Midnight Falcon (The Rigante Series, Book 2)

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Summary: Gemmell, David. Midnight Falcon. New York: Ballantine Books,
Review: David Gemmell's Midnight Falcon is the second book in the Rigante series and is about the bastard son of Connavar. The life of the Bastard bane takes you from the lonely life of an angry teenager to the exciting world of battle in the life of a gladiator. Throughout the book Bane's hatred for his father is the one thing that drives him on but his fait rests in the balance of the Seidh and between the bitterness between father and son. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great fantasy book or anyone that enjoys the time of the gladiator.

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Summary: Gemmell's best work.
Review: First of all I must confess to being a huge Gemmell fan. I love his style of writing. All Gemmell fans acknowledge 'Legend' as his finest novel, as despite it's flaws (of which there are many), it comes straight from the heart and is so pure that you cannot help but love it.

Midnight Falcon is the work of a more experienced author and while the story is not unlike many of his other tales, somehow this time the formula is 100% right. The action scenes are bisteringly hard and the villians are real people with their own needs and histories. Bane himself is definitely one of Gemmell's better characters. If you did not like 'Sword in the Storm' you have to realise it is just a backdrop to 'Midnight Falcon'.

If you are a fan of Gemmell or this type of heroic fantasy you must read 'Midnight Falcon'.

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Summary: Great saga
Review: Gemmell purists will tell you that Legend is his greatest novel, and I think that's true. It has enormous passion and pace. The Rigante saga shows the author entering a more thoughtful phase of his career. There's still plenty of sword fighting and raw heroism, but this is also a story about a man's yearning to be reunited with his father, and to find true meaning in his life. What he faces are not just the vileness of evil men, but the vileness that can can be generated by men who see themselves as good. There are some glorious twists and heart rending action. It is a satisfying novel and a great follow on from Sword in the Storm. I've read it three times now, and each time it brings something new and fresh - or something that I missed while reading at speed the first two times. For me, though, the third book in the series, Ravenheart, is the five star story. The Rigante series is a blisteringly good read.

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Summary: Gemmell is still amazing, but...
Review: He's my all time favorite author and I loved Sword in the Storm, but...what in the world happened to Connavar? I need more of that story! And although Bane and Banouin's tales are engaging, they lack the riveting quality that Sword in the Storm had for me. How long will I have to wait for the third Rigante book?

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Summary: Great story of men
Review: I am a great fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and thought few authors could bring me such thrill. I was wrong. Those two novels (along with Midnight Falcon) about the Rigante Saga fills a void in my heroic fantasy experience. Where Robert's Jordan's characters bore on my nerves at times, David Gemmel's ones are embrassing their fate without foolish emotions. I came to tears more than once for the reader is lead to believe in the characters.
This is the story of men, above that of a world. The magic stuff is not as intricate as Jordan's. I would have liked more insight on its nature.
If you are a SF fan, then there are great reads awaiting for you.

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Summary: Great writing, yet...
Review: I love David Gemmell. I think he is by far the best fantasy writer out there and I liked this book - page to page. But, looking back, there were many things I didn't like about this book. It started off with two characters who were developing really well and a story was beginning to develop. Then, one of these two characters just drops away for most of the book. Okay, then a good story starts to build with the gladiator trainer - then he drops away. Okay, then another story starts to develop, then, you guessed it, it drops away. Then the main character(Bane), moves away and yet another story starts to develop with new characters. It does end with a return to one of the characters that started with the second story, but it doesn't help. There is no consistent story here. Also, just a little past midway through the book, it looks like it would have been a good place to end it, but it keeps going. I think this book could have easily been 3 separate novels. Characters just came and went in this book so there was no story build(a little, but it was very weak). I love Gemmell though. I love the depth of his characters(moment to moment and little details and interesting things about them). His writing is very clear and easy to understand. I have read many other authors and some I couldn't even get through the first chapter because I couldn't figure out what they were trying to say. Page to page writing Gemmell is the best. This book just lacked consistency and focus. We need to see the characters all move towards the final climax and they can't if they just pop in and then out. I do recommend this book though - when the characters are there they are deep and believable. If Gemmell wrote a Dick and Jane story I would read it.

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Summary: I wonder
Review: I'm a fanatic reader and i'm a high school kid, i adore fantasy writings and this is the far best i have ever read. Midnight Falcon is a book to do with revenge, ambition, tribute(you will find out in the book), and yes a little bit of lust. I enjoyed Midnight Falcon thoughly for a lot of reasons the main one is his ambition it has something that just makes you love the main character who isn't a perfect guy. The Midnight Falcon is also a book with great conntrasts in what happens and when its going to happen(you can't stop biting your nails) for some there a slower parts but if you read these parts it will make the book a great read for you. That is why i enjoyed this book. Some of the books i compared to are Ricardo Pinto's The Chosen,Raymond E Feist all of his books, Maggie Furey The Heart Of Myrial, and a million more books i could name but i would be far to long. Anyway this is my email if you liked what i said [e-mail] remeber i'm a teenager

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Summary: I wonder
Review: I'm a fanatic reader and i'm a high school kid, i adore fantasy writings and this is the far best i have ever read. Midnight Falcon is a book to do with revenge, ambition, tribute(you will find out in the book), and yes a little bit of lust. I enjoyed Midnight Falcon thoughly for a lot of reasons the main one is his ambition it has something that just makes you love the main character who isn't a perfect guy. The Midnight Falcon is also a book with great conntrasts in what happens and when its going to happen(you can't stop biting your nails) for some there a slower parts but if you read these parts it will make the book a great read for you. That is why i enjoyed this book. Some of the books i compared to are Ricardo Pinto's The Chosen,Raymond E Feist all of his books, Maggie Furey The Heart Of Myrial, and a million more books i could name but i would be far to long. Anyway this is my email if you liked what i said [e-mail] remeber i'm a teenager

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Summary: Better than the first one.
Review: If you liked the first one, you will love this one. A must read for everyone.

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Summary: a worthy sequel to sword in the storm
Review: Imagine highlanders taking on the Roman empire, imagine these highlanders are more than what they appear... This story follows Bane the [illegitimate son] and is as much about his story as it is about the realtionships of all the people from the first novel and how they interact. AWESOME gladiator arena fighting will not dissapoint action fans and deep characterization will satisfy people looking for more. This novel ties up this part of the Rigante series as book 3 takes place much further in the timeline.