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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
'I caught a pebble in the moonlight.' Ahhhh, I had forgotten just how much I love Waylander. Such a great novel with great characters - I am so glad I decided to reread Waylander.
Somehow I manage to forget just how much I love this book and get blown away by it every time I pick it up. With reluctant heroes all round, so much discussion around what it means to be good and some awesome characters, I can't recommend this enough.
2023 reread: Really relating to Gellan on this read through - that man is tired and so am I.
2023 reread: Really relating to Gellan on this read through - that man is tired and so am I.
Esiste la redenzione?
Straziante permettere al mondo di spazzare via aspettative e sogni; ancora più triste, forse, diventare parte di quel mondo nella disperata speranza di non dimenticare il passato e inseguire una giustizia sempre più fittizia e vuota.
Qui l'onore ed il perdono non possono trovare spazio; e gli ideali pronunciati tempo addietro hanno il sapore di cenere, un ricordo sempre più lontano dopo ogni quadrella scoccata.
Straziante permettere al mondo di spazzare via aspettative e sogni; ancora più triste, forse, diventare parte di quel mondo nella disperata speranza di non dimenticare il passato e inseguire una giustizia sempre più fittizia e vuota.
Qui l'onore ed il perdono non possono trovare spazio; e gli ideali pronunciati tempo addietro hanno il sapore di cenere, un ricordo sempre più lontano dopo ogni quadrella scoccata.
This is the first of Gemmel's books that I have read. Bit of a slow start but picked up in an epic way for the second half. A true testament to the fact that you can build a whole world and a great story in a short fantasy novel. Easily readable as a standalone.
I've read a couple books by David Gemmell in my not too distant past but I seem to forget how much I enjoy his books. I read my fair share of Sword & Sorcery and Gemmell slots there nicely but I think his books are more aptly defined as heroic fantasy. Gemmell spares wasteland descriptions and spends more time on dialog and philosophy of what makes a hero. While most his books are parts of series they can be read and enjoyed separately. Waylander, is the story of an assassin that goes on a journey to retrieve armor that may win a war and redeem him. Along his journey we meet several memorable characters that I'm hoping appear in other books. There are several battles, Gemmell does not shy away from gory, bloody descriptions of death but they are usually not given more than a sentence or two. I've got a couple more Gemmell books on my shelf so I'll try and keep in mind what a wonderful writer he was.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
More like 3.5. My first impression of Waylander was that there wasn’t much detail. While David Gemmell clearly has some understanding of the elements of a good story, his execution into the written word is clumsy at best. There is rarely any sense of setting, and then when there is, it is insufficient for the reader to feel they are present. Many of the characters are poorly defined and indistinguishable from each other. Some minor characters seem to have received more development than they should, while some major characters languished from neglect. Dialogue was short and sharp, with no identifying characteristics to identify the speaker; it suffered from ‘talking heads syndrome’ and the characters were indistinguishable. Some characters act in ways which defy logic or reason, apparently behaving in that way solely because it suited the author. However, there are many, many books in the overall series aside from this one, and it’s highly likely that I’m not seeing the full picture yet; and despite these minor complaints, I enjoyed it.
“There is evil in all of us, and it is the mark of a man how he defies the evil within.”
The third of [a:David Gemmell|11586|David Gemmell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1202771023p2/11586.jpg]'s Drenai books, this is also chronologically the first, set (as it is) centuries before the events of [b:Legend|618177|Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388201276l/618177._SY75_.jpg|1805413].
I think I first read this in the mid-to-late 90s, not that long after discovering Gemmell as an author.
As an early work by Gemmell, this also has several of what-would-become-known-as his trademark: the main character of Waylander himself, for instance (who he would return to twice more in [b:Waylander II|12835414|Waylander II|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421012534l/12835414._SY75_.jpg|856177] and [b:Hero in the Shadows|568116|Hero in the Shadows (The Drenai Saga, #9)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329487891l/568116._SX50_.jpg|2960849]) is not a clean-cut hero (perhaps more of an anti-hero), only rescuing the priest Dardalian (who would go on to have a VERY important impact on the history of the Drenai) at the very start of the novel as the renegades who are torturing that priest have also stolen Waylander's horse.
Full of powerful imagery (Waylander standing alone against the robbers in the dusk with the sun setting behind him for one, not that long after this rescue) and Gemmell's contemplation on the Source, Waylander would become - I feel - second only to Druss amongst his most popular creations.
That's not to say this is perfect: like [b:Legend|618177|Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388201276l/618177._SY75_.jpg|1805413], the romance between Waylander and Danyal does seemingly come out of nowhere, although Gemmell is (was) getting better at organically growing those relationships compared to his first work.
The third of [a:David Gemmell|11586|David Gemmell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1202771023p2/11586.jpg]'s Drenai books, this is also chronologically the first, set (as it is) centuries before the events of [b:Legend|618177|Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388201276l/618177._SY75_.jpg|1805413].
I think I first read this in the mid-to-late 90s, not that long after discovering Gemmell as an author.
As an early work by Gemmell, this also has several of what-would-become-known-as his trademark: the main character of Waylander himself, for instance (who he would return to twice more in [b:Waylander II|12835414|Waylander II|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421012534l/12835414._SY75_.jpg|856177] and [b:Hero in the Shadows|568116|Hero in the Shadows (The Drenai Saga, #9)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329487891l/568116._SX50_.jpg|2960849]) is not a clean-cut hero (perhaps more of an anti-hero), only rescuing the priest Dardalian (who would go on to have a VERY important impact on the history of the Drenai) at the very start of the novel as the renegades who are torturing that priest have also stolen Waylander's horse.
Full of powerful imagery (Waylander standing alone against the robbers in the dusk with the sun setting behind him for one, not that long after this rescue) and Gemmell's contemplation on the Source, Waylander would become - I feel - second only to Druss amongst his most popular creations.
That's not to say this is perfect: like [b:Legend|618177|Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)|David Gemmell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388201276l/618177._SY75_.jpg|1805413], the romance between Waylander and Danyal does seemingly come out of nowhere, although Gemmell is (was) getting better at organically growing those relationships compared to his first work.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay - I am done with Gemmell - his heroes are all carbon cut-outs of each other - this is his fourth book that I have read, and I cannot do it anymore - characters that die but do not die - characters that die but kill in their death - women are all w****es (and I mean all) - men are okay with women being w****es - traitors that tell their detailed plans to strangers - people who know that there is a plot, and continue because they think that knowing will save them from death - strangers fall in love, but never say a kind word to one another - and the hero is always, and I mean Always and old out of shape dude that knows he will die ... and he will die, making these very tragic hero stories, which would be okay, if I actually cared about the hero -
I think what kept me going was that the narrative is actually okay to read - but in the end there really is no story and no one wins and you could have lived your entire life without hearing this story and still been okay on your deathbed - the magic (when it exists) has no logic and works when it wants to - and lots and LOTS of war and killing, with thousands dying to no end and to no purpose -
I have officially quit all things David Gemmell and I will not go down this road again - I liked no one in this book - I did not even like the children as they were rude and merely a plot device
I think what kept me going was that the narrative is actually okay to read - but in the end there really is no story and no one wins and you could have lived your entire life without hearing this story and still been okay on your deathbed - the magic (when it exists) has no logic and works when it wants to - and lots and LOTS of war and killing, with thousands dying to no end and to no purpose -
I have officially quit all things David Gemmell and I will not go down this road again - I liked no one in this book - I did not even like the children as they were rude and merely a plot device