Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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:
No
Starts off strong but gets rather repetitive once the fighting starts.
All about preparing for an battle for which the characters are clearly outmatched. The ending was disappointing if you like the neat and tidy good triumphs over evil. This is the kind of book you will love if you are into battle stuff. Not really my cup of tea but it was good enough that I wasn't constantly scanning ahead to see how many pages were left. A decent way to spend an afternoon reading.
David Gemmell has a way of drawing you in. His action scenes are superb, his settings are beautifully descriptive and the story beats are gripping to the end. But more than that, his characters are so understandable (mostly). They are heroes often, sure, but they are flawed and broken heroes. Gemmell loves to write about the bravery of cowards and the kindness of brigands. The mercenary who only fights for gold making a last stand to save a world that cares nought for him. In a tale about men who are larger than life, he takes time to write about the farmer who picked up a sword and stood his ground, shaking but swinging all the same. I think that's my favourite thing about his writing.
Legend is a fantastic action fantasy tale, filled with just the right amount of magic and mysticism and a generous helping of gruesome combat and tear-jerking sacrifice. It's beautiful and captivating and filled with a sort of melancholy hope.
I don't think it is as good as the two part Rigante novels Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon, so I will give it 4 stars but I will say it is a 4.5/5 book and I highly recommend it.
One criticism I do have with Gemmell is present in this book though. He does not know how to write women. I will give it a slight pass because it isn't *awful* and the books are quite old, but I would not expect well written women from Gemmell and I would expect large (inappropriate at times in my opinion) age gaps in relationships. It's possible this is only an issue in the three novels I have read so far.
Legend is a fantastic action fantasy tale, filled with just the right amount of magic and mysticism and a generous helping of gruesome combat and tear-jerking sacrifice. It's beautiful and captivating and filled with a sort of melancholy hope.
I don't think it is as good as the two part Rigante novels Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon, so I will give it 4 stars but I will say it is a 4.5/5 book and I highly recommend it.
One criticism I do have with Gemmell is present in this book though. He does not know how to write women. I will give it a slight pass because it isn't *awful* and the books are quite old, but I would not expect well written women from Gemmell and I would expect large (inappropriate at times in my opinion) age gaps in relationships. It's possible this is only an issue in the three novels I have read so far.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just reread this for my book club, and came back to check what I had written here after my first read. This was all I had:
First of all, the entire story, which is fairly grand in scope, takes place in one 400-page book. Think about how impressive that is considering how long-winded some fantasy authors are ([a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg]) or how some endlessly serialize their works ([a:Robert Jordan|6252|Robert Jordan|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1175475715p2/6252.jpg], who didn't even let death get in the way of serializing more of the The Wheel of Time series).
The novel takes the trope of the farmboy-turned-chosen-one on its head, by having the titular protagonist, Druss, be an old veteran warrior -- whose back-story is only vaguely hinted at -- knowingly and intentionally marching to his death at the siege on Dros Delnoch. It also has a number of other interesting supporting characters, from Rek the baresark (Gemmell's word for berserker), to a group of mystical warrior monks known as The Thirty, to the lovable rogue Bowman.
Equally important, the leader of the invading Nadir army, Ulric, is not a stereotypical, stock villain. More than once it is mentioned that he is only doing what the protagonists' ancestors did hundreds of years before, when they created the Drenai empire. Ulric also has his own sense of honor, and in one scene near the end, he laments how he has been made into the evil villain, without his knowledge or consent.
I could go on, but I'll say this, which is high praise in itself -- I reread the book in two sittings. The fact that I couldn't put it down on a second reading is pretty impressive to me.
As a final aside, contemporary British fantasy author [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207149426p2/276660.jpg], who seems to be a spiritual successor to David Gemmell, seems to channel the character of Druss the Legend in his character Logen "The Bloody Nine" Ninefingers.
This book was tremendous, David Gemmell is truly a brilliant fantasy writer.I owe the late David Gemmell an apology for such a half-assed review. While what I said was and still is true, it is a huge understatement considering this is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels. I will now try to do it better justice this time around.
First of all, the entire story, which is fairly grand in scope, takes place in one 400-page book. Think about how impressive that is considering how long-winded some fantasy authors are ([a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg]) or how some endlessly serialize their works ([a:Robert Jordan|6252|Robert Jordan|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1175475715p2/6252.jpg], who didn't even let death get in the way of serializing more of the The Wheel of Time series).
The novel takes the trope of the farmboy-turned-chosen-one on its head, by having the titular protagonist, Druss, be an old veteran warrior -- whose back-story is only vaguely hinted at -- knowingly and intentionally marching to his death at the siege on Dros Delnoch. It also has a number of other interesting supporting characters, from Rek the baresark (Gemmell's word for berserker), to a group of mystical warrior monks known as The Thirty, to the lovable rogue Bowman.
Equally important, the leader of the invading Nadir army, Ulric, is not a stereotypical, stock villain. More than once it is mentioned that he is only doing what the protagonists' ancestors did hundreds of years before, when they created the Drenai empire. Ulric also has his own sense of honor, and in one scene near the end, he laments how
Spoiler
by his champion using a poisoned blade to kill DrussI could go on, but I'll say this, which is high praise in itself -- I reread the book in two sittings. The fact that I couldn't put it down on a second reading is pretty impressive to me.
As a final aside, contemporary British fantasy author [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207149426p2/276660.jpg], who seems to be a spiritual successor to David Gemmell, seems to channel the character of Druss the Legend in his character Logen "The Bloody Nine" Ninefingers.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is more to life than merely waiting for death. For life to have meaning, there must be a purpose.
What a freaking book and what a freaking story!
When I heard from so many people on the internet that Gemmell was the king of storytelling and the father of heroic fantasy, I was a bit skeptical but now I BELIEVE. After hearing that it was a 'heroic' fantasy, I went into the books expecting a cozy, fun, adventurous read but wasn't prepared for how it would be emotionally devastating in this way. It is beautifully tragic. The heroes aren't your typical 'perfect' heroes; they all have flaws and you begin to love them all the more for it.
Gemmell got the idea for this book when he was diagnosed with cancer, even though later it was found that it was a misdiagnosis, the story reflects what his thinking would've been at that time. An old warrior waiting for death, yet still fighting to the last breath against overwhelming odds.
He has meticulously interwoven so many lessons into the story, almost as if he doesn't want the reader to know that it's a lesson, if that makes sense.
The only problem I had with the books was that the love story felt very contrived. It was like the fastest case of fast-love. I get that he may have been inspired by real-life examples where people meet one day and get married by day 7 and remain married forever; it may not be the norm but it does happen, or maybe it was just to hurry along that particular plot line. Who knows? But other than that, the story keeps getting better and better.
Maybe I'm exaggerating everything and the book wasn't as good as I'm making it out to be but to me it was a DAMN GOOD BOOK!
What a freaking book and what a freaking story!
When I heard from so many people on the internet that Gemmell was the king of storytelling and the father of heroic fantasy, I was a bit skeptical but now I BELIEVE. After hearing that it was a 'heroic' fantasy, I went into the books expecting a cozy, fun, adventurous read but wasn't prepared for how it would be emotionally devastating in this way. It is beautifully tragic. The heroes aren't your typical 'perfect' heroes; they all have flaws and you begin to love them all the more for it.
Gemmell got the idea for this book when he was diagnosed with cancer, even though later it was found that it was a misdiagnosis, the story reflects what his thinking would've been at that time. An old warrior waiting for death, yet still fighting to the last breath against overwhelming odds.
He has meticulously interwoven so many lessons into the story, almost as if he doesn't want the reader to know that it's a lesson, if that makes sense.
The only problem I had with the books was that the love story felt very contrived. It was like the fastest case of fast-love. I get that he may have been inspired by real-life examples where people meet one day and get married by day 7 and remain married forever; it may not be the norm but it does happen, or maybe it was just to hurry along that particular plot line. Who knows? But other than that, the story keeps getting better and better.
Maybe I'm exaggerating everything and the book wasn't as good as I'm making it out to be but to me it was a DAMN GOOD BOOK!