Rating: 
Summary: NON-STOP ACTION
Review: Midnight Falcon is the masterful sequel to A Sword In The Storm.Twenty years down the line, Bane the bastard son of Demonblade, King of all Keltoi, Connavar, a name of legend discovers his true self in the city of Stone.This book tells us of his first love, his training to be the best. David Gemmell proves himself again as a master writer. However, many of the small details in the book are repeated in his previous novels. One such e.g. the way Lia acquired her powers is very similar to Lion of Macedon. Connavar=Philip, Bran=Parmenion. Bane=young Parmenion. The differences are the emphasis placed on the characters and the different experiences which shape their similarities.Nonetheless, Midnight Falcon is a must for all Gemmell's fans.
Rating: 
Summary: My name is Gladiator...
Review: Once again Gemmell offers up a rich and delightful feast of glory, battle, revenge and tragedy. This is the second "Rigante" novel and I assume Gemmell will return to the concept at a later date (just as he is returning to Waylander in "Hero in the Shadows"). Written from the perspective of Bane, Connovar's son, the novel goes into a different direction than the last, with more focus on individual needs, rather than the "tribe". Though the two main characters do not particularly care about the same issues which drove Connovar in the previous novel, they can and do have an impact on the world around them, almost unwittingly. The parallels between Gemmell's world of the Rigante and the real Roman-Celtic world of the first century AD, are more closely mirrored here than before, sometimes rather too obviously, for my taste. For example: Jasaray (Julius Caesar); the persecution of the "Tree Cult" by Nalademus (the early Christian church in Rome); Panthers (Roman Legions, Eagles); the collapse of the Republic to be replaced by Empire... and so on (though Gemmell sort of offers an internal explanation for this). It is a bigger book than most of Gemmell's and a very compelling read (I finished it in 4 days) in his trademark easy style. Characters are interesting and driven by basic human passions. Rage reminded me a bit of Druss and I thought that Voltan and Banouin were they little underdeveloped, but interesting all the same. Another interesting comparison can be made with the excellent film Gladiator, which has similar themes and content. I don't think that Gemmell and Scott borrowed from each other, I think in fact the two are quite complimentary and if you enjoy one, you will love the other.
Rating:
Summary: My name is Gladiator...
Review: Once again Gemmell offers up a rich and delightful feast of glory, battle, revenge and tragedy. This is the second "Rigante" novel and I assume Gemmell will return to the concept at a later date (just as he is returning to Waylander in "Hero in the Shadows"). Written from the perspective of Bane, Connovar's son, the novel goes into a different direction than the last, with more focus on individual needs, rather than the "tribe". Though the two main characters do not particularly care about the same issues which drove Connovar in the previous novel, they can and do have an impact on the world around them, almost unwittingly. The parallels between Gemmell's world of the Rigante and the real Roman-Celtic world of the first century AD, are more closely mirrored here than before, sometimes rather too obviously, for my taste. For example: Jasaray (Julius Caesar); the persecution of the "Tree Cult" by Nalademus (the early Christian church in Rome); Panthers (Roman Legions, Eagles); the collapse of the Republic to be replaced by Empire... and so on (though Gemmell sort of offers an internal explanation for this). It is a bigger book than most of Gemmell's and a very compelling read (I finished it in 4 days) in his trademark easy style. Characters are interesting and driven by basic human passions. Rage reminded me a bit of Druss and I thought that Voltan and Banouin were they little underdeveloped, but interesting all the same. Another interesting comparison can be made with the excellent film Gladiator, which has similar themes and content. I don't think that Gemmell and Scott borrowed from each other, I think in fact the two are quite complimentary and if you enjoy one, you will love the other.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Pageturner
Review: Once I started Midnight Falcon I had real problems putting it down. The plot flows nicely on from the previous book in the Rigante Series with plenty of action all the way. Buy this book and you won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Different title, same formula
Review: The problem highlighted by this book is typical of the broader fault found throughout this genre. That is, Greed. Gemmells first book, Legend,was fair, o.k maybe it was lacking depth but is was good escapism fun at least. But then like many authors in this field Gemmell decides to cash in on its popularity by churning out never-ending titles with the same characters, plot etc under the guise of different names and titles. Lets face it, by the time you get to Sword in the Storm you know exactly whats going to happen before you've read the first chapter. Instead of using his popularity to experiment with the genre, playing with our preconceptions of what it should intail, Gemmell is happy to continue to churn the same stuff out knowing he will get a reguler pay-check. Its time we put a stop to people like David Gemmell, David Eddings and Katherine Kerr who play on the readers urge for a final ending to the the "Saga" and start asking for some originality. The problem with the book is not that it isn't well written. Its that its slick. Too slick.
Rating:
Summary: Different title, same formula
Review: The problem highlighted by this book is typical of the broader fault found throughout this genre. That is, Greed. Gemmells first book, Legend,was fair, o.k maybe it was lacking depth but is was good escapism fun at least. But then like many authors in this field Gemmell decides to cash in on its popularity by churning out never-ending titles with the same characters, plot etc under the guise of different names and titles. Lets face it, by the time you get to Sword in the Storm you know exactly whats going to happen before you've read the first chapter. Instead of using his popularity to experiment with the genre, playing with our preconceptions of what it should intail, Gemmell is happy to continue to churn the same stuff out knowing he will get a reguler pay-check. Its time we put a stop to people like David Gemmell, David Eddings and Katherine Kerr who play on the readers urge for a final ending to the the "Saga" and start asking for some originality. The problem with the book is not that it isn't well written. Its that its slick. Too slick.
Rating:
Summary: Good story. but could try harder
Review: The story overall works well, with the otter ( water dog ) as the hound which bites Connovar being a particularly nice touch. My only reservations are: David Gemmell's reluctance to make a lot of unnecessarily short and directly related sentences into longer, smoother ones, like he does at the beginning of chapter thirteen, which I felt gave the prose a more energetic and less distracting quality. I felt his use of standard biological terms to be a little out of place in a book of this sort. The forced way in which a lot of retrospective information was integrated into the narrative gave it a rather lumpy and disconcerting feel. And the story read more convincingly where it related to battle / fight scenes, the more magical aspects coming across as rather glossed over and scruffy around the edges, as if they hadn't merited a redraft. I would of thought that his team of, test readers and copy-editor would have brought such matters to his attention. These amendments would not have been detrimental to the story, or its potential readership, and would have aligned it with the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.J. Cherryh, or Iain M Banks. This is the first book that I've read by David Gemmell. Legend - his first - is next.
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