Welcome to the first edition of the Grimdark Newsletter! Today, you're getting the first look & best parts of this historic moment in the Grimdark genre. Never before has Glen Cook done an AMA on Reddit, and I doubt it will happen again for a long time.
Without Further Ado - The Highlights
1. Cook’s “Seat-of-the-Pants” Writing Process Revealed!
- Question (u/RustyTheLionheart): What's your writing process like? Do you outline, or are you more of a discovery writer? Do you have a daily routine?
Answer: I'm a seat-of-the-pants guy, start at the beginning and write till I get to the end. The one time I was required to present an outline (for All Darkness Met) I wrote the book, then made a outline.
- Question (u/Hurinfan): How would you describe your style?
Answer: Probably going to disappoint a lot of people with some of my answers because I don't believe in a lot of literary thinking. I'm just a guy who makes up lies to tell other people and I don't think about the nuts and bolts, much. As to style, I try to be spare. My mind doesn't seem to much able to focus on color.
2. Raven: Not a Hero, but a “Murderous Psychopath”!
- Question (u/Sheriff_Is_A_Nearer): Are there any things in The Black Company that you feel most readers misunderstand?
Answer: Raven. Back in the day, every fan wanted to be Raven when they grew up. Raven was a murderous psychopath.
- Question (u/Hireling): Raven gets thoroughly deconstructed by the events following his desertion of Darling. His facade shattered, his top tier status as a badass (beaten by Old Man Fish), and his keen mind slowed or completely muddled. What did writing his complete fall/failure arc mean to you at the time?
Answer: This is one of those queries I don't know how to answer because it isn't the sort of thing I think about consciously. The characters dictate the flow of the story.
3. New Black Company Books Will Dive into the Dominator’s Era!
- Question (u/The_Shake82): Any chance we will get more lore stories on the time of the Dominator? I would love to see more development of the Ten Who Were Taken.
Answer: There will be a lot of that stuff in the new books.
4. Goblin and One-Eye Were Slacking (But Not That Powerful)!
- Question (u/Hireling): How powerful were Goblin and One-eye, really? There’s a theory among fans that they feigned incompetence so they wouldn’t be asked to do as much. I love this theory but am dying to know the truth.
Answer: They were skating, some, but they weren't heavy hitters.
5. Cook Admits a Timeline Oopsy in “Wet Dream Fish Story”!
- Question (u/Ziptex223): In one of the recent short stories "Wet Dream Fish Story" the siblings Cletus, Loftus, and Longinus make an appearance inspecting and repairing some bridges when the company arrives at the river. However, this short story supposedly takes place before "The White Rose", while the brothers did not join up with the company until their way down South in "Shadow Games". Is this an honest mistake that only people who spend way too much time talking about a 40 year old book series would notice or evidence of time travel shenanigans like many of us have been theorizing since "Port of Shadows" released?
Answer: Sometimes you screw up.
6. The Glittering Stone’s Original Purpose: A Multiverse Hub!
- Question (u/C_frantastic): Do you have lore and story in your head about any of the other worlds beyond the Shadowgates that are already destroyed? Do you have a favorite world beyond a Gate that hasn’t been mentioned in a Black Company book?
Answer: The gates all lead to other places I've written about. That was the original purpose of the Glittering Stone: a device for tying my universes together. Never got jiggy with that.
7. Female Leaders in the Black Company? A Happy Accident!
- Question (u/dopplerconsumed): In the Black Company's hardest times, it always seems to be women (Darling, Lady, Sahra, Sleepy) taking charge and keeping the company going. Why is that?
Answer: Damn! You got me. I never noticed. And the new books are really female-heavy.
8. Fritz Leiber’s Influence and a Star Trek Encounter!
- Question (u/Locustsofdeath): Mr. Cook, the story of you and Fritz Leiber, two of my favorite authors, writing novels while sitting back to back is legendary! Can you share any anecdotes about that time with him, or let us know if Leiber influenced or impacted your writing in any way?
Answer: Fritz was a huge influence. There aren't any significant anecdotes from that time beyond going to a party at Harlan Ellison's house, rounding a corner and smacking into Leonard Nimoy.
9. Why Black Company Names Are So Simple (and Memorable)!
- Question (u/chaos_craig): How do you name things in your world? Specifically in the black company; names of people, places, things are just so good!
Answer: There's an anecdote for that. At the 1970 Clarion workshop a fellow student (Wieslaw Zbiegniev Czyzewski) complained about the unpronounceable names in my Dread Empire stories (to general laughter). So I went for simple when I started Black Company.
10. Cook’s Reading Recs and Personal Tastes!
- Question (u/Sheriff_Is_A_Nearer): What is your favorite book/story/movie? Top 3 is fine if you can't narrow it down.
Answer: Books, probably LOTR, Dune, The Dying Earth. Stories, Saberhagen's Berserker series. Not much into movies, though I do watch some.
- Question (u/dramabatch): Hello, Mr. Cook. What are you reading right now and in general?
Answer: Interesting authors found recently would be Britishers Angus Watson and M. R. Carey.
- Question (u/Hurinfan): What other authors would you recommend to fans of your work?
Answer: Steven Erikson and Ian Esselmont.
11. No Black Company Adaptations (Yet), But He’s Open!
- Question (u/Croaker45): Are there any plans for TV or movie adaptations of any of your work? I remember hearing about a Black Company possibility several years ago but I would also love to see an adaptation of The Dragon Never Sleeps or Passage at Arms. And The Dread Empire world could lend itself to an EPIC series.
Answer: None, currently. There have been several stillborn Black Company TV things, one of which actually got announced in Variety and went into pre-production, plus both a TV series and movie for Garrett, P.I. As explained to me by the producers most of the principal photography would have been done in China and the Chinese censors would not OK anything they wanted to do. Then there was talk of doing production in Canada, Then silence.
- Question (u/KatarrTheFirst): At some point in the future when someone finally puts Black Company on a screen, is your preference to see it as a series of movies like LOTR or as a continuing series like GoT or Wheel of Time?
Answer: I would rather movies, but I would be open to series.
- Question (u/EvilandLovingit): Additionally, would you be open to or excited about having your work adapted into other mediums?
Answer: I would be open. Those mediums would have to show an interest.
- Question (u/kostaGoku): Is there a chance that we'll see any new "Black company" tv shows or video games in the near future?
Answer: Not that I'm aware of.
12. At 81, Cook’s Still Going Hard!
- Question (u/EvilandLovingit): GC, you were instrumental in shaping my taste, and I want to thank you for all the incredible books you've written. I hope you continue to write more!
Answer: Thanks. I will write as long as I am able.
- Question (u/wd011): Will you be making any appearances (signings/cons/other) to support the new BC books. (I suspect not, but one can hope).
Answer: Actually, I hope not. I'll try, if asked, but I'm 81 years old.
- Question (u/4SureLost): Are you planning on any personal appearances at conventions? Or do you still operate a vendor booth?
Answer: I will be at Archon in Collinsville, IL, in October, and with my #2 son’s help will be selling my books.
Oh yeah, that was juicy.
The AAMA garnered over 15,000 views all up, when added with the r/theblackcompany repost, a 100% upvote rate, and has pushed r/GrimdarkEpicFantasy to its biggest engaged month ever while establishing it as the place to go for everything Grimdark.
I'll try to only send these once or twice per month, but if I get some cool updates... expect to see an email.
As for those who joined up to get the excerpt from my book, it is coming...
