I can tell you the Ten Who Were Taken represent one of the most fascinating villain concepts in fantasy literature. These aren't just powerful mages—they're relics of a bygone era where magic ruled supreme, and their return signals the end of the world as people know it.
What makes them so memorable is how Cook writes their personalities. The Limper is pure, undiluted malice in human form, driven by a need to destroy everything in his path. Shapeshifter plays psychological games, appearing as friends before revealing his true nature. The Howler's eerie screams precede his devastating sonic attacks. They're not just obstacles for the protagonists—they're forces of nature that reshape entire civilizations through sheer presence.
Their backstory adds layers of complexity. Originally rulers in their own right, they were broken and remade by the Dominator into something far worse. Their prison time only increased their madness and power. Watching the Black Company navigate this minefield of ancient evils makes for some of the best moments in the series, especially when they form uneasy alliances against greater threats.
The Ten Who Were Taken in 'Chronicles of the Black Company' are some of the most terrifying figures in dark fantasy. These ancient sorcerers were once rulers of the world, each wielding immense magical power that made them near invincible. Their leader, the Dominator, bound them to his will, turning them into his personal enforcers. After centuries of tormenting humanity, they were finally imprisoned by the White Rose rebellion. When the Black Company encounters them, they're already freed and wreaking havoc again. Each has a distinct personality and specialty—like the Limper, whose hatred fuels his brutal tactics, or Shapeshifter, who can mimic any form. Their presence elevates the series from standard military fantasy into something far darker and more compelling.
For newcomers to Glen Cook's masterpiece, the Ten Who Were Taken are basically the ultimate dark wizards—each a walking apocalypse with unique flavors of horror. The Lady, once one of them, shows how dangerous they can be even when trying to reform. Soulcatcher's playful cruelty masks profound insanity, while Moonbiter's cannibalistic rituals will haunt your nightmares.
Their designs are brilliant. Stormbringer controls weather with a thought, turning battlefields into death traps. Nightcrawler moves through shadows unseen until it's too late. They feel less like characters and more like natural disasters wearing human skin.
The brilliance lies in how Cook uses them sparingly. When one appears, the tension skyrockets because you know people will die horribly. Their confrontations with the Black Company showcase the mercenaries' resourcefulness—outmatched in power but never in cunning. If you enjoy villains that redefine 'threatening', this series delivers.
2025-06-23 13:30:27
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For seventeen years, I believed I was nothing, Iris Delta, the unwanted orphan tolerated by a pack that saw me as a burden. The Maxwell quad Alpha heirs made sure I knew my place, tormenting me with cruel words and vicious pranks. I was weak, worthless, invisible.
I was wrong about everything.
On my eighteenth birthday, Alpha Maxwell reveals the truth that changes everything: I'm Seraphina Blackthorne, the last heir of a bloodline thought extinct. My parents didn't abandon me—they were murdered by the Northern Alliance, who believed they'd eliminated every trace of Blackthorne power.
They were wrong, too.
The moment my wolf Diamond awakens, the mate bond snaps into place with the four men who made my life hell. Fin, Brent, Kane, and Liam—my tormentors are my fated mates, four pieces of one soul that can only be completed by me. Their cruelty wasn't hatred; it was a fractured soul recognising its missing piece and lashing out in fear.
But the Northern Alliance isn't finished. They've come to eliminate the last Blackthorne before I can claim my birthright. What they don't realise is that I'm not just the last heir, I'm the strongest Blackthorne born in three centuries.
When divine justice flows through my veins and ghostly wolf spirits answer my call, they'll learn what happens when you try to destroy something the goddess herself has chosen to protect.
The Blackthorne line has returned. And this time, we're not going down without a fight.
Ordinary college student Clar opens her eyes, only to find herself transmigrated into a beast world novel as the villainess who weighs over two hundred pounds, is hated by everyone, and is doomed to die!
The original host committed all kinds of evil, and everyone loathed her to the core. It was a hellish opening from the start.
All she wanted was to lay low, survive, and rewrite her tragic fate of being erased.
But she never expected —
the heroine’s seven top-tier beast husbands have all turned dark, obsessive, and utterly obsessed with her!
Just as she panics, the Beast God appears directly:
“Go. Capture all the male leads.”
The bewitching nine-tailed fox clings to her: “Clar, you can’t escape.”
The loyal lynx nuzzles her: “Clar, don’t ignore me.”
The calm tiger declares: “Clar, you’re the only one I want.”
Kael, the Wolf King of the Beast King City…
Draven, the gloomy serpent beast…
Zephyr, the golden eagle beastman…
Caspian, the deep-sea merman…
All are captivated by her, possessive and relentless.
While others fight to survive, she is forced to be courted by seven dark, obsessed beast husbands… and the Beast God himself!
This love triangle chaos is just pure, addictive bliss!
When the kingdom of Ormond is invaded, eighteen year old Princess Eithne is enslaved by the cynical conqueror, Xander of Frankia. Her innocent eyes are opened to a world of untold cruelty and depravity at the heart of which is her estranged mother, Clara Sylvain Lovell.
Mourning the death of her beloved father, King Stephen, Eithne is worried about her older brother, Ephron, who has not been heard from for a while. Xander claims acquaintance with the disgraced royal heir and says he is currently in jail overseas. He swears he will try and secure his release in return for her favours. But is he to be trusted?
Eithne sees another side of her sometimes brutal master when they learn that young girls are going missing all over the realm. Does this resonate with him on a far more personal level than he is letting on?
And is Xander really the blackguard he seems, or will love tame the tamer?
On the day she discovers she's pregnant with twins, she learns her billionaire boyfriend is engaged to another woman. Heartbroken, she disappears. Seven years later, she returns as a successful entrepreneur. When the billionaire meets her children, he immediately notices that one has his eyes and the other has his smile.
When a certain fated pair of twins are away from their home, they stumbled upon an incident that shed the light of truth about their beloved homeland, La Shania Mirepa. As the threat from extradimensional creatures began to escalate, guardians of the sacred land gathered. A battle between the creatures of myth defending earth against alien creatures will inevitably unfold in La Shania Mirepa, the land of gods and monsters.
The Twelve Scions is created by YND, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.
Khezlyri was mourning of his family's death. When she was five years old her mother was beathen by her father into death. She had an older brother but both of them was a mere children back then and they coudn't did anything but to watch their mother dying in their father's own hand. She want to kill her father and make him pay for all his debt and sins and to avenge her mother's death.
She and her brother was split up and never been meet until after 15 years,she was an orphaned woman who had the desires in her heart and that is to find his long lost brother and father, then she went through investigations where leads her to deaths where she could find the worst darkness secrets could ever existed in earth.
The Black Company is a gritty fantasy series that follows a mercenary band with some truly unforgettable characters. Croaker, the annalist and de facto leader, stands out with his dry wit and reluctant heroism. His journals give the story its intimate, first-person feel. Then there's the Lady, a terrifyingly powerful sorceress whose motives are always shrouded in mystery—ally one moment, threat the next. The Taken, her undead wizard enforcers, add a layer of horror with their unnatural powers and twisted loyalties. Raven, a brooding rogue with a tragic past, and One-Eye and Goblin, the bickering wizard duo who provide much-needed comic relief, round out the core group.
What makes these characters so compelling is how flawed and human they feel, despite the dark fantasy setting. Croaker isn't some invincible warrior; he's just a guy trying to keep his friends alive while documenting their struggles. The Lady's complexity keeps you guessing—is she a tyrant or a victim of circumstance? Even the side characters like Silent, the mute assassin, or Darling, the mysterious girl with a pivotal role, leave a lasting impression. Glen Cook's genius lies in making mercenaries feel like family, even when they're covered in blood and moral ambiguity.