Reviews

In the Realm of the Wolf by David Gemmell

elvino's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lundos's review against another edition

3.0

"Expect the best. Prepare for the worst."

In the Realm of the Wolf (InRotW) is the fifth (chronological fourth) in the Drenai series. It follows the timeline after Wayander, though, years later.

The Drenai novels more or less follow the same build up. In the beginning of the novels we have young potential heroes and experienced, bitter and/or broken men to show them the ropes and teach their live learnings, while the novel builds up for a struggle against all odds.

The first 50%-65% also deals with a philosophical subject with one or more characters experience this and discuss it during the book. InRotW deals with love. Mostly first time love vs experienced love, but also age difference and father figures. It's not that deep, though, and the story isn't as strong as some of the earlier work.

"He had fought men before, blade to blade, and knew he was no coward, but the dark of the forest, the hissing of the wind, the sibilant rustling of the leaves, and the knowledge that Waylander was moving toward him like death's shadow almost unmanned him."

fabian2301's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mbs1236's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

mary_anne's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

neilsef's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This novel is what reading, at least for me, is all about, pure enjoyment from start to finish, delivered in a manner that makes it almost impossible to set the book down. 

It has wonderful characters that just spring off the pages and a plot that is fast-paced, engaging, well structured and immensely satisfying. 

The prose may not be as refined as some other authors, but it doesn't need to be, as it delivers exactly what is required to tell an enthralling and exciting story. 

A must-read for any Gemmell fan. 

tokujoe's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

duffypratt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Gemmell keeps getting better.  A sequel to Waylander, it centers around a contract that has been made with an assassin's guild to kill Waylander.  Not a good idea.  At the book's opening, he is living secluded in the woods with one of his adopted daughters, doing nothing more than pining over his dead wife and training his daughter to be a badass.  

When the assassin's start to come for him, he decides to go after them, along with a couple of reluctant allies and his far too enthusiastic daughter.  This leads to great adventure and, again, to turns of events that will alter the entire course of the world. 

This is exactly the sort of set-up that Gemmell plays with, and in each book he manages to make it seem fresh.  He is excellent at drawing out his not-too-good heroes.  He is not quite as good at giving depth to his villains, but he certainly makes them detestable.  His magic feels magical.  If there is one drawback, it's that his heroes almost always seem too competent.  

In this one, the plot twists were quite satisfying, as was the ending.  I simply do not understand why his books are so neglected by current readers.  He manages to do in 300 pages what most current fantasy authors try to achieve in 700-1000, without any loss of depth, action, or emotional content.

jonathangemmell's review against another edition

4.0

The first waylander was good but I think this novel improves on it. Seeing waylander as an older man introduces an intriguing element. All the new characters are great and once again gemmel is a master of action sequences.

pandahanna's review against another edition

4.0

This book has everything. The only problem is that everything happens in the last 120, or so, pages.