Previous SFF Author: Emily Gee
(1948-2006)
David Gemmell, who also wrote as Ross Harding, wrote heroic fantasy and historical fantasy.
Before there was J.R.R Tolkien, there was Robert E. Howard, who created what would later be called Heroic Fantasy or Sword-and-Sorcery. With the justly-earned popularity of Lord of the Rings, it seems to me that many writers and publishers of fantasy fiction have forsaken the heroic ballads for overly-complex, over-sized, and, endless series.
But David Gemmell has not forgotten the heart of a good fantasy tale which is simply heroes (or anti-heroes).
This is the story of Druss,
Greg Hersom´s rating: 5 | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The First Chronicle of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell
The First Chronicle of Druss the Legend is the sixth book in David Gemmell’s non-sequential series, the Drenai Saga. It’s a prequel to the first Drenai book, Legend, and I think it’s the perfect prequel because it actually enhances his Druss stories by not being in chronological order.
Renegade soldiers turned slavers massacre a mountain village and take Druss’s wife, the seeress, Rowena. Desperate and enraged, the young country bumpkin takes up a battle-ax (inherited from his infamous grandfather) to begin a quest that will take him across half the world and last over seven years.
Greg Hersom´s rating: 4 | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
At its best, Heroic Fantasy can inspire and enliven. By nature, the subgenre is less concerned with realism than it is with depicting nobility, honor, and genuine integrity. In so doing, it shows us a world that reflects the better portions of our own, the world as it should be rather than as it is. At its worst, however, Heroic Fantasy is notorious for shallow characterization, mindless violence, and sententious, often hypocritical, pontificating to justify all that mindless violence so our valiant warriors can get back to massacring villages with rumps firmly planted on high horses.
Tim Scheidler and Greg Hersom | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell
It’s been six years since the legendary Knights of the Gabala rode through a gate to hell in order to fight the evil that threatened the realm. They haven’t been heard from since. But they are desperately needed now because the King, once a noble man, has begun rounding up the nomad population in Holocaust style. People who oppose his actions are named traitors and the King’s new henchmen are very strong and very… undead. The king’s new policies have alienated a lot of people — mostly peasants.
Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | David Gemmell | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell
The dearly-departed David Gemmell was, in his lifetime, acknowledged as a master of the heroic fantasy, and if you want any proof of that, read Lion of Macedon.
The tale begins in Sparta in the period after the end of the interminable Peloponnesian wars, when Sparta had begun to weaken, and several decades before the rise of Philip and Alexander the Greats. The eponymous hero, Parmenion, is a Spartan — a true Lakedaimonios — with a Macedonian mother.
Guest´s rating: 5 | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In writing reviews of fantasy, everybody makes mention of those derivative books of sword and sorcery which lack imagination and either borrow exclusively from previous works (think Terry Goodkind) or possess so many archetypes that the whole book becomes cliché (think the DRAGONLANCE series). Everybody knows these cardboard Conans and Gandalfs wielding battleaxes, wands, and uttering the worst one-liners published today. But these comments about garbage fantasy are always directed to the “others” — someone else — never the work under review. Nobody wants to step on any toes.
Jesse Hudson´s rating: 1.5 | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
I tried reading David Gemmell‘s Lord of the Silver Bow about 9 months before I actually read it. It was heavy, plodding, and confusing. I was looking for a fun story full of action and adventure, and I love history… but, alas, I stopped reading after about 50 pages, and kind of figured that I was simply beyond the age when testosterone-fueled adventures could carry a story. I gave it a second shot, and it turns out,
Jason Golomb´s rating: 4 | David Gemmell | Edge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
This is the first in a new weekly feature entitled ‘Why You Should Read…’ It will be a series of articles by bloggers, publicists, editors and authors focusing on various speculative fiction authors, and giving you reasons as to why you should be reading these authors NOW.
If you would like to contribute a feature, then please do get in touch with us.
First up, we have blogger Steve Aryan. He runs his own blog Steve’s Fantasy Book Reviews and is also the co-host of a comics and pop culture podcast (which includes a Book Club and Author Interview feature on a regular basis).
Previous SFF Author: Emily Gee
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.