Rating: 
Summary: RA Salvatore meets the Alamo
Review: Yes, I lean more to the epic fantasy such as Martin, Jordan, Hobbs, or Tolkien... but on occasion, I need a dose of mind-numbing action. Gemmell delivers this as well as anyone I've read. The book is a bit unrealistic at times- (Just about every hero who dies manages to take his killer with him to the grave.) There isn't much of a plot. It's not an overly descriptive fantasy setting. -But LEGEND is quite an involving page-turner. A foreign warlord has united the savage Nadir tribes into a fierce horde, which threatens to conquer the Drenai kingdom. While the Drenai frantically attempt to muster a defense, only one fort stands in the horde's way... Dros Delnoch- a mighty fortress indeed, but they have but a few farmers to protect it with... and Druss the Legend. Will they be able to hold back the never-ending tide of Nadir warriors? You will certainly enjoy finding out! I'm glad I took the advice of the other reviewers here and gave LEGEND a shot. I will definitely hit some more Gemmell in the future- the man's got talent!
Rating: 
Summary: So good it hurts
Review: The first work of Gemmell that I read was the first book in his Rigante series, The Sword in the Storm. I was thouroughly dissapointed. I found his characters unlikeable and 1-dimensional, and his world-building subpar at best. I vowed to never read another Gemmell work. I'm glad I decided to not keep that promise to myself. Legend was great. It was a short, action-packed ride that left me hungry for more. I didn't dislike one of Gemmell's characters. Sure, they aren't as well-developed and real as George RR Martin's huge cast of characters in his Song of Ice and Fire Series(Which any fantasy fan should read), but they work for a book this short. I especially like the albino warrior Serbitar and the Cynical Earl of Bronze, Regnak and of course the Legend himself, Druss. I have never seen a author handle combat better than Gemmell, and the siege of the fortress Dros Delnoch by the Nadir horde, which lasts nearly half the book, was so well done that it almost made me shiver. Buy this, read it. Its definately worth it to spend three or four days finishing it. I look forward to reading the second book in the series, which from the preview looks every bit as good as this one.
Rating:
Summary: Heroic action fantasy drawn with human characters
Review: David Gemmell's premiere novel, "Legend," is a stunning debut in the realm of heroic action-fantasy. This is a blood-and-thunder tale of battle, great warriors, blood-red axes, sinister magical forces, and heroism in the face of hopelessness, all cast in the mold of the great Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan). But Gemmell manages to transcend most of the generic heroic fantasy put out today by Howard imitators. "Legend" contains numerous surprises, the largest of which is how human a story it is -- despite the towering, mythic quality of the narrative. Gemmell makes characterization a strong part of his story, so the reader isn't merely waiting for the next big battle sequence to carry them along to the end. The story is straightforward: the barbarian tribes of Nadir, under the rule of conquest-hungry King Ulric, make a concentrated to push to overthrow the long-standing nation of Drenai. Only a major fortress, Dros Drenloch, stands between the Nadir and a complete sweep across the lands of Drenai. The deciding battle will come at the walls of Dros Drenloch, and the defenders have small-to-zero chance of holding back the barbarian tide. That is until Druss the Legend, the greatest Drenai warrior, strides down from his hills to join the men at Dros Drenloch. But Druss is now an old man, and can even his legendary status and the aid of The Thirty, an order of men with mystical powers, hold back the mad barbarian horde? The entire book focuses on the build up to and the battle of Dros Drenloch, a sustained piece of action and tension. Gemmell can write raw, ripping action scenes, and his military descriptions ring with accuracy. But he also has a cast of wonderful characters, and manages to make them achingly human and vulnerable, where most other authors would make them larger than life and impossibly invincible, and therefore impossibly distant from the reader. Druss is a great cast in point: a legendary hero, but now he is in his sixties and obviously past his prime. He knows he can die, and knows that he probably will die soon, but tries to do everything in his power to last until the end. The legend aura swirls around him, but the reader comes to know the real person inside the myth. However, the real protagonist of the tale of Rek, who becomes the Earl of Dros Drenloch. Rek is a seemingly average warrior with fears of cowardice, but with a streak of the berserker in him. In his doubts and anxieties, and also in his great romance with the beautiful Virae, the readers find their true connection with the story. Also surprising is the sympathetic portrait Gemmell creates of the "villain," Ulric. "Legend" is an all-around excellent heroic fantasy. If you love epic battles and tales of grand heroism, you won't find one much better written -- or more poignantly human -- than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Simple fantasy, well written
Review: It was refreshing to make my way through a simple fantasy novel like Legend and not have to juggle 13,000 characters like one has to do with Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Legend works. The plot is effective, comprising a siege scenario with a relative handful of heroes defending the fortress Dros Delnoch against stupendous odds. When it becomes clear that the barbarian chief Ulric plans to take Dros Delnoch, the lord of the keep sends a desperate plea to the veteran warrior Druss the Legend to come aid in its defense. Druss, knowing that it's a lost cause, decides to help out anyway. He arrives and organizes the defense of the city, in time to meet the assault... The siege begins about halfway through the novel, so there's a lot of buildup beforehand, which serves to heighten the tension. The pacing of the story and the battle descriptions are excellent. Tragic moments, like deaths of main characters, are nearly tear-jerkers, a testament to Gemmell's skill. Characterization is a bit on the weak side; Gemmell fails to make his main characters seem human, they're overly heroic and flawless. Perhaps the later books in the series will mature in that regard, although the sequel The King Beyond the Gate seems to have the same problem so far. Also, the defenders have the endurance of androids. It's nearly impossible to fight hand-to-hand for even a few hours, in full armor and wielding heavy weapons, without collapsing from exhaustion. But these defenders hold the fortress for weeks, as the relentless hordes keep coming! There are other unrealistic moments. Overall, Legend is a good read and worth the time for fantasy buffs. There's better fantasy out there (some much better) in the form of multi-volume series, but for a standalone novel Legend works well.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast-Paced Story but Could Have Been Better
Review: I want to start by saying that I like David Gemmell. And I thought 'Legend' was...okay. But, as has been said so many times, the writing is very simple. The dialog is contrived and not terribly realistic, and the characters are very stereotypical (the ancient grizzled warrior, the competent leader of the cavalry, the unwilling hero, the tough but beautiful love interest, the enigmatic priesthood, the barbarian horde, etc.) As for a simple, mindless read, this isn't a horrible book. However, it didn't make me want to sit up nights reading it. And I have to disagree that this book should be compared to Stephen King. Instead, it's a bit more like a harlequin romance for fantasy enthusiasts. Easy to read, but ultimately not memorable as other books such as the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams, the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz or the Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin. Ultimately, Mr. Gemmell writes a story in which the events are laid out very directly, and yet you find little reason to care for any of the characters. The battle scenes, which don't start until around page 200, are more like reading summaries of the battles, rather than the battles themselves. One final thought about this story is that it bears significant resemblance to the real-world events that took place about 400 BC when the Persian empire (500,000 strong, including slaves, cooks, etc. to accompany an army of over 200,000) went up against a much smaller army comprised of 300 Spartans and a few thousand slaves and volunteers at a place in Greece known as Thermopylae. If you want to read a real-world story that I'm convinced was the inspiration for Legend (at least partly), read Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire', which is a novel about that real-world battle. It's an amazing story, and it actually did happen.
Rating:
Summary: Heroic action fantasy drawn with human characters
Review: David Gemmell's premiere novel, "Legend," is a stunning debut in the realm of heroic action-fantasy. This is a blood-and-thunder tale of battle, great warriors, blood-red axes, sinister magical forces, and heroism in the face of hopelessness, all cast in the mold of the great Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan). But Gemmell manages to transcend most of the generic heroic fantasy put out today by Howard imitators. "Legend" contains numerous surprises, the largest of which is how human a story it is -- despite the towering, mythic quality of the narrative. Gemmell makes characterization a strong part of his story, so the reader isn't merely waiting for the next big battle sequence to carry them along to the end. The story is straightforward: the barbarian tribes of Nadir, under the rule of conquest-hungry King Ulric, make a concentrated to push to overthrow the long-standing nation of Drenai. Only a major fortress, Dros Drenloch, stands between the Nadir and a complete sweep across the lands of Drenai. The deciding battle will come at the walls of Dros Drenloch, and the defenders have small-to-zero chance of holding back the barbarian tide. That is until Druss the Legend, the greatest Drenai warrior, strides down from his hills to join the men at Dros Drenloch. But Druss is now an old man, and can even his legendary status and the aid of The Thirty, an order of men with mystical powers, hold back the mad barbarian horde? The entire book focuses on the build up to and the battle of Dros Drenloch, a sustained piece of action and tension. Gemmell can write raw, ripping action scenes, and his military descriptions ring with accuracy. But he also has a cast of wonderful characters, and manages to make them achingly human and vulnerable, where most other authors would make them larger than life and impossibly invincible, and therefore impossibly distant from the reader. Druss is a great cast in point: a legendary hero, but now he is in his sixties and obviously past his prime. He knows he can die, and knows that he probably will die soon, but tries to do everything in his power to last until the end. The legend aura swirls around him, but the reader comes to know the real person inside the myth. However, the real protagonist of the tale of Rek, who becomes the Earl of Dros Drenloch. Rek is a seemingly average warrior with fears of cowardice, but with a streak of the berserker in him. In his doubts and anxieties, and also in his great romance with the beautiful Virae, the readers find their true connection with the story. Also surprising is the sympathetic portrait Gemmell creates of the "villain," Ulric. "Legend" is an all-around excellent heroic fantasy. If you love epic battles and tales of grand heroism, you won't find one much better written -- or more poignantly human -- than this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: I loved this book! It has some of the most well written battle scenes its almost like you are there. I find it hard to believe that any fantasy lover could give this one anything less than 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Now This Is What I'm Talkin' About!
Review: As a recent transplant to the fantasy genre, I bought a bunch of books with interesting covers. This is perhaps not the most scientific way to purchase books, but I fell in love with the Lord of the Rings movies, then the books by JRR Tolkien, and I was hungry to continue the adventures. This series fits the bill perfectly. It is full of heroes, humor, angst, action, and sacrifice. The characters are fully fleshed out. Even the minor characters, the ones you learn to care about despite the fact you know they probably won't survive until the last page, are well-rounded and distinct. Magic is used sparingly, and always to chilling effect. Someone said this series is not great literature. Well, I find most of the books in the "literature" section to be dull as day-old toast. I am proud to be an action-adventure junkie! Legend feeds the need.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS GREAT READING
Review: I have read all of David Gimmells novels and they are fantastic.I wish there were some more of his books out there to devour! just make sure you have finished all your work before you pick up one of his books coz you won't be able to put it down before its finished! Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: The book is the legend
Review: This is the greatest book ever!
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