

Cover of The Blacktongue ThiefThe Blacktongue Thief

The Blacktongue Thief

Christopher Buehlman Start with Blacktongue, book 1

Like The Black Company
a world scarred by goblin wars, and a veteran soldier, Galva, as a companion.
The difference
an adventure narrated by a talkative thief, not a campaign chronicle.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (on The Black Company’s list)
Cover of The DevilsThe Devils

The Devils

Joe Abercrombie Start with The Devils, book 1

Like The Black Company
a mission team of monsters and killers, with violent action and black humor.
The difference
a mission team rather than army service.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (on The Black Company’s list)
Cover of Heroes DieHeroes Die

Heroes Die

Matthew Woodring Stover Start with The Acts of Caine, book 1

Like The Black Company
extremely violent and morally dark.
The difference
a science-fiction frame, and very graphic violence, including rape and torture by the villain.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (on The Black Company’s list)
Cover of Prince of ThornsPrince of Thorns

Prince of Thorns

Mark Lawrence Start with The Broken Empire, book 1

Like The Black Company
a band of killers led by a ruthless antihero.
The difference
Jorg’s cruelty is the point, so don’t expect warm camaraderie.
Awards
David Gemmell Morningstar Award nominee, 2012.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (on The Black Company’s list)

Also onGrimdark Fantasy Books

Sieges and last stands

Readers who loved these on Goodreads also loved The Black Company.

Cover of LegendLegend

Legend

David Gemmell Start with Legend (the first Drenai novel)

Like The Black Company
soldiers facing impossible odds: the aging warrior Druss joins the defense of a fortress against an overwhelming army.
The difference
heroic where Cook is cynical.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (readers who loved Legend also loved The Black Company)

Also onMilitary Fantasy Books

Cover of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled CitySixteen Ways to Defend a Walled…

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

K. J. Parker Start with The Siege, book 1

Like The Black Company
a military narrator gives a dry, close account of compromised service.
The difference
an engineer improvising a siege defense, with no sorcery.

Recommended by

  • Readers on Goodreads (readers who loved Sixteen Ways also loved The Black Company)

Also onMilitary Fantasy BooksBooks like The Tainted Cup

From the author of this site

Only the Banners Change

Sandro Andreatta

By the author of this siteFree novelette

Read it for
Cossack-style frontier war, gritty humor, defiance against empires, pike-and-shot warfare, and magic that costs the one who uses it.
Heads-up
Not a full campaign. It's an introduction to the world of the Witch Field, not a full book. It's a novelette about a community that must decide whether they welcome one empire to get rid of another.
Read it free

The Witch Field — Acceptable Loss

Sandro Andreatta

By the author of this siteComing 2027

Four years after her student, the chosen one, died when the witch field collapsed above him and destroyed a city, Witch-Major Irena Vahn is exiled to a fort on the eastern frontier. There she finds the same magical pattern that killed him, and a military system prepared to sacrifice the people it exists to protect.

Like The Black Company
the view from inside an army that is willing to spend its own people, with soldiers, engineers and officials each seeing part of what is happening.
The difference
pike and shot rather than sorcerous empires, and an investigation by a veteran witch-major instead of a company chronicle.
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FAQ

What should I read after The Black Company?

For more soldiers in a world of gods and mages, Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. For one battle seen by the men fighting it, Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes.

Are there books like The Black Company that are less bleak?

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames keeps the mercenaries and the loyalty and adds warmth and humor. Gemmell’s Legend is heroic where Cook is cynical.

Did Glen Cook write anything else like it?

Cook’s Garrett P.I. novels, starting with Sweet Silver Blues, are noir fantasy mysteries rather than war stories. See our page of books like The Tainted Cup.

Sources

  • Recommendations: the article and posts linked on each card; Goodreads “Readers who enjoyed … also enjoyed” lists for The Black Company, Legend and Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City.
  • Book descriptions and awards: the linked article, the site’s book catalog and the Science Fiction Awards Database (sfadb.com).

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