Rating: 
Summary: Chalk up another one for the master
Review: The story of a man who is invincible, he carries the blades of day and night and when a blade comes out a man is sure to pass to the other side...
This is Gemmell at his best, better than Stormrider by a quiet a margin. He has combined this warrior who is strong enough to stand on his own with the legend Druss aka "DeathWalker"
If u already know Gemmell do not miss this one for anything, if u r new to Gemmell let me tell u now he is better than Feist, Salvatore, Eddings, Pratchett, and dare I say it Tolkein, (OK maybe not Tolkein but come on MiddleEarth was Tolkiens life work)
Gemmell has a way of keeping up dialogue and action all the way through a book I mean non stop can't stop reading. If ur into settings and such like DragonLance then Gemmell will show u a way different style.
IN short buy the book and find the White Wolf.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New here... Same ol' same ol'
Review: This book does not give any new depth to the character Druss, so all you Druss fans expect to meet an older Druss. On the other hand, meeting a new character like Skilgannon is somewhat interesting, but the use of demons in weapons is a bit tired, as was the 'joinings' threat, and Nadir shaman (one of the Khans) clones in other books.
I'd wait for the trade to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing New here... Same ol' same ol'
Review: This book does not give any new depth to the character Druss, so all you Druss fans expect to meet an older Druss. On the other hand, meeting a new character like Skilgannon is somewhat interesting, but the use of demons in weapons is a bit tired, as was the 'joinings' threat, and Nadir shaman (one of the Khans) clones in other books.
I'd wait for the trade to come out.
Rating:
Summary: He's Back...
Review: This is a solid read for Gemmell fans. Not only does it develop Skilgannon, but it has many links to other works as well. I found it very satisfying on many levels. New characters are well developed, old characters are revitalized in interesting ways and seeds are planted for future tales. Intrigued? You should be. Check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: He's Back...
Review: This is a solid read for Gemmell fans. Not only does it develop Skilgannon, but it has many links to other works as well. I found it very satisfying on many levels. New characters are well developed, old characters are revitalized in interesting ways and seeds are planted for future tales. Intrigued? You should be. Check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: The best of Gemmell
Review: This is the fourth Gemmell book I read, and so far is the one I loved most.
Comparing to the earlier work of Gemmell, this one shows a more mature writing style and more complicated character building. As the other reviewers had said, in this book, heroes are not perfect, but heavily weighted by his own wrong-doing in the past.
Characters in this book are very carefully portrayed and were put there for a purpose. Every story, every deed have both sides. Gemmell tells the other side of the same story.
A lot of new materials that did not appear in earlier Gemmell's work are here. Besides love, friendship and heroism, we see age, guilt, vengeance etc.
The main character of this book is not Druss though (if you expected it that way), but a younger and darker character called Skilgonnon. I am sure you will like him too.
To conclude, a must have if you like Gemmell.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent yarn
Review: This was my second book by David Gemmell. I gather that Druss has been the main character in his other books, but this one centers around Skilgannon, who seeks atonement for the atrocities he committed for his queen, whom he loves but can never have. A chance encounter with Druss, the legendary man, brings him in full circle to his past and an enemy he thought long-dead. A tightly packed adventure, and I hope this is beginning of a new series.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent yarn
Review: This was my second book by David Gemmell. I gather that Druss has been the main character in his other books, but this one centers around Skilgannon, who seeks atonement for the atrocities he committed for his queen, whom he loves but can never have. A chance encounter with Druss, the legendary man, brings him in full circle to his past and an enemy he thought long-dead. A tightly packed adventure, and I hope this is beginning of a new series.
Rating: 
Summary: More of the same from Gemmell
Review: Though this review may not reflect it, I am a huge David Gemmell fan. I was turned on to his high adventure writing with the Sipstrassi tales, ate up every Drenai novel he wrote and quested for the hard to find novels that weren't easily available. He is a great writer, with a knack for weaving fantasy storylines that play with complete believability.As I read more of his later works, a fact I did not want to admit to myself started to rear its head - Gemmell was repeating himself. Not only did he seem to be rewriting the same characters over and over again (only with different names) but plot points, settings and even dialogue repeated with great frequency. With that said, I wanted to like White Wolf but in the end I just couldn't suggest it. Anyone who has never read his works should give it a shot, though I don't foresee this work creating any rabid fans. For someone who has read his Drenai novels (which White Wolf is, appearing somewhere in the beginning of the series chronology) this book will seem like old hat. Tortured hero with amazing killing skills embarks on impossible quest that'll take him through suicidal odds, accompanied by party of travellers (none of which you should become too close to.) Been there before, laddie. Of course, let's not forget to throw in some 'it's a good day to die' pragmatism to boot. Gemmell rehashes much of his warrior philosophy from his old works to such a degree that I thought I was rereading 'Quest for Lost Heroes' again. Throwing in his iconic Druss character was a nice addition, but even that seemed token. All in all, this is a very mediocre novel written by one of the greats in heroic fantasy. Although packed with action and never boring, White Wolf still plays out like so many other books you've read before.
Rating:
Summary: Some Great Fantasy That You May Be Missing Out On
Review: Tired of those huge doorstopper fantsasy series that just drone on and on without ever seeming to go anywhere of interest? Do you want to read a fantasy novel that won't leave you feeling ripped off, discouraged and/or insulted? Then I suggest David Gemmell as the next author you try when attempting to quench that fantasy fix. Now Mr. Gemmell is no new kid on the block when it comes to the heroic/epic fantasy genre. He has been writing exceptional novels in this field since the early 1980's while living in his native Britain; where he is quite well known and loved by his many fans. Oddly, he has never become quite so popular here in the states (personally I feel this is due to poor promotion within an already heavily promoted genre). This is a pity as his works are generally much better than many of his counterparts in this country who seem way too slavish to the Tolkien mode of fantasy novel (which worked great for the immortal Tolkien but less so for those authors who clearly lack his skill at world building and writing in general). So, you ask, what kind of fantasy novel does this guy write? Well, when I recently attempted to explain it to a friend of mine I said Gemmell's work reminded me of what might have happened if Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Akira Kurosawa and Tolkien had decided to all put their heads together and write a book. At this point you are probably thinking (and deservedly so) that I should stop trying to explain things to people before I to manage to get someone hoplessly confused. But allow me to continue. Yes, Mr. Gemmell writes heroic epic fantasy novels that are at least inspired in part by authors such as Howard, Moorcock and Leiber. And like Moorcock his characters are emotionally complex and often tragic figures who are far from being the purely black and white type characters of so much fantasy fiction. These characters inhabit worlds and situations where there is a great deal of violence and epic sweep to their stories but they certainly do not do so within a moral vacuum. Like Mr. Kurusawa's films the characters in Gemmell's books are grounded with so much depth and humanity to them that when the violence does occur it is not simply violence for violence's sake. In fact, despite the high level of bloodshed in Gemmell's novels, they can best be described as having a defintie pacifist morality to them. And like Tolkien's work Mr. Gemmell invests his tales with a great deal of epic grandeur and history to them that I find particularly appealing. Oh, and did I mention that his stories tend to be very exciting and to also move very quickly? Ok, so far I have tried to sell you on David Gemmell in general rather than his novel "White Wolf" in particular. Well, the other good thing about Gemmell is that you can pick up just about any book of his and jump right into it. Most of his novels are written as stand alones even though they may be marketed as part of a series. His Drenai novels (of which "White Wolf" is one) are good examples. His first novel, "Legend", is part of that series and features the character Druss who also appears here in "White Wolf". But I believe you can read just about any in that series and not feel like you are missing out on some huge, bloated backstory (personally I might suggest starting with "Legend" but "White Wolf" is just as good a starting point as any). "White Wolf" is standard Gemmell, which means that by investing your time and money into this fantasy novel you are guaranteed a grand experience that will not only leave you hungry for more but also feeling like you have invested in something really worthwhile. And for me, after having had numerous bad experiences with many (but certainly not all) heavily promoted fantasy series, David Gemmell remains a very refreshing reading experience that I will treasure for many years to come.
|
