Legend (Drenai Tales, Book 1)

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Summary: Great book, one of the few outstanding I've recently read!
Review: David Gemmell, has brought back the tragic hero, in a way I've rarely witnessed recently. With so many fantasy books being little more than Good vs. Evil, this book brought all the characters into light, allowing you, the reader to judge these characters on your own. It was my first book of Mr. Gemmell's that I've read, but it will NOT be the last

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Summary: A nail-biting page turner
Review: Gemmell brings to life an epic story about honor, courage and the indomitable spirit inherent in otherwise ordinay people. Druss The Legend, now in the twilight of his life marches toward his last battle. The hordes of Nadir are on the move destroying every thing in their way. Can Druss and the pitiful remnants of the Drenai army really hope to stop them? You will not be able to put this book down!!

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Summary: An excellent military fantasy novel.
Review: This was one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. I never fail to recommend it to friends. The characters are well developed, and even the "bad" guys are given quite plausible motivations for what they do. I can't wait for the movie, featuring Sean Connery as Druss the Legend!

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Summary: Stirring saga about the strength of the human spirit
Review: Typical of David Gemmells writing this is a no holds barred tale of the fight between good and evil. Druss is a living legend who would rather be at home with his memories than swinging his fabled axe against the hordes. Part of the Drenai series well worth reading

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Summary: Im no Heroic fantasy reader, but this is superb...
Review: Ive just finished reading "Legend " which took me three evenings. Honestly, I don't know how I could waste so much time on Stephen King and Anne Rice. Legend is such a monumental book. Superb. One of the best books Ive ever read. Im so glad I read the reviews of it. I hope they put money into the film they are talking of making, with Sean Connery. Seeing the big screen full of half a million Nadir warriors charging at the city walls, with the defenders facing certain death should be mind-blowing, and sharing the experience of hopeless defense, together with the ageing Legend (Connery) hacking away with his axe should be an experience no-one will forget. What a book. Don't let the theme of heroic fantasy put you off, you wont regret reading this.

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Summary: What is it with all of this analyzing
Review: I look at a lot of these one star reviews and get mad that they analyze the book so much. It sounds like one of my english teachers analyzing every little detail to "understand the author's purpose" etc. I dont care about all the details when i'm reading a fantasy. I want the adventure, great heroes, huge battles. Legend gives me all of these. I couldn't put the book down. If you are looking for a fun book to read and not one to write a 10 page paper on an author's technique and look deeply into every little phrase, then read legend. It is just a simple novel. It will keep you reading if you don't take 5 minutes for every page trying to predict plot events. Just read it.

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Summary: Meat and potato's fantasy for meat and potato guys!!!!
Review: Ths is not Tolkien style fantasy, with elves, gnomes, and other mystical creatures. If that is the type of fantasy you enjoy, then be forwarned. This a book about heroes, battles, courage, blood, and more battles. In other words, it is alpha male, meat and potatoes, blue collar fantasy, and I for one loved every minute of it. I would not say that this is high literature on par with George RR Martin. The characters are a little too shallow and the romance too unbelievable for this book to be elevated to those pinnacles. However, it is certainly above average and the author manages to tell a great tale, does it with style, and makes the book enjoyable. Well worth the price, you wont feel sorry you spent the money or the time reading it.

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Summary: One of the Greatest Heroic Fantasy Book EVER
Review: If you're a fan of heroic fantasy, then this book - nay, this author - is definitely for you. Legend was David Gemmell's first big hit, and he embarked on a series of entertaining works following the success of this highly-acclaimed novel.

Now, Robert Howard, creator of Conan, was the father of sword & sorcery fantasy; the undisputed king of heroic fantasy literature. Unlike many would-be usurpers of that crown, David Gemmell maintains the rich tradition and standard established by Howard while adding exciting new elements of his own, without jeopardizing the age-old formula.

David Gemmell is as awesome in this type of fantasy as George Martin is with his. While epic fantasy authors like Martin tend to present the characters, settings, and story all on a stage for readers to follow, heroic fantasy authors such as Gemmell will put you behind the eyes of the main character, viewing the harsh realities of the world from the perspective of the protagonist and/or villain.

Legend is a classic example of a harsh man, Druss, living in a harsh world. An old man, summoned from his isolated mountain by desperate and besieged men, hoping that the presence of an old legend would somehow turn the tide of war against the encroaching Nadir army, led by their warlord, Ulric. Unlike most stories, Druss doesn't put on a Super man cape, fly down from his high peak, and put to right every injustice made in the world. Druss must overcome personal issues, such as his advanced age and fear of failure. Surrounded by men younger than him, Druss must once again prove his worth on the battlefield, against an enemy that acknowledges his past deeds yet is nevertheless intent on their violent task ahead, even if it means going toe-to-toe against a grizzly warrior who once knew no equal.

The action is intense, the story flows like butter, and the characters - virtually every single one of them - will forever be ingrained into memory in a story whose title could not be any more fitting.

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Summary: Truly a Legend
Review: Well I have to say that I loved this book, and that I think that David Gemmel is an excelent writer, I mean the story was captivating the charecters real and the fighting brutal and savage. Well that is at least the way the book goes for about the first 250 pages. Up to that point it is everything that you want a fantasy to be, however after it passes this boudary it seems as if David just has a mental breakdown and calls in some heavy use of Deus Ex Machina, resolving the climax that the whole book lead up to in only a few pages, very very anticlimatic. i think it would have been better to see the Drenari fighting to the last breath sword in hand dieing a honorable death, but instead becasue of civil war in the steppes the Nadir back it up and leave when Dross Delnoch is just about taken. It seems as if Gemmel might have had a problem killing off the charecters that he had created. Other then the ending it was a great book and a worthwhile read, albiet a little disappointing. This author has potential.

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Summary: Guy who knows its audienace `
Review: I've always been a sucker for books about desperate last stands and as fantasy stories go its not bad either. Druss definatly wins the kick-butt medal this year in terms of books that I have read.