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glencook-fans-digest     Saturday, August 19 2000     Volume 01 : Number 019




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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 14:12:01 -0700
From: "JM Rhodes" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: (glencook-fans) Enough on Jordan!

When exactly did this change to a semantics and etymology discussion list?
I'm not one to complain about off-topic stuff usually, in fact, it is
ordinarily enjoyable to a degree, but this seemed to push even my
boundaries.

And, yes, the use of cycle is appropriate in this case... not that it really
matters.

John

- -----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail]
[mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf Of Steve Harris
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 10:13 AM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (glencook-fans) Enough on Jordan!


Christopher,

I think my usage "cycle" was pretty clearly right where you put it:

"a series of narratives dealing typically with the exploits of a
legendary hero"

I make bold to use the word "cycle" for something which pretends to be
legendary (as the Black Company is in the fictional world it inhabits),
rather than something which really is legendary in the real world; but the
literary category seems to me to fit.

"I would have to question whether or not it is on any "journey
of moral discovery." Perhaps if we can have anti-heros we can also have
journeys of immoral discovery, or more accurately, amoral discovery."

I was using "journey of moral discovery" in a broadened sense of the word
"moral", meaning "having to do with the subjects appreciation of its the
subject's place in the universe".  Thus, it could just as easily be
immoral or amoral as "moral" in the narrow sense "fitting to a prevailing
ethical standard".

It strikes me that that sense of its place in the world is very much an
important element in the whole saga--a sense which does, indeed, change
considerably over the course of years.  In Beryl, the Company is nothing
more than a group hiring out to the highest local bidder, with not even a
fully operational sense of staying bought.  In the course of the the years
in service to the Lady, the officer corps rethinks this position and,
remarkably, is able to sell it to the rest (well, to the long-term brothers
who manage to escape from Juniper):  They worry about whose side they are
on,
in terms of which side will be better for the world, should it win.

"The Company" consists solely of a handful, having participated fully in
that
decision, by the time they head south.  The reformulated company in the
south
is shaped largely in Croaker's moral vision--a strong sense of connection to
the history of the company, stronger than what had prevailed in the north.
Most importantly, Croaker's vision of a journey--of going on to Khatovar--is
accepted by the Company; and, what is more, it is willing to thrash
objectively
bad guys to get there, and to visit some measure of vengeance on anyone else
who stands in their way or betrays them, but it is has no conception of
selling
out to just anyone.  The war against the Shadowmasters is perceived not just
as pushing through "those guys in our way", but as positive good that they
are
accomplishing for the people of the region.

The Company under Sleepy is formulated largely around revenge and saving the
Captured--a different moral vision than has heretofore motivated the
Company,
more narrowly focused than in the preceding years.  There is a change yet
again, in the years spent in other planes, which we see only out the corners
of our eyes, since we follow more the actions of the rescued Old Crew than
we
do of Sleepy's command.  But the change is very evident.  It has two
components (not altogethr compatible, and this may be a structural weakness
in the last book):

1) Saving The World (from the shadows off the plane)--and this means
Sleepy's
and Croaker's world, not necessarily any other

2) Going Aviking--a raid in force on another world (Sleepy's), followed by
retreat home.

The sense of moral journey is not entirely invested in the Company; the
most interesting journey, and the only one that is satisfyingly progressive
is that of Croaker (though Lady's is interesting as well).  The Company
wanders
around in moral space, ending up perhaps not all that far from where it was
when we entered the saga--but it has gone through enormous changes along the
way, and it shapes the moral climate in which the officers must operate; it
provides the backdrop upon which the quandaries of the officers are played
out.

Yes, I *do* care about the future of the Company--I want to know why they
follow their officers and what they're going to do when harvest time comes,
if they will continue in a sense of vigilant guard and self-assumed duty of
protectors of the means of future commerce, or if they will feel more
disposed
to raid away from home and just be "the guys everyone is afraid of".  That
is
the moral question left hanging.

Steve


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Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 18:04:35 -0700
From: Lee Childs <[e-mail]>
Subject: (glencook-fans) Favorite Black Company Villian(s)

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Folks:
I would be interested in knowing what everyone's favorite villains are
from the Black Company series.  For myself, I liked Soulcatcher, Lady,
Whisper, Feather, Howler, and Mogaba.

Opinions?  Please itemize the names at the top of the email and follow
the list with your reasons.

Lee Childs

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<HTML>
Folks:
<BR>I would be interested in knowing what everyone's favorite villains
are from the Black Company series.  For myself, I liked <B>Soulcatcher,
Lady, Whisper, Feather, Howler, and Mogaba.</B>

<P>Opinions?  Please itemize the names at the top of the email and
follow the list with your reasons.

<P>Lee Childs</HTML>

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